Into the Wild (sort of)

Hello, this is your friendly neighborhood blogging substitute, Christian. I took the kids on our annual family reunion/camping trip last week and am here to tell the tale, and share a few pictures.

ON THE ROAD: The kids and I hit the road early afternoon on Saturday the 24th with an intermediate destination of Vancouver, more specifically, CJ and Annabelle's grandparent's house (Hi, G-ma & G-pa!). The whole trip down into the middle of Oregon is about a six hour drive from Seattle, so splitting it into two trips of three hours each makes it much less daunting. We arrived without incident, and after dinner we moved the dining set, and set-up a temporary camp on the front patio under the mosquito canopy.

It was bit cozy on the queen-size air mattress with both kids and myself, but it worked for one night.

ON THE ROAD 2.0: After Sunday morning breakfast, we packed up our bedding and hit the road, stopping at the grocery store to pick up some food for a big meal we were planning for later in the the trip and gassing up the car. I have no idea how much I paid for the gas.

 After another uneventful three hours, we pulled into Packard Creek Campground, on Hills Creek Reservoir, and set up camp. The campsite was almost empty (there was only one other group there, there weren't very many of them, and they were on the other side of the campground), which was great because we have a rather large family and we took up most of the sites of our side.

PITCHING TENTS: We set up our camp and helped others that had also recently arrived. The next three days were warm and sunny, and full of good fun and good food. The water was warm, although a bit muddy near the shore as the bank was dirt rather than a sandy beach.

The mornings and evenings were cool, but not cold, so we were glad we brought some warmer clothes in addition to our shorts and swimsuits. We had also brought the kid's bikes and they both rode them frequently throughout the week. It was nice to have the place virtually to ourselves, and not worry much about vehicle traffic.

On Wednesday, around midday, the kids and I ventured into the neighboring town of Oakridge, in search of internet access. We wanted to use our Nook tablet to download the latest video lectures from our Science of Gastronomy class we are taking through a great free online classroom resource, Coursera. We got to town shortly after noon, thinking to use the local library's internet, but unfortunately the library didn't open until 1 p.m. I thought it might be possible to get their wifi signal through the wall, but when I looked at the available wifi networks, I couldn't see anything that said library. What I did see was a nice strong signal at the top of the list for the Brewers Union - Local 180 pub. I looked across the street and saw the wide open door with a sign saying, "Families Welcome!"

Photo credit Brewers Union Local 180

Well, seeing as how it would be rude to slap providence in the face, we popped over and availed ourselves of their free wifi. We repaid their kindness by ordering up a (huge) plate of hand-cut delicious french-fries, some soft drinks for the kids, and some hand-crafted cask-conditioned ale for me. We got our videos and a bit of fine fare, and they got some customers that they would not otherwise had, had the library been open. It was a win-win for all involved.

TO BE CONTINUED...It's late, we're just back from watching the Mariners lose to the Blue Jays, and I have to get back to work early tomorrow morning for the first time in a week and a half.