We stayed at Whistler’s Bend County Park Campground for 5 days and 5 nights.
I am not going to lie. When we pulled into this campground, after our first 2 Private RV spots, I was skeptical. When I found out that neither of us had service (therefore, we couldn’t use Jacob’s Hot Spot for wifi so we could continue working), I almost had a meltdown. I know, I know. I said last week that I had finally been able to ~chill~ a bit but who are we kidding? I was able to chill knowing that I had a reliable wifi connection. Before we left, Jacob bought us a portable Hot Spot for instances like this. That thing did not work in Klamath or Gold Beach. Like, at all. I was so annoyed. Jacob said he’d file for a return for the device and a refund for the internet we had paid up front for on it. After almost melting down (and having Jacob ask if I wanted to go home), I figured I’d give it a shot. We both knew it wouldn’t work but at least we could say we tried everything, right?
It worked.
I don’t know WHY it didn’t work at all in Klamath or Gold Beach. I feel like the hot spot was telling us, “Hey, this place has free wifi. Why are you using me?” This hot spot even works at the 4th location, where I’m currently writing this piece (another location without free wifi because it is also a state park). Besides one program not working via a hot spot (one that I don’t use a lot), it was perfect. In fact, when I made an inquiry with my IT person, she told me to chill out and enjoy myself instead of worrying about using that program. I love my people.
You may be asking yourself, “Why would Lauren go to this location instead of stick to Private RV Parks if she knows she’s going to be working while she’s on this trip?” I’m going to answer you by reminding you that Jacob planned all this. If you don’t know, Jacob is big into Disc Golf. He plays at least once a week and most weekends (not the full weekend – to his friends’ chagrin, I require him to block off SOME time with me every weekend). This location has a disc golf course right on it. In fact, he could walk just a few feet from our RV to the first spot. He even made friends (who gave us free beer). What a lucky boy.
Because I am who I am, I spent both Thursday and Friday mornings in a coffee shop (one in Glide and one in Roseburg – don’t worry, I’ll be doing a post specifically for all the places we ate at) so that I could work (using that program I rarely use). I love working in a coffee shop. Whenever I had to work from home for a non, “I’m sick” reason, I would work from a coffee shop for part of the day. There’s just something about working from a coffee shop that really changes the game. I just like the coffee shop vibe, in general. Reading, working, writing, meeting up with friends – it’s the best. Mostly because there’s almost always free wifi and also because I may or may not be addicted to coffee. Once a week, I try to make it a priority to go to a local coffee shop and read for at least an hour (preferably without looking at my phone). You don’t have to be my BFF to know that I rarely actually do that but in a perfect world, I do it each week. I swear, when I get back home, I’ll really start making that a priority. Now that I said it to the entire world (I mean, all like 20 of you who read my blog regularly), I have to do it. Those two days were filled with coffee shop mornings and RV hang afternoons and evenings for me. Jacob was out playing disc golf as much as he could, which left me to my books, journal, and, of course, Netflix. Sidney and I wandered out through the park on short walks where we saw deer (Sidney wanted to be friends) and turkeys (Sidney wanted to run away).
Saturday was adventure day. First and foremost, if you like the outdoors but haven’t downloaded AllTrails yet, you’re missing out. One of my best friends (HI JORDAN) is obsessed with it and turned me onto it. It’s FANTASTIC. I love hiking but I would always kind of stick to my same area in Oakland and San Leandro because I honestly didn’t know anywhere else to go. I knew there were cool trails out there in the world but I never knew how to navigate that. Plus, I love bringing my dog and so many trails aren’t available. It’d be a bummer to go look for a trail only to find out I can’t bring my pupperchini. Through AllTrails, I found a few trails in the Umpqua National Forest – specifically the Hemlock Falls Trail. Do not let that 1 mile length fool you. That is 1 mile down (great!) and 1 mile up (not great!). This trail was completely empty. In fact, even driving up to the trail head was empty. There were a few times I was skeptical about where AllTrails was leading us but you have to trust the process.
And I’m really happy I did.
I don’t even know how to explain to you what I felt when we got to the water fall. The hike down there itself was incredibly beautiful, peaceful, and calm. This was just another level. We were completely alone down there. Just us and nature. It was such a crazy feeling. I was suddenly hyperaware that THIS was real. I was lucky enough to see this waterfall. I was filled with gratitude for being able to be in the moment and be given this opportunity. I sent my gratitude to the nature surrounding me, thanking Mother Earth for being so cool and I soaked it all in. If I could have stayed there for hours, I would have. But it was cold, wet, and Sidney (my anti-water dog) was NOT having a spiritual moment. We stayed just long enough for my heart and soul to be filled and we moved on. To the steep hike back up, thanking Mother Earth each time I took a step. This has, hands down, been the most beautiful moment of this trip.
After a beer and a bite to eat, we headed back to the RV, in time for some sunshine. Jacob went to play more disc golf and I sat outside and wrote. Until a bee decided I wasn’t allowed to sit outside so inside I went. Which is just fine because soon, people started to fire up their… fires. Listen, I know I’m a bah humbug when it comes to campfires, but I hate them. I used to love them. But now, all they do is make my eyes super dry, my throat starts hurting, everything I wear is now covered in campfire smell, and my hair is campfire-y. It sucks. I have a lot of hair and having to wash it often is a pain in the ass. If you’re going somewhere for multiple nights, you need to have one designated “campfire” outfit so everything you own doesn’t smell like campfires. It’s just crappy, okay? I’m not a fan.
This felt like a pretty short trip, but it was decently long! I think with not spending as much time in the trailer, it felt like it was shorter than it really was. But it’s time to go onto the next one. Our last Oregon stop!
I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Stay tuned
Writes with Wolves 