New Life Chapter: 9/25 - 10/10

9/25 - I woke this morning feeling kinda low. I've been having trouble sleeping through the night, so am tired often, but this morning I was feeling lost. What am I doing? Where to go this winter? I'm not sure I want to keep wandering/exploring all winter. I'm tired. I have high expectations for Bend, but why? Its a big vanlife area and I feel like I'll connect with community here, but will I really? It seems like they're mostly young people and I'm OLD! Will I even find anyone to help with my hot water heater? (The guy from Australia isn't very helpful. I'm not sure if he just sells these or they are his product, but I feel like I'm bugging him and he gives me kindof evasive responses.

Heading south towards Bend. Came across this park above the Crooked River. The bridge below was built in 1926, but even though it is still structurally sound, it was deemed not sufficient for the 8000 vehicles/day that suddenly were crossing it, so a new bridge was built.

railroad bridge in the distance. Not sure if it's still in use or not.

Smith Rock State Park on the drive in

Smith Rock State Park. Very popular with rock climbers, but great for hiking too. It was way too hot (med 80s and full sun) when we arrived, so we left and found a nearby campground for the night. I snagged a spot with a nice tree to hang out under.

9/26 - Headed out early (for me) to get to Smith Rock SP for a hike with Zoe. It was 55 degrees at 9:30 (37 at 7:30!), but I was comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt with the strong sun. Zoe did pretty well with the Rim Trail, which was about 1 mile and flat. After than I took a hike into the canyon. Most of the hike was pretty flat along the river, but the hike in and out were very steep. I am seriously out of shape as I was quite exhausted afterwards. I did another 3 or so miles on my own. I'm sure my lack of sleep didn't help! And I ate a big lunch before heading out.

It's hard to see, but all the chalky areas are from hand holds from the climbers.

I assume that this is Smith Rock as it's the most prominent

Can you see the high line? There are also clips in the face of the rock to the right for climbing.

I watched this guy fall twice and once managed to get himself back up onto the high line, which I thought was darn impressive! Too bad I didn't catch him getting back up on video.

After he fell the 2nd time, he decided not to try getting back up, so I couldn't catch it.

So jagged

After Smith Rock, I found a shower in Redmond, then drove to Sisters. I checked out the forest service land there and decided there was plenty of space, so I didn't claim a spot, but just went into town. The Barn had been recommended so I went there and had a beer and visited with Dave, a local from Bend. Zoe was whining the whole time, so after my beer I took her back to the van and left her there. I'm not sure why she was so obnoxious. Maybe because she could see sunshine, but we were in the shade? I don't know as she's not usually quite so bad.

Dave gave me the number of a friend of his who's a mechanic, but might have contacts for my hot water heater. So nice!

After a beer and some Mexican food, we went back to the forest service land and grabbed a spot. There is so much room there, so it's awesome!

Sisters is a great town. I like the vibe, though it was a bit busy due to the folk festival going on.

9/27 - I decided to just hang out for the day and not drive anywhere. I considered going somewhere to be by water, but was too lazy to fight the potential crowds looking for a parking spot. It was low 80s, but I had some shade. I did some troubleshooting of my power monitor display and found that it turns on after unplugging and plugging it back in, but touch still doesn't work and that's the only way to interact with it. I found a screwdriver short enough to access the screws for the panel on the hot water heater, but I think it's too small and I couldn't get them to turn and was afraid of stripping them. Other than that, I just hung out. Zoe and I did walk around there, but due to the temps, we didn't get to go for too long. In the evening I walked into town (about a mile each way) and back to The Barn as there was a falafel food truck that I didn't see until after I ordered the Mexican food. It was awesome! I then walked around town a bit and got an ice cream for the walk back. 😀

Lots of rolling in the dirt today. I love seeing her so happy while she's rolling, but this is ridiculous. It's super hard living with this kind of dirt - for me anyway.

I think this is the dirtiest ever and this was just the first bit. After several rinses, the towel continued to come up dirty, but I gave up after a while.

