Where’s Ollie?

[Mike and Carol]

 

Spent the last week at Lost Maples State Park just 70 miles west from where we live north of San Antonio. It’s in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no cell service. It’s a small campground - only 30 campsites with water and 30a electric hookups. Very quiet with some good hiking trails. We really enjoyed the peace and quiet. We plan on going back in the fall when the maple trees are turning. Mike

 

[DavidS]

Where’s Ollie? Ollie was in the Valley of the Gods, which was magnificent. This is BLM land, so it is free to camp. No water, no toilets no picnic tables. Just gorgeous country, and lots a privacy. No one was camped near us.

 

 

View from our window.

 

 

A few nights later we moved to Gouldings, a commercial RV park close to Monument Valley. The location is gorgeous, and you can see Monument Valley from the campground. The only problem is that the sites are quite close together, but that is common in commercial RV parks. The restrooms were clean, there were hiking trails to a nearby arch. I was most impressed with the fact that they have planted trees between the campsites, and they use drip irrigation to maintain the trees.

 

 

Gouldings is close to Monument Valley, and we booked an all day tour led by a Navajo guide. It was amazing!

 

 

On advantage of a Navajo Guide is that he took us through some of the back country, not open to non-Navajos, where we hiked up to arches and Anasazi ruins, where few people visit. Unlike most Anasazi sites, there were abundant pottery shards.

 

 

One day we went to Bluff Utah for their Founders Day and Frybread Festival. There were a bunch of Mormon Pioneer events, but what we really enjoyed were the cultural programs put on by the Ute Tribe and by the Navajo Tribe. We were listening to Tony Hillerman audiobooks on this trip.

 

 

Also visited Goosenecks State Park.

 

 

It was a great trip!

[Overland]

Gorgeous photos, David. I'd have had a hard time leaving that first camping spot - is that the one you posted the map of a few days ago?

 

What are the little tassels on the back of your trailer?

[DavidS]

Gorgeous photos, David. I’d have had a hard time leaving that first camping spot – is that the one you posted the map of a few days ago?

 

It was a wonderful campsite, and that is the spot where I posted the GPS coordinates last week.

 

What are the little tassels on the back of your trailer?

We went on a guided tour of Northern India last November, which was a fabulous trip. I noticed that all of the trucks and busses had these tassels on the back. I asked our tour guide why, and she said they keep the evil spirits away. I kinda liked that, so I found some and bought them. From google I found they are often called Parandhi Tassels. We will see how well they hold up on the road, but they seem to survive on the back of vehicles in India.

 

The vehicles in India have outrageous, colorful decorations.

 

[Overland]

Neat - you learn something every day. The trucks remind me a little of the Zulu tourist rickshaws in Durban.

[Mike and Carol]

David, wow, those are some stunning Utah pictures! Makes me want to go back.... Mike

[ScottyGS]

You can run.... but you can't HIDE!

We plan to stay Campfire Lodgings north of Asheville NC on the way down to Lake Guntersville AL.

So... I did a bit of internet cruising to see what that campground was like.

I found a youtube video with a drivethrough including the road up to the campsite.

 

And in the video.... I noticed an OLIVER!

Look at the screenshots taken from the video and see if you can identify the Oliver!

Video was taken around August of 2016.

 

I have a pretty good idea of who this is but I will let the forum detectives have first shot.

EDIT... on second thought... I might be wrong. "The games afoot Watson!"

 

Scotty

[KountryKamper]

You can run…. but you can’t HIDE!

We plan to stay Campfire Lodgings north of Asheville NC on the way down to Lake Guntersville AL.

So… I did a bit of internet cruising to see what that campground was like.

I found a youtube video with a drivethrough including the road up to the campsite.

And in the video…. I noticed an OLIVER!

Look at the screenshots taken from the video and see if you can identify the Oliver!

Video was taken around August of 2016.

I have a pretty good idea of who this is but I will let the forum detectives have first shot.

Scotty

 

Campfire lodgings is a nice place. We have stayed there a couple times.

[mossemi]

My wife is in Great Sand Dunes NP in Colorado and she called to let me know that she thought she had seen an Ollie in the park today. Of course, when I questioned her about the sighting a got nothing useful. So if you were there today remember,”you can run but you can not hide”. Enjoy the cold weather, as she has been snowed on 3 different days at the park.

[ScottyGS]

Ollie's are like extra terrestrials..... If you don't get a picture..... It wasn't there!

 

Still no guess's on the Oliver at Campfire Lodgings? It's an early one, but I can't say whose.

Pete, this looks a lot like the wonder egg... Do you recognize it?

 

Scotty

[Mike and Carol]

We had an Oliver sighting this week too. Sunday, while traveling here to Destin, FL, an Oliver with LA plates passed us on I-10 in LA. They waved! We saw it parked at the Buc-ee’s in Baytown, TX as we drove by. Anyone know who it was? Mike

[topgun2]

Scotty -

I'm fairly sure that it was not Pete and I know for sure that it was not me.

 

Mike -

That wasn't me either! Darn it!

 

Bill

[John E Davies]

Summer Falls in central Washington in the Scablands (Great Missoula Flood erosion area). It is 15 miles as the crow flies NE of Ephrata, at the north end of Billy Clapp Lake. We did not overnight here since it is a day use area. A one mile maintained gravel road leads off the main road to the falls. Other than a short set of steep washboarded switchbacks, it is fairly level.

