Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Decidedly undecided

The large pieces of Lou's trailer renovation are in place and now it's mostly a long list of one-man jobs. That, and the heat and allergies and itchy feet meant it was a good time to move on. But in which direction?

"I'm going to get a shower, some groceries and gas, then head to the highway and see whether the urge hits me to turn left or right," I said as I prepared to leave Redmond.

I turned right. Southward. I thought I would make my way to the mountains of San Diego County. It seemed delightfully contrary. Head south to escape the heat? Yup. It's in the 70s around Julian. Without freezing nights.

But by the time I got to Redding, I started thinking of how few camping options there were between here and there—options that didn't require reservations or that wouldn't be crowded and expensive. And once I'd been in far southern California for a while, where to, then, that didn't put me in more summer heat or require a long schlep?

I rethought things.

I turned east.

So, here I am at the moment, in a rest stop along highway 299. The new "plan" involves heading out the northeast corner of California, into Oregon (again), east to Idaho and Montana, south to Wyoming and Colorado. No hurry. Take six weeks or more.

At least I think so.

7 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 10, 2015 at 1:05 PM

    I love it when "plan" is written within quotation marks. Makes for a potentially interesting story.

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  2. Simply LesaJune 10, 2015 at 4:54 PM

    Nice looking forest

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  3. Grandma CebeJune 10, 2015 at 5:09 PM

    Northern Utah in realm of possibility?

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  4. AnonymousJune 10, 2015 at 5:41 PM

    Steens mountian? Great veiw from the top..

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  5. C. J. HallJune 10, 2015 at 8:04 PM

    Long ago, I handled tourism publicity for the state of Montana, and it is still my favorite. I spent most of July, August and September in Montana last year (and a bit of October, too). There is incredible free camping almost everywhere in the SW part of the state. One tip is to use the state's Lodging Guide free publication. Look for the Public Campground section, and scan down to see FREE camping areas. Many of the Forest Service campgrounds that are no longer fully serviced have no fees now, but you get picnic table, fire ring and a "somewhat" level parking area. Homestake Pass outside of Butte had several boondock locations on the way to the formal Delmoe Lake Campground (and the huge boulders of porphyry are amazing). Further east, a few Fishing Access sites are free but most require payment. Pelican Fishing Access right on the Yellowstone near Big Timber allows 7 days free. There is a large loop drive and you simply pull off of it. (Note: it is a launch point for several guided fishing/float services but that can be fun people-watching). The city of Columbus has a city park just a mile or so from the heart of the little town that offers a free campground (again right on the Yellowstone). It has two parts in case the first section you pull into looks too crowded. I could go on and one. LOL

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  6. UnknownJune 11, 2015 at 7:27 AM

    Idaho had a plethora of hot spring plunges

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