Again, this was just a bit of the dirt...

9/28 - It's crazy how warm it is during the day - mid 80s - and between 32 and 40 overnight.

Chilly morning again.

This morning, I was making sure the soap dispenser bottle was still tight and quess what?! I overtightened it and broke the bottle off at the neck. Hopefully I will be able to get it out. I suppose the worse case scenario is I have to get a whole new one, but if all goes well I'll be able to just replace the bottle. What the heck is going on with all the things breaking all of a sudden???

Headed into Bend to Drake park. I parked in the parking lot and we went for a walk in the park. It was mostly shady, so that was good for both of us. I notice a bunch of vans parked with their doors open along the street along the park. Wish I had known to do that. After the park walk, we did a couple of blocks of the downtown. I really like this town, which is what I expected/hoped, but I was afraid it wouldn't match up. I chatted with quite a few people, some visitors, some locals, and all super nice. I considered checking out the Bend Brewing Company, as it's along the water, but I'm staying at Bridge 99 Brewery thru HH tonight, so I figured I'd leave the beer sampling to that.

After being overheated from our walk around town, I found an empty spot alongside the park and I'm now sitting outside the van working on this. It's lovely and great for people watching and chatting as the path goes right by me.

I'm optimistic that I'll find someone to help me with my van issues as the reviews of the various builders I checked out raved about how great they were and helpful.

Mirror Pond/Deschutes River from Drake Park

Love this mural!

From the van after moving

I'm making a list of places I'd like to come back and spend time at. I think I'd like to rent a furnished apt for a few months. Some places are Port Townsend, WA, Vancouver Island, Fairhope/Daphne, AL, maybe even along the Emerald Cost in FL, Beaufort, NC (of course), Western NC, and I feel like there should be so many more, but they aren't coming to mind.

Bridge 99 Brewery HH was good. Very quiet! Eric was super nice and gave me lots of tastes. None of this one or two samples only business here. I ended up selecting a beer with IBU of 85, which I was sure would be too bitter for me. So, I learned my lesson. I actually liked all the beer I tasted, except one. The last two breweries I visited, I didn't like any of them. Is it me and my taste buds on the day or is it the beer??? Inquiring minds (mine) want to know! I had a pesto chicken pizza that was fabulous. I left Zoe in the van since I figured she'd be more comfortable and I'd be less irritated. 😏

9/29 - After a walk I went to Oxbow Vans in Bend to see about getting help. What amazing guys! Greg, Lefty, and Hayden. My touch screen problem was solved by rebooting the Cerbo, but no luck with the hot water heater. I went back into town and ended up calling Jay (hot water heater sales guy in Australia). He was kinda short and testy and not very pleasant to me. I told him I wanted to get a new heater and he suggested that we hook it up directly to a battery and see if it works. So, I went back today at 9 AM and no luck. When I was pulling everything out of the water compartment, I found that water had been leaking and it's moldy in there. OMG!!! I suspect it's from when the people did the work in San Diego, but I'm not sure. I filled the water before leaving the shop and put a newspaper under where I think it's leaking and after driving just a few miles around town (not bumpy or steep) there was quite a bit of water on the newspaper. I could see water on the hot water heater in the back (no connections to water heater in the back). Which makes me think it's the fill tube connection, but when I checked that it didn't seem to be wet. I tested just turning on the pump and leaving it on and that doesn't do it, so it's not likely to be the water heater. It's just moving around, so would have to be the fill or a crack in the tank???

When I talked with Jay yesterday, he told me I could get a new one within 4 days via DHL, but very expensive, but he didn't tell me how much that was. When I just looked online the soonest they were showing it arriving was in 9 days and it cost about $500! What to do??? If I stay here another week+, what does that mean for the rest of my travel with winter coming? Jay said he's split the cost. I suppose as long as it arrives before the end of next week, I could live with it. 4 days would be Tuesday anyway, what's 2 more days???

Where to stay tonight???

