Well, as promised, I had a chance this weekend to try out the camper shell. On the basis of limited time, the girl and I decided against a hardcore "expo" kind of trip this time, and elected to keep it mostly on the pavement. We also wound up bringing the girl's cousin and her husband along, who are not really prepared for off-road travel. The trip, to Crane Prairie Reservoir up in the high Cascade mountains of central Oregon, wound up being almost exactly 450 miles.
First, we headed south along backroads to the countryside just outside of Eugene, where the girl's cousin Stacy and husband Tony are busy setting up a completely off-grid organic farm. Stacy and Tony have singlehandedly built everything on-site, including their own home. Work is still very much in-progress, but coming along quickly.
Stacy's got herself a herd of chickens, who were kind enough to provide us with a dozen beautiful eggs for breakfast the next morning.
They also have a fresh batch of kitties. I just about had to take this one home with me.
Tony and I discuss the finer points of the 6BT.
We ate lunch fresh out of the garden, and the two of them piled their Toyota with camping gear. We turned east, climbing up Highway 58 into the mountains. Our route passed by Odell Lake, which ought to sound familiar to those of you who grew up in the Apple II generation.
Shortly thereafter, we turned north up Highway 46, which climbs up even further. About 30 minutes up the road was our turnoff for Crane Prairie Reservoir, one of the many lakes in the vicinity. We arrived just in time to watch the sunset.
Sunset over the lake. The three mountains in the distance on the right are the South Sister, Broken Top, and Mt. Bachelor.
Home for the night.
As night fell, the temperature dropped from the mid-80s to the low 40s, and a wind picked up from across the lake. The camper shell stayed perfectly warm, and we only saw the most minimal of condensation on the interior surfaces, more of a mist than anything threatening to drip on us. The high rise shell was wonderful, as we had plenty of headroom. The entire thing felt cozy and warm, and sleeping on a piece of padded plywood is so much nicer than the rocky ground.
I had planned on spending Saturday going southeast to explore some maar craters dating from about 50,000 years ago when much of the flatlands to the east were covered by an enormous inland sea. I was outvoted, however, and we spent the day lazing on the shore of the lake... not that I can really complain about spending an afternoon drinking beer and laying in the sun.
Evening came, and our guests had to head home. The girl and I spent another night in the camper shell, and it performed just as well as it had the night before.
Sunday morning came, and we woke up early to make the long drive back to the big city. With no tent to fuss with, packing up took only a few minutes, an unexpected, but welcome, benefit of the addition of the shell. Instead of taking the fast way back the way we came, we continued north on Highway 46. The road led up further into the mountains, right to the base of the South Sister and Mt. Bachelor.
Mt. Bachelor peeking over a crest in the road.
The South Sister and Broken Top standing sentry over a meadow.
Highway 46 turned east and tossed us into the town of Bend, where a year before I had lost a u-joint. We drove past our old haunt of the O'Reilley Auto Parts before stopping for breakfast. We took Highway 97 back out of town, turning west on Highway 26.
Mt. Jefferson looming large as we descend into the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
Mt. Hood is our final obstacle, the pass over the crest the final climb before the long descent into the Willamette Valley. We catch an early glimpse of it to the northwest as we drive, telling us home is not far away.
