2 1/2 feet of snow in June (Crater Lake)

May 31 - Jun 13, 2013 (2 weeks) - Diamond Lake RV Park, Diamond Lake, OR

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RV LIFE:
I find I am most happy sitting outside in the shade. Once the weather warmed up here at Diamond Lake, the bugs came out and I was forced to stay inside on beautiful days.  These are the times I wish we had the screen room attachment for our awning. After a day of sight seeing and a day indoors, I was ready for my time at the picnic table. I tried some natural Mosquito Guard made from plant extracts.  That worked fine to keep the midgets away, but for the flies, bees, & mosquitos, it just did not win the battle. So, I've resorted to spraying Off! on. I hate doing that, knowing it's basically a poison.  I can only hope the rare times I use it will not be harmful enough to cause any ill effects.

So now I have buzzing all around me, but they are not landing on me. I feel like I'm surrounded by drones! These bee/fly things just buzz and hover in place around me. Are they gathering info about me and sending it to Big Brother?

The longer we are Full time RV'ing, the less I want a house. I'm enjoying a life of leisure. I'm not saying I may not want to settle down somewhere, but I really don't want all the baggage that comes with a house.  It's seems to be our nature, that the more room we have, the more stuff we accumulate! 

Crafts: I had a whole craft room of someday projects in which someday never came. 

That's only half the room!

Living in the RV, I am forced to limit my hobbies and craft supplies. Which means, I am more likely to start and finish a project. I have yet to work on my embroidery machine or my knitting machine or create with polymer clay. But at least I'm limited to just those someday projects instead of a whole room full of yarn, fabric, projects, supplies, etc. 

Chores: Chores are minimal in an RV. There still are chores, but usually not too expensive, or too time consuming.  No mowing of lawns, no gardening (which I miss the results), no repainting, no cleaning 8-10 rooms that are mostly unused or just stuff collecting rooms.

Finances: We can control our output, which I find very comforting. As long as money and health are ok, we can travel as we please, where we please. If our finances ever get tight, then we can stay put and save money with monthly park rates instead of daily or weekly, no traveling means less gas used, we can go even cheaper, by staying at cheaper RV parks. 

We have no property taxes. That was a HUGE expense in NJ. We don't have nosy neighbors that are concerned whether your property/house is up to their standards. If we don't like our neighbors, we can just move! The majority of the parks we've been at have been very quiet and I feel comfortable and private while sitting outside.

I really dread the thought of having to clean a house again. Nagging Scott to mow the lawn. Sometimes it's just easier for me to do it and have it done. 

I love having all our belongings contained in this small space, no accumulating. Something comes in, something goes out. No stocking up.  I love this simpler life. I love knowing we can move and find a nicer place, or a more populated spot, or a more remote spot, or move closer to family and friends, or move away from people we don't want to have a part in our lives.

I must apologize to a former co-worker, Carolyn H. She has lived in a trailer for many years. In NJ, living in a trailer sends images of poor people living in poor conditions. Unless of course you are in a retirement community. I told Carolyn for many years I couldn't understand how she could live in such a small space. She would continually tell me she was perfectly content in her trailer. NOW, I understand. I am perfectly content in our RV.  

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SIGHTS:
While following other RV'ers blogs, I've come across time and again, the beautiful photos of Crater Lake. Oh my gosh! It did not disappoint. Crater Lake Nat'l Park is about 10 miles from our site. Then, once you're in the park (where we purchased our Annual Interagency Pass for $80.), there is still a drive of about 13 miles. As we're driving and enjoying the views, all of a sudden I scream "Look! Snow!" And there was lots of snow. I love snow! We HAD to get out and walk around in it for a while.

We cleared a spot for Devin do eat some snow.

See only the tops of pine trees showing?

We continue our drive toward Crater Lake. We see pine trees all around. Along the edge of the road are little pine trees growing like weeds. There has been a lot of thinning out of trees.
Scott has to point out to me that there is no guard rail to protect us from the cliff. Thanks a lot Scott.
We pass this huge field that is desert like, which seems so odd amid all these beautiful pine trees. This area is called Pumice Desert. This area is where the ash & rock landed after the explosion of the volcano Mt. Mazama. It was 200' deep of this ash/rock combo, which smothered all organic life and has yet to be able to grow anything.
We finally see a few cars parked and assume they are viewing the lake, although there are no signs stating that. We trudged through an unshoveled layer of snow to get a look at the lake.

I was in sandals, and yes my tootsies got very cold and at one point a couple of toes were numb.
And our first awe inspiring view of Crater Lake!

Oh my gosh! It's beautiful! The water really is that blue. The water really is that still. The water really does reflect a perfect mirror image of the mountains.

Snow everywhere!




See the flat snow covered area behind the pine trees and in front of the mountains? That is the flat land of Pumice Desert.



Beautiful, beautiful sight to see.

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CRAFTS:
I've finished one mitt and am ready to start the other. Need to keep my fingers cozy on cold mornings on the computer.

Isn't this tote bag adorable??? Sometimes I really do miss my knitting friends back in NJ. I gave a knitting buddy my old Husqvarna Iris  Embroidery Machine. It's such a pain to sell stuff, plus it was so long since I used it, I couldn't gurantee it's working condition. Kate sews for her business, so I thought this would come in handy. Anyway, she gave me this tote to say thank you.  It's a tote to hold your knitting project. The needlepoint dog is a pocket for the tote. There is a drawstring closure.

This is the other side. It is a clear vinyl panel, so you can see your pattern that you are knitting. Very nice. Thanks again Kate.












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MODS:
This isn't really an RV mod, but it still has to do with figuring out how to make something better while we RV. We are almost at the 2 year mark of FT RV'ing. In that time we are on our 5th, yes FIFTH satelllite dish. 3 broke being blown over by the wind. We tried staking them, putting rocks on the feet of the tripod, and gallon jugs filled with water. One...gone, Two...gone, Three...gone! Our fourth was the Winegard Carryout all in one that we purchased at Camping World. It worked sufficiently, but Scott wanted high definition. I said he has to have a plan for preventing it from blowing over. We have been about 10 months with our HD Direct TV dish with no mishaps!

He uses free weights screwed into the feet of the tripod, plus he has 3 tie downs.


He was tying the tie downs and what a pain to tighten, loosen, adjust. So he took a dowel, drilled a couple of holes and this little device works great for adjusting the tie downs and they don't slip out of place.






AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:
Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is the last book of the Soulfinder Trilogy. I'm so disappointed. Not that the series is over, but that the book was a drag to get through. I rated Poison Study, Book 1 and Magic Study, Book 2, both 5 stars. I loved them!
Poison study caught my interest educating me to the world of a King's food taster.
Magic study, we have a vested interest in Yelena's character and wish her the best in her education, taming and skill of magic.
Fire Study, was all about fear, battle, enemies. I only finished it because of my love for the first two books.

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June 14 -23, 2013 Armitage County Park, Eugene, OR

WA, ID, MT, ND, SD, WY, then south for the Winter of 2013/214