West Coast "Coastal Cruisin"

Marsha/CA said:

Forgot....I added the picture of the flowers hoping someone would know what they are.  They look like Fuscia to me; but hopefully someone will know.  They were growing wild and are beautiful.

Marsha~

Click to expand...

They are fuscias.  My mother used to have several hanging baskets of them.

Don't miss Winchester Bay in Oregon.  We like boondocking on the piers.  There is also a very nice full service campground there.

Jeannine

Giant Redwoods & Fern Canyon

My last post mentioned we were headed to visit the ?Avenue of the Giants? in the Humboldt Redwood State Park.  We were camped at Riverwalk RV Park in Fortuna which was very nice; but near the #101 so we could hear some road noise.  There was a Civil War Reenactment being held across the street, often we would hear cannon shots and the sound of long rifles, so the highway noise wasn?t really that much of a factor.  ;D We could see the reenactment from a river walk across from the campground; it was fun.

On Saturday, we packed a picnic along with the dog and did the entire ?Avenue of the Giants? ride.  The Giant Redwoods are very beautiful and I learned several new things.  Did you know?

1. A form of species of Coastal Redwoods has been in existence since before the time of dinosaurs? 
2. That Giant Coastal Redwoods are actually taller than Giant Sequoias.  Redwoods can reach a height of 360+ feet;      Giant Sequoias only 280 feet.
3. There is only one seabird that lays its eggs in the tree tops of the Redwoods; all other sea birds lay their eggs at lower levels.

After the drive, we decided to celebrate my birthday early; so we ate at the local microbrewery and had a blast.  We met some locals, tasted locally brewed beer and even sat near the Civil War Reenactment group.  It was fun.  The place was hopping because Fortuna was also hosting 300 off road motorcycle riders.

Sunday we drove less than 50 miles up to Trinidad, CA out on ?Patrick?s point? and are camped at a quaint-eclectic campground called "Sounds of the Sea".  We have a deck off of the front door of the coach and a view of the Pacific, along with blackberry bushes everywhere.  The tv cable attachment was buried in the blackberry bushes, and the electric box doesn?t have a cover; but we are doing fine.  We found a beach that would allow dogs, so Charlie got to play in the surf.  But after walking for some long distances, we are wondering how in the heck the beach volley ball gals and guys don?t die of exhaustion with the effort needed to walk in deep sand.  We all, including Charlie, slept well that night.

Yesterday, we drove up to Prairie Creek State park and hiked a few trails.  On the way we saw several elk herds and a couple of big bucks alone. Our kids had suggested that we go see ?Fern Canyon?.  So, we drove back along the coast into a deep forest that let in very little light and finally reached the trail head for the canyon.  It was breathtaking and we are so glad we went.  As we were starting our hike Tim noticed a little green tree frog on a leaf.  He wanted a picture to send to our granddaughter, so I gently grabbed the leaf to pull it for a better picture.  The dang little frog peed on my hand, I squealed and let go of the leaf at the same time he sprung off.  He must have flown through the air 15- 20 feet.  I bet that was further than he wanted to go  On the way to the Prairie Creek, we stopped at the ?Lady Bird Redwood Grove?.  It was also beautiful with thousands of huge ferns lining the trails.  I?ve included a picture of Tim who is 6?2? and you can see how big the ferns are.

Tomorrow we are headed to Gold Beach in Oregon and hope to line up some steelhead or salmon fishing. 

For those of you who have recommended Winchester Bay, I?m wondering if you stay at the state park campground there.  We think we might try that as it?s on a small lake and we can get the ?Paddleski? inflatable boat out and paddle around a bit.

The weather is holding out, as it?s beautiful in the afternoons and the sunsets are gorgeous.  However rain is predicted for tomorrow.

Wendy, I added a photo of Charlie in the surf for ya!

Marsha~

Marsha,

I've been promising myself for years to make the trip to the Avenue of the Giants. Your message and photos are giving me itchy feet.

Happy birthday!

Thanks for posting the photos Marsha.  Been a long time since I have visited the Redwoods.