I talked with Jay again and he shipped me the water heater at no charge except for shipping, which I think is VERY generous. It's supposed to arrive Wed Oct 8th. I guess there are worse places to be "stuck" than Bend!

In addition to the water heater, my shade for my window behind my bench broke again and they are replacing it at no charge and shipping it to Bob and Sherry's in Reno.

I ended up going to park at a spot I found on iOverlander that said there could be many rigs and it's super dusty, so I didn't think I would actually stay there. But it didn't seem very dusty and I liked the idea. I had hoped to connect with other nomads in Bend, but was afraid I wouldn't, but this is the place! Very cool. Everyone is so nice and helping each other out. It's not a pretty place, and there are other more remote spots around, but I like the vibe here.

This is a biking area with tons of trails. I wish I had a bike! Zoe and I took a walk along paths and roads. This is all forest service land.

The trail goes through private property, so there are fences all along and no trespassing signs. I don't know if you can see, but someone scratched out the NO and ing so it says Tresspass instead. 😂

Angie and Mary-Rose mentioned a band, named Hillstomp, playing in Sisters on Saturday that many people are going to. I had been thinking of driving around and seeing more of the area, but then I also like the idea of chilling out with all these fine folks. What to do???

10/2 - I decided to just hang out and chill today. Tomorrow, I'll shower and do laundry. I also decided I'm going to get Starlink. My service here is fine in the morning, but during the day, it's so frustrating. I know I shouldn't be so dependent on the internet, but I am... I thought I'd get used to being without, but I haven't. After all that time in Canada not having it and trying to mooch off of others and getting frustrated here, I decided to break down and do it. Bob and Sherry had gotten it when it went on sale for $299 instead of $499 and I was hoping to see that again, but I didn't know when/if ever I'd see that again, so I decided to bite the bullet.

Zoe was attacked by another dog where I was parked. I guess he gets protective. She had a couple of bloody spots in her right ear and the guy was great and offered to pay if she had to go to the vet. Very nice of him, but I wasn't worried and wouldn't have taken him up on it. I just cleaned it and put some neosporin on it. She actually fought back for a millisecond before it was over. I've never seen her do that, but I'm glad she did. I guess since he hurt her, she defended herself. It looked fine the next day.

I visited with CJ, Gaby, and Justin for a while and CJ let me try out her folding e-bike. It was fun and really makes me want one. I just need to figure out where to store it. Folded, it's about 3' x 2.5' x 2', which isn't inconsequential when living in a van!!! It's also about 60 lbs. Justin offered for me to ride his, but it's like 200 lbs and not something I'd be interested in, so I passed. I felt like I hurt his feelings...

10/3 - I went to Juniper Swim Center and soaked in the hot tub and steam room for a bit before showering (and after too...). Then off to do laundry. When I got there all the washers were in use, so I had to wait. I guess everyone showed up at the same time. I grabbed lunch at Fries a la carte again at The Lot (several food trucks and a bar too) while I was waiting for the laundry. Yum! While waiting I went to look up something at Home Depot that I could pick up when I got the Starlink and found that it was on sale for $299. What are the odds??? I was sure if it was going to go on sale it would be shortly after I had already bought it. So, I ordered one right away for pickup. No more indecision.

This is a pretty cool setup

After laundry, Zoe and I walked around Drake Park again and learned that it's Bend's Fall Festival. There was a band playing at the brewery, but I wasn't in the mood for beer, nor hungry, and I didn't like the band, so we moved along. There is an area being set up for the evening - food trucks and a stage. I may go back for a bit and leave Zoe in the van. I still want to go to Home Depot today and then Head to Sisters I guess. It's hard with the days being shorter now. Sunset is 6:41 today, so I should find parking before 7, before it gets dark. I don't see that happening since it's already 5 and if I want to go back... I wonder if I can stay the night where I'm parked...

As much as I love Bend, I don't seem to have many photographs. The town itself doesn't have lots of things to photograph and some of the places I've parked are kinda brown, dusty, with pine trees. Other than the dirt, it's nice and calming, just not super photo inspiring. The town and people just feels good.

