Lone Mountain RV Resort

 

We found an unexpected jewel in Obrien, OR! 

Lone Mountain RV Resort looks like a typical park at first glance. You'll miss out if you don't give it a second glance. The laundry ($2.00 to wash/$1.25 to dry), restrooms and PAY showers are all faultlessly clean.

I noticed two things quickly:

We are Escapee members and

I like the honor system

There are some rather tight back-in full-hookups available for $30 a night. Spaces 24 - 33 are $35 a night. Spaces 24 - 28 are WIDE full hook-ups.

 

 Spaces 29 - 33 are long pull through sites with full-hookups.

 

Tee pees are available.

Tent sites are spacious and well-cared for. They are nestled back in the woods.  I noted one primitive site by the pond which is a pull-through. I wonder if they'd let you park your RV back there - probably not but it was a dream.

I always helpfully remind Michael to ask for a military discount. He humors me. Imagine our delight when Lone Mountain gave us a totally FREE stay for the evening and  put us in a $35 space. They are a part of Tents for Troops!!! and we still qualify as we're still Active Duty.

Jim also clued us in to the MAN-MADE pond for swimming at the back of the property! This was a LOT of fun after the heat we've been experiencing. We all agreed this was much nicer than a pool. A creek runs through the pond, so the water is not stagnant. The fish and frogs add a touch of whimsy. We were the only ones swimming, though many came to look and visit. We were the only ones with kids in the park/resort, which is sad as the woods were beautiful and we'd swim in a pond over a pool any day! Families would love this spot!

Lone Mountain has a club house - which was being used this weekend-  and a central area with a picnic pavilion, horse shoes and a fire pit.

We had a wonderful stay. I had tossed some frozen meat in the sink as we headed down the road in the morning and was well situated to make beef stroganoff before the kids came home from swimming.

 

I struck up a conversation with Bill and Cathy.  I noted them looking in the trailer window and laughing as I prepared dinner. They were delighting in traveling as a couple in a fancy new set up. We discovered they live just up the road from Beale Air Force base in Oroville and are traveling 101. We plan to travel 101 when we leave here. They shared their tips and asked me if I'd like to take the first tour of their new-to-them 40 foot Beaver Motor home. They purchased it at RVSales of Oregon and highly recommend them. I asked if I could bring Michael along and went back for him. It's a source of amusement to my family that I glean invites to tour rigs.

This was a darling set up - yes, I've been reduced to taking photos of random rigs.

A highlight of our stay at Lone Mountain was being able to watch the DUCK GAME in The Caboose. Their loss dampened our excitement.

 

Yes, we have MORE of the comforts of home on the road than we did in the sticks and bricks....we've not had television in over 25 years and we have the capability in the trailer. At this point it is for football (and Stacia has requested basketball) and the upcoming political debate. It's on our list to discuss some television boundaries/principles...at this point none of us are tempted to watch the thing other than football and debates.  

There are many things to do within a short drive of little Obrien, OR. We plan to stop here again and use it as a jump off spot to see the caves, the cats and Crater Lake.

This was a delightful spot to spend a night. We had a freaky incident, which come to think of it we should write the hosts about. A lady, who does NOT seem to stay at the park, drove back to the pond with her dog in her sporty, blue PT Cruiser. She gave us quite the lecture on how this was a NATURAL pond and swimming in it was not allowed and disturbed the ecosystem. This despite numerous signs warning you to swim at your own risk and being specifically told we COULD swim here. She smashed the kids sand structures as they were disturbing the ecosystem. They tossed sharp rocks out of the pond and she threw them back in - yes while they were in the water.  She seemed to think it was fine for her dog to disturb the natural ecosystem of fish and frogs but was terrible for a human to share the water with the same fish and frogs. Go figure - and you thought all the whackos were in that state south of here? One of my children later noted we are as much a part of nature as her dog is.  Michael pointed out to her this was not a natural pond but was man-made by the park owners for guests to swim in. She left in a huff.

Other than that the only "negative" others may object to are the pay showers.  This didn't overly bother us as 1. we had a free night lodging and 2. the showers run for 10 min....we all cycle through with one shower for men and one for women. LOL  

Traveling Style

There are numerous traveling styles in the full-time RV world. Some cover big swatches of space, driving 8 - 12 hours in a day, and spend a week in one spot - others just a day -exploring the area. Some never travel - staying immobile for months on end (those with a stationary job or snow birds come to mind). Many have a travel goal in mind: hit all 48 states in one year, visit all baseball stadiums, visit all state capitals or visit all interstate rest areas.  We were warned many burn out on full-timing as they fail to see the difference between traveling and a  LIFESTYLE of full-time RVing. We are currently finding our own travel style.

Decades ago I didn't give it much thought when Michael wanted to "retire in an RV." It fell in the same category as, "have a large family" did,  way in the future to think about. ::snort::  Recently, he talked of staying in Crescent City until we went to Japan - I envisioned us immobile for months. In May, I understood his idea was to explore new areas at a leisurely pace, spending a few weeks or a month in Crescent City then  moving on to investigate and coming back periodically.

Our general travel goal is to connect with family and see new things. We thought we'd spend this fall in the NW connecting with family, the summer in the south,  spring and summer in the  north and possibly NW again  and eventually spend a considerable amount of time on the eastern seaboard and NE - visit the 13 colonies, D.C. etc. while we waited for medical issues to clear so we could pursue being missionaries in Japan.  With the specter of being recalled to active duty hanging over our heads, plans are in flux. We are going as far as we can and return to Beale in a "reasonable" amount of time.  We are on TERMINAL LEAVE and can technically go where we want until we get "the call." One doc is concerned we should stay local in case Michael has complications weaning off his meds; the neurologist told us to "live our life" - she knew that included RVing and cruising  - we are trying to do that and still be available if the  military doc wants us back "now."

Here are a few glimpses into a travel day with the Gherkins. We've learned to move all heavy items to the front of the trailer when we travel. This makes for great fun if the GPS is left on our bed. LOL

 

This is our current set up: all but one bench seat is removed from the van. A table is mounted where the front seat used to be. This allows the kids to watch movies, write, do a bit of school work on travel days.

 

The rear is about 50% of bikes at this point; one rides in the trailer. I think we are going to get a bike rack which will carry two bikes.

 

How far are we traveling in a day? When we made the Beale to Eugene trip 8 hours a day. That isn't comfortable for Michael's health and we've determined to plan for much shorter drive days. Most of us really enjoy shorter drive days. This trip from Beale to Crescent City - which usually takes us 1 day/8 hours - took 3 days.  ::snort:: Day 1 we drove 200 miles to  McCloud and spent a night in the shadow of Mount Shasta. Eventually, we'll research and plan a longer trip to Shasta, this time it was a pit stop on the way to another destination.  Day 2 we stopped in Obrien, OR and Day 3 we had less than 50 miles to drive.  This week we add school to our lifestyle.  I wanted to be set for a couple of weeks in one spot....so we didn't take the time we plan to take discovering the areas we pass through.

We are adjusting to NOT being on vacation - we can go as slow or fast as we want. Of course, just as we begin to adjust we realized it will all change if we get "the call." LOL

Note: The call referred to in this post is to return to active duty and face a medical evaluation board - not the call to go to Japan as missionaries.