A recap of events (Dec 2017): Bachelorette, Hot Springs, Friends
After spending Thanksgiving with my brother in LA, I had a bachelorette party to attend back in Sacramento! I took the long way to get back, camping a few nights in Death Valley to see a few more sites and getting my sign pic:
I couldn't help but also spend a night at "The Pit" campground in Bishop (Pleasant valley pit campground) because I could hit the Crowley (or Wild Willy) Hot Springs on the way back to Sacramento. Ended up meeting a few recent grads from Oregon who were taking some time road tripping the states in their van.
Next up was Mel's bachelorette party. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, as this was my first bachelorette party. But at the same time I realized that Mel wasn't going to have a normal bachelorette party, so I knew it was going to be a whirlwind of a weekend. Complete with the obvious late night of curling and drinking on the ice (thanks to Matt for setting that up):
Followed by some more drinks, a hike, and a fantastic evening at DNA lounge in SF (still the only dance club in SF that I ever plan to visit, it's too good). Ava had also set up an amazing video Q&A with Mel's other half that was fantastically well done. It was great to meet a whole new set of people from different parts of Mel's life, an opportunity you rarely get with a person.
After the party, I had plans to spend a few weeks in Oregon at a friend's guest house. This was an opportunity for me to visit some friends in Oregon and Washington. On the way up, I had been convinced to visit a hot spring in southern Oregon. So I researched a few hot springs in the area and decided on the Hart Mountain or Antelope Hot Springs. There was a free campground built around the hot springs and it was open year round, but I was to expect some snow. I drove through a new area of California, taking highway 395 north through the northeastern corner of CA next to the Warner Mountains.
I ended up getting to the hot springs just as it was starting to get dark. I'm glad I made it before dark because there was a good foot of snow for the last few miles of road. I was amazed to see one other person at the hot springs, because they are about an hour and a half away from any sizable town. And it turned out that he was a triple crown hiker (completed the PCT, CDT, and AT long distance hikes). He's the first of his kind that I've met and highly recommended the Florida Trail during our chat in the hot springs.
The hot springs were very comfortable even with temps in the teens that night with a full moon and clear sky. The springs are at least 15ft deep in the middle but with some ledges to sit on along the edges only a few feet below the surface. Getting out was not very enticing, so we stayed in there for a few hours. Needless to say, it was quite an experience getting out and drying off. Luckily with all my layers and sleeping bag, I was pretty comfortable spending that night in the car.
I made it the rest of the way to Hillsboro, OR where I would be spending a few weeks at friend's guest house. Ben was the only one renting a room in the guest house so I was able to stay in one of the available rooms. I ended up seeing some good friends in Seattle for a weekend and getting more of a taste of the different neighborhoods in the city.
I knew the Geminid meteor shower was going to peak during my time in Oregon, so I wanted to find a dark spot to view them. I chose McClellan overlook of Mount St Helens (found a few posts stating it was a particularly good stargazing spot and about two hours away). I made it out to the overlook around midnight and was surprised to see another person there. I had a great conversation with Dave, who is a wildlife biologist in a town nearby the overlook. On the drive back, I had a bit of an accident...
The last 5-10 miles of the road leading to the overlook was pretty frosty and had a few inches of snow. Driving back, coming down a slight hill, I ended up sliding on some ice and going off the road, down an incline, sideways. It was quite the surreal experience. Luckily the car didn't flip, but I realized I was definitely stuck as the front right wheel was caved in. So I assessed my situation: about 20 miles from the nearest town, it was 1am, and I didn't quite have a signal... It wasn't great, but I realized I could spend the night in the car if I needed to and hail someone down in the morning. I decided to walk around to see if I could pick up a signal and luckily I had just enough to make a call. I called Ben, who was effectively my roommate at this point, and asked for advice since he had been in similar situations. Incredibly, he decided to drive out and get me and see if he could tow me out with his Bronco. It was one of the longest nights/mornings of my life as we spent some time assessing the damage to the car, shoveling snow to dig the wheels out, and talking about our options. We decided it was best to get the car towed into the nearest town, get the critical damage to the wheel repaired, and finish up at the house ourselves.