I ended up going into town for the festival and I'm really glad that I did. I ended up chatting with quite a few people, all locals. I especially enjoyed Dina, Lisa, and ???. I could tell they were long time friends and were just so welcoming and lovely. And then a young woman named Sabrina. I am so going to live here for at least a few months at some point. Maybe next year this time? I just love it! And there is so much to do around here. Music was mostly a DJ, but he played the guitar too and was really good. After hanging out in this central area, on my way back to the van, I found another band, the Silvertone Devils, that I loved. I didn't stay too long as I had severely underdressed for the cool evening.

After having a couple of beers at the festival, I decided it was best for me to stay where I was parked. It's alongside a park and across the street from houses, but I'm not bothering anyone and all was fine. No one bothered me and I slept great even with the cars driving by.

10/4 - It was 54 in the van when I woke up, but I didn't want to use the diesel heater as people are walking by all the time and I don't want to bring attention to myself. Thankfully I have my trusty little space heater to take the edge off though. It's now 10 AM and I should probably get Miss Zoe out for a walk and then we can head to pick up our Starlink. I do hate supporting Musk, but it's really the only option out there. Then off to Sisters to camp and go to the music tonight.

Well, typical me. I put off buying a ticket for Hillstomp tonight and now they are sold out... Oh, well!

The street was totally full of cars due to the festivities and some cross country races going on. I'm sure someone was happy when I left. 😀 After walking Zoe around the park and getting a breakfast burrito at Sol Verde (great reviews, but I found it a bit bland), we headed out to PetSmart and Home Depot. I setup the Starlink, so now I'm not out of touch so much. I signed up for the 50 Gig/month service for $50, but I've already used 2 gig and I've barely used it! We'll see. The unlimited plan is $165! With the 50 Gig plan I can pay $1/Gig if I go over, so it might be worth it to stay there.

After that, since I didn't get tickets for the music in Sisters, Zoe and I went to Tumalo Falls for a hike. The last 2 miles to get there was pretty rough road, but well worth it. Zoe did great. It was only in the low 50s and fairly cloudy, so it was perfect for her. Also, it was about 1 miles each way and a gradual up the whole way in and then all downhill on the way back. Zoe did a lot of running on the trail, so she was obviously feeling good! The first falls are Tumalo Falls, then you go to Double Falls and both stops were gorgeous.

Parking was super tight, but thankfully there was a place to turnaround, if not, I would have been in trouble! And then there was this spot. Because of Zoe, I like to try to be close to keep her walk shorter and if I need to take her back.

Tumalo Falls

Playing with the long exposure.

Looks like a cross between an elephant foot and a dog paw

Zoe at Double Falls

Zoe action shots. 😍

This was interesting. In 1979, there was a fire caused by an abandoned campfire 😠, which completely burned 4300 acres. In 1980, foresters removed all the burned trees, both standing and fallen. Without the trees to hold the banks in place, the creek channel began to erode. Over the next 25 years the banks continued to erode carrying all that material downstream. So, they've learned that after a fire, let nature do it's thing and we should not interfere!

I considered finding another spot to camp, but decided to go back to the lot. I found that so many people were gone and they probably are all in Sisters going to the concert. 😭

This update is sponsored by Starlink. LOL.

10/5 -

It is so true! I really do love traveling around in my home. It's so comforting to have everything I need with me all the time. This way I never forget to bring anything. I can always grab something to eat or go to the bathroom. It's very cool!

I decided to go out on the Cascade Lakes scenic drive. We decided to (well, I guess I decided...) go for a hike at Todd lake. An easy hike around a lake. Being Sunday, it was VERY busy, but I found a spot to park after the WORST .5 mile drive in. The holes in this dirt road were so bad, I can't even imagine it being able to be graded. There was a pay station there, but probably no one monitoring because it's in the Dechutes National Forest and the government is shutdown.