 

For all intents and purposes, Summer Falls is a man-made waterfall. Technically any water draining down Arbuckle Draw and Trail Lake Coulee would have flowed over the falls, but so little precipitation falls in this area it would have been for a matter of days, if not hours. With the construction of the Columbia Basin Reclamation Project a series of canals were built to divert water to various parts of the Columbia Plateau for irrigation. The primary canal emanating from Banks Lake was routed over the cliffs at the head of Trail Lake Coulee, forming Summer Falls. The full volume of the Canal was initially allowed to flow over the falls, but some time in the mid 1980s a hydroelectric station went online adjacent to the falls, diverting almost the entire flow away from the falls. When enough water is being pumped into Banks Lake, the falls should be flowing, but the only time when the full force of the original falls will be evident is if the generating station needs to go offline for maintenance. The site was formerly administered by the state, but due to budget constraints was turned over to the Bureau or Reclamation in 2003.

 

Nearing the falls, an astonishing amount of water was coming down.

 

 

The Stone stomper and mudflaps work great, the rear window of the Land Cruiser stays clean! The back of Mouse, not so much. And I no longer hear rocks constantly binging and banging off the frame, rear bumper and steps.

 

 

The falls drop 90 feet with great vigor, with 2 foot rollers crashing onto the beach, vast clouds of spray and a constant roar. Very cool! I can’t get this pic to load right, I can’t figure out why it is flipped.

 

 

I am very glad I got to see this in full spate, by summer it will be shut down....

 

https://www.yelp.com/biz/summer-falls-soap-lake

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[ScubaRx]

I saw about 50 Oliver’s parked beside a pond in Alabama today. Looked like they were having some kind of meeting or something.

[Mike and Carol]

I saw about 50 Oliver’s parked beside a pond in Alabama today. Looked like they were having some kind of meeting or something.

 

Wow, it must be quite a sight. Of course if there’s no picture it didn’t happen!

 

We’ll be there today. Mike

[John E Davies]

Spring Canyon Campground, on Lake Roosevelt two miles east of Grand Coulee Dam, central Washington. The dam lights are in the background.

 

 

Lake access is very good, even when the lake level is low this time of year. Rates are $9 off season, $18 starting in May, and you get half off of that with a Federal geezer pass.

 

There are two camping sections, the upper is newer, flatter and more easily navigated with a trailer. But the sites are really strange - they are all very short and back-in, and most have a strange partial carport roof overhead. You are expected to park the TV beside your trailer. I think this was designed before slideouts became ubiquitous. It is very unappealing to me, like camping in an apartment complex parking lot..... Has anyone seen this sort of odd arrangement elsewhere? It certainly would defeat the purpose of roof solar panels!

 

 

The older lower section is on a substantial slope and the gravel pads are not real even. But the best view is there. Verizon cell signal is very strong a little way up the slope where we are.

 

There are restrooms with running water but no hookups. There is a dump station. While shaded, there is lots of sun and it may be really hot in summer, though winter conditions are mild due to the low elevation. Winter camping here is encouraged.

 

If you want to visit the dam area including wonderful Steamboat Rock State Park, and not pay $40 to camp, this is a teriffic location. But very busy in summer! Some sites are reservable.

 

 

 

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

We left the rally this morning and had a short drive east into South Carolina. We’re at Twin Lakes COE near Pendleton, SC. Our site is on the lake and we can’t see any other campers near us, just a few across the lake. Water and Electric for $12 a day. The only sound is water against the shore and some birds.

 

 

 

 

[Corcomi]

Took the Olliver camping to Carters Lake, a COE campground in Ellijay, Georgia , 2hours North of Atlanta. The park has two sides; one sits high on the lake and has great views. Campgrounds are spotless and they have electric and water and a dump site. The other side is much more family friendly with a beach area. That area is very isolated so make sure to take your provisions.

[topgun2]

This was the first "real" stop on the two month fly fishing trip to Idaho.  Palisades reservoir is relatively long and dams the Snake river near Alpine, WY.  Indeed, the lower (southern) tip of the reservoir is actually in Wyoming.  McCoy Creek campground (NFS) is located about 7 miles northwest on a dirt road, right on the reservoir but it has a ton of mosquitos.  Even though the campsites are provided with bear boxes, I saw no evidence of bears, but, did see eagles, a fox, jack rabbits and a couple of coyotes.

 

McCoy creek is nearby - on the first day of fishing I landed 65 trout!

 

southern end of Palisades reservoir

 

only one of the 65

 

the northern end of the reservoir.  A NFS camp ground is here with sites right on the Snake River.  Each morning there is a "hatch" of rafts that launch at the base of the dam primarily taking fisherman downstream - yes, the river flows north from here.

 

 

 

 

[STEVEnBETTY]

Fishing not too good eh? What are your expectations 100 per day?!!!

 

Nice pictures, bill.

[topgun2]

Always heard that those Jackson Lake deer had a drinking problem.  Nice looking fellow though.

 

When I get to land over a 100 or so fish in a day my arm starts getting tired and this inhibits the enjoyment of that first cold glass of wine or beer when I get back to camp.  After all, someone has to drink with that deer of yours.

 

Bill

[KarenLukens]

Just spotted an Elite II going south on 101 towards Florence Oregon :)

[Kayrae51]

[attachment file=150088]

[attachment file=150082]

 

Staying at the Marquette Tourist Park in Marquette, MI. The park is on the edge of town, situated on the Dead River. Nice and quiet. Have 3 Casitas, 1 Scamp, and 2 Airstreams near us. Tomorrow we are headed towards Escanaba, MI to check out the Fayette Historic SP. We’ve been told its very interesting.

 

Took a few photos of the Lake Superior lakeshore at the Presque Isle Park this morning. A lovely day!

[ScottyGS]

Saw an Elite 2 going West / North on 26 near Weaverville NC.  About noon on Saturday 11/ 10.  Anyone we know?

 

Scotty

 

 

[Mike and Carol]

Franklin Mountain State Park outside of El Paso.