No snow woes, so far, for woman living in tent at Lowden State Park campground

OREGON – Sarah Wright and her dog Luna weathered Tuesday’s winter storm in good shape, the 69-year-old said late Wednesday from her tent at Lowden State Park.

“We did fine with this past storm,” she said. “The next one coming seems more serious but my tent never moved an inch so I feel safe.

“I did a little snowshoeing, but not enough snow to have fun,” she added.

Wright, who says she is a seasoned camper, was never worried about the forecast which brought several inches of wet, heavy snow to northern Illinois.

Wright did make one modification to her cabin tent in preparation for the upcoming winter weather modifying an extension pole used for painting into a center pole to prevent the dome from collapsing under the weight of the snow.

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.

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

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.

Inside her tarp-covered tent, Wright has cots, a propane heater and a small cooking area. She keeps water in jugs, collected from one of the park’s public drinking faucets, and has access to electricity at the campsite.”

I’ve camped in Alaska. I am not worried,” she said in an earlier interview.

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.

Wright said she is thankful for the “outpouring of love and gifts” people have given her.