A Different Look at Eclipse

From Huntley Park Oregon to McCloud California

  

   

Yes, this is taken on Eclipse Day…no, it is not the MOON blocking out the sun, it is the SMOKE.  We did watch the Eclipse from Huntley Park Oregon, then proceeded over to Myrtle Creek…then to Medford…then to Talent where we stayed the night in a Rest Area.  ALL of these pictures taken above were taken between Myrtle Creek and the California border yesterday and today.  The bottom right picture was taken as we were leaving Harry and David in Medford…about 6:45 pm.  NEVER seen the smoke so thick, and this smoke is being attributed to the fire near Brookings, called the Chetco Bar Fire.

When you stay in an area for a month, and then a MAJOR fire takes place in that area, the connection you made sucks your emotions into what is going on.  You have met nice people in the past month…the hosts at Alfred Loeb State Park, the checkers at Fred Meyer in Brookings, or at McKay’s Market in Gold Beach, the workers at Indian Creek RV Park, the hosts at Huntley Park, and of course, D & D of Double D’s Cafe in Gold Beach and their entire family, most of whom we had the pleasure of meeting.  All of these people are being affected because they know people who have evacuated…and they probably know or know of the five families who have lost their homes so far…with many more threatened.  In the above map I have added, in RED, the various places we stayed at…along with the Fire Perimeter.  They listed the two levels of evacuations areas…level 2 is be prepared to leave, level 3 is get the heck out of there.

It did not take us long on Oregon Highway 42 before we started to see the thick smoke.  We went north because they asked people not to drive down highway 101 toward Brookings…too much stuff going on down there.  By the time we got close to I-5, we could smell it.  We drove by On the River Golf & RV Park, a place we have stopped by many times before…they looked full to the brim, and the smoke was just too thick.  Didn’t even try our back-up plan in Myrtle Creek, Millsite RV Park, a city park, because the smoke was just too thick.  We went on to Medford to visit Harry and David…Sis LOVES Moose Munch, and since her and Arny both have birthdays next week, one day apart, we had to pick up “stuff”.  (I can see her licking her chops already…)  After the shopping spree, we headed to Talent where there was suppose to be a RV Resort through Passport America, which looked promising on paper…but it ended up being a HUGE DUMP…one of the worse we have seen…and it was also full…and we did not want to stay there even if they had sites open…yes, it was that bad.  And how do they even come to think they are a resort????  So we stayed at a Oregon Rest Area….along with many other people, most of whom were Californians headed back home after the full eclipse.

There was a wreck about 5 miles before Medford.  Marcia and I were counting the California plates as they went by us…4 out of 5 vehicles were California plates, with occasional Arizona and other states in the mix, and about 1 out of 5 were Oregon plates.  So it is safe to say…some Californian did something stupid and caused a wreck.  By the time we got up to it, an hour later, it was gone, so it is just a “educated guess”… 

So this morning we had our coffee, a quick breakfast and off to McCloud California to one of our favorite RV parks in NorCal…McCloud RV Resort which we have been to 3 or 4 times now.  We DON’T like the prices necessarily, and they have some strict rules about their grass…which keeps the grass in such good condition I guess.  But it is not as hot as other Northern California areas, has lots of shade (although we lose our shade around 1 and it isn’t back until 5), and it is very peaceful.

Of course, there are jerks who like to park their trucks on another person’s site…but I won’t go into that…nor the nine attempts to back into his site…yes NINE.   Now on the other side of his trailer he has three chairs, lots of other camping stuff, along with his park provided table…and there is room to back his truck up more, but heck…he would probably hit the fence or his awning, so it is much easier just using a chunk of our site.  And then there is the bigger jerk who let both his dogs off leash, and when I spotted them, I did not take Bubba or Skruffy their way...but they both made it over our way.  His Shepherd got a bit noisy, which then gets Skruffy going, and frankly, I was ready to give it a hit in the noise had it become aggressive.  The guy says, "Sorry, did not know it got out...", and just then the Shepherd comes running over.  I had seen them, and I knew he knew they were out, so I just said, "You know, that is why they make leashes."  He did not look at me, he just got his dogs and walked away.  GRRRR!!!

