Sand and Water

I have been wanting to take the trailer out for a test run and found a one night opening at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area on the ocean. It is an hour from our house, so if anything went wrong, we could get home easily. We needed an opportunity to make sure all the parts of the trailer worked well and I needed practice backing it into a campsite.

We got to the park at check-in time around 3:00. I managed to get the trailer into the site without any major issues. The site was too small to allow us to leave the truck hooked up to the trailer, so we had to disconnect. I need to get into a routine with the dogs. While backing up the trailer, the dogs stand up and impact my view enough to be a problem. I can’t see much out the back, but what I can see is easily blocked by two collies. The backup camera is helpful but not sufficient for backing up. I’m finding the mirrors and looking back are the most helpful with the backup camera and getting out to take a look important add ons. I will have to teach the dogs to lay down until released so I can get the trailer backed up with as much going in my favor as possible.

It was extremely windy when we arrived. The last time we snagged a couple nights at this lovely park was years ago when a hurricane was headed our way and we had to leave early. Hmmm.

While we spent most of the late afternoon in the trailer because it was so windy, a wind surfer felt otherwise and following is a video of that guy. He was out there for a long time, which I would think would be exhausting. Perhaps, the conditions were uniquely wonderful for a great experience.

We had a great site with a view of the water. Everything worked in the trailer, including the heater. Fortunately, the rain didn’t start until after we were tucked in for the night. It sounded bad, but sometimes it sounds that way in a tin can. Around 2:00 a.m. there was a lull so we took the dogs out for a walk. Good thing. It got worse after that. The next morning we were trying to figure out when to leave. We did not have to leave until 1:00 pm and the weather might improve, but who knows. We decided to suck it up and hook up the trailer to the truck in driving rain. By the time we got home, everything was wet and sandy. One night camping and it took a day to clean up. It was lovely!

In the meantime, I have been doing “spring” cleaning at home and felting. I love felting and this is one of my favorite felts I did recently. It is from a photo I took of a deer in Port Townsend Washington. I’m working on a Pronghorn next. I felt from some of my favorite photos.