Fowler’s (3)

So much to catch you up on! We have been home the past two months because Richard had hernia surgery and needed recovery time. Honestly, I didn’t think he could go for that long without biking or hiking, but he was a very good boy. I was worried we’d have to put him down, like a horse with a broken leg. The doctor told him he was only allowed to “flat walk” but it’s clear the doctor didn’t understand how much flat walking Richard is capable of. Normally, he bikes to work. He does tech support at two elementary schools every day of the week and uses his lunch time to get from one to the other. He was really only down and grounded for a week post surgery before he just started walking to work. For context, our house is about 7 1/2 miles to the furthest elementary school, one way. He must have been doing over fifty miles a week.

Meanwhile, my yarn hobby has consumed me. I made some more amigurumi to add to the stash, plus a crocheted basket and a pair of slipper socks. Then a teacher colleague gave away a whole treasure trove of crafting supplies and I figured ‘what the hell’ and grabbed some knitting needles. That led me down an ever expanding path into the world of knitting. In the space of about a month, I have learned to knit English style, then left handed English style, then Continental style, and most recently, Portuguese style. In all of this YouTube tutorial learning, I have been hyper focused on finding a method that seems the least likely to injure these sixty year old hands as they are repetitively practicing all new motions. Dory1 has been an excellent knitting den and I have passed many hours dabbling with patterns while simultaneously kitting myself out with project bags, different sized needles, little scissors and stitch counter accessories, and enough yarn to keep me busy all summer. Carrying all of this new paraphernalia required four dry bags to cram yarn, stuffing, and a couple hundred amigurumi eyes into the roof box of the Passport. The cost of all of this: no clue. The positive benefits to my mental health, blood pressure, free floating world rage, and snack or Chardonnay related weight gain: priceless.

Before hitting the road for summer, we did a few small repairs on Dory, like replacing a cracked Fantastic Fan mount and repairing a remote control. Richard put in a new USB charging port for the devices that have been upgraded to USB-C. We also got her a pair of new tires and took her in for a mani pedi at Randy’s. Randy, because he’s now the patron saint of orphaned possums, got some crocheted possums. JR got his own tiny Dory, and Jason got the Nemo.

At last, we were ready to commence our summer adventure! We gave ourselves Friday night to pack and left leisurely on Saturday morning. Our first stop was Fowler’s Campground, just to the east of the small town of McCloud. This is about twenty miles off of I5, in the neighborhood of Mt. Shasta. The campground boasts access to three beautiful waterfalls and is a delightful place to stay. For morning Richard runs, the trail that goes to Lower, Middle, and Upper Falls is about three miles and something he can do easily while I’m taking a shower. There are no hookups or dump, but there is decent cell service and nicely spaced sites. Ours had excellent solar and we stayed nicely topped up for a three night stay.

On one of the days, we performed a do over from a previous trip where I sagged Richard up West A Barr Road, up to Gumboot Lake. To start the ride, you have to drive back and cross I5 and head to Lake Siskiyou. Road construction made that trip take a bit longer than it would otherwise, but it wasn’t a barrier to the plan. There are several staging areas on the south side of the lake for parking, whether you are going to the lake, or doing one of these “Jay’s Essential” rides. The other ride is up to Castle Lake, but we found one big climb to be plenty. Richard had no trouble on the climb, which means he has healed well. I also had no trouble, which means I was on my e-bike. The climb up to Gumboot starts out gently as it skirts Lake Siskiyou. It then cuts to the south, following the cascading river all the way up, getting steeper and steeper for about eight miles. You can continue on another mile or so and hit the Pacific Crest Trail, but we were good to stop at the lake. There is a campground there, but under no circumstances would I try to haul Dory up and down that road. Even if I did, I don’t know where she could fit once she got there. It’s a nice, quiet tent camping campground, for those who do that sort of thing. We had lunch by the lake, descended all the way down, and regretted not taking warm clothes. Later we read the blog and it basically said, “never don’t take clothes” because of the last cold descent on this exact road. Never don’t read the blog. It’s a five star ride though, with the sounds of rushing water at your side pretty much all the way.

The next day we went back to Lake Siskiyou with the plan of getting Richard some flat walking time and me some yarn time. I parked myself in my Nemo chair with a glorious view of the lake and just crocheted and knitted to my little heart’s content. Meanwhile, Richard did the seven mile loop around the lake in record time. He kept texting me to make sure I was still good and I just kept assuring me there was no need to rush. I had super chunky yarn horse bodies to make and tension skills to practice with my new Portuguese knitting necklace. Once he joined me, we then hiked it together, at my pace, and only to the point where I was all done and ready to turn back. I didn’t need seven miles around, so we did about three together. That worked perfectly. You just gotta exhaust the guy and then everything is good. Richard says the lake loop trail is five stars, but you have to be careful to make sure all the river and water crossings have their seasonal bridges set up for the summer. He also notes that there is soft serve at the resort on the west side.

For dinners, I grilled Sour Cherry Pork Chops with corn on the cob and lemony carrots. The next night we brought out the stove and I made Sautéed Turkey with Bok Choy and Gochujang mayo over jasmine rice. It’s nice to have the flexibility to either grill or stove cook outside when it’s too hot in Dory to cook. Our first night, Richard heated up a Bertoli pan dinner, which is perfect on travel days.

Our summer is officially launched and all is well. I do need to be mindful of not overdoing this new hobby and give my hands a break from time to time. That’s easier said than done because I’m very excited about all of this. There is no end to what you can learn. For example. I learned that when you ask your daughter what width scarf she would like, and she measures her favorite one to give you a number, you should find out what kind of material that favorite one is. I was a good six inches into a fifteen inch wide scarf before it struck me that it seemed way too bulky to go around a neck. I checked with her and discovered her current scarf is super thin and can be bunched. I have learned the term “frogging” quite well, which means I was ok ripping out everything I had done and starting over. It also meant I got to practice using my new “nostepinne” to wind the pile of frogged yarn into a neat and tidy center pull cake. Sweeeeeet.

Total miles: 283.4, 6 hours 13 min, 16.8 mpg. Site 18 no hookups. No dump. Water spigots. Vault toilets. Decent cell for both of us. Our site had great solar, but most are in the shade of trees. Small campground with two loops.