   

But the park is just a lovely place, and we are here for two nights.  Yesterday’s drive was twice as long as it needed to be…it is only 120 miles from Huntley to the Rest Area…but that route is on a paved, National Forest road which is not recommended for RVs.  Had we gone through Crescent City, it would have been a 160 mile trip…but as it was, due to the fire, we drove over 240 miles.  And once we hit I-5, the traffic was a a crawl numerous times due to traffic and wrecks.  So two days to regain our sanity is in order…then we will head the 4+ hours back to my sister’s house…with a stop at a Truck/RV wash on the way back to Sacramento, one which we have used in the past…and after all the dust and dirt we accumulated these past seven weeks, it needs it.  As for us…the long showers we had this afternoon felt real nice…the 94 degree weather, well, that did not last very long.

And YES, we did watch the eclipse, or at least I tried to get some pictures of it.  This is the best one I got, about 9:55 am, 20 minutes before our 95% coverage.  No matter what, the sun was too bright for the eyes, and our camera did not do so well capturing it.

Up The River

Huntley Park, Gold Beach Area, Oregon

No, not in prison...just moved up the Rogue River by about 7 miles.  Our week at Indian Creek is up, and we moved to Huntley Park, just like we thought.  There are around a dozen or more sites open when we arrived, and three which were up against the river.  We took #6, which is close to the entrance, right across from the host, and lots of sun for the solar panel.

Walked across the road to the host station and paid up for a week, only $77.  There is water in the park to fill our tanks, no dump station, so we will be traveling down the 8 miles to the free dump station in Gold Beach on Thursday.  Our plans are to be here for two weeks, the maximum stay.  Since we “have” to pass by Indian Creek when we do leave, we have reservations for two nights starting two weeks from today so that we can do laundry, take massive showers (instead of these very quick showers we take with no sewer hookups), and get on their WiFi again.  Speaking of their WiFi…overall ‘most of the time’ it is pretty good.  Clocked speeds of up to 20 mbs while there.  However, every night around 6 or 7, and through 10 or 11, it really slowed down.  There were also times that we just got knocked off…not both of us, sometimes me, sometimes Marcia, sometimes the Kindle…to get back on again we typically had to restart our computer.  So outside of those “hick-ups”, I was pleased with it as RV Park WiFi’s go.

It is SO NICE to be out of the crowded park and back to a more ‘nature state’.  (No mom, I am not running around in the nude…that is a different son.)

Jerry’s Flat Scenic Route

Gold Beach, Oregon

As I was doing laundry on Tuesday I noticed a “scenic route” map near the office and laundry area which I rapidly became familiar with.  We need to find a place to stay after this campground to help fill the gap before we go back to Alfred Loeb State Park down in Brookings.  I want to get to Loeb around the 23rd, so that we can stay there for two weeks, which takes us through Labor Day. 

About six miles up Jerry’s Flat is a county camp ground called Huntley Park.  What I did not know was if there was an adequate Internet connection at Huntley Park for us.  So today we took the scenic route up Jerry’s Flat Road to visit Huntley Park, and then continue along the scenic route over Lobster Creek Bridge and back down to Gold Beach on the other side of the Rogue River.

    

The four pictures above of the Rogue River were taken during our drive today.  The Rogue River is a beautiful river in the is area…lots of water right now, room for more water during times of high rains, and just some wonderful views when you can find the views through the dense brush and forest along the route.  Enough views that it is worth the 20 mile drive.  We did it in our motorhome, and had no problems, although there are two one lane bridges, and about a half of mile of no divider line showing both lanes.

Here is the route we took today, although we did go into Gold Beach to check out a few things…including the free dump station at the Gold Beach Public Works Department on 5th street.  When we stay at Huntley Park, there is no dump station…so we will need to drive to Gold Beach 4 days into our stay to empty our tanks.

We drove through Huntley Park and saw about 6 or 7 empty spots, and all the spots can easily fit our motorhome.  Took a picture of their information board…and it will cost us $77 for a week.  There are no hookups, but there is plenty of sun, so I think we can keep our batteries charges with small amount of generator time…or engine time if we feel the noise would bother others.  The park is 6 miles inland, so the temps will be cool.

Lobster Creek National Forest Campground is just 2 1/2 miles up Jerry’s Flat road, and was right on our path…so we pulled in.  The website I looked at said there were 7 camping spots, 3 or 4 for small RVs.  Well, we saw 2 site, besides the camp host site, which could fill the bill.  But the biggest thing was that Internet really was bad…1 bar 3G and it came in and out (without booster or antenna.)  One bar of 3G, compared to 2-3 bars of 3G at Huntley’s, or 1 bar of 4G at Huntley’s…easy choice.  Lobster Creek would only cost us $4 per day…but without Internet, it just won’t do.  There are other NF campgrounds up the river…but they won’t have Internet either, so we just crossed the single lane bridge going over the Rogue River and started our way back.

