It has been a long time since Boo and I took a road trip for a music festival. Thanks CoViD. Since LeisureFest is a private invite-only event at a private communal-living-space, I will not post on the event itself, save for some comments about some of the bands in another post. I will say, we had a great time, met some wonderful people we now call friends, and look forward to being invited again. I took no pictures, living in the moment instead of through a cell phone. So, there are no pictures to accompany this. Before I start, today is my mom's birthday. Although I know she doesn't surf the internet anymore... Hapy Birthday, Mom.
Getting Out
LeisureFest is held in the coast mountains west of Eugene. So the drive is very similar to a drive to the Cuthbert Ampitheater until we hit the beltway (route 569) which wends west around the city of Eugene. Prior to leaving our home area, we needed to be in East Portland for an appointment. So, departure day was atypical. First, we hadn't been camping since we moved into NewOldHouse, so we had to find everything. We had never camped with the dog before, so there was additional logistics around packing his crate, his stuff and managing his needs. The band I recently started playing in (Sunkicks) was given the opening slot, so I had bass gear to haul too. Because of unknowns around facilities at the communal-living space, we brought a full 5-gallon water cooler (needed) and a prepared travel-potty (not needed), adding to Hapy's overall haul-weight. Then, because of the appointment, we had to pack the night before, and finish prior to heading to that appointment, for which we ended up late. Once concluded, we headed for the I-205 pretty much when we originally expected. We brought the trailer-hitch platform carrier (we call "the trunk") to help make room for with all the extra things we were bringing; Hapy felt heavy at the throttle.
Getting There
We were pleasantly surprised at how swift the traffic moved on I-205, until it wasn't. Shortly after the Lake Oswego exit, traffic came to a near-stop and crawled through the interchange onto I-5 South and continued until we were past a multi-car wreck just north of Wilsonville. We lost about an hour to that crawl. Once we passed the wreck (no one appeared hurt, the cars were on the shoulder), traffic quickly picked up speed. We took advantage of the Charbonneau rest area to walk the dog and stretch ourselves before returning to the interstate. The rest of the drive was relatively typical. Hapy took the hills more slowly than usual, but his temperature barely registered above 190*F when we did. Once we were south of Albany, and the hills flatten to farmland, the crosswinds presented as they usually do. With the rear antisway bar and the shock-stiffening I did before Hapy's birthday (See Handling the Handling), the winds did not affect us nearly as much as they used to. Of course, blustery winds forced me to be animated behind the wheel, but it was still much improved compared to years earlier. With the extra weight, I found I drove to regulate his temperature again, rather than to meet a particular speed. Basically, I went as fast as I could while keeping the temperature around 190*F.
We arrived at the festival entrance with a little over an hour of workable daylight, and were directed into a spot pretty much the furthest from the stage under a canopy of trees. We were grateful for the killer spot and Hapy remained in the shade all weekend, but close enough to sunny patches to allow for the solar collector for the luxury battery. We did a very modest set up, laying out the recycled plastic mat and the carpets underfoot, placing the lot couch and camping chairs/table and calling it good enough. So, no canopy, nor kitchen, the outdoor lighting was hung on the side of the Riviera poptop to create some visibility, but we did not set-up for hanging out. We intended to be in the music bowl most of our awake time, and ultimately were.
Getting Home
Because our set-up was somewhat sparse and put together less than 40 hours earlier, the tear-down was fast. After letting the dog get a final hour long wrestle with his new best friend Banjo, we climbed in the bus and headed out. It seems like every time we drive north from Eugene on a Sunday the traffic is flat awful. Too many are in a hurry, following each other too closely and generally putting out an agro "I'm late for a meeting" vibe. The drive from the coast range into Eugene was lovely, in contrast. Sure, there were plenty of toy-haulers returning from the beach wanting to get into the valley and on to the interstate, but there was very little pressure. Hapy drives as he does, and the speedsters took advantage of the passing lanes as we reached them. From OR-126 to OR-569 and then on to I-5, we trucked along, with little concern. Again, Hapy's temperatures were staying below 193* even on the hills, and returning to 185* (thermostat opening temp) quickly thereafter.
After our first dramatic traffic slowdown starting well south of and then extending through Albany, we found a detour west of the interstate that ran along the Willamette River, then onto OR 219 into Newburg where we picked up OR 99. This put us on a course for what I have referenced as the temperature test hill where we test Hapy's run-ability. Hapy had a harder time retaining 55mph than he had since I fixed his heat issues, but he did. He did not get too hot, it was just hard to keep pace with all the extra weight. Most of the way up the hill, I realized that I was not really pushing him all that hard either. I chalked that up to personal fatigue. When I pushed it a little he responded, but the temp did not climb much and it returned to normal as soon as we crested the incline. It was not a very good test, but he held pace and didn't get too hot, so I call that a pass.
We got home after about 5-1/2 hours on the road, which is fairly long for a drive from an hour west of Eugene to West Beaverton. It was traffic-related though, and we got home without incident. Tuukka, the dog, slept the entire drive home after spending the weekend making dog-friends with Banjo and Svi. I didn't touch on how having a dog at a music festival changes things, but this has gotten long so I won't go into much detail. There were more than the 2 other dogs and owners, but not all of us were camped at the far end. Down there, where Tuukka, Banjo and Svi were camping, they could off-leash play. And they did every chance they got for as long as we would let them. There was at least one other dog who was openly hostile and others who were not near us so we really didn't see them.
We had a great time, and hope to be invited again. We understand that the party may be no-dogs-allowed next year. There is a possibility of a neighbor creating a dog-safe space, but it's fairly remote. We may have to weigh the importance of being with our dog against the significance of this party. Not an easy choice. Unless the band is asked to play, I suspect that if the dog can't be there, we may not be either. We'll see.
Thanks, as always, for following along. More next time-
No comments:
Post a Comment