Day 35 (6/30): Miles traveled: ~ 201

Location: various, ending in Ashland's Creekside Campground and RV Park

Science: air quality measurements in the RV Park (not many camp fires in the park itself, but lots of evidence of smoke coming in from other wildfires, including red sunsets and haze actually cloaking mountain views)

The Mountain House greeted us all with a fog-covered valley on this morning -- making it seem like we were above the clouds (which technically we were).

Everyone was sad as we cleaned and packed everything up, but also excited about their next adventures -- it seemed like we were all going off to another cool location or experience or family event. Rosie, Stephanie, and I left the Mountain House first so we could get Stephanie on a flight out of Medford, OR. Rosie was a little tearful saying good-bye to Hannah and her Ilana, but also excited to get going on this next adventure. Her stated goals for the trip were:

1. Swim and fish in Crater Lake (Oregon)

2. See cousins (Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky)

You may notice there is quite a lot of mileage between the above stated goals. I felt up to the challenge, though -- I was excited to have Rosie's company and perspective on this next leg of my trip -- to be honest, things had started feeling a little lonely when I was camping on my own.

On our way to the airport, we saw evidence of wildfires (some old, some new), and stopped at a gas station where our masks were obviously a huge irritant to the tall white matriarch of the shop. She even was a bit cranky with Rosie, which I thought was, well, mean. As we were getting rung up (and silently dressed down), I noticed a sign referring to "the State of Jefferson" beside the cash register. Puzzled, I leaned in closer to read the fine print. I was surprised to learn that I was in "the proposed Pacific state of Jefferson" which was hoping to secede from OR and parts of Northern CA.

The X's on the proposed flag for this new proposed state were meant to represent how the governments of CA and OR had abandoned the rural areas within Jefferson. I had been introduced to this sentiment when I worked at the Western States Center in Portland, OR in the mid-90's (and since then have witnessed plenty of evidence that rural areas in the US HAVE been abandoned in many, many ways), but at that moment in the shop, where our COVID19 masks and an 8 year old were lightning rods for some sort of righteous anger, those X's felt more like a crossing out of people who were different, or target markers. I would run into other signs and mention of this "movement" in the next couple of days, but this particular spot is where the Trumpian, white supremacist aspirations for this new Pacific state seemed clearest.

After we shook off the State of Jefferson funk, we dropped Stephanie off at Medford airport right on time despite some unexpected fire-related traffic, and then, suddenly, it was just me and Rosie on a roadtrip!  We first stopped for some groceries (and bought way too much) and then headed to our campsite -- Ashland's Creekside Campground and RV Park. It was an aging establishment which was clearly a mixture of long-term residents and tourists like us. Everyone was friendly but it was HOT (although much cooler than the 110 deg weather they HAD been having earlier in the week). In fact, the heat had completely dried up the creek by which we were meant to be "sided"....:(.... 

We tried out the pool right away, but it turned out that Rosie had a foot injury that started to sting in the chlorine so it didn't last long. So we hobbled back to the campsite and made dinner. While Rosie was in the bathroom across from the site (she LOVED having to use a punch-code to access the toilets), the one of the RV campers beside us asked where we were headed. I told them we were going to Crater Lake the next day, where Rosie was hoping to swim and fish.

"Oh," she said, "No, you aren't allowed to swim or fish there. We were just there -- the trail is closed."

I turned to see Rosie heading back across the road and quickly changed the subject -- nothing distracts an RV'er faster than asking them something about their RV. "Does that trailer pull well with your RAM truck?" I blurted, and thankfully I was treated to a 10 minute rundown of just how well a RAM is suited to pulling trailers like theirs. 

Since Rosie's number 1 goal was non-negotiable (we had even gotten a cheap shorty wet suit for her so she could really jump into that ice cold water), I decided to pretend I hadn't heard what I thought I had -- surely this RV camper just hadn't been creative enough to figure out how to jump in, or maybe had been in the wrong area of Crater Lake (it is massive)? 

After dinner, Rosie seemed to settle in a bit once she realized that the trailer could be a bit like her own room for the duration of the trip. Fortunately for me, that meant she was serious about keeping the bed made and the trailer cabin organized -- something I still hadn't achieved while on the road......