Lessons Learned…from a trip poorly planned

I was excited to take my first solo camping trip in my small van. I planned it carefully — I thought.

I planned to leave Thursday for four days of camping on the way to Oregon, arrive at my sister’s house on Monday, visit with her and her husband before heading over to my other sister’s house (about three hours away). On my return to Capitola, I would try to camp a couple of more times.

And of course, I’d visit wildlife refuges and reserves and preserves both coming and going. The whole trip was planned to take about two to three weeks.

Day One

My trip got off to an inauspicious beginning. The day that I was supposed to leave, I was still packing when my third sister (more local) texted all of us to say that our mom was being taken to Urgent Care for shortness of breath. I could not leave before that was resolved.

To make a long story short, I relieved my sister at the hospital. My mom and I waited. A doctor finally showed up to say they could find nothing wrong with my mom and she was being discharged. We left the hospital about 5:30 p.m. I stayed with my mom long enough to ensure she was set for the evening and then headed over to my sister’s house, where I would spend the first night of my trip.

So much for the Point Reyes and Samuel P. Taylor leg of my journey.

But, no amount of planning would have been able to take those circumstances – my mom being taken to Urgent Care — into account. So that’s not on me. The rest of the trip, well, that’s another story…

Day 2

The next night, Friday, I had reservations at Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir.

On the way, I stopped at Sacramento Wildlife Reserve for birding. I walked the Wetlands Trail, seeing the usual suspects: Red-tailed Hawks, Turkey Vultures, House Finches, Golden- and White-crowned Sparrows.

After a 2 mile walk, It was now 1 p.m. Shouldn’t I head to Dunsmuir now? It was about 200 miles away.

No!

I hadn’t driven the auto tour yet. (Katherine and I have found that auto tours are more fun and interesting than they sound!)

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour

The 6 mile tour has three “stop and stretch” stops, including an observation deck with a paid naturalist (I’m not sure what her actual title is) and a volunteer present to answer questions. I spent quite a while there, seeing Green-winged Teals, Wilson’s Snipes, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Killdeer and geese.

So many geese! I identified Greater White-fronted Geese who flew over a few times. In the distance, I could see a combination (I assumed) of Snow Geese and Ross’s Geese. They look very similar – especially from a distance.

I was nearing the end of the auto tour when I saw three cars stopped in the road ahead. What was going on? I thought there was something animal blocking the road. As I crept closer, though, I saw that they were looking left, toward a small spit of land in the middle of the marsh.

Even with my naked eye, I could easily identify the two large raptors: a pair of Bald Eagles!

One was eating something on the ground while the other watched / waited nearby. A little further off were two Turkey Vultures — also waiting. They were small in comparison to the eagles!

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Seeing the Bald Eagles was a very satisfying way to finish the day.

But, wait, my day was not finished. I still had a long drive to Dunsmuir. This was the beginning of my Lessons Learned.

Lesson Learned #1: Know What Mountain Ranges Lie Ahead.

I had not looked ahead to realize that I’d be driving over mountains…in the dark!

Not. My. Happy. Place.

(I’m not sure that’d be anybody’s Happy Place!)

I arrived at Railroad Park Resort after 6 p.m. I was happy that I was van camping and didn’t have to pitch a tent in the cold and dark.

I went to the office for the campground. It was, of course, closed for the night. Tacked to the bulletin board was my check-in packet. I took it to the van and read it before heading to the bathroom – back by the office, because, why not go traipsing about a cold, dark campground? There’s a lesson to be learned here.

I was only slightly dismayed to see a keypad on the bathroom door. I at least had the foresight to bring my paperwork. I looked at the packet three times, front and back, before deciding, “There is no damn bathroom code on here anywhere!” They provided the wifi password but not the bathroom code.

I went back to the office and reviewed all the notices taped to the windows. The offices, for both the campground and the main office where you checked in if you were staying in a railroad car (next time!) were closed. However, the Dining Car was open. I called them and, after much discussion on their end, I was told that the bathroom was closed for the season! However, I was welcome to use the restroom in the Dining Car, as long as I got there before they closed at nine.

Lesson Learned #2: “The Devil Is In The Details.”

(This lesson title courtesy of my sister who generally wishes to remain nameless but has plenty of advice!)

Well, once I found myself in the cozy Dining Car what else could I do but …

Day 3

I woke early the next morning — like, 5 a.m. early — ready to start the next leg of my journey.