HAPPY BIRTDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARSHA.

Thanks for the pics, especially the one of Charlie ! I see he has a "retriever" toy and he's certainly not the little puppy we met in Quartzsite last year!

I'm enjoying your trip. Sounds like you scared the pee out of that poor little frog. And your Sounds of the Sea campground sounds wonderful.

Wendy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARSHA.  Great photos.

We have always boondocked at the Douglas County park right at the marina.  We like to watch the fishing boats, Coast Guard activity and the activity at the crab dock.  There are other choices at the marina, also.  If memory serves, two parks with hookups.

We've also stayed at Tugman State Park on Eel Lake.  There should be plenty of spaces open this time of year.  Sometimes tough to get a sat signal, though.  One of those lakes close to 101 is off limits for boating as it's a water supply.  Can't remember which one, but it's well signed.  Eel Lake is OK for boating.

You might consider the Mail Boat (Jet Boat) ride up the Rogue River in Gold Beach.  We did that years ago and just loved it.  Earlier this summer Tom and I and Helaine and Wally celebrated our anniversaries by taking the Jet Boat ride down the Rogue from Grants Pass.  That was really nice, too.

I look forward to your journal posts each day and really enjoy the pictures.  Happy Birthday, Marsha!

Margi

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone.

Margi, we were actually looking at the brochures for the Mail boats (jet boat) rides this afternoon and thinking about going.  You've cinched the decision for us.  We are now at 4 Seasons RV park.  I though we'd like to be more upriver than near Gold Beach.  We are 7 miles inland; the river is beautiful.  Tim's going to talk to some guides tomorrow about salmon/steelhead fishing.

Marsha~

Marsha,

We have stayed several times in the free camping on the marina "spits". Great fun.
We have also stayed in the RV Resort. Its nice that on the sites facing into the harbor they are set up to pull-in so that in a motorhome the windshield is facing the harbor.

We have never stayed in the campground, but it looks fine.

ken

Marsha:

Enjoy the mail boat ride!  I just sent you a private message with our phone numbers in case you and Tim return via I-5.  Would love to see you here in Sutherlin, OR.  Wally and Helaine are here, also, until the middle of October (or longer if I can figure out how to yank the wires on their motorhome. : )

Margi

Gold Beach and the Mail Boat Ride?..Winchester Bay, Oregon

We arrived in Gold Beach on Wednesday, after leaving the eclectic campground with its cool little deck behind.  Even though the campground was named ?Sounds of the Sea?, we did not hear any sounds related to the sea.

Our fuel tank was about ? full so we decided we would wait and fill up in Oregon thinking that diesel would be cheaper.  In California we passed diesel prices at $4.29 or $4.33 even $4.59.  As we crossed into Oregon we found diesel was just a few cents cheaper and got it at $4.25 a gallon.  <gulp>  Made it to the 4 Season?s campground just 7 miles inland from Gold Beach.  Our thought was that if the salmon were running, we?d be upstream?yeah?right.  No such luck.

If you decide to camp at 4 Seasons be aware that there is a ?tippsy? young lady who follows you to your campsite and watches you as you back into your assigned site.  Tim was driving, and I kept telling the sweet young thing that I would not let him put one wheel on the grass and that we would get as close to the concrete patio as possible, just as they asked us to do.  It was an adventure.

Toured around on Thursday, again buying more groceries, dog food and ate at the ?Bunyan Biggest? hamburger joint in downtown Gold Beach.  It wasn?t all that great, but good.  We checked with some fishing guide services and found that the salmon were just sitting in the bay and had not headed up stream yet.  We weren?t interested in just dropping anchor and plunking our rods in the water, so elected to hold off on the fishing for the moment.  Instead we decided to do a jet boat ride up the Rogue River, and since Margi said they had fun, we thought it was a good idea.

At O?dark thirty on Friday, we got up, took care of the animals and walked down to the dock where the jet boat was to pick us up.  We packed extra warm clothes, sunscreen and all the extras we thought we would need.  I remembered Betty and Terry?s adventure with a jet boat ride in Canada and wondered if this driver would have an evil grin on his face as he ?drenched? us with cold river water. 