Mt Bachelor

Todd Lake

After the hike, I went to find a place to sleep. I checked out several campgrounds, but they were all closed. Not sure if it was due to being so late in the year or the government shutdown. I ended up parking at a boat launch on Hosmer Lake. It is super marshy and looked like a fun place to paddle if only I had a paddle board or kayak! There were no no camping signs and again, no one monitoring, so I had a quiet night here.

Moonrise

10/6 -

Sunrise

The boat launch got very busy, so I headed out. I drove down the road a bit further, to another campground/boat launch area on Elk Lake. Again, CG closed, but ended up staying by the water. There were No Camping signs here, but what the heck. I leave no trace at all, so no harm done and this place was not busy at all.

I took a hike along a trail and tried to get Zoe to join me, but she just wanted to lie in the sun, so I hooked her up and left her there. I was gone for about 30 minutes and she didn't appear to have moved and I never heard her bark. That was nice!

I've been wanting a better way to store fruits and veggies and decided to create my own crocheted hammock. This hammock below is called a "yarn hammock", but I like the idea of the three points of contact to eliminate the swinging of a regular fruit hammock. I can even hook up the long side if I need to and just unhook when I want to access it. It took a little bit of time to make it as it was a new way to start (magic circle) and a new stitch (slip stitch), but I managed. I struggle with a good way to hold my yarn while crocheting and keeping my yarn loose/tight enough for even stitches. Luckily this didn't require finesse.

10/7 -

Morning view from window

First frost!

I went to Lava Lake Resort and took a shower and took Miss Zoe for a walk around the campground/lake, before heading to Crater Lake.

I had planned on hitting Crater Lake on my way south, but it's supposed to start snowing on Friday and today was a perfect day. I wanted to go again (went back in 1994 or so) on another clear day because the color of the water is what's so special to me. I came here on a trip with my friend, Tom Murphy, from college. Unfortunately, I've completely lost touch with him and with a name like that, I haven't managed to find him! So many photos, but I'll try to pare it down...

Crater Lake was formed by a volcano that erupted 7700 years ago and collapsed into itself. Mount Mazama was 12,000 feet high and Crater Lake is now at about 6100 feet. The lake is over 1900' deep and is solely fed by rain and snow melt. There are no streams filling it, thus no sediment brought along down the streams, and why it is so clear. The only sediment that ends up in the lake is from erosion, and it certainly is eroding, which you can see by the places they are trying to shore up the walkways.

I realize I was a bit crazy climbing into the caldera for this shot... I wonder how many people have fallen from here... I tied Zoe up to a tree so she didn't have to climb out here.

Trying to catch the color by the shore

Looking the other way

You can see more varied color in this shot.

I did not go out here, but you can see that many people do.

Just trying to capture the pure blue

The lodge at Crater Lake. This is the only place to stay and have views of the lake.

I made a quick stop at the lodge as it's historic. Built poorly, starting in 1909 and opened 6 years later. It was a huge challenge since it is so remote, high altitude (1000 ft above the lake), and harsh climate. It was poorly insulated (or not insulated) and drafty, so cold even in the 4 months it was open in the summer. Electric lighting was added in the 1920s. It was rehabilitated in the early 1990s to restores it's historic features and improve its structural integrity.

Not a bad place to hang out

I was going to stay for the sunset, but I realized that it probably wouldn't be too exciting with no clouds and the sun on the water is what makes is so beautiful, so I went to find a place to sleep. I ended up at a Sno Park, whatever that means. Usually they are just paved parking lots, but this spot had lots of trees and places to pull into the trees.

10/8 - I just got a notification that my hot water heater will be delivered today. I wonder if DHL only delivers to Bend on Wednesdays because it has been sitting in Portland since Friday. I had hoped that it would arrive early, but no such luck. So, if it does in fact arrive today, I'll get it installed tomorrow. And hopefully the water leak too. I've been managing that with a plastic bag and chamois cloth to catch any water. My tank level is a lower now, so it shouldn't be sloshing out anymore. I'm supposed to meet up with Mike and Wendy tomorrow (met at a winery in Washington), but we'll see if it pans out.

