A Few Days at Huckleberry Campground

A couple months ago, Linda reached out to our friends Bill and Terri Burch, along with Ben and Sherma Higgs, and we all jumped onto the reservation website for Huckleberry Campground up the St. Joe River. Luck was on our side — we managed to snag campsites close to each other, and we wasted no time reserving them before anyone else could beat us to it.

The drive down was perfectly normal until we hit the stretch from the top of 4th of July Pass down to the Rose Lake turnoff. Road construction had funneled four lanes of traffic into two, and to make things interesting, they used those big cement dividers to separate the lanes. Nothing like a narrow concrete chute to keep you alert. I white‑knuckled the truck through the curves and traffic. Not the most relaxing drive, but we made it.

Huckleberry Campground wasn’t full, and we had a great site just across the driveway from the Burches. Ben and Sherma were a little farther away in their spot. I was able to go fishing twice during our stay. The first day the water was high but clear, and I fished a Green Drake fly with a #10 black stonefly dropper. I got lucky and hooked two really nice cutthroats and one kamikaze cut that was about six inches long. We arrived and ended the trip with a fish count of three real nice cutthroats and two little shakers.

Linda spent her time walking, reading, and catching up with our friends. After a couple days of rain, the weather finally turned around, and we all entertained ourselves with card games and tossing the cornhole bags. Simple fun, good company, and a quiet campground — hard to beat.

As the weekend wound down, I found myself appreciating the simple rhythm of it all — good friends, a quiet river, a few fish, and the kind of easy days that remind you why the St. Joe keeps pulling us back. Nothing fancy, nothing rushed, just time well spent in a place that always feels a little like home.

DB/AI

Lazy Days on the Joe

Last weekend, we drove to one of our favorite campgrounds, Huckleberry. It sits on the bank of the St Joe River. We met up with Bill and Teri Burch.  Also joining us were our next-door neighbors, Jodi and Steve. We had a fun few days playing cards, tossing bean bags, and taking walks. We ate, drank (some of us), told stories, and laughed a lot. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed every moment of our stay.

Wild protesters gather around a fire pit.

On No Kings Day, we silently protested by making signs and taping them to our rigs.  Midway through the afternoon, a camp host came by and said, "Your signs make people uncomfortable,"  and that we should take them down.  We stated our right to free speech and said we would not remove the signs. The host drove away without further comment.  We were ready for more comments, but nothing came, so we quietly enjoyed our little political altercation.

No Kings!

Steve and his bike.

Surprise!

The other day the gang at our compound were all settled in at the palapa. They were ready to play cards and I was still napping in the room. All of a sudden I hear a bunch of noise from above, so I got up and wandered up the metal staircase of death to see what was happening. 

I got to the roof and out of nowhere pops Dan Breeden. I was surprised and still sort of sleepy so I stood there trying to figure out what the heck was happening. Dan had just surprised Linda and the Burches and that was the ruckus that woke me.

We have been inviting Dan to come down and visit us in Mexico for years. Now with the help of Beth, he made the trip, keeping it a complete secret from us.

What a fun surprise!

For the next week we get to spend some time with Dan, show him our little hideaway town, and let him enjoy the warm weather and relaxed lifestyle that is Melaque.

Drinks at the pool bar, Laguna de Tule.

Street tacos on the way.

Bus ride selfie.

On the beach in Barra de Navidad.

Boat ride to Restaurant Mary's.

The 375

This season in Mexico is coming to an end for Linda and I. We have less that a week left in Melaque then we move on for a few days in La Ribera north of Cabo on the Baja peninsula. After that we will head home.

We will look back on our stay this year with fond memories of living in our apartment. This winter residence came to be knowen as The 375 by those who resided within the walls behind the address numbers: 3 7 5. 

Bill and Teri.

The whole of The 375 was made up of six residents. To introduce you to our posse, we will start at the ground floor where Bill and Teri Burch resided in the appartment next to the pool, if we had one. Teri and Bill are from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and this was their first long stay for the winter months in Mexico.  The Burches are retired elementary school teachers, which is how we came to know them. Linda taught at the same school as Teri where they became close friends. They have been visiting us in Melaque for several years. They stayed with us at Big Pink, the pink house on the beach, way back is the day. Bill and Teri will be returning to this area for a month next year, though staying in a different place.

Stephen and Curt.

If you come through the black gate at The 375 and turn immediately right, you will find a set of stairs that lead you up to the second level. There you will find the apartment where the next 1/3 of The 375 stays. Curt Blumer and Stephen Bean have the apartment which would overlook the pool, if we had one. Stephen and Curt are from Vashon Island, Washington. Stephen worked at Amazon and Curt was a carpenter. They are both wonderful musicians who make up the heart of the local band, the Electro Lites. Curt is an amazing harmonica player and Stephen plays electric piano, mandolin, guitar, and spoons. He also does most of the vocals.

The ocean view.