It was freezing when we got on the boat, but well worth it, we had a ball.  On the way up river we saw eagles, osprey, herons and even a bear mamma and her cub.  The mamma scooted off in the woods, but the baby cub swam across the river.  It was so neat to watch.  Tim saw a river otter, but I missed it.  The water was not as high as with winter run off, so we were skimming over riffles and dodging boulders.  I know I was supposed to be afraid, but it was a ball.  I?m certain, if the water had been higher and faster, I might have a different opinion.  Our driver did get us wet?.but no evil grin.  Tom, I did notice in their brochure, they noted that the driver was a ?certified hydroboat driver?; what ever that means.  BTW, this was the longest time we had left Charlie, the poodle puppy alone in the coach.  We weren?t sure what to expect, but he was great!   

This morning we pulled out from camp driving north on Highway 101, with its beautiful costal ride, and are now in Winchester Bay.  Those of you who have recommended this place, thank you?.it is so beautiful.  We elected to stay at the Winchester Bay RV park right out on the jetty.  I was a bit concerned when we pulled in because we didn?t make reservations and the place looked packed; but we got a spot.  I shouldn?t have worried; there were plenty of places to boondock, that would have been just fine too. 

It seems everyone here is ?crabbing? with boiling pots cooking everywhere.  It?s a riot to walk out on the pier and watch people pull up the crab rings, dump their crabs out on the pier and begin measuring them.  The crabs scurry every which way, with kids squealing trying to catch them and not getting pinched. 

For those of you who aren?t familiar with crabbing, you rent or buy large round steel nets, put bait inside and drop it over into the water with a long rope attached.  After a period of time, you pull up the ring and retrieve the crabs.  They can be any size and there are different species.  But they have to be a certain size before you can keep them.  Some people ?crab? from the piers, off the shore, or from boats.  You bring them home, then get a big pot of water boiling and drop the little suckers into the boiling water.  At one campsite we saw 2 long picnic tables covered with ?oil cloth? table cloths and the cooked crabs were all over the table, with shells everywhere.  Tim and I are actually giving some thought to trying it out tomorrow.

Winchester Bay is also near the Oregon Dunes Park, so there are a lot of ATVs, but they are restricted to certain areas.  Plus tomorrow is Sunday, so most will be going home.

I'll try to get "crabbing" action shots tomorrow.
Marsha~

Marsha,
I' m really enjoying  your travels.  Having done the jetboat ride  up the Rogue River, I'm glad you did not miss it.  Have you been out to the lighthouse at night near Winchester Bay?  It is delightful .  I think traveling with no reservations will grow on you.  Yesterday it rained all day so we were able to extend our stay to accomodate nicer weather. 
The thumbnail photos take longer for me to open now but it's like having to  unwrap a present!


Betty

Visiting Hershery's Chocolate World

Marsha

Don't forget to go up to the Lighthouse and Coast Guard station. Great view of the oyster beds and you may get lucky and see some whales. Take a tour of the lighthouse and come back at nite to see the "light show" of the lighthouse's beam.

OK, we'll check out the lighthouse tonight.  So far the weather has been great.  This morning there isn't a cloud in the sky nor any fog.

Marsha~

Oysters and Winchester Bay,

Sunday we woke to a beautiful day, did some laundry, sat around and just totally enjoyed ourselves, except that I seemed to be a bit under the weather.  I had a cough, achy body and just enjoyed sitting in the sunshine.

On Monday, the fog/clouds tried to disappear, but hung on.  Tim and I were totally engrossed in the House of Representative vote on the Bailout Bill, so we hung around the coach in the morning.  Plus, Tim ended up with my yuckiness  (a new word I?ve created) so we stayed close to home.  In the afternoon he felt better so we went looking for crab meat already caught  and a bakery.  When one doesn?t feel well, a good Danish makes all the difference in your health.  ;D  Didn?t find either the crab meat or the Danish, so we visited the lighthouse.  We toured the museum and the lighthouse.  It was very interesting in that the Coast Guard, who owns and maintains the lighthouse, wanted to remove the ?fennel? lens in the Umpqua Lighthouse and replace it with a cheaper form of light.  The community rallied, wrote their politicians and put pressure on the Coast Guard to continue operating the lighthouse in the manner it was created.  It worked, the lens remains today the same as when it was established.

