Documenting Our Escape

I am not a person that enjoys hikes for the chance to challenge myself or to get some cardio in.  Exercise for the sake of exercise is not my thing. I enjoy the great outdoors. If I’m going on a hike; it’s short, somewhat easy, and has visual rewards along the way. So my “hikes” are really more of a walk, than a “hike.” And the pace would be closer to a stroll, with plenty of stops, to marvel at the beauty all around. Three trails that fit my definition of time well spent while at Crater Lake are; the Lady of the Woods trail at .7 miles, the Castle Crest trail at .4 miles, and the Annie Springs trail at 1.7 miles.

The Lady of the Woods trail wanders through what was the housing and headquarters area; for the Army corps of Engineers crew that built the Rim Road, completed in 1919. This is still the only road that completely circles the lake. The trail leads through a forested area that is sprinkled, with the remaining historic stone lodge buildings of that era.  The National Park Service took over this location in 1926 and built the “rustic architecture” buildings that are on the trail today.  The highest elevation, reserved for the superintendents’ house; cascading down from there are more buildings with the dormitory and wood sheds for the workers at the lowest level.  They all have been lovingly cared for and remain functional today as meeting halls and science centers. This trail’s features culminate in a woman, who is carved into a large stone. She was created by Dr. Earl Bush 1917. He was the work camps doctor; who lived there, with the work crews. His job was to care for the men, working on the Rim roadway construction. He was so impressed by the beauty of the area; that he wanted to leave something of himself behind. That gift was the carving of “The Lady of the Woods.”

The Castle Crest trail is mostly level ground with a little bit of everything mixed into a short hike. This trail was blazed and built by the boy scouts in 1929. There is an adjoining trailhead, which starts at a current ranger station and post office. The Castle Crest trail starts in old growth forests, then meanders towards a bubbling stream, with hand placed stepping stones. The stones keep your feet dry; as you cross through a wetlands area. The stream begins as a series of seeps; gathers into a shallow, widening flow of water over the hillside. As you listen to the happy gurgling water flow under and around stones; the forest gives way to a beautiful open meadow. In July, the wildflowers are incredible. They were waving gently in the breeze; as bright orange butterfly dance among the landscape.  The gentle flow of coalescing waters; transforms into a gurgling stream, which follows the trail downhill. You follow both the stream and trail, around until you end up back at the trailhead. Mark found a fairy spa (small whirlpool) in the stream. The beauty and variety of this trail was surreal. It is easy to imagine fairies herding butterflies, across the meadow; and then resting near this little whirlpool. 

The Annie Springs Trail was more challenging for me. While the trail is a short 1.7 miles long, it also has an altitude change of 200 feet. The elevation changes are short pieces of the trail; these portions are the transition from ridge top trail, to canyon floor trail area. This trail loop starts in the Mazama Campground, along the rim of a canyon, drops down into the bottom of that canyon, runs along Annie Creek, and then back upwards to the canyon ridge top – back into the Mazama campgrounds. Annie Creek is a crystal clear, cold water stream that flows down the canyon. The dappled sunlight that is sprinkled along the banks, creates an oasis of wildflowers. At this time in Texas, July will have burned all but the hardiest wildflowers away; here in Oregon, they are just now bursting out, in an incredible variety.

Thanks for checking in our adventure. As always leave any comments or questions; and we will reply, as soon as we find internet access.

We discover more about the lake and area each week.  The lake was created about 7,700 years ago when the Mazama volcano erupted and then collapsed in on itself. There are no streams feeding into the lake. It gets its water from rain and snow run off from the mountains.  Prior to 1888 there were no fish; only the Crater Lake Newt, which is now endangered. This week we found out that the lake was stocked with seven species of fish, as well as crayfish, between 1888 and 1941. The crayfish were introduced, as a food source for the fish; and are now pushing out the indigenous newts. The kokanee salmon and the rainbow trout are the only two fish species that remain in the lake today.

Because these were introduced (and now considered invasive) species, guest can fish the lake and most of the park’s streams without a license. And they must keep what the catch. While there is only one trail down to the lake, I understand it is a difficult return hike. And although it is a hike I want to try, I’m not sure I could make it with an ice chest and fishing gear. Having said that, I also didn’t think we would have the time or money to buy all the different state fishing license, so we did not bring any gear to fish. ; (

But to the good stuff, some of those great co-workers that I have been talking about, do fish. Cam, a friend we meet here; brought us a beautiful trout. It was swimming one night and on our plates the next.