This area of the Rogue River is ‘ripe’ for boat tours, and there seems to be a few different outfits in Gold Beach who fill the bill for those who wish to cram into a boat and head up river for 15-25 miles.

It is also a paradise for  the canoe and kayak enthusiast.  This couple looked like they were really enjoying their outing.

      

Of course, this time of year the big thing is fishing.  Picture upper left I took on my walk the other day…picture right shows the boats out at the river where it meets the Pacific.  (If you click on the picture you will see there are many more boats out there closer to the Pacific).  The Salmon are just starting to run… in a few weeks they are having their annual Fishing Derby sponsored by the the Curry Sport Fishing and the Gold Beach Rotary Clubs.

We also were able to get a good picture of the Gold Beach Bridge, one of the numerous Conde McCullough bridges which are along US 101 in Oregon.  We first learned about McCullough back in 2012, and we enjoy seeing his bridges along the coast.  Back in 2013 we took a picture similar to this one above.  Many of his bridges have interesting Gothic spires.

We have really enjoyed our stay here at Indian Creek RV Park in Gold Beach.  We have four more nights, and then on Monday we will try and get into Huntley Park.  There are a few options if that fails, but I think we will be able to get into the park after the weekend.  I cannot see a time limit at Huntley Park, but I am sure you can stay at least a week because they have a weekly rate. 

Indian Creek and Rogue River, Best Picture I have ever taken of an Osprey

Gold Beach, Oregon

This is the bridge I have to cross a couple of times each day as I take the doggies on their walk.  The RV Park gives you three options as to “where to walk the dogs”, and this is the best option.  Tried the option across the street today, and it just is not good.  There is another option in the back of the park near the tents…but I still feel walking over Indian Creek is the best.

This is a shot of Indian Creek while on the bridge…not much of a creek right now, but during the “wet season” or a good rain storm, it does get pretty high.  Up stream about 1/3 of a mile is the Indian Creek Salmon Hatchery, which had its beginnings in 1906 by Robert Deniston Hume, and was completely operated and finance by the Hume family for many years.  In 1926 the State of Oregon ran the hatchery, but closed it in the mid-1930’s.  In 1983 the Knox family, (Bob, Charles and Scott), built a hatchery building, received approximately 200,000 “eyed” eggs from the Cole River Hatchery, which were hatched young fish were eventually released through a pipe into Indian Creek. When the salmon returned years later, some pairs were kept at the hatchery, some were transported further up Indian Creek, and others were transported to various creeks feeding the lower Rogue River.  Today the hatchery is a joint effort of the State of Oregon and the Curry Anadromous Fishermen who, with others, volunteer over 4,000 hours per year in the hatchery.

Took me a little walk towards the hatchery…and saw some signs in the distance.

    

Well, it looks like they don’t mind having visitors when the know the visitors are coming…otherwise, stay away…so I turned around and walked back to the RV Park.

Monday afternoon when I took the dogs for a walk, I saw this Osprey nest up in a tall tree…at the time the adult Osprey was in another tree.  Today, I caught it sitting near the nest.  On my way back from the road to the hatchery, I caught it in the nest.  There was a lot of noise coming from the nest, but I did not see any of the young ones…but I am certain they are there.

Despite having lots of Osprey in Florida where we live…this is the best picture I have ever taken of one.  It is a beauty.

    

Across the street from the RV Park entrance (picture upper left) is a turnout and parking area with access to the Rogue River for fisherman and hikers (picture upper right).  So before I went walking toward the fish hatchery, I decided to take a walk to Rogue River.  Glad to see the Rotary Sign at the entrance to forest infested trail down to the river, with blackberry vines all along the way.  

Fairly quickly came to a “Y” intersection…decided to take the left turn instead of the right turn.  After walking a long ways, and passing this Rotary Bench, which is turned facing a bunch of brush for some odd reason, I realized about halfway there that it was headed to the Rogue River Bridge in Gold Beach, .8 miles from the RV Park.  So I turned around, and when I got the bench, I took a little rest despite the board holding up the back of the bench.