The tour included a climb up into the lens, which actually was a work of art.  The tour guide told us a story about the man, Fennel, who created the lens.  Fennel was a mathematical genius.  He lived in France and when one of the Napoleons wanted him to make armored warfare equipment he refused and was put in prison.  His constituents put pressure on Napoleon who released Fennel and put him to work creating the highly designed lens for lighthouses.  This lens was imported from Paris.

During the tour we saw the oyster ponds down below the lighthouse where they grow and harvest oysters hung on long ropes.  The difference between these oysters and others is that they are not on the ocean floor; therefore making them cleaner and better tasting.  After leaving the lighthouse we went to the oyster ?shucking? facility and got there too late to see them harvesting the oysters; but we did buy a small pint of oysters.  I talked to the clerk and she told me how to fry them.  For dinner that night we had a big salad and I did my oyster thing.  We didn?t have any hot sauce; but I did have shrimp cocktail. 

Tim and I weren?t sure we would like the oysters; but we ended up eating the entire batch.  We couldn?t decide if we actually liked the oysters or if it was the cocktail sauce we liked.  That night I visited the lighthouse with it unique lighting hitting the trees in it?s 2 light of white and 1 light of red.  It was very pretty.

I had been exchanging emails with Margi Binninger and she invited us to stop in at their Escapees Park, Timber Valley when we left Winchester Bay.  Helaine and Wally also live there; and an added bonus is that Fred and Daisy are also there for a few days enjoying the warm sunshine.    I?ve started another thread entitled "SKP Oregon Rally".

From here we are heading south toward Medford and the upper Rogue Valley.

Marsha~

Thanks for bringing us a pint of oysters from Winshester Bay.  Yummmm yummmm!

Margi

Valley of The Rogue River

We waved our good-byes to the ?party animals? Escapees group on Wednesday morning heading to Valley of the Rogue State Park.  I had a back up plan if we could not fit in the state campground or find a sight that was satellite friendly.  As Tim dumped the motorhome, I scouted out a couple of camping sites we thought might work.  With compass in hand, I faced southeast and tried to make sure there were no trees.  We ended up in a great spot. This campground has large sites, very RV friendly and it?s been a really nice place to stay.  However there are trees, so it maybe difficult for satellites.  They have a lot of open space outside the camping sites with trails and places to take dogs.  Plus, blackberries are everywhere and I can?t go very many steps without sampling a few.  The campground parallels the Rogue River; but interstate 5 is also close.  A couple of times we?ll hear the exhaust brake on a trucker.

Thursday we had a look around, did grocery shopping and little domestic stuff.  We also found a good rain coat for Tim.  His old one just wasn?t doing the job.  Our reason for camping here at Valley of the Rogue is that we could take day trips to both the Oregon Caves National Monument and Crater Lake National Park.  We could also scout out the salmon/steelhead fishing in Shady Cove.  So, it was fairly central to things we wanted to do; plus we are saving diesel fuel by not doing so much driving in the coach.

In doing my research, I found that there is a quaint little town near here that is on the National Historic list.  It?s called Jacksonville.  Off we headed Friday morning in a light drizzly rain.  It is a very cute town with old Victorian houses.  They also have a new housing development where the homes are built to look like ?ginger bread homes? and old Victorians.  It was actually quaint with the downtown part looking like an old western cow town.  When we looked at the map we were trying to make a driving loop from Jacksonville to Oregon Caves.  We punched the address into ?Garmin Jill? and voila` we were off.  When I looked at the paper map, it looked like a much longer distance from Jacksonville to the Caves than what good ol` Garmin Jill was giving us.  We gave it some thought then decided to trust Jill.  The roads were good starting off and it was fun driving through the back roads of Southern Oregon; then the road went to a one lane forest road and finally about 5 miles from the Caves it went to muddy gravel; not to mention the road was steadily climbing the mountain.  Our little Hyundai Tucson does not have 4 wheel drive; although it does have high clearance.  We looked at each other and said?forget it, we are not gonna get stuck out here with no cell service and gawd forbid?no food.  If we would have been in Tim?s 4 wheel drive Chevy truck, we probably would have tackled it.

