Trouble in Oregon

As I took another step closer to the fallen down tree, the mother and father chipmunk chirped out and scrambled to a new position while their two young ones scurried back into trunk. The duo stood still holding their position while keeping their eyes set upon me about ten feet away. I meant them no harm. I felt guilt about the stress I was causing them. There was nothing they could really do to protect their young ones from me if I really wanted to harm them. They could only stand their ground and perhaps their chirps were telling me not to get closer. Just a few hours prior Mo and I were the chipmunks.

The tree was lying in a field near a small stream just down a slope from where we were camping. Quinn and I had checked out the area the night before taking a break from playing baseball while Maggie was recreating some plays or books and Mo was relaxing in the hammock. We had spent the day exploring Crater Lake and enjoying lovely weather on our trip.

We were about half an hour south of Bend, Oregon and discovered this spot about three miles from the main highway. It was not one of our free campsites. It was a state site that was a self-service area where we filled out a little paperwork, and dropped some money in a safe box. There were plenty of spots to choose from. We chose one away from some larger groups but still a couple other RV's not too far from us. We also noticed one guy set up all by himself just beyond the other RV's. I thought it was a little strange that he did not have a car or even a bike but did have some gear set out and a hammock set up but no tent. I figured he must have other people with him perhaps getting supplies and him just waiting for their return. Again, I didn't give it much thought and just enjoyed the evening playing with the kids and settling into BamBam for a good night's sleep before resuming our journey in the morning.

We all took our normal sleeping positions for the night. The kids 'downstairs' and us up in the bunk with most of our gear set in the front seats. The night was pleasantly cool, perfect for sleeping and I was all nice and cozy in my sleeping bag.

My peaceful slumber was suddenly interrupted when I heard the passenger door open and heard a voice say, "Hello." I had been in a dead sleep and so I didn't really think what I heard was real. It must be some kind of dream. Then I heard the voice again. My first thought was a ranger had come to our site as we had filled out the paperwork improperly and we would be forced to move.

Again the unfamiliar voice called out and now with Mo awake I knew this was not a dream. "Who are you?" the voice called out and now I could see a man sticking his head into our vehicle. He was not wearing a ranger hat and so I had to ask, "No, who are you?"

"I'm lost, where am I?" he asked. Mo told him the name of the campground where we located. "Where's that?" Mo again spoke up and gave him a better description of our location. I began to wonder how someone could get lost out here and find this place. There were no residences nearby, nor trails intersecting the area. Where the hell did this guy come from.

Mo's description of the place only confused him even more and he asked, "What country am I in?" I turned on the overhead light and saw it was after four in the morning and got a better look at him. My heart was racing as now fear was overtaking my confused tiredness. Before I knew it, the man stepped into the bus and somehow was able sit down in the passenger seat despite both kids car seats setting there.

I leaped down from the bunk standing between him and the kids who were very thankfully still asleep. "You need to get out," I clearly told him. He continued to mumble about where he was and I could clearly smell the alcohol on his breath. "You need to get out of the vehicle," I told him once again keeping my voice as calm as I could without letting him hear the fear overtaking me.

This was about the only night that we hadn't locked the vehicle. I normally locked the bus every night and kept the keys up in the bunk with me. Now I knew the keys were on the dashboard along with my wallet and easily within his reach. I wanted to move forward and grab these before he saw them in what little light there was in the vehicle. Although I was close to him, I didn't want to move past him to retrieve the keys, still not sure whether he had any weapons on him. All I could do was to say once again, "You need to get out."

"Someone's trying to kill the president," he said to me. "You need to get out, " was my only response. I kept anger out of my voice not wanting to escalate the situation. So far he had not threatened us, other than his mere presence. "It's cold outside," he said. "I'll help you find a place to sleep," I told him, just wanting him out. "We have a sleeping bag you can use," Mo told him. I was willing to give up a sleeping bag in order to get him out and keep my family safe.

He began to rumble around some of our stuff and I had to tell him once again to leave. Finally he opened the door and mumbled, "You guys, you guys" and then he stepped out of the vehicle and I was so thankful for power locks as I locked one door and thus all of them. My heart rate was still elevated as I wasn't sure where he had gone to or whether he was coming back.