It was too cold to even think about standing around outside making coffee so I jumped in the van and headed north toward Klamath Falls Pilot Travel Center for a cup of joe.

(Why did I choose to go to Klamath Falls at that point? Because I was familiar with that Pilot Travel Center. No other reason.) Probably another lesson to be learned somewhere…

My next stop was back to California to bird at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Lesson Learned #3: Plan To Not Backtrack

Aka Don’t Waste Valuable Time Going Back and Forth.

Tule Lake had been a recommendation offered by a good friend of my other sister’s. With my great planning skills, I arrived forty-five minutes before the beautiful and new-looking visitor center opened. Fortunately, there was a pit toilet across the street that was open. (These things are important!)

I began this bird walk in 24° temperature. (Later, I would get the impression from the employee at the visitor center that she thought I was crazy to be out walking in that cold!)

I heard American Coots before I saw them…walking across the frozen marsh! I also heard Western Meadowlarks before I saw them perched on farm equipment in a nearby field. I heard Canada Geese but they were flying in the distance.

I was still on the Discovery Marsh Trail when my heart began to pound. Now, I’m walking about 1 mile/hour so there is no reason for my heart to pound…until I realize that I have not had anything to drink since the previous night except for a sip of water and the Pilot Travel Center coffee. And, the temperature was below freezing. My camera did not like the cold (it kept freezing up — haha!) and apparently, neither did my heart.

Reluctantly, I turned back. However, this may have been a great idea for more than just the sake of my heart. I saw a tree with blackbirds and finches perched near the top. They flew off as I approached and I passed the tree.

I do not know what prompted me to look back at that tree. I’d only seen the blackbirds and finches and they’d already flown. But, I did turn and found myself staring back at a Great Horned Owl!

That was exciting!

I made my slow way back to the visitor center to chat with the docent (not sure of her title) who thought I was nuts for going out in the cold. She didn’t say those exact words…but, I could tell. And she did tell me about their auto tour route, about five miles up the road. I headed there next.

Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour

The auto tour was interesting and I was surprised at the number of other vehicles that I came across. The drivers’ bright orange caps told me they were hunters. I was impressed that they, too, were braving the cold.

In Tule Lake I saw grebes, both Pied-billed and Eared, and a Ruddy Duck. Many of the duck-like birds were not close enough for me to identify, though I’m pretty sure I also saw Buffleheads.

On the other side of the road, in the grasses, I spotted a female Ring-necked Pheasant hiding from the hunters!

After I finished the auto tour, I decided to head to the nearby Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. I entered the name into the Maps app and headed off only to experience…

Lesson Learned 4: Look At Your Destination On The Map: Does It Make Sense?

This one should have been obvious. We’ve all experienced it.

If I had taken a moment to look at where Maps was sending me, I would see that there was nothing there: no Visitor Center and no place to park. I was in the middle of nowhere-ish (though, on the edge of Lower Klamath Lake, for sure) when I was told, “You have arrived at your destination.”

Great.

So, back to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where I would try to figure out my camping spot for the night. (See Lessons Learned #3).

I stopped at the Klamath Falls Welcome Center, only to find that it was closed for the season (that it, not staffed — the restrooms were open). I pulled out my phone and searched TheDyrt app for a camp site. The first two I found were only open to fully contained RVs (they had their own showers and toilets). Again, the facilities were closed for the season.

Seriously?!?

So, I caved. I searched the Hotels.com app for a room. For not too much money, I could be spending the night in a warm, hopefully comfortable, hotel room with a shower and a toilet. Sold!

Meanwhile, I was finding that Oregon is cold this time of year. I wanted to make myself some lunch but I would have had to prepare it outside of the van. Instead, I grabbed hardboiled eggs, an energy bar and a spoonful of kimchi (for the probiotics).

Lesson Learned #5: Check The Weather Before You Go!

And continue to check it as you travel.

This should be lesson #1 but I didn’t learn it in sunny California.

Because the weather was not going to get any warmer for the next few months, I didn’t even try to find a place to camp on my fourth night. After some back and forth with my two Oregon sisters, I headed a day early to visit the first one, rather than spend another night in a hotel.

A four night camping trip turned into a one night camping trip.

I learned a lot about trip planning — and my deficiencies in that area. However, I am still excited to plan — really plan, this time — my next trip.

I think I will be heading south in search of warmer climes.