It was delicious, mild and fresh. “I wonder what the poor folks are doing.” as my Dad used to say. 

It’s been a great week here. Thanks for check in on our adventure. Leave a comment so we know you were here. We’ll answer as soon as we find Internet.

If you know me personally, you’ve heard that my motto, “I’m a hug the whales, kiss the trees and save the planet kind of gal.” I am basically obnoxious about recycling. I know it, but I can’t help it. I feel strongly about reduce, recycle and reuse.

Before Mark and I hit the road we recycled aluminum, tin cans, glass and plastics. We reduced the amount of trash we created; by looking for products with less waste packaging and using reusable food storage,  lunch boxes and drink containers, and we reused by updating items to be useful again.  Since giving up our traditional home, (sticks and bricks), I have struggled with how in continue to reduce our footprint on Mother Earth. 

I mean we drive the one ton diesel truck dragging our home around, that might not the best thing, pollution wise. We still recycle aluminum and we are working to reduce our plastic consumption. I have to finish the products I already have but I have scoped out several items to try. We are already using a solid moisturizer by Lo-Lo bar by Barmaids. I love their scents and the feel of the bar but it is a heavy moisturizer; great for most me because I have dry skin, but not for my face.  The Lo-Lo bar comes in a metal tin that adheres perfectly to the magnetic strip we have in the medicine cabinet for clippers and such.

There is an awesome place call Lush that I get a bar moisturizer that is light enough for my face and a nature henna hair dye I use, when I get around to that.  I’ve found a solid bar shampoo and conditioner, that I can’t wait to try, as soon as I use up the shampoos and conditioner that we already have; also a dissolving laundry sheet, as soon as I use up the liquid soap, I already have. While these products seem more expensive at first glance; your not paying for water to make them liquid and they are more concentrated as a rule. How much is it worth to save a clean beautiful planet for future generations? Do I have plastic totally out of my life? Nope and probably never will.  But we are doing the best we can.

Today I found out about the recycling they do here. I knew they have aluminum can recycling at the camp grounds for the entire guest population to use, but there is so much waste in normal societies day to day business. I don’t know if these initiatives are from the National Parks Service, or if they are from the concessionaires that we work for; but there is a lot of recycling here. The employee dormitory and the work areas collect not only plastics, aluminum, and glass but also nitrile gloves, soaps and shampoos all go to recycle. There are several different companies involved to get these things to the right places, but I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

That cigarette package can take 1-12 years to biodegrade. The cotton rope can take 6 months, and the plastic glove up to 450 years depending on the plastic used. And yes I picked this up after the photo.

Please look around and see what things you can do to reduce your footprint on Mother Earth. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, every little bit helps; and we are all part of this earth.

Hug the Whales, Kiss the Trees and Save the Planet.

Thanks for checking on our Pre-retirement adventure. Leave us a comment so we know you’ve been here and let us know how you decide to Reduce, Recycle or Reuse.

Several of you have asked about our work here and what we get out of it. I’m not sure it will make for an interesting post but I’ll document it here and y’all let me know.

It’s evening; supper is mostly finished before we even walk home. We cooked several meats out on the grill on our last day off. So it’s just a matter of reheating a protein and adding in some veggies.

Tonight was marinated chicken thighs from H.E.B. (large Texas grocery store).  Mark made street tacos with it…There is enough chicken in one of those packages for about 4 meals for us. I froze some for next week already cooked and ready to go.

It was a full 8 hour day for both of us, most of them are. We are campground porters. The recruiter told us it would be picking up trash and helping to move things around the campground. It is, in fact, 90% cleaning public bathrooms and checking bear boxes in empty campsites; then 10% helping to turnover cabin rooms, in the park. I don’t know if this is what it was always supposed to be or if COVID-19 changed the plan.

