Tailgate Training Camp 2015

The big question at camp this year was,”So, how many years have we been doing this?”
The answer is probably) 13 – maybe 14. We’ll have to dig through photos at home to be absolutely sure. We’ve been meeting in this same campground since 2005. . . so ten years there alone. That’s a pretty good record for a casually organized group event!

This year several camp regulars were joined by our long-time friends Mike and Nina and their two beautiful German Shepherds, making a total of ten humans and 6 dogs . We had five breeds represented and they all got along beautifully.

stories around the campfire

We had a great time – telling stories and eating, mostly, and the dogs played and talked about who knows what. Those of us who are into needlework stitched to our hearts content while we caught up on everyone’s family doings, travels, plans for the rest of the year, and the like.  Two of the men went fishing up at Walton lake and caught their limit of trout both days. Not bad for a few hours out in the beautiful weather we had.


The creek that runs through the campground was lower than usual this year, but it was still running, which Shiner enjoyed on our afternoon saunter. She loves splashing around while she looks for something to chase.

We’ve been meeting at Ochoco Forest Camp (group camp) for so long it feels like home. One thing that wasn’t so homey this time was the rodent onslaught.

By the second day several folks had nests already established under their engine hoods, and at least two ended up with rodents in their RVs. Everyone opened up their hoods and hoped the extra exposure would discourage further nesting.

 It did seem a little strange to be surrounded by all the vehicles, hoods up, like camping in a car lot, but hey, whatever works!

As far as we know we escaped the attack, but we are looking into rodent repellant anyway. They’re always a problem around our shed at home, so if we can find a repellant that is effective we’ll use it in both situations. We are planning to experiment with a packet of Shake-away under the hood of the truck. We’ll report if we feel it’s worth fussing with. The ingredients (peppermint, rosemary, and cedar oil) seem harmless enough to use around pets.

After 4 days of relaxing at camp it’s time to hit the road again.

Next stop, La Pine State Park, so we can replenish supplies and do laundry.