Turned around, retraced our route and drove to the Caves via regular highways.  We got there in plenty of time.  The Caves are very nice and well worth our double attempt at reaching them.  When we bought our tour tickets, I mentioned that our GPS gave a route to the caves via forest service roads.  The ranger said that lots of people came in that way.  So, Jill, was somewhat right.  ;D 

The tour is about 1 ? hour long.  The significance of this cave is that there is a lot of calcite resulting in a lot of marble in the cave; which was evident.  The tour involved some scooting under rock ledges, as well as, climbing lots of stairs.  We found it fascinating.  For Tim and I who have sat around a great deal this last year, it was not strenuous at all.  There is a lodge which was built in 1932.

The next morning, Saturday, we packed a picnic and headed to Crater Lake.  We were hoping perhaps the rain would clear and kept our fingers crossed the entire 70 some miles one way while driving in moderate rain.  We are such ?hopefully people?the glass is always half full? or maybe the truth is we love adventures.

On the way to Crater Lake, there is a pull off where you can see the ?Rogue Gorge?.  It?s a relatively small canyon/gorge where the Rogue River squeezes through and shoots out the end of the canyon with extreme force.  The water flows at 400,000 cubic feet per minute, which would fill an Olympic swimming pool in about a minute?s time. 

Finally we reached the entrance to Crate Lake N.P. where I got to use my brand new ?senior? pass for the parks system.  Wahoo!  Getting older does have some benefits.  We drove to the Visitor?s Center and watched a short video on the history of the lake.  As we exited the video room, I looked through the large picture window and saw very big snow flakes falling.  Stupid me, asked if it was snow?.the rangers thought I?d lost my sanity?of course its snow.  De java vu?get so close then miss it.  The ?look out? was only 3 miles, but it was up the mountain.  Tim and I being adventurous souls decided to go have a look anyway and when we got there couldn?t see a blasted thing.  But hey, we are troopers and gave it our best shot.  The gift center at the look out was open, and the coffee good. 

On the way back down we stopped at a ?Sno-Park?.  Now for those of you who don?t know what a snow park is, it?s a large parking area for people with snow mobiles, or as Sarah Palin calls them, ?Snow Machines?.    Sno Parks are also trail heads.  We donned our rain gear (we had driven down to below the snow line) and took Charlie, the poodle puppy for a hike, as the poor puppy had spent nearly 2 days in the car.  He was thrilled.

Today, Sunday, we are still in Valley of the Rogue.  Tomorrow we are driving a total distance of 35 miles to Ashland, Or.    Ashland, is known for it?s Shakespeare plays and other events.  We aren?t sure what is or isn?t going on; but we wanted to walk the town and check it out.

As for the salmon/steelhead fishing, I guess we are just plain out of luck.  The fish are not running and we are a bit too early.  And to be honest Tim and I weren?t sure we wanted to sit in a boat with pouring down rain in the hopes of catching one.  Are we wimps or what?

Marsha~

Sorry, forgot the victorian house jpg.

Marsha~

Marsha,

Aren't you glad you weren't in the motorhome on that pretty snowy road.  That's a neat cave.  Don't believe we've been there so something else to do on a trip up that way.

ArdraF

Marsha,

I have a distant cousin in Jacksonville.  If you were to go about 3 blocks south fromthe place you took the picture of downtown, you would be near her house.  We love Jacksonville and now have another reason to visit as Pat has a niece and her family that have just moved there from Ventura.  My family has had some one in Jacksonville since before 1900!  VBG