We had spent a lot of time in the Central California Valley. It was dry and hot and dusty everywhere we had been for most of June and it seemed to be staying that way for July. Our truck was dirty, our camper was dirty, and it was driving us crazy. While we were at Hidden View Aaron decided to hand wash the truck and Airstream with the campground water. That was a mistake. The water was very hard, it was very hot and the truck and camper became covered in hard water spots. The water at Lake of the Springs was no better and made the spots worse. And now, we were at a campground that had no hookups, so washing them again was not an option.
Christie Campground was to be our last California campground for about a month. It had a great paved bike trail around Eagle Lake. We were there for about 5 days dry camping (no hookups). It was a peaceful and quiet campground in the Lassen Volcanic National Forest. We really enjoyed our stay. One thing I regret not getting pictures of is the wildfire damage that we saw as we were leaving the national forest. California wildfires are on the news quite often, especially in the summer. It is sad to see the aftermath of burnt trees, blackened hills and and the remains of what now can only be imagined as once beautiful.
Our next stop was in Grant’s Pass, Oregon on the Rogue River. We were staying at a county park with full hookups again. While we were at the grocery store we picked up some vinegar. We had researched and learned that a vinegar/water mixture would remove all the hard water spots. We also picked up some car wax to apply to the Airstream and the truck. We set to work again and hand washed the camper and the truck each morning. We did small sections at a time so we could wash, dry and wax before the sun would dry it and leave spots everywhere again.
The Airstream and truck were shiny again. The Rogue River was beautiful. We really enjoyed the campground. The sites were a bit close together for our liking, but had trees and shrubbery which made our site feel private. One night, we sat outside and listened to our neighbor sing and play his guitar. We watched small kids riding their bikes. We were close to town, so we did some shopping and treated ourselves to Dairy Queen. It was a good week. And then, it was time to head further north and closer to Wenatchee (again).
Wandering Cindi 