All posts by Tristan

(Mis)Adventures in Oregon and Idaho

Videos

In today’s video I explore some stunning natural landscapes in far eastern Oregon, check out an amazing waterfall in Idaho, find some incredible campsites that ultimately don’t work out, and have a couple of uncomfortably close animal encounters. (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

GPS COORDINATES
* Charbonneau Grave: 42.951990, -117.339263
* Leslie Gulch: 43.298921, -117.269965
* Owyhee Reservoir: 43.321973, -117.328647
* Succor Creek: 43.472184, -117.123493
* Jump Creek Falls: 43.476924, -116.925027
* Celebration Park: 43.299834, -116.522404
* Buggy canyon rim campsites: 43.2355, -116.3676
* Campsite: 43.241047, -116.353948

One of America’s Greatest Drives!

Videos

Mountain drives! Wild horses! A hunt for Native American rock art! Volcanic craters! This video has it all! I continue to explore SE Oregon and have a great time doing it, even though unexpected private lands foil my plans on a few occasions. (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

GPS COORDINATES
* Krumbo Reservoir rock art boulder: 42.9564, -118.8369
* Lava Pit Crater: 43.0758, -118.7569
* East Twin Crater: 43.0974, -118.8060
* Malheur Maar: 43.1040, -118.8165
* Campsite: Approximately 42.8420, -117.6926

How I Use a Tablet on My Vandwelling and Car Camping Adventures

Videos

I’ve been traveling in very remote areas for the past week and a half and haven’t had the time or internet bandwidth to edit and upload a travel vlog, so I threw together this little video showing how I use my cheapo tablet when I’m on the road. Expect a full-length video sometime in the next week. (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO
* Fire 7 tablet from Amazon – This tablet retails for $50 but can be had for around $35 on Prime Day and Black Friday, among other days.
* eTopxizu Keyboard Case For Fire 7 – Note that I think the tablet I have is the previous generation than the one I linked to above, and I’m not positive that the case will fit the newest generation. It may fit, or there may be a newer model available.
* SanDisk 64GB micro SD card

(All of these are Amazon affiliate links)

Bill’s Setup for Sleeping/Camping in a Jeep Patriot

Articles

SUV RVing reader/viewer Bill sent me some photos and details about his great SUV camping/sleeping setup. He’s got a 2016 Jeep Patriot Latitude. He bought it this year as certified pre-owned rental. From Bill:

“When I originally starting looking at cars I was thinking of getting something large like a Ford Expedition, I had one before and like it. Ultimately, I chose the Jeep Patriot for pricing and gas mileage considerations. I haven’t  done much or spent any money beyond buying screen and some dollar store items.”

And here are the pics of Bill’s setup. All text in quotes is directly from Bill:

Bill's camping gear stored in the back of his Patriot before the sleeping platform is set up.
Bill’s camping gear stored in the back of his Patriot before the sleeping setup is set up.
Another look at Bill's gear. The green bin is the pantry and holds kitchen supplies.
Another look at Bill’s gear. The green bin is the pantry and holds kitchen supplies. Regarding dealing with his stuff when it’s time for bed: “I usually leave the stuff outside of the jeep next to it or on the roof. I can put everything in the jeep and still sleep in there but it is a little cramped and messy. I’ve done it a couple of times, once when it was raining and I slept at a rest stop one night on the way to the beach.”
The bed and platform.
The bed and platform. “I had a piece of pressboard in the garage so I have been using that [as a sleeping platform]. I push the passenger seat all the way forward and put the pressboard on the armrest. There is a bit of a slope but not too bad. I generally sleep slightly elevated at home for snoring issues. You can’t see it, but there is a self inflating backing mattress under the sleeping bag. I have a warmer (winter) bag as well. The lows were in the 70s on my last trip.”
A side look at the sleeping platform.
A side look at the sleeping platform.
"I bought screen for less than $10 at Walmart and cut them to fit my four windows. I sealed the edges with black duct tape. I am currently using painters tape to put them on the windows but will probably get some magnates eventually."
“I bought screen for less than $10 at Walmart and cut them to fit my four windows. I sealed the edges with black duct tape. I am currently using painters tape to put them on the windows but will probably get some magnets eventually. I haven’t had any problems with the tape sticking to the jeep but I didn’t try to put them on when it was raining. I imagine it wouldn’t stick them. I don’t like the tape because of the bright blue color. I would prefer not to attract to much attention.”
“Behind the passenger seat I stow a Coleman stove (my parents bought it around the time I was born), fuel, charcoal (I buy aluminum pans from the dollar store for a makeshift barbeque), and a propane canister (I have a backpacking type burner in the green tub).”
"My kitchen setup and my dollar store makeshift barbeque. I am on the lookout for a cheep non messy portable barbeque."
“My dollar store makeshift barbeque. I am on the lookout for a cheap non messy portable barbeque.”
Bill's stove
Bill’s stove
Home sweet home
Home sweet home

And Bill added one more thing:

“I have found the bottom part of the back seat removes easily. I may do this for longer trips. I allows for a lot more storage. I believe I could put my ice chest or green tub in the space.”