The job doesn’t start until 9:00 am. And for me by 9 the day is half over. My norm was to get up at four am and start the day. I make it until 5:00 am these days. We walk to work and it takes about 6 minutes (saves on gas money). There are 10 bathrooms with 3 stalls each and two teams to do them. We disinfect all surfaces twice a day. Our half is sixteen walls, 15 toilet bowls, multiple faucets, plumbing, handles, window sills and 5 floors twice a day. We use about 2 quarts of disinfectant each day. Each afternoon we check bear boxes in the empty campsites, to make sure the next guest doesn’t get a nasty surprise. If we finish early we help housekeeping with the cabin rooms that are here. It is physically demanding work but there is plenty of time for introspection. The first week we walked everywhere, all day; but the second week we got a buggy. I’ve never been so happy to see a little yellow subcompact cart, in all my life. We have to share it. There are 2 teams and we only have the one buggy. But I should have great legs by the end of summer.

What we “get out of it”:

The park has a $30.00/day parking fee. We are here for 12 weeks   $2520.00

There is an additional camping fee per day. But there are only two camping spots for a rig our size; and they are booked far in advance.

We get a space to stay.  (And what a place it is. We are parked in a private employee only area, away from the public. There are 12 spaces and there are only 4 of us so far. There are 2 on one end and one on the other end; and we are in the middle. The sounds of summer drift over to us from time to time. (Children calling to each other, a dog barking in the distance, occasional laughter, the smell of grilled meat, a car alarm. Most of the time it is very quiet) In the Woodlands that was $550.00/month and our neighbor was 10’ away

We get utilities. In the Woodlands that was from $150 – $275.00/month

We get an hourly wage on top of that.

We get a 50% discount in the store and restaurant on premises and there is an employee dining room where meals are even cheaper but we haven’t tried that yet.

We get a discount on the Motel rooms and the fancy, historic Lodge up at the rim. (Hint: If family would like to escape the heat this season; and not too sure about staying with us in Rufous…there may be options.  ; )

But wait we get even more:

 We’ve watched a young Dad running behind a bike teaching his kid to ride. We see whole families biking and hiking together. We hear snatches of conversation of parents teaching their children about the outdoors and woodsman ship. We see couples walking and talking without looking at a cellphone. We see children playing with children they have never seen before and might never see again. We hear words like “let’s play like we searching for..” We see college kids working their butts off doing all kinds of jobs to be here. We hear their stories of how many parks they have worked at during summer breaks: Working their way across American (they figured this out long before we did.) For some of them, this is networking in line with their majors, others enjoying the time away from the stress of school. We’ve met teachers making the best of their summer break and heard their stories, of where all they’ve been. And some retired people that show up here every season to get a little extra money and enjoy a different atmosphere. We see a different side of America; one we had lost track of, in the day to day grind of the everyday city life.

We’ve seen the forestry service help people reduce their footprint on the forest and still enjoy the out of doors. We’ve seen “recycle, reduce and reuse” at work and used in creative ways. We “see” the vision behind preserving these unique places across America. And the beauty here makes us want to see more of our national parks.

We’ve see amazing sunrises. We hear more birds in one day than in a “normal” week.  We’ve actually heard the pines groaning in the wind. And it wasn’t creepy; it was the bass counterpart to Mother Nature’s song all around us.  We smell the pines; we feel the breezes; we hear the trickle and rush of the streams.  The beauty of God’s Coloring book that is our world is unfolding before us one page at a time.

And will we do is again? Absolutely! It gives us a chance to travel, to see more, to do more and to keep our retirement account a little fuller for later in life.

 Our adventure here lasts until they close the park for winter, around the end of September to early October (decided by the arrival of snow). Leave a comment on what else interests you and let us know if you know something around here we really need to check out. Thanks for checking in. Follow us and let us know what you think

Crater Lake is stunningly beautiful.  It is the deepest and purest lake in the United States. Ranger Shawn says objects lowered into the lake can still be identified at 120 feet below the surface. Because of the purity of the water, the bluest of the light spectrum is the only color reflected back. This creates unbelievably blue water.  When I first looked at the lake I had to take my sunglasses off just to make sure the water was really that color.

But there is so much more to the Crater Lake National Park, for me there were many firsts.

First Bear box (Yeah, I know but, I really have never seen one before,)

First time I’ve seen snow in June,

First snowball in JULY.

