Outcast Imagary - Dirt Road Diary
Oregon Coast Range Camping
This weekend we found ourselves wanting to head out and get a night of camping in but given the holiday weekend, I was not real enthused about it. I had to work Friday so no long weekend for me which limited our range. I decided we'd just head out into the northwestern part of the Oregon Coast mountain range (Oregon State Forest) and see what sort of spot we could find. This would likely be a boondocking adventure. We readied the camper Friday night and I even gave the inside of the camper a good water flushing just to be sure she was clean (don't ask!). I packed a couple .22 rifles for entrainment in case we found a place where we could do a little shooting to pass the time.
We headed out at 0600 and headed west. There are some official campsites along the upper reaches of the Trask River so I thought we'd check those out just to see how busy the are was... they were all full as I figured so off into the boondocks we went. This area is all logging type roads that are single lane and twisting and winding as they follow the contours of the land. There are quite a few clear cuts as this area is actively logged so I figure we'd head up to gain some elevation and try to get a room with a view.
This landing was at 2600ft and had just been cleaned up although the area was clear cut a couple years ago. The good thing about being up here is firewood is everywhere. This part of Oregon so far, is not under any campfire restrictions, just a precaution level which means you need to carry a shovel, ax, and water (which I always do anyway). The area behind me in the above photo had a great backstop for shooting so we were set. 10 minutes and camp is set up. (I love my FWC!)
Our view from right to left...
The day was capped with a nice dinner which included fireside grilled salmon and a few adult beverages. If possible I'd rather cook over an open fire than light up the little Weber gas bbq.
Thoughout the day I spent some time walking around and glassing for deer and elk. As dusk approached I started glassing again and spotted a couple of does feeding below us. I ranged them at 212yds. A little while later we could hear some limbs snapping and spotted a nice herd of elk. No bulls that I saw but several of the cows had nursing calf's. Ranged them to be 498yds from us. Sorry no photo's of these. Turned out to be a pretty great spot to camp.
Our sunset...
It's hard to see but we had an onshore flow last night as our heat wave has since passed so as the sun set, we could see the fog slipping its way inland and filling the valleys below. Did we have enough elevation to wake up above the clouds or would we be socked in the pea soup?
Pea soup it is... The fog was thick and didn't burn off until about 1100 or so. It was nothing a fire and a good breakfast couldn't take care of. All of this just 45 miles from home. While the Oregon coast range is not grandiose like other spectacular parts of the country, it's really what Oregon is all about and why I love it here. We were all alone, had a great trip, and that's what counted.
Maui, Hawaii
I did manage to get the photo's from our Maui trip up shortly after getting home but forgot to write a blog about it. The trip was great and was much needed. There is just something about being on an island where the weather is perfect, the drinks are cold, and there is no schedule.
The photo's are a mishmash of some of the wandering's we did and from just hanging out in our condo. We took a day and wondered around the northern end of the island doing the full circle. That day was where we saw the Dragon's Teeth, the blowhole, pick up the best banana bread in the world at Julia's, and checked out the gallery at Kaukini. We spent a day in Kiehi and quite a bit of time in Lahina since we were just up the road in Ka'alapali. One thing that is striking is that while the island is pretty small, it has every imaginable climate...desert to jungle. We sun bathed, swam, and snorkeled. Even had turtles right off our beach.
A really great trip and a place I'd like to spend some more time. I had heard how expensive it was to live there but after a few days I didn't really think is was that bad. It's a different lifestyle but one I think I could get used to at some point. Hope to be back soon. Mahalo!
Incredible sunsets and spectacular scenery.
Some of the Scenery....
Please check out the gallery...
http://outcastimagery.com/p520370194
747 lands at MMV (McMinnville)
This is what happens when you neighbors with Evergreen International Aviation and a world class air and space museum. This is the second retired 747 Evergreen has brought to McMinnville for display. The first one is a top the water park. Rumor has it this one will be converted into a classroom.