I took a few moments to compose myself and then Mo and I began to discuss whether to call the police. The debate didn't last long as we were concerned for the safety of other campers. I found the extra phone my parents had lent us and Mo dialed 911. She described what happened and then gave our location. The dispatcher had a hard time understanding where we were located. Mo's description was very good and after handing her the atlas she gave even more details, which apparently were not helping the dispatcher. I plugged in the GPS and we gave her coordinates. The dispatcher asked to speak to me to give a description of the man. She proceeded to ask further details of our location, of which I couldn't really help as I couldn't see the map without my reading glasses and so I handed the phone back to Mo. I also had to fumble around to find out the number of the phone as I did not know it and our own phone was out of juice.

After we hung up, we still were unsure as to what to do and not sure where the man had gone to. I certainly wasn't about to get out to look for him. I contemplated just driving away with the kids still asleep in order to get some distance between us and this man. Mo and I talked more about what happened and wondered if the police would be coming or not.

Amazingly, a few minutes later I saw headlights pull into the campground. The vehicle didn't drive around the site but just stopped. Mo could hear some voices through the canvas and I kept my eyes on the vehicle that were soon joined by another. No blue lights, just headlights.

When a third vehicle pulled in there was now just enough light outside to see that it was indeed the police. I finally stepped out of the bus, really needing to relieve my bladder and feeling confident that the area was safe. Shortly thereafter a policeman came to the bus and began to question me as to what had happened. He asked me to check my vehicle to see if he did manage to grab anything before he left the vehicle.

Another office came up to me and said they had the man under custody. Apparently they spotted him immediately as he was inside someone's truck trying to start it up. I was still a little shaken and asked if this location or others were prone to incidents like this one. He said it was the first time he had ever responded to a call there and the only problems they had at campsites where when some people had drank too much and were causing trouble among their own parties.

The officer told us the man had been camping in a spot not far from us. And I knew exactly who he meant. I figure the man had probably drank himself into a stupor, fell asleep in his hammock and woke up very cold and then looked for a place warm to sleep.

It was still too early in the morning to start our day and the kids were still asleep so I crawled back into the top bunk after giving the officer all our necessary information. We watched the police question people in the nearby RV's and then some EMT workers came to clean up his campsite. After they all left, I slowly fell back to sleep with the doors locked.

I did wake up before the rest of the family and decided to take a walk around the area. Both the RV's had left and the man's campsite was also vacant. It was really hard to believe what we had gone through just a few hours ago. I walked down the slope to the field wanting to experience something real like nature. It was then that I saw the chipmunks scurrying around the fallen tree. I was marveled by the bravery of the parents. I was afraid of the feelings that I felt when I had to stand up to this man. I like the chipmunks could only stand my ground and use my words to protect my family.

I didn't want to share this story while we were on the road as I did not want our loved ones to worry about us. We still felt safe. Those that we did tell the story to would typically ask me if I had a gun. Of course, I did not. If I did I am sure only worse things would have happened. One, he might have found it and used it against us. Second, I would have been forced to use it and then would have a hard time explaining to our kids why some guys brains were scattered about the vehicle. Third, one of our kids would have gotten their hands on it and a tragic accident could have happened. At no time did this man actually threaten us, besides his mere presence. A gun would not have brought about a peaceful ending to this unfortunate event.

The local district attorney and I have been in contact since the incident. The man has been brought up on multiple charges and faces a hearing later in the month. He has entered a plea deal which if accepted will have him on probation for close to two years and numerous alcohol and mental health counseling. He has no prior record and I do agree that he will be better served by receiving counseling rather than spending time behind bars. If he had threatened me and my family then yes, I would like to see him do some hard time but really I hope counselling will prevent him from making future mistakes.

The kids still don't know what happened that night. We never told them as we do want them scared about spending the night in the camper or even a tent. We did not let it affect our trip. We did not let us be amazed by what a beautiful wonderful country we live in. We are thankful that we and others that night are all safe. Stand tall, hold your ground and chirp firmly.