Changes in latitude as I head north from Arizona to Washington with a stop in Oceanside, CA. This is the fifth year since I’ve made this annual trip north and it’s always a little different.
The kayak fishing at the end of the winter long term camping season was cut a few weeks short with most of the free camping now closed. The few free camping spots on the gray area of the Arizona/California border were thick with mosquitoes from the unseasonably heavy early spring rainfall. Not very pleasant, full mosquito net required to survive the night.
I was only sticking around to go kayak fishing. It had been another very poor kayak fishing season and was hoping to have a few more kayak fishing sessions to get photos and videos for the watermanatwork kayak fishing blog and try to get enough good footage to make another kayak fishing video.
I was back to the first place I camped in the days following my 2018 semi truck accident that completely changed my life. This would be my last stop in Arizona. I did manage to get a few good days of kayak fishing before the ever present desert wind came up and put an end to the fishing kayak season.
These formerly free camping areas are now all pay areas or “limited stay”, usually about a week. No doubt the limited stay areas will be pay areas soon enough. There is a lot of politics and money involved, not to mention the multi state/national fight for Colorado River water, on which this area is totally dependent. For a number of reasons, I wonder if I will ever see this sunrise again.
Off across the southern California desert to Oceanside and visit my friend Mike. He had just sold his beautiful ocean view home because, like many Americans, the cost of living has left them in the dust. His bills were increasing while his income fell behind. After thirty one years as a homeowner, he was now renting with a ridiculous rent every month. Despite the joy of being able to go to the laundromat after decades of having his own washer/dryer, he was a little bit down. On top of that, he had what appeared to be a stomach virus and was sick as a dog the first few days of living in his new place. I felt bad for my friend and it was another example, in my eyes, of the American way of life unravelling at the seams. After a week or so, he was feeling better, so I loaded up again and headed north.
After driving the breadth and length of California, with the highest gas prices in America, especially near the interstate, plus Oregon, I arrived in the Columbia River Gorge. By the time I swapped my desert gear for PacNW gear, I was exhausted. After a couple nights of sleeping in the passenger seat of the truck, I needed a day or so to recuperate so I headed out to eastern Oregon to spend a few days next to the Columbia River.
The weather was really nice, almost 80°F and sunny. I was able to relax a little and get the truck ready for camping in the mountains. I needed to do some work on the truck to get ready and buy a new battery on the way back west. Here in Small Town, USA, sometimes you need to hit every store in every town to get what you need. One more nice sunrise because the next day would be a busy morning.
I got the supplies I would need, took care of some business and installed the new truck battery. Then, off to the mountains. Eastern Oregon was nice, but I knew the mountains were not going to be almost 80°F and sunny. It was sunny, which is nice, but the mountain roads were still closed by snow.
The roads I would be using were snow free and the weather was very nice for this time of year. In the Cascade Mountains, Memorial Day is not a summer holiday. Everything was nice and green, no dust.
The weather was nice for a few days. Too nice. Sure enough, after a short passing rain shower, part of a mostly dry cold front passing by, the temperature dropped by twenty degrees overnight. I figured it might be cold so I put one sleeping bag inside another. The sleeping bag I’ve been using is not very warm, it’s a few years old, but combined with another sleeping bag, I’ve been able to be mostly comfortable when the night temperature drops into the thirties.
I’ve been doing a little hiking, but it’s cold and windy and I don’t have a lot of cold weather gear with me. I’m hanging out in the camper getting things done, like this blog post, and getting back to life in the Cascade Mountains.
It should be warming up in the next few days, I’ll get a little more hiking in. Depending on the weather, I’ll bring the bike next time. I’m not in a rush because I know I don’t need to worry about getting in shape. At my age, I go as far as I can and that’s it. Riding for the experience, not for performance or significant improved fitness.
Who knows what’s going to happen? I don’t know but whatever does happen never seems to be good. I hope I can have a nice summer in the mountains and ride the bike a little, see how it goes. There was ice on the truck this morning so I will probably head to a lower elevation for a few days. There is no internet here so that will give me a chance to upload this blog post. Stay tuned for more.