The apartment closest to the beach, with no view of the beach, is where we resided. This apartment would also overlook the pool, if we had one. 

The 375 has another space where we all spent many hours relaxing and talking. The rooftop palapas could be found at the top of a wrought iron spiral staircase. They would also have overlooked the pool, had there been one. They did provide a view of the ocean if you looked past the building behind us and between the many coconut palms.

To access this area, you must climb the hot metal spiral staircase to the sky. This climb and descent is a bit precarious and we always had to make sure we had one hand free to belay us safely up and down. We decided at the very beginning that it might be a good idea to have just one person at a time going up or down.

The 375 had other amenities. The laundry facilities were close to the front entrance and was equipt with the finest machinery for washing and rinsing our clothing.

Drying was accomplished via the clothesline we hung between the palm trees that would have shaded the pool, had there been one.

On belay?

The final shared space is the palapa that we used for our pursuit of the arts. In this area Teri created her crafts, Bill wrote thought-provoking music, Linda read, Curt and Stephen enjoyed the shade, and we all puzzled. It was a wonderful gathering place which would have complemented the pool, had there been one.

That is The 375. The memories of this year will live with the crew that lived there for many years to come. 

Our laundry facilities.

The activity palapa.

Wet Week

Monday, about noon, we were ready! Linda had secured a camping spot at Riley Creek Campground 55 miles north of Post Falls on the Pend Oreille River. Our neighbors, Steve and Jodi were meeting us up there for a few days of camping.

We had a couple nice sites that were next to each other and so we settled in.  Steve and Jodi brought along their little puppy dog, Winnie, which made the visit even better. Everyone loves puppy snugles!

Our weather forcast called for a mix of clouds and rain, with a sprinkling of sun from time to time. We spent the days playing cards and chatting. It was a very relaxing trip.

Our friends Teri and Bill Burch also had made reservations at Riley Creek, a fun surprize, and we were able to connect with them for a morning of Mexican Train. 

The on again, off again weather kept us close to the campground, but were able to  bike ride, take walks and enjoy the quiet.

On friday we packed up and came home. It was obvous the campground was going to be full for the long weekend and we were glad we got our camping fix before everyone and their dog filled the forests.

Riley Creek 1 and 2

Linda and I finally got some time and were able to take a couple of camping trips in our little home on wheels. On both occasions, we drove north to an Army Corp. of Engineers Campground called Riley Creek. Located on the Pend Orelle River this campground is a very nice place to visit. The sites are clean and spaced out very nicely. Restrooms were clean and for the most part, the campers up there were quiet and thoughtful.

We found out about this camp area through John and Loretta Sutherland. They scheduled a camping getaway from June 8th through the 13th. We wanted to visit John and Loretta at that time but were not able to find an open site.  However, we did find an available site on May 23rd through the 27th.  We booked those days and talked to our neighbors, Steve and Jodi and they reserved a site for the same time. 

We later found a cancellation during the time the Sutherlands were camping so we reserved those nights also.

We spent both trips in our camper and were graced with clouds and rain on both occasions. We had a great time exploring on both occasions despite the weather.

First Visit Photos:

Second Visit Photos:

2015 into 2016

My last post showed some photos of Holly, Ryan and kids. It was hard to see them leave, they were so full of energy and such fun to do things with.  They went from here to San Diego and then on to the freezing, but beautiful snows of Coeur d'Alene.

Our days are filled with walks and rest. This week we walked to Barra with Bill and Teri Burch who joined us in Melaque last weekend. The Burches are usually up for any kind of adventure be it food or fun (ask them about their swim in the ocean - could have been way worse, but they are gonna be sore for awhile).

We checked out the playa which is under repair after the hurricane damage. As we walked we had to navigate through the cut in the playa where the lagoon had been set free. When the lagoon gets too full the water is released into the ocean so that the streets don't get flooded with overflow. Also, the surfers release the lagoon because it cuts through the sand and moves this sand into the bay where it creates a surf break. The break provides some good surf waves. This type of release is controversial because the lagoon needs to be filled for all ecosystems to work properly. All the surfers think about is getting a good ride and not what it is doing to the wetlands up above the playa.

 It was market day in Barra and just after the new year so the place was packed. Nice to see so many people in town spending their money.

Speaking of the new year, we spent a low-key evening cooking a wonderful marlin dinner. After we ate our fill we joined our neighbors on the beach for a bonfire, where we watched the fireworks and sent globos up into the sky over the Bay of Navidad. At one point there were over thirty of the silent little space ships glowing over the water. It was a wondrous spectacle, something we will never forget.

This is Saturday and tomorrow the Burches fly out to the wilds of Idaho and we move out of Casa Rosa. Our home for the next two months will be the little bungalow at Casa Grande. This will be a new chapter in our story; a new perspective.  Looking forward to the change. Happy new year to all, and thank you for being a part of our lives!

They are rebuilding the damage caused by Patrica.

Bricks, bricks and more bricks!

And then I said "smile!"

A visitor to our yard.