Winter storm doesn’t faze woman living in tent at Ogle County campground

OREGON – Sarah Wright just smiled when asked if she was worried about the snow storm forecasted to bring several inches of snow to northern Illinois through Wednesday.

“I’ve got my snow shoes,” said the 69-year-old as she stood outside her home – a tent at Lowden State Park.

With temperatures dropping to the mid-30s and 7-11 inches of snow forecast for Tuesday through Wednesday, Wright did make one modification to her cabin tent.

“Come and look inside,” she said Sunday, peeling back the tarp that covers the tent. “I took one of the extension poles that you use for painting and I made a center pole because this tent doesn’t have a center pole.”

On Tuesday, Wright said her modification was holding strong.

“So far doing great and no snow on my tent. The next wave will be the test,” she said.

Wright has been living in a tent with her dog, Luna, at Lowden since October. Throughout the spring, summer and fall she alternated between the area’s state parks while trying to find rental property that will allow her to keep her pets.

She previously lived in Polo before the apartment building she was living in was cited by the city as unfit for human occupancy and has since been slated for demolition.

Because of Luna and her three cats, Wright has been unable to find rental housing that allows tenants to have all her pets. Her cats are staying with a friend in Polo, while Wright and Luna stay at Lowden.

Many area residents have reached out to Wright to help her secure better accommodations. Brad Parkinson, of Oregon, gave Wright a 1995 cargo van and a 1975 camping trailer after he met Wright while he was walking his dogs at the state park.

Parkinson even covered the cost of the title and registration transfer and six months insurance for the van.

The van and camper are just steps in helping her get back on her feet as she searches for a new, permanent residence, he said.

On Dec. 23, Parkinson and Tony Duran of Franklin Grove organized a motorcycle fundraising ride that started with a raffle at Ogle County Brewery in Oregon, and traveled 10 miles north on state Route 2 to Byron, before heading back south nine miles on River Road to Lowden.

Cash donations can still be made to Wright at the Oregon NAPA store, where Parkinson works as a driver.

“We are still trying to raise money for Sarah for her continuing journey and fixing up the camper and finding a permanent location,” Parkinson said. “Right now she is in the middle of refurbishing and hopes to be in there soon, probably February. Many moving parts to the story, but ultimately trying to keep her comfortable until the end result.”

A native of Virginia, Wright moved to Illinois in 2011 to be near her father. In 1998, she visited the Polo area and White Pines State Park with her dad.

Her path to living in a tent at Lowden included being flooded from her rental home near Fulton, living out of a storage unit, staying in an unheated garage loft in the Rock Falls/Sterling area (offered by a friend at no charge) and a homeless shelter.

During those months, she continued to seek a place for herself and her pets, and she has applied for housing through the Ogle County Housing Authority.

She started camping at White Pines State Park and Lowden in April, alternating between the two, adhering to the parks’ 14-night consecutive stay limit.

Without a vehicle, Wright has relied on the kindness of others and one Polo man in particular, Mark McGinnis, who moved her and her belongings to and from each park every two weeks during the summer.

Inside her dome tent, Wright has cots, a heater and a small cooking area. The tent is covered in blue tarps to help keep it warm and dry. She keeps water in jugs, collected from one of the park’s public drinking faucets, and has access to electricity at the campsite.

Wright worked in law enforcement while in Virginia and spent a few years in security for a retail store in Virginia Beach in addition to various other jobs, she said. Social Security is now her sole source of income.

On Sunday, Wright said she has plenty of propane for her small heater that she uses inside the tent.

“I’ve got 120 pounds of propane for my ‘Mr. Buddy’,” she said referring to the heater. “And I have my sled and a shovel. I’ve camped in Alaska. I am not worried.”

Wright said she also has all the parts to repair the 8-foot-by-13-foot Cascade camper and has been getting help from more local residents to get the repairs made.

“We’re getting a real high-end cover so we can really get working on the inside of it,” Wright said. “Depending on the weather we hope to get that work done and get it ready for the cats next weekend. We pretty much have all the materials for it. And the van is running really well.

“The outpouring of love and gifts that people have given me has been amazing. I am so thankful.”