Hello Rainbow RV!
My partner of seven-plus years, Dustin, and I have had many exciting adventures. I've often thought about documenting it or sharing it with others per the suggestions of friends and family along the way.
At one point, a few film students out of LA asked to travel with us to observe our lifestyle and share our "ostentatious" attitude along with the benefits and challenges that brings to one. That was related to an idea of purchasing a small beach resort off the Northern Coast of Venezuela on Isla de Margarita (Yes, Jimmy Buffet's Margarita Island). As things progressed, and after meeting with the Venezuelan Consulate in San Francisco; our illustrious President W.T.F. Bush and Chavez stirred up a pissing match and we opted to seek out the perfect location for 'something' here in the states.
I was born and raised 5th generation Southern Californian mostly in the Big Bear Mountain region, and Dustin - a barn raised organic Coastal Oregonian... we had many considerations to keep in mind in order to find the perfect place that we both could call home.
I met 31-year old Dustin when I was 21 and working as a Systems Designer & Business Analyst for an insurance software development company in Los Angeles, he was working his way up an Electrical Engineering Firm that specialized in high-voltage electrical testing for data-centers and power plants in the area. Our relationship grew, our love for one another innate, and within one-year we were living together in his centrally located historic home outside of LA.
It wasn't long after we teamed up our savvy attributes and began renovating this run-down turn of the century home. Once nearly condemned, an amazing and updated home was fit as a fiddle and caught the eyes of everyone whom passed by. I specifically remember chasing away a woman who was attempting to chip paint off our house in order to have it matched for her own. Our quintessential home had officially become the bee's knees of local remodelers and renovators, as any queer eye would tell you.
This was at the height of the real estate bubble, and it wasn't too hard for us to decide to transform our equity together into something bigger and greater that truly fit our needs. That's where this story begins, and possibly shortly after the appraisal of our finished project ;-)
That late winter/early spring, I was finally headed to Oregon to meet 'ALL the rest' of Dustin's family for his maternal grandmother's 100th Birthday Celebration! I was always very fond of Oregon and had spent time there as a kid - growing up in the Southern Californian Mountains, Oregon seemed to me 'a never ending plethora of mountains, rivers, and trees' all of which I loved! However, coming from a very, very small family I was intimidated to meet the remaining 7+ brothers and sisters of his, along with his mother!?! Knowing they all were curious to meet the guy Dustin proclaims to be his true love and will even follow to Venezuela! That's a lot pressure for a 23 year-old with little family ties of his own.
To my gracious surprise his enormous family was as wonderful as he was, and I was taken in almost immediately.
During that trip to Oregon, we began discussing the idea of opening an RV Park & Campground. Both he and I had grown up taking camping and RV trips and even made it a point to go on several of our own. It was as though we spent all our time and energy working in the city, just so we could get away from it on the weekends. In that, a plan was born... and the research began.
We traveled all over the West Coast in search for 'the right' spot. Our goals were clear and the path, well... foggy. It wasn't too long before we stumbled upon a spectacular landscape (below the snow line) when we turned to one another and said "this is the place!" Just a couple bends down the road and large "FOR SALE" sign appeared and the two of us gasped. The North Umpqua River in Central Oregon was the perfect place for us to begin a new project, our project.
The property was extremely run down and existed as a trailer park in the 60's and 70's while the area was being developed. At the present day, it was abandoned, strip logged, and a heard of elk had taken over. With out delay, we ventured the 47-miles to town (Roseburg) and met with the listing agent. Signed, sealed, delivered... our dream location was ours and we quickly put our California home up for sale.
Those few months went quickly and we were soon living in a decent motor coach I inherited from my father. Not quite the 2400 sq ft LA home we were used to, but we never looked back and begin restoring the abandoned park and transforming it into a beautiful camping resort.
This summer we are heading into our 4th season here at the camp, Umpqua's Last Resort. We've since installed underground power, configured 24+ RV Sites, and built 5 camper cabins. On our quest to continue developing our dream, we've gone back into business working with high-voltage electrical testing and reside part time in Orlando, Florida as well as here in Dry Creek, Oregon.
Today, Dustin travels frequently around the country promoting and working with high-voltage electrical testing while I assist with the random electrical trade shows and project manage our campground development while in season. Our goal has been and remains to reduce our carbon footprint, however we still need a few things in line in order to do so and reside full-time here in the Umpqua National Forest.
So Rainbow RV, I welcome you to my blog... with this Reader's Digest version of our history in order to catch everyone up to speed. Feel free to contact me with specific questions or interests so I'm able to convey information you might be interested in. I wish you luck on your travels and hope one day we will meet as well.
Happy Camping, Paul