Labor Day, Bell Bay

The Labor Day weekend came upon us very quickly this year. That weekend signals a change for us. Linda is back to work on Tuesday, the weather usually changes from hot to cool, and we start camping in different areas each time we take an adventure in the camper. After Labor Day, many of the forest service campgrounds are closed for the season, including Bells Bay, so we just find other spots to set up and camp. This is made easier due to the calming of the crowds. People just don’t camp as much after the Labor Day weekend, and we take advantage of the quiet.

This weekend we had our final reservations at Bells Bay. The camp hosts, John and Roseanne, will be closing the place after Monday. They plan to camp host again, but will be doing so somewhere on the Oregon coast. With them gone and the friendly reservation system no longer allowed, it might be hit and miss when it comes to getting spot #13 or any spot at all.
The Sutherlands rolled the dice and because of their efforts were able to secure a spot at the Bells Bay campground for the weekend. They arrived at the campground and set up at about 11:00 AM. We were a bit later leaving Cd’A at about 3:00 PM. We were in no hurry; we just wanted to let the stress of the week drift away.

We met John and Loretta and talked for a while, and then Linda and I went to the camper and made a dinner from a recipe Emily & Alex gave me. The creation tasted super fresh. We ate over at the Sutherlands camp site; the tostada creation was a big hit. John and I made plans to go fishing early in the morning so we turned in at about 9:00 PM.

The next morning John and I hooked up his boat and headed to the boat launch where we set our sights on catching some Bass or Pike. Once on the water we set a course up the Cd’A River to Anderson Lake. We fished the north side first and I got three hits, then we went to the south bank and fished that area. It wasn’t our day and we were skunked. I just know I need to put in more fishing time, you can’t expect big fish to jump in your boat the first time out. It would have been nice to catch one though.

We returned to the boat launch, a bit wet, but safe. While we were on Anderson Lake the wind came up and we had to bounce our way out of the river mouth and across to the take out.
The evening meal was a family gathering. Julie and Jack Dolan/Green dropped in to visit and added to the pack that Beth and Bill brought up from the boat dock. Bill’s daughter and her two friends joined all the old folks around the fire and we had a very enjoyable time. Surprisingly, once everyone left, the camp was very quiet and we got a great night’s sleep.

On Sunday Linda and I drove around and found several Geocaches. We enjoyed the day together and had lunch at the Round Lake boat launch. There are so many areas that can be explored, you just have to get out and drive, hike or bike.

When we returned to camp Heather and Mandolyn joined us for dinner. We fixed a Dutch oven pasta dish; Heather brought a strawberry cream pie. Heather brought her dog, Amie, and she and Kobi chased and played. After dinner we talked for a bit and then our guests had to leave to drive down to St. Maries where they were going to celebrate Lumberjack Days by watching the big fireworks. Linda and I stayed in camp and read. We were asleep by 10:00 PM.