Thanks for sharing your setup with everyone, Bill!

Cooking, Showering, Geysers & More!

Videos

In this video I spend some time doing chores around camp, find a geyser in the middle of a southeastern Oregon field, stop by a beautiful saltwater lake, and begin driving up one of the premier mountain roads in the country. (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

RELEVANT LINKS (Amazon affiliate links)
* The stove I use
* The shower I use
* The shower tent I use
* The camera I use

GPS COORDINATES
* Old Perpetual Geyser: 42.222196, -120.369154
* Lake Abert wildlife viewing area: 42.5469, -120.2144
* Sign at the start of the Steens Mountain loop: 42.8094, -118.8680
* Campsite: 42.752409, -118.642437

Climbing a Volcano

Videos

In this video I climb one of the most prominent and striking mountains in southern Oregon. It also happens to be a huge volcano! (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

LINKS

GPS COORDINATES

Hello Oregon!

Videos

In this video I head back into northern California’s Lava Beds National Monument to hike up a cinder cone and to check out the largest collection of Native American petroglyphs I’ve ever seen. I then cross into Oregon, run some errands in Klamath Falls, and head out of town to find a campsite in the national forest. (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

GPS COORDINATES
* Schonchin Butte: 41.738123, -121.529107
* Petroglyph Point: 41.845267, -121.391264
* Tule Lake Segregation Center: 41.886868, -121.371719
* Campsite: 42.404367, -122.215537

You NEED to Go Here

Videos

In this video I find some otherworldly obsidian boulders and then spend the rest of the day exploring one of the most interesting national monuments I’ve been to. (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

Here’s my new little table (affiliate link).

GPS COORDINATES

* Glass Mountain area: 41.5873, -121.5099
* Campsite: 41.685969, -121.539865

THOUGHTS ON THE DIFFERENT CAVES

Here are all of the caves I explored on this trip, not all of which were covered in the video. Ones with an asterisk (*) were the really great ones that I’d go to if I were short on time.

  • * Golden Dome – A long cave. It was in the shape of a figure 8 and had the most golden hydrophobic bacteria.
  • * Upper Sentinel to Lower Sentinel – You go in one entrance, walk through a long tube with a couple of beautiful skylights, and then come out another entrance. Walked back to my car on the road.
  • * Valentine Cave – Another long one with smooth floors. Very much like a subway tunnel. Twisty with lots of side passages to explore.
  • Skull Cave – Very cool and very large opening area. That gets a star. But kind of lame going down to the blocked off ice area. Super super cold down there.
  • Big Painted Cave – Some very faint gray pictographs. Eh. Not as good as…
  • * Symbol Bridge – Really great pictographs. Striking. Neat connected cave/bridge feature.
  • Merrill Ice Cave – No ice. Kind of lame. There was a viewing platform at the bottom of stairs, but I couldn’t see anything.
  • Mushpot Cave – The only “developed” cave with lights in it. Not amazing, but fast to do, right next to the visitors center, and has some interesting and informative signs.
  • Indian Well Cave – Standard, with an uneven floor that was fun. Halfway through you squeeze through an opening into the bottom of a dry sinkhole and then go back into the second, though shorter, part of the cave.
  • * Heppe Ice Cave – No ice, but pretty darn neat. Pool at bottom, two cave entrances visible from there. Otherworldly.

Midsummer Snow Storm!

Videos

In this video I visit an ice cave, check out an enormous lava flow, try to wait out a storm on the shore of a pretty little lake, and get my plans thwarted by a freak midsummer snow storm. (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)

GPS COORDINATES
* Jot Dean Ice Cave: 41.490654, -121.616626
* Burnt Lava Flow Geological Area: 41.517017, -121.533287
* Blanche Lake: 41.5567, -121.5708
* Campsite location: 41.565418, -121.564127