Got back to the “Y” intersection and took the right path, which turned out to be the right path to take…soon I was at river’s edge.  The Rogue River is a river we are familiar with…just not here near the Pacific Ocean.  Back in 2012, we were camping in Prospect Oregon…and on a walk, Skruffy fell into the Rogue River.  Thank goodness she was on leash, and she swam back to shore and I was able to help her back up out of the water.  Cold and scared, she shook it off. 

It is Salmon season, and there are lots of fisherman around.  Heard a number of boats while walking along the river, but this is the only one I saw.

In the picture above, the water to the far right is Indian Creek, as it enter into the much larger Rogue River.  Found a log to sit on and just enjoyed the view for a bit.  Only problem was…the log was very close to the ground…not the easiest position to try and get one’s self up from, but since the only three people I saw down at the river walking had already left, I pretty much just made a fool of myself getting up to myself.  Of course, I wouldn’t have asked for help had anyone been around…just thankful they were gone.  Note to self:  “Next time you sit on a log, be sure it is a larger log about the height of a chair” 

Indian Creek RV Park for a Week

Gold Beach, Oregon

After making the dump run to Brookings last week, we talked it over and decided that we needed a week “off of our aircard”, or we were going to be paying for 4 and up to 7 gigs of overage charges on our next Verizon bill.  First, it is a 31 day billing period, not the normal 30.  Second, we were at 15 of our 40 gigs, and only 11 of our 31 days were gone.  That put us on course for  45 gigs, at $15 per gig for each gig over 40.  So I called Indian Creek RV Park in Gold Beach.  I had read that they had decent weekly rates, as low as $155 if you don’t mind being stuck into an RV Park like a Sardine into a can.  However, they had three more options, a premium site for $240 per week, pull-through for $210, and what they call a “Circle Site” for $198.  Thank goodness we got a “Circle Site”, at least the sardine feeling is not as prevalent.  (There are five circles, just a handful of pull-through sites, even fewer premium sites, and many sardine sites.)

Each circle has plug-ins for up to seven RVs.  From what I can see, they are only using six sites around each circle…less of a Sardine effect.  Inside each circle are some picnic benches, a fish cleaning sink, and room to store some of your fishing stuff, or like the person opposite us, a little freezer for the Salmon they catch.  There are six entrances into the circle, and the water and cable hook-ups are along the edge of the circle, with the electricity just outside of the circle for each unit.  Not a bad design, especially if you like to fish…or you don’t like the “sardine effect” as shown below.

To the left you can see a few of the premium sites and pull-through sites.  The “Premium” site (far right 5th wheel) has a little fence and a picnic table.  The pull through sites are just large pull through sites, nothing else special about them.  In the far back they have tent campers…saw a few motorcycles headed that way today, but I have not walked back there to view them as of yet.  They have three pet areas, although one is just across the road from the entrance which is along the Rogue River.  There is an Indian Creek, and it enters Rogue River right at the property line.  And as for their Internet…it is GOOD, real GOOD. 

     

To get an “average” download speed “IN” a RV Park of 10 megs per second, is pretty good.  Rarely I have had better…many times much worse.  And these test were taken at 7:30 pm, when the Internet is being used by a full park.  Just can’t complain about this, and that is what we were here for. 

Internet, and coolness…and being less than a mile from the Pacific, we certainly will have the coolness.  They complained as I checked in that it got up to 85 degrees yesterday.  At Loeb State Park it was 91, for about 90 minutes, and then the breeze kicked in and we were back in the low 80’s, and by 6 pm we were down to low 70’s again.  Yep, we can handle those type of temps, that is for sure.

On our way down to Highway 101 we came across this small fawn in the roadway.  I slowed to a crawl, but the large truck coming the other way, with its big loud diesel engine, just kept driving along, scaring this young thing to the brink of panic.  Finally, it found a way up this bank, and it disappeared.  Thank goodness Marcia got this one and only picture of it as it scampered up the slope and we could only hope that mama deer was up there somewhere.  After a quick stop at Fred Meyer, and at the Rest Area to dump our tanks, it was a uneventful 30 mile trip up to Gold Beach.  After a week here, we need to find a place or two for another two weeks, then we intend to return to Loeb State Park for a full two weeks as we slowly start to head back to the heat of the Sacramento Valley, where we intend to land by September 13th at the latest.