Some More Minutia...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground
Gardiner, OR

Can you believe it????  Rain!  Not very much rain but rain any way you look at it.  Rain enough to get my shoes damp.  Rain enough to get the ground wet. Not enough rain to make the grass green again.  Not enough rain to raise the level of Tahkenitch Lake, but rain none the less.  And do you know what came with the rain today?  Thunder and Lightning!!!  Oh, not much lightning was visible but, can you have thunder without lightning?  The sound of the thunder was spooky.  I was on my morning walk and thought the very brief flash of light might have been car lights along the highway flashing across my vision.  Of course the thunder sounding in the distance dispelled any confusion.  For my entire walk, the thunder rolled over the hills and across the lakes.  Cool to hear, but not cool with the dry conditions in the forests.  The possibility of lightning caused fires is very real.  We need more rain.  Give us more rain, real rain, not this off and on drizzle stuff.

And it's going to be a busy weekend  at the Tahkenitch Landing Campground.  The highest number of camp sites in use for any evening since I came to the Host position is 17 (last evening).  This weekend, I have 14 reservations and already have six additional camp sites in use that are not part of the reservation list.  It might be a record for me this weekend.  Who knows...Tahkenitch Landing Campground might be full this weekend.  Can you imagine the pride and excitement of a full campground?  Even if the campground is not full, it has never been close before.  If you are in the area, I only have camp sites 13, 15, 21, and 25 available.  Don't delay.  Ah, the ultimate dream of the camp host: "I'm sorry folks, the campground is full!"

There was a full moon on Tuesday, August 20th.  It was the second full moon in the month of August, 2013.  Does anyone know what it is called when you have two full moons in a calendar month?  Come on, someone knows!  Here are a couple of photos of the full moon over Tahkenitch Lake.

The campground is blessed with extensive rows of wild blackberry bushes.  Many of the bushes are displaying large, succulent blackberries, ripe for the picking.  I have harvested a goodly amount.  They have been plucked and frozen for future use after the current crop is just a memory.  Today, however, I could not resist pulling a handful loose for my morning yogurt.  Wild blackberries, Oregon blueberries, and fresh peaches with yogurt and a touch of sour cream.  I added a dash of vanilla and a sprinkling of cinnamon to taste.  Ahhhh! The good life!  What more could anyone ask for?

As I sit in Irv (RV) at the dining table and look out the picture window at the lake, I wonder how far east this cloud cover extends.  Often, when I am returning to the campground after a day or afternoon in Eugene (50 miles east), I find that I don't encounter clouds or coastal fog until I am near the campground.  Last Sunday, upon returning from the airport in Portland, driving west on Hwy 126 from Eugene, turning southbound on Hwy 101 in Florence, I traveled under clear, sunny and then clear moonlit skies until I was about five miles north of Tahkenitch Landing Campground.  In a minute or two, I went from a clear moonlit sky with the sun recently set to one-half mile visibility in fog.  It was literally around the corner on the highway and in to the soup.  Welcome to summer on the Oregon Coast.  I wouldn't want it any other way.

Tell your friends about the blog.  Visit me often.  Write when you can.  See you next week...