Walking in a winter wonderland...

Click the photo to see a slide show of the beauty of Champoeg State Park in December!

Although it is probably past "camping" season, well, I guess it is never really past RVing season. Jill and I decided we needed one more outing before Christmas, so last Sunday, we packed up our stuff and the dog and headed for Champoeg (pronounced "sham-poo-ee") State Park, one of our favorites.

The park is only about 35 miles from home, so the outing was not a strain from the driving perspective. The amazing thing is that, just like last year, the weather was completely cooperative. We had mostly sunny dry weather for the three days we stayed, but now, two days after our homecoming, we are expecting temperatures to drop into the 20s.

We got the coach set up and planned to settle in for the evening on Sunday. I tried to get the automatic satellite dish to find our satellite signals, but it failed. Fortunately, I carry a spare dish for those occasions when the one on the roof is blocked by trees or whatever. Unfortunately, it requires a technician who pays attention to get this dish aligned.

I "fussadoodled" with the dish for about an hour and failed to find a signal. I moved it to various locations, I tipped it this way and that...nothing. At dusk, I gave up. Jill, meanwhile, had prepared supper. We dined on turkey dinner leftovers from Thanksgiving and found ourselves quite satisfied. After dinner, we had a lovely conversation that went on and on. So, this is what people did before the boob tube took over the world!

On Monday morning we decided to take a walk, although the weather was overcast. There are so many places to walk at Champoeg, but our favorite is a paved path along the south bank of the Willamette (say "will-AM-ette") River. As you will see in the slide show, even in December on a cloudy day, the Oregon rain forest can be breathtakingly beautiful. Among the photos are a close up of some fern in full regalia, and a tree trunk full of woodpecker holes. The "mansion" is situated across the river from the park and is only one of several large (and presumably) posh homes along this stretch of the river. How these homeowners must suffer.

Tuesday morning we spent a couple of hours working on our Bible study, and then we took a walk on another path in the park. Unfortunately, we forgot to take our camera along. Pogo enjoyed her walk, as always, and Jill and I welcomed the exercise. The weather was sunny, but a chill wind came up and made things a bit brisk.

When we returned to the coach, I decided to have one more stab at finding a satellite signal. I installed the signal meter in line with the cable from the dish to the coach, just as I had before. That's when I realized my mistake from the previous attempt. I had installed the meter backwards! That is to say, the terminal that was supposed to be connected to the dish I connected to the receiver, and vice versa. I reversed the connections and had a signal in about five minutes. You may be able to fool some of the people all of the time, and you may be able to fool mother nature, but you can't fool my satellite signal meter. It knows when it is in backwards!

We watched a little TV after dinner. Just before retiring for the night, I took Pogo out for her late evening "hurry up" duty. The sky was absolutely cloudless; the moon was full, and the stars that oversprinkle all the heavens seemed to twinkle with a crystalline delight. (Sorry, Mr. Poe. I got carried away!) In my inimitable pragmatism, I realized we were in for a cold night. Fortunately, the electric blanket was reliable as ever.

Wednesday morning, the sky remained clear. The sun shone, and the wind howled. We opted not to walk. We lounged in the coach over coffee and conversation. At 11:30, I went out and took care of dumping the holding tanks. We had lunch with Perry Mason, and as soon as we learned whodunit, I disconnected the power cord and the cable, put away the dish, and we headed for home.

The fun did not end in the driveway. Jill unloaded our gear, while I winterized the coach, which mainly amounts to draining the plumbing to prevent freeze damage. It was sad to think we will not be camping for a while, although we plan to bring Sadie home to serve as a guest cottage, when all the kids and grandkids are here for Christmas. Thursday we put her back in storage, just in time to miss the first frost of the season.