07-31-2025 July Journeys: Fire, Water, Wine, and Wheels

I took far too many photos during July. After sorting through pictures and writing about our Fourth of July weekend, my visit with Melody in Brownsville, and our quick trip to Klamath Falls for the Air Show, I still had a mountain of images left and plenty more memories to track. 

That’s when I realized just how busy we had been. Even my trusty Google Calendar wasn’t much help, since a few things were missing entirely. In the end, the only way I could piece it all together was by laying out the photos in order and filling in the blanks. Sheesh!

After our delightful July Fourth, we returned home to a less-than-happy scenario. My sweet little Dakota pickup, purchased brand new in 2002, refused to start. This wasn’t the first time. With a truck of this vintage, a hiccup here and there was expected. A battery replacement, an alternator, even a new transmission back in 2017, and she still ran great until now.

My grandson Matthew came over to take a look and finally asked if he could roll it across the street to his place to tinker with it. After a few days, he reported, “Grandma, I can get it to start sometimes, but it won’t stay running, and sometimes it won’t start at all.” He was stumped. Reluctantly, I called for a tow to the Dodge dealer here in town, never dreaming her days might be numbered.

A couple of weeks later, the diagnosis came with a jaw-dropping estimate: eleven thousand dollars. The culprit was rodents that had made nests under the hood and chewed up a mess of wiring. I knew enough to understand that electrical problems of that kind are a nightmare to fix, and I had no clue where else to turn. My only option was putting her up for sale as is and beginning the search for another pickup.

We already have two cars and the motorhome, but with an acre of land to maintain, a truck is still a necessity, especially when it comes to hauling away debris during leaf season. Thankfully, a buyer showed up almost immediately. He offered me two hundred more than even the tow truck driver thought I could get. When he asked if his price was acceptable, I accepted instantly. He handed over a stack of $100 bills, looking almost surprised at my quick yes.

The sale more than covered the towing bill and the failed diagnostic charges. Still, letting go of that little truck was bittersweet. She had been good to me all these years, and I was more attached than I realized. But there’s more to that story still to come.

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For a couple of weeks, things at home were reasonably quiet. We enjoyed Sunday brunches with Deborah and did a bit of puzzling when the temperatures got too hot for outdoor activities. 

The roses bloomed beautifully early in the month, and the front lawn had not yet succumbed to the drying July heat. We even had a couple of gorgeous sunsets with clouds, though there was no rain to bring much relief. I always think July is a tough month, but this year it did not seem too bad. The temperature reached triple digits for several days in a row, and we had a constant battle keeping enough water in the well. Still, it was not as bad as it has been in past years. One hundred and ten degrees feels much better than one hundred and sixteen, believe it or not.

During the last three weeks of July, our well would run low, and we needed to buy a truckload of water every week. For a mere $120, we can get 2,000 gallons of good water delivered to our cisterns. We have two of them underground to help manage our low-producing well. We talked about drilling another well, but there is no guarantee that we would find water, or that it would be fresh rather than salty, as many wells in this area are. A few quick calculations showed that we could buy delivered water for years before reaching the cost of a new well.

I spent much of July hand watering, checking the well levels, and sometimes getting a bit of free water from neighbors who have a good well and are very generous. I try not to take advantage of their kindness. 

July is also trimming season, when all the lush spring growth turns into wild summer overgrowth. When I was not dragging hoses or measuring the water depth in the cisterns, I was busy cutting back plants.

With our reverse osmosis unit producing less and less water, we knew it was time to replace the membranes. Our water guy from the local well company is excellent and will come whenever we need him. Of course, his visits are not free. Installing the new $700 membranes takes a couple of hours, and it always seems that July and August bring expensive household projects. That made it all the more refreshing to take a break, let Mo worry about the water while I was gone, and enjoy my visit with Melody, which I already wrote about.

Mo does most of the outside maintenance jobs:  this is the front gate

Just a few days after I returned, we were suddenly reminded of the realities of living in Oregon during fire season. Several emergency notifications arrived on my phone announcing a fire in a nearby area. We skipped right past the “Ready” stage and went into stage two: “Get Set.”

When I stepped outside and looked southeast, I could see smoke billowing into the sky over the mountain behind us. It was a scary sight. We both felt extremely lucky that there were no strong winds to spread the fire. What wind there was blew away from us toward the southeast.

This was the start of what became known as the Board Shanty Fire. It began on the evening of July 17 as a small 5-acre blaze but quickly surged to 80 acres by nightfall. The terrain made firefighting difficult, and crews had to battle spot fires that broke out along nearby Green Creek Road.