I'm debating on going back to the nomad area tonight or go back to the 99 Bridge Brewery.

Where I'm at right now, I had decent cell signal, so didn't need the Starlink, but then this morning, it seemed to slow down, so I powered up Starlink and quickly uploaded all my photos and was able to update my blog. So far, I'm very pleased with my purchase!

What to do today...

I tried to take Zoe for a walk to Diamond Lake, but she was limping heavily and didn't seem to want to go. I was probably walking too fast for her and there weren't a lot of smells that she enjoyed, so I dropped her back off in the van and walked on my own. Then we headed north and stopped at Sunriver and had lunch (breakfast and dinner too!) at Sunriver Brewery. Then we went back to Bend to the Phil's Trailhead area I've stayed at. This is why the West is so favored for Nomads - it's so easy to stay for free!

10/9 - We spent all day at Oxbow Van Conversions while they installed the new hot water heater and redid plumbing. They were figuring out how to do it all, but I had three of them working on it for most of the day. Also, they had a plumber in the shop who's van they are working on and he helped with the best way to install it. He gave them parts for my plumbing and even ran to the store and got other parts that we needed. Lucky me!

The threads on the inlet to the water tank were scored, which was probably where it was leaking and most likely from the San Diego shop. I think I paid $800 for them to do what they did and then I had these guys redo it again so that now it's not a gravity feed system anymore, which is great. I lost my storage in the water area, which is a bummer, but they had to change the location of the hot water heater because of how they were redoing the plumbing. All in all, it cost another $1500... It's cheaper than property taxes and house maintenance though, so I can't really complain! 😀😁

Lefty helped get the remaining piece of the soap dispenser bottle out. I was trying to, but didn't succeed and didn't know how easy it was to unscrew it from the top... They also caulked my exhaust fan as there were a couple of spots where it was splitting. I'm so glad I remembered as I really don't want that to leak! I took the fan blade off and cleaned that and the screen. Maybe just cleaning all the gunk off the fan blade will help with the noise??? I'm not too optimistic about that, but I'm trying...

Since I'm visiting Bob and Sherry in Reno, I figured it would be a good time/place to try to do some Dr visits, so I booked a vet visit for Zoe (hopefully they'll have some insight into her limping) and a skin check appointment for me and tried to get a mammogram and dental cleaning, but no luck so far.

Since I didn't get out of the shop until 5, I decided to stay in Bend again. I was going to go to Juniper Swim Center for a hot soak (much needed as I noticed my jaw hurt after the day), but it looked really busy, so I went back to The Lot and Fries A La Carte, but still haven't had their fries. I had the pork curry bowl again... There was a guy playing the guitar and singing, so I ate there and grabbed a beer.

Back at The Lot

And now I'm back at Phil's Trailhead area again. Tons of people here again, but I am too tired to interact. If it were earlier and lighter out I would have looked for a more secluded spot, but I just wanted to get settled for the night.

10/10 - Met some people this morning while all the dogs were playing. The guy whose dog bit Zoe had mentioned it to Brie, who I was chatting with. He was out again and his dog looked like he wanted to play, but he wouldn't let him, understandably. I told him that neither Zoe nor I held a grudge! He's having a tough time as it is hard to live this life with a dog that doesn't play well with others...

After a walk there, where Zoe was looking a little miserable with her limp (I think she wants to keep walking, but it hurts. 😒), I went to Juniper Swim Center and soaked in the hot tub and got a shower. This is such a great place and only $9 for a day pass to swim, soak, work out, etc.

Then we drove south. It rained most of the way. We drove through Klamath Falls, but since it was raining, we didn't get out to walk around. We drove on to Lava Beds National Monument in CA and found a spot at the campground there. I didn't see anyone on the roads at all and was wondering if maybe the campground was closed even though the website said it was open, but thankfully it was open. I'm looking forward to exploring this spot tomorrow, then onto Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is a weekend and the campground that I might want to go to appears to be fully booked (after closing down sections).

First glimpse of Lava Beds National Monument: