River Hydroplane Race – Huntley Park

At Huntley Park, near Gold Beach, OR

The “Peace and Calm” of Huntley Park ended Thursday night until mid-day Sunday.  The fourth of July was not bad at all…but by Thursday night the park was 80% full, and by Saturday it was 100% full…not sure they turned anyone away, but managers Sean and Patty said they ‘filled ‘er up”… maybe they might of crammed someone in if they had a small rig, or a tent…but essentially they were full.  Saturday also brought out the Hydroplane boats.  Saturday was worse than race day on Sunday.  Most of the boats practiced, and they did not all practice at the same time…so we heard the revving up of the engines and whine of boat after boat most of the day with a short break at low tide around 1 pm. 

On Sunday, they loaded into the water around 9:45, started up and headed down to Gold Beach.  There was silence for about 15 minutes…then it sounded like an army of bees headed our way…got louder and louder and louder, then this guy in the pictures above showed up, followed by the other dozen boats or so.  The guy in the above two pictures was in the front from the start of the race to the end…so I figure he won.  There was no loud speakers, no announcers…it was just over, and silence once again fell on Huntley Park.

 

   

The most exciting part of the race was this Zebra Boat…the guy had to pull into the pits for a quick adjustment.  A minute or so later he started to get back into the race…but when he gave it full throttle, it knocked him out of his boat.  The “kill switch” did its work cutting the engine’s power, and one of the safety boats captured the boat.  I am sure it was a long, embarrassing walk out there to get his boat…just glad he did not get hurt because it could have been worse.  Only wish I had the picture...but it was behind some bushes from my view...oh well.

About 15 minutes later this ambulance comes storming into the campground, sirens cut as he pulls in, but lights still flashing (I just got unlucky and took the shot between flashes).  At first we thought it was for the racer who got knocked out of his boat, but it was for a camper down the way who had a diabetic attack…they hauled him off to the local hospital, with spouse trailing a bit behind after the tent and everything got packed up into their van thanks to neighboring campers.

After the race had ended, this guy shows up.  I thought at first that he was just a bit late….

…then realize he was in the race, broke down either up or down river, and they had to go pull his boat out.  This gal was taking a picture of the propeller area, so I assume that is what busted.

We knew it was going to be a crazy weekend, and it was.  But the people were all friendly, by 10 pm the quiet time was recognized by all, and other than the noise of fisherman pulling out with their boats in the early morning, all was quiet up past 8 am.   The worse part of the weekend was the overcast both days...had to run the engine to keep batteries charged to where I like them. Today it is 65 degrees, sun shinning, the quietness has returned, and frankly…just a bit boring….naw, just joking, we enjoy the peace and quiet.

My last fire update.  It is 100% contained…the sound of helicopters flying overhead is long gone.  The group renting the camp have claimed responsibility, according to the local newspaper, but they still won’t talk about “how” it happened.  They assured the paper that they had insurance, and it would cover the cost of putting the fire out…estimated to be over 1.5 million dollars now and rising.  However, I am certain the forestry company whose land also burned…who lost a 10+ year area of a Redwood Grove that they planted…is going to go after them for a business loss…hope they have lots and lots of insurance…well, on the other hand, going bankrupt and shutting their eco-activist business down might be better.

Smoke Free, Nearly Noise Free, 4th of July

At Huntley Park, near Gold Beach, OR

At our age, we YEARN for a nice, quiet place to enjoy the 4th of July.  Huntley Park seems just like the place.  Huntley Park is 7 miles up river from where Highway 101 crosses over the Rogue River…eliminate the twists and turns, we are probably 6 miles as the crow flies.  There was a large fireworks show in the harbor near the bridge in Gold Beach…we could faintly hear it from Huntley Park.  Could actually hear the “new tent neighbors” (man, woman, two little girls) way more than the fireworks…both adults like to talk loud, and …how can I describe this in a nice way…talk in a very impolite way to each other.

The Oregon Department of Forestry has taken over the fighting of the Lobster Creek Fire.  This fire has been handled VERY WELL by all those involved…unlike last year’s Chetco Fire where the fire, discovered in June, was allowed to burn uncontrolled until the August Winds blew it up to a 200,000+ acre fire.  Lobster Creek has been stopped at around 450 acres, it is fully lined (fire break all around it) and as of last night, it is 30% contained (large enough fire break that “if” fire blew back up, it is unlikely to cross that containment line.)  They have multiple heavy and medium lift helicopters working the fire, and the planes are ready to fly in from Medford, but they are not needed anymore.  Over 700 fire fighters are working the fire, and the command center and camp area has been moved to the Fairgrounds in Gold Beach.  Outside of Sunday night and Monday morning, we have been smoke free…and very little smoke is pouring out from the fire right now anyway.  If you want to see some good pictures, including a bucket drop of water on the fire, look at this site here.

These young men fought the fire all night long on Sunday, and a temporary camp was set up in one of the group areas here at Huntley Park where they came in Monday mid-morning, took showers, and then slept.  by 7 pm, they were gone, as was their entire camp site equipment…Marcia enjoyed the view for one morning. 

Around 8 pm two county sheriff’s cars came cruising through the campground.  At first I thought there might have been a problem, although the park is still less than 3/4 full…but then I realized they were making their presence known looking for firework activity.  Heck, it has been so free of booms and bangs that I forgot all about fireworks.  Glad to see them, we sure don’t need any stupid person starting a fire lighting off fireworks.