Having gone through that ordeal and having some amazingly considerate help from Ben, I won't be forgetting that.
I couldn't help but also spend a night at "The Pit" campground in Bishop (Pleasant valley pit campground) because I could hit the Crowley (or Wild Willy) Hot Springs on the way back to Sacramento. Ended up meeting a few recent grads from Oregon who were taking some time road tripping the states in their van.
Next up was Mel's bachelorette party. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, as this was my first bachelorette party. But at the same time I realized that Mel wasn't going to have a normal bachelorette party, so I knew it was going to be a whirlwind of a weekend. Complete with the obvious late night of curling and drinking on the ice (thanks to Matt for setting that up):
Followed by some more drinks, a hike, and a fantastic evening at DNA lounge in SF (still the only dance club in SF that I ever plan to visit, it's too good). Ava had also set up an amazing video Q&A with Mel's other half that was fantastically well done. It was great to meet a whole new set of people from different parts of Mel's life, an opportunity you rarely get with a person.
After the party, I had plans to spend a few weeks in Oregon at a friend's guest house. This was an opportunity for me to visit some friends in Oregon and Washington. On the way up, I had been convinced to visit a hot spring in southern Oregon. So I researched a few hot springs in the area and decided on the Hart Mountain or Antelope Hot Springs. There was a free campground built around the hot springs and it was open year round, but I was to expect some snow. I drove through a new area of California, taking highway 395 north through the northeastern corner of CA next to the Warner Mountains.
I ended up getting to the hot springs just as it was starting to get dark. I'm glad I made it before dark because there was a good foot of snow for the last few miles of road. I was amazed to see one other person at the hot springs, because they are about an hour and a half away from any sizable town. And it turned out that he was a triple crown hiker (completed the PCT, CDT, and AT long distance hikes). He's the first of his kind that I've met and highly recommended the Florida Trail during our chat in the hot springs.
 |
| The hot springs, and yes, that's ice |
The hot springs were very comfortable even with temps in the teens that night with a full moon and clear sky. The springs are at least 15ft deep in the middle but with some ledges to sit on along the edges only a few feet below the surface. Getting out was not very enticing, so we stayed in there for a few hours. Needless to say, it was quite an experience getting out and drying off. Luckily with all my layers and sleeping bag, I was pretty comfortable spending that night in the car.
I made it the rest of the way to Hillsboro, OR where I would be spending a few weeks at friend's guest house. Ben was the only one renting a room in the guest house so I was able to stay in one of the available rooms. I ended up seeing some good friends in Seattle for a weekend and getting more of a taste of the different neighborhoods in the city.
I knew the Geminid meteor shower was going to peak during my time in Oregon, so I wanted to find a dark spot to view them. I chose McClellan overlook of Mount St Helens (found a few posts stating it was a particularly good stargazing spot and about two hours away). I made it out to the overlook around midnight and was surprised to see another person there. I had a great conversation with Dave, who is a wildlife biologist in a town nearby the overlook. On the drive back, I had a bit of an accident...
The last 5-10 miles of the road leading to the overlook was pretty frosty and had a few inches of snow. Driving back, coming down a slight hill, I ended up sliding on some ice and going off the road, down an incline, sideways. It was quite the surreal experience. Luckily the car didn't flip, but I realized I was definitely stuck as the front right wheel was caved in. So I assessed my situation: about 20 miles from the nearest town, it was 1am, and I didn't quite have a signal... It wasn't great, but I realized I could spend the night in the car if I needed to and hail someone down in the morning. I decided to walk around to see if I could pick up a signal and luckily I had just enough to make a call. I called Ben, who was effectively my roommate at this point, and asked for advice since he had been in similar situations. Incredibly, he decided to drive out and get me and see if he could tow me out with his Bronco. It was one of the longest nights/mornings of my life as we spent some time assessing the damage to the car, shoveling snow to dig the wheels out, and talking about our options. We decided it was best to get the car towed into the nearest town, get the critical damage to the wheel repaired, and finish up at the house ourselves.
Having gone through that ordeal and having some amazingly considerate help from Ben, I won't be forgetting that.
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