More photo's are in the gallery....
http://outcastimagery.com/p67526760
Rogue River Trip
This trip happened back in April. A few of us usually do a long weekend of boating on the Rogue. We like to stay a Quotsanta Campground and Run for there to Blossom Bar. It's about a 40 mile round trip. The trip was pretty wet to say the least. It rained about 3 inches the 3.5 days we were there.
But, the rain didn't keep us from having fun and enjoying the scenery...
Below is a video compliation of the trip... Good times and good friends...
New Four Wheel Camper and the Northern California Coast
It was by pure chance that I'm now the owner of a Four Wheel Camper (FWC). It's a dream come true. After last years road trip to Texas, I decided I wanted to get another truck camper. I've had one before, a 9.5' S&S, which I liked but was too big and heavy. Even with a a F-350 dually, it was too much weight when I added my pig of a boat. I've always thought a FWC would be the way to go when I first saw the Turtle Expedition F-350 in Four Wheeler Magazine way back in the 80's. I'd been doing my research and asking questions on the Wander the West Forum and had gotten to the point where I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. Our trip to the Rogue a few weeks ago helped drive the point home that some sort of "RV" was going to be needed as it rained 3-4 inches the 3.5 days we were camping at Quosatana Campground.
One day at a local shopping mall I saw what looked like a new FWC in the parking lot and I pulled up along side and was looking it over. The owner came out of the store and we got to talking and he gave me the tour of his new Hawk. I mentioned I was looking at getting one next year when he said he had a "Grandby", the 8' model for sale down at the factory in Woodland, CA. Too bad it was 550 miles away when it used to live about a mile from me. We cut a deal and at 9 pm on Weds the 24th, we headed south to pick it up. We arrived at the FWC factory at 6 am on the 25th. By noon we were on our way home. Of course with this type of camper, adventure is what it's made for so our return trip home would be to head west from Woodland to Bodega Bay and then north along Hwy 1 to home. After being up for over 40 hours, we settled in at Doran Beach CG. 
Remember we just picked this thing up and wasn't even sure everything worked. It was bought sight unseen...we only had the word of the owner and a sales guy who had sent me a few photo's to show it's condition. We loaded the back seat with things we thought we needed. What we didn't have or forgot, we bought along the way. We forgot a lot of the little stuff. Bodega bay is a beautiful bay.
Just walking down the beach and here is a razor clam "showing". Anyone that digs razors can only dream of seeing them like this...
Talk about a flat bar... I can only dream about fishing an ocean this flat...
From here we headed north along Hwy 1 to Mendocino and Fort Bragg.
Usal Beach was our next stop. There were a few people there who were tent camping in the CG. A few locals were around fishing for smelt which haven't been in the area for 40 years according to them. There was a lone picnic table at the edge of the beach and that looked as good as any place to call home for the night.
Not much better than falling asleep to the should have waves on the beach. One thing about getting off the beaten path... there is not much in the way of "facilities". It seems the budget crunch is all over...
Some of the locals...
By this time it was Friday night and I had hopes of getting to Shelter Cove and beyond via Usal Road but time wasn't on our side. The Lost Coast will have to wait for another trip. We headed back to Hwy 1 to make up some time so we could be near Brookings buy Saturday night. We stopped at Trinidad, Gold Bluffs, the Redwoods and Crescent City as we headed north.
Fern Canyon.
Gold Bluff beach.
The Redwoods...The Big tree
Must be more budget cuts....now we just get a photo of the sign that use to be there.... 
Crescent City where the weather turned sunny and warm instead of the gray we had been in for most of the trip along the coast.
Finally we made it to Brookings and Harris Beach State CG. We found a nice quiet tent spot in the back. Who needs hook ups... It was good to be "home" where camping seemed a little cheaper and the showers were free.
We managed to catch a nice sunset which was a good way to mark our last night of the trip....
Harris beach in the early morning...
A great trip in a "new to us" camper which exceeded our expectations. We're looking forward to many more adventures to out of the way places for many years to come.
A big thank you to Stan and all of the folks at FWC for building a great product and providing some of the best customer service there is.