After I took the solar panel in for the night (see the black cord at the back of the motorhome, that’s what I hook the solar to), I took this shot to show that we now have more neighbors.  On Tuesday, only the cargo van, which is owned by the Camp Manager, was here…now we have a person sleeping in a van, and numerous RV’s that are beyond that trailer you can see at the back. 

Out our entrance door side we have the tenters, and two RVs off in the distance.  However, the Hydroplane Races are this weekend…there are two family reunions coming into the two group spots today, and I expect that we will be excited on Sunday evening after most of the people pull out and go home. 

Speaking of Solar earlier…yesterday was not a good solar day.  Lots of high clouds, marine layer stuff, keeping us with few glimpses of the sun (mostly as the sun was going down), and temperatures which were frankly just a bit on the colder side.  Had to run engine for 90 minutes to charge batteries during the evening hours.  Had a hard time sitting outside for very long, so I sat in the front seat and plugged in the Kindle and watched a Spaghetti Western which I had not seen before.  Even though it was the 4th, I went down to the Library on a hunch, and YES, their Internet was up and going and strong as I pulled up next to the building.  Filled up both Kindles with movies.  One thing about Spaghetti Westerns…you think you have seen them all, as you watch you realize that you have not seen this particular one, but it is as corny as all the other Spaghetti Westerns you have seen (outside of Clint Eastwood ones, of course).

I promise pictures of the hydroplane boats as they pass by.  We are elated that the fire is under control, and not a worry anymore.  Have decided to stay here until July 17th, then we started heading south to my son’s wedding.

Boat Races, Fire Evacuations Changes Our Plans

Huntley Park, Gold Beach Oregon

Unbeknown to us, we had the #1 Huntley RV Park view of the “Gold Beach Lower Rogue Challenge Hydroplane Boat Race” today.  The Cal-Ore River Racers (CORRA) series made its yearly stop in Gold Beach for the Whitewater Hydroplane race on the Rogue River, a 4-1/2 laps event starting from the Old Mill site (the Boondocking site I had alluded to in an earlier post) to Lobster Creek (where we visited the National Forest campground and reported on in that earlier post), and finishing at Huntley Park which also serves as the pit area for the race.  Oh boy, sounds like a nice, quiet, peaceful Sunday…what could top that?  Well, perhaps the company picnic party on Saturday with a live band playing for about six hours between 11 am and 7 pm…

But this boat race…well, that’s a big event!  Must draw what, 2 to 3 thousand people…considering there is no “cover charge” to watch the event outside of the $5 day use fee per car “if” they decide to pay it to use Huntley Park.  Well…think again…

This panoramic shot tells it all…maybe, just maybe…50 cars and trucks…maybe, just maybe, 100 people lining the shores…maybe, just maybe others along the route watching at the Lobster Creek Bridge, or at the boondocking site…but I doubt it.

This guy in the picture above apparently won the race…did not catch his name, nor his number, nor where he was from.  It wasn’t even close…

I got this shot of the winner (headed to the left) as he starts his victory lap around the Huntley Park Area while the third place boat has just finished the race.

The third place boat happened to pull up in the site next to us…and our neighbors hooked it up to their red truck and drove it away as they all left.  Not sure the connection, but they were from Oregon, and a few days ago one of the sons blew the motor/drive shaft in the boat he brought that was also a fast boat, but not a Hydroplane boat.

Of course, PICTURES say a thousand words…but only VIDEO will give you the BUZZ of these little contraptions as they buzz up and down the river!  The above video is 25 seconds long, and you can hear the BUZZ and the barking in the background is none other than Skruffy, voicing her opinion on all that BUZZZZZZZ.

Our plans have changes…there is a fire right where we were headed back to, Loeb State Park.  This fire was small and miles away when we left Loeb State Park three weeks ago.  Well, a few days ago it “jumped” the Chetco River, something the fire officials thought would not happen.  Now the fire is out of control because the winds these past few days have been high, swirling, and well, just what the fire ordered.

Found this picture on twitter from the Fred Meyer where we have done our shopping in Brookings, and as recently as this past Wednesday.  The smoke, the ash, so thick it blocks out the sun!  Loeb State Park was evacuated on Friday, and now the evacuations are starting just at the city limits of eastern Brookings.  Currently, as of 6 pm Sunday night, highway 101 is still open, BUT they are asking everyone to stay away due to traffic, smoke, ash, etc.  They may shut it down from time to time over the next few days.  Emergency crews are pouring in from all over the place.

So off to Coos Bay we head tomorrow.  Called Indian Creek RV park where we planned to stay for two day starting tomorrow, and asked if they were getting calls from people due to the fire…yes they were.  So we gave up our reservation, and we will drive up to Coos Bay tomorrow and stay in the boondocking area of the Mill Casino as we have done in the past (picture above is from 2015), or head over to I-5 and stay in the Myrtle Creek area, we should be back in the Sacramento area sometime Thursday…a few weeks ahead of schedule.

Remember that picture of a Osprey carrying a fish I had been trying to get?  Well, yesterday I got one..not as clear as I wanted, but I still got one.  Tomorrow the Eclipse will be around 95% in this area, we should see it if the wind continues and the fog does not come in, and we should be on the road by 11:00.  My ears are still buzzing from the boats, but the park is back to its pre-weekend quietness.