The hiking trails are well maintained and offer abundant choices from easy to challenging; as well as from heavily forested trails, to canyon creeks flowing with icy cold waters and lava deserts. Check in on us as we continue our adventure getting to know this park, this trails and this state.

Thanks for stopping by and following us. Please leave us a comment so we know you were here, we will answer as soon as we find internet again.

Day 7 found us headed to Goldfield, Nevada (365 Miles)

Day 8 Ended at Standish, California (341 Miles)

On day 9 we arrived in Crater Lake, Oregon (243 Miles)

243 miles of white-knuckle driving on narrow two line roadways with 57’ of truck and trailer.  It was beautiful but, I did have to remind myself to breathe a few times.

We made it! We were tired but pleased with our trip and our equipment, And we had a few days to settle in and get sorted before starting work up on the rim!

Thanks for checking in with us. Crater Lake has very little internet access. We will post as often as we are able. Follow us as the adventures continue.

My original plan to Oregon was a several month plan that culminated with our arrival to Crater Lake being on our anniversary in August. Well that wasn’t going to work for this trip, this time. So back to the drawing board, as they say.

Let me go on record saying, I am not a good trip planner, My sister is an awesome trip planner but, I am not: I’m working on it though. With the help of some software and a few apps, We ended up with a nine day plan from Gulf Coast Texas to South Oregon.

Okay we now have a new plan, with a destination and a deadline.  We needed to travel 2166 miles in nine days.

After looking at the distance and the time frame; we decided that we wanted to get there quickly. This would also give us a day or two, to acclimate to the altitude. The campground is just over 6,170 feet above sea level (with Spring/Woodlands being a bit over 160’).

And we were off!

Day 1 Abilene, Texas  383 Miles  ….Wait what happened to the 2-2-2 Plan?

Day 2  Clovis, New Mexico 271 Miles…. Oh Yeah, we have a destination!

Day 3 & 4  Grants, New Mexico 294 Miles And a deadline

We earned a sightseeing  day here. We visited the Bandera Volcano and The Ice Cave. Located on Family owned property, the temperature at the Volcano was in the 90’s and a 30 minute hike brought us to the 31 degree naturally formed Ice Cave. Yes that is a wall of ice in the desert under a volcano. Beautiful and incredible

Day 5  & 6 Seligman, Arizona, 320 miles 

Day 5 – The hookup was straight forward and we were headed out. After our first fuel stop, we were visiting with each other and checking out the scenery.  And UH –OH a flat, and oh so joyful – it was a rear inner tire of the truck.  This means Mark has to remove two tires to change one flat.  At least it was the passenger side, so Mark wasn’t going to be working on the traffic side, of the shoulder.  We are prepared for this.  Mark spent about an hour on the roadside changing out the tire instead of 2-3 hours waiting on roadside assistance. This was Sunday, of course, so we stayed one extra day to get the tire fixed and then when we realized we were close to Lake Havasu: We stopped over to visit Mark’s Aunt Nancy.

Day 6) Havasu, Arizona 262 miles round trip Today started with a run to the tire shop. Then off to spend the day with Aunt Nancy.  Aunt Nancy is that awesome, spunky, crazy kind of aunt that has a zest for life; everyone should have one like her. Nala got her first golf cart ride in the desert. Aunt Nancy treated us to takeout Mexican lunch.  So we visited with a local and ate local. I mention this here because Mark and I have not come to agreement on what constitutes having “visited” a state.  I think you have to see an attraction, museum, or landmark and eat local. Mark says driving through is good enough to count.

Thanks for checking in. Follow us on our adventures!

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We are Mark and Terri. This is our pre-retirement blog. (Uncle Sam says we are not “old enough” to retire.) That’s pretty awesome to think at this point I guess but, on our 40th Anniversary we took a trip to Hawaii. We reminisced on where we were, how far we’d come and what we wanted next. We always said we would travel and never really got around to it as much as we wanted.

So we set goals, made a plan and started working to make it happen. We bought an RV, sold the house, sold the car and started trying to figure out how to semi-retire.

The plan: We researched traveling jobs and decided that we could work Springs and summers at seasonal jobs and travel Fall and Winter. Please come travel along with us and see how it works out.