Within two days, the fire had grown to 469 acres, and evacuation notices went out for several zones in both Josephine and Jackson Counties. Residents closest to the fire were told to “Be Set,” while others nearby were put on “Be Ready” status. Thankfully, no major winds developed to push the fire further into residential areas.

By July 20, firefighters had managed to line the entire perimeter, though containment was still listed at only 9 percent. Aircraft made repeated drops while ground crews cooled hotspots and strengthened firelines. Over the following days, progress was steady. Containment rose to 20 percent by July 22 and 45 percent by July 25.

Seeing that smoke from our place was sobering, a reminder of how quickly fire can change everything. We felt grateful for the crews working in the heat to keep it from spreading, and more than a little relieved that the wind carried it away from us.

It was an interesting experience, to say the least. Mo and I have always considered the MoHo to be our version of an evacuation “bug-out” bag. I try to keep her fueled, with copies of important papers and documents tucked safely inside. We also store necessary medications, animal food, a minimum supply of clothing, jackets, shoes, and a bit of cash. With all that in place, the Level 1 “Ready” stage of evacuation is simple.

Level 2, “Be Set,” was another matter. That was when we had to really think about what else mattered enough to pack if the fire escalated and we had to leave in a Level 3 “Go Now” situation. It was much harder than I expected to make those choices. While keeping an eye on the smoke billowing over the mountain, I spent time walking through the house and outbuildings, taking videos of everything we owned in case we ever needed to file an insurance claim.

Our house is at the blue dot in the screenshot above

What do you truly care about enough to grab in a hurry? For us, it started with the essentials: the dog and her needs, our medications, computers, phones, chargers, and backup devices. Photos and important documents have all been digitized, so we did not have to worry about paper files. What weighed on me most were the irreplaceables—original art and the quilts I have made over the years. We experienced an interesting moment as we looked down the side street on our east side.  Everyone on the street had their RVs parked at the edge of their driveway, ready to go.  We decided that maybe it was time to bring the MoHo out of the shed and park her facing out of the driveway as well.

Even though the fire never came close enough to feel like a direct threat, the experience required us to think carefully about what matters most. Both of us were extremely relieved when the evacuation notice was finally lifted. Life felt normal again. Almost.

After the fire threat eased, Mo and I agreed that an afternoon of music and good wine was exactly what we needed. I sent Deb a note asking if she’d like to join us at our favorite spot in the Applegate Valley—Red Lily Vineyard. I had resisted joining any local wine clubs for a long time because I didn’t want my choices limited. But Red Lily’s signature Tempranillo reds kept winning my heart and awards. Eventually, I decided to become a member, and sharing the wine club with Deborah gives us a great discount on our purchases.

Red Lily Vineyards is a boutique, terroir-driven winery in Southern Oregon. Its philosophy focuses on crafting wines that truly reflect their place of origin, and that sense of place comes through in every sip. The winery is nestled along the Applegate River in the Applegate Valley AVA, a sunny, warm region perfect for Spanish-style varietals like Tempranillo. Its name honors both the rare Bolander’s Lily found in the Siskiyou Mountains and the winemaker’s daughter, Lily. Everyone finds a welcoming space with a tasting room, picnic tables, and riverside seating. It's a great family spot.

It was a wonderful afternoon, sitting by the river, sharing wine and music together.

The month of July ended on a high note with the purchase of a great little truck to replace the forever-broken Dakota. I began searching CarFax for used compact pickups, thinking perhaps a Toyota Tacoma might be the right choice. It was surprising to see how expensive even older models were, and how many miles most of them had logged.

Mo joined in the search, and between the two of us, we found a beautiful 2016 Chevrolet Colorado with only 56,000 miles. The photos looked almost too good to be true, and as we drove north to Portland to buy it, I was more than a little apprehensive. Surely it couldn’t be as perfect as it looked online. To my delight, it was. The color is a soft bronze, and inside and out the truck looks nearly new.

After completing the purchase, we celebrated by meeting Mo’s brother Dan and his wife Chere for lunch at the big food court on 82nd Street in Portland. Mo drove the car while I took the new pickup, which made for a nerve-wracking first drive on a crowded, narrow city street. It was a challenging introduction, but also a lot of fun getting used to the digital screens and all the bells and whistles we have lived without for so many years. I am still discovering new buttons and features.

Rather than making the long drive back to Grants Pass late in the day, we stopped in Brownsville, where Melody graciously welcomed us for the night. 

Melody works from home but she made time for us to visit

The next morning, I had three hours of interstate driving to get better acquainted with the truck. My favorite feature so far? The Bluetooth system for hands-free phone calls, a luxury I have long coveted.

It was a wonderful way to close out a month that had been filled with both ups and downs.

Another Lovely MidSummer Sunset at Sunset House