Not long ago we set out for Waterloo County Park in Lebanon, Oregon, USA. It wasn’t our idea; a group of fiberglass trailer enthusiasts chose the park for its 2016 Spring NOG, a Northern Oregon–or, depending on whom you ask, Not Organized–Gathering.
The group gathers twice annually; the next meet, scheduled for the first weekend in October, will be at Nehalem Bay State Park, also in Oregon. Probably Northern Oregon, but I think that is Just a Guideline and the group can stretch its boundaries as much as it wants.
Waterloo County Park, which is in Linn County, Oregon, hugs the south bank of the South Santiam River. The terriers refused to go swimming here.
This is the second NOG we have attended; you will (or won’t) recall our visit last October to Fort Stevens State Park in… northern Oregon.
Why did we attend? Well. The people are nice. The park looked good in the photographs (and in real life). And we had a chance to rendezvous with friends we’d made at previous gatherings here and there.
We also saw people like this, who have Pygmy kayaks and an Escape 21. Ya know, stuff in common. Yeah, I know there are no actual people in the shot, but this stuff doesn’t get to the parks without people to drag them there. We saw them, and their dog, too. Nice puppy.
Side note: there is also a Washington Area Gathering held annually at Taidnapam Power Park near Morton, Washington. We are supposed to go to that tomorrow, but we’re not, because (a) it’s going to be 97 degrees Fahrenheit and that is outside our comfort zone and (b) a good friend needs Sooz’s company and (c) we just got back from British Columbia and (d) did I mention 97 degrees? Unacceptable. Last year’s Taidnapam rally was more temperate.
There are those who revel in hot weather. I do not want to get in their way. We will stay home and dig sprinkler trenches or do something else that’s equally fun.
So, Waterloo County Park.
I don’t know what kind of flower this is, but it brightened up some otherwise gray weather. Not too wet. Just a little gray.
The park has few of these nifty pavilions. People pay actual money to rent them for their gatherings, but the park loves this group so much they didn’t charge us. Probably because the busy season hasn’t started yet, and here we all are feeding the county’s coffers with campsite fees. Which are quite reasonable, by the way. We gathered here at least twice, to cook hot dogs and for a potluck dinner. The reason you can’t see any of us in this photo is that I took it when we weren’t there.
The park has a disc golf course, too. I tried it, with my new set of three golf discs given me last December. The course was hilly, and my disc golf form is marginal — no, not even marginal. So I got to throw the discs many, many times, and walk up and down hills and crawl under ferns, etc., to retrieve errant discs. 1.5 hours, only 9 holes, and many sore muscles. Fun, though.
The campground is quite nice, and many of the campsites are lovely. Ours was just middling, and our picnic table was under some constantly dripping trees. So I rigged a cooking station under the awning.
And I cooked Toto Legs. They taste like chicken, and people at the pot luck ate ’em.
They really do taste like chicken.
One morning the boys and I went for a walk while Sooz went shopping with one of the kayak people. And saw this.
Look! We found a launch ramp. There is a sign warning of a nearby waterfall. It turns out there is no internationally accepted icon for “impending waterfall-related doom” so the sign is text-based. If this were covered in the New York Times opinion section, there would be commentary about how this sign isn’t inclusive enough, and should be multi-lingual or more graphic or something, and then other readers would comment that if boaters want to go boating in this country and avoid waterfalls and other hazards then they should learn English, because America. Yes, I have spent too much time reading the Times opinion section lately. (Note: I don’t have an opinion about the sign or any of that other stuff. That is why I read the Times — so I can enjoy other people’s opinions).
All right I’d better get back to work. Before I form any opinions.
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Looks like lotsa fun! We’re SLOWLY making our way toward RV purchase. Of course, in the normal way of the world, that meant having a 100′ hemlock chopped down so that we could make room to park a 5th wheel. And, once the tree was down, I had to split the rounds that the arborist left me. Now I’m moving the approx. 2 cords of wood (SLOWLY) to the backyard. Once THAT is done, we can have the area leveled and graveled so that we can park said 5th wheel. THEN we start looking for a truck to PULL the 5th wheel. And, FINALLY, we get to shop for the 5th wheel. At this rate, we should be able to meet up with you in the summer of 2020.
Hey, Kurt, we went through a lot of that, but on a smaller scale. Had to have a heat pump moved ($$$$), and then gravel and a gate and on and on. It’s all been worth it, but it does take time, and gas, and money. But mostly time. And gas. And money.
We will save a space for you when you’re ready, so you can dwarf us when you camp next to us.
Fun reading your adventures! The yellow flower is Scotch Broom.