Campaign Creek, part 2. And Bigfoot.

I went out to Campaign Creek again yesterday, to finish the photo point pictures. I saw more beautiful scenery. This time I made sure I had snacks in my backpack.

The view along the road.

Remember that steep hill that I was afraid to drive down last time? Well, when I was walking up and down it last time, I decided that it didn't look too steep. This time, I drove down it. That saved me a lot of walking, which was good since I was there in the middle of the day and it's still a little warm. Turns out that hill is called Skydive Hill.

Whenever I've looked at maps of that area, I've noticed something called "Reevis Mountain School" on the maps. I thought it must be an old one-room schoolhouse that had been in use many many years ago. Well, the road ends near there. Turns out it isn't an old schoolhouse after all.

The sign on the right was my first clue that the Reevis Mountain School is not what I thought it was.

It looked like nobody had been in the parking area (which was just a loop at the end of the road) for a while, so I left the truck windows open and took only my camera and GPS with me. I walked to the end of the road that continues past the parking area. The road goes to Reevis Mountain School. It was there that I learned that the school is still active. As I stood looking at the gate, I heard a large animal clomping around on the hill to my left. It didn't sound as clumsy as a cow or as light as a deer. I only saw a small part of it as it walked through the trees above me. I don't think there are elk in that area. It sounded like it had hooves, though. I didn't see any cows the whole time I was out there. Well, no live cows, that is.

Signs near the gate. I bet Peter gets tired of hearing Bigfoot jokes.

The first photo point I visited was near the gate, and I went over there to get the pictures. I was getting thirsty by the time I was done and was a little worried about the truck windows being open. The RMS sign seemed very inviting and I wanted to check out the place, but I headed back to the truck. Here is more info on the school, if you are interested.

When I got back to the truck, I drank some water and headed for the next photo point, which was just a few feet from where I parked. I was taking pictures when a side-by-side with a couple of guys in it pulled into the parking lot. I wasn't concerned until the engine shut off. Then I decided I should let them know the truck wasn't unattended. They were busy getting more beer out of their cooler and getting rid of the beer for which their lease had expired. I got in the truck and headed for the next photo point.

Here's a short video of Campaign Creek just upstream of the road. I made a video so you could hear the water and the birds. The birds were mostly quiet, though.

At the next photo point, I took the pictures a few yards upstream of the road and was headed back to the truck when a Suburban with a big winch on the front went by. I waved and they waved back. Later, when I had just two photo points left, I parked at the bottom of Skydive Hill. When I shut off the engine, I thought I could hear the Suburban approaching. I thought about that big winch. I thought about the fact that I still wasn't sure I could drive up Skydive Hill. I thought about how somebody driving a Suburban would love to gloat over helping a Toyota up a hill. I decided to try driving up the hill before the Suburban arrived. It was a piece of cake. I locked the rear axle part of the way but probably didn't have to.

I took my backpack to hike to the last two photo points, which was a good thing. I drank lots of water and ate some snacks along the way.

Here's a dead cow. At least, I think it's a cow. Hard to tell. I see bones all over the place when taking photo point pictures.

The hike to the next photo point was very scenic. I walked very slowly, enjoying the views.

The next photos are to be taken from the top of that ledge on the right. That tree that has fallen on the ledge completely blocks the downstream view, though. Would have taken too much sawing to cut branches out of the way.

It took me 3 hours to take a few pictures. Seems like a long time. I was having fun, though. I'm going to check out some of the side roads out there some time. I'll probably check out some of the hiking trails when the weather cools off a little more, too. Click below to see all of the pictures.

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