AUGUST Already

At Huntley Park, Gold Beach Oregon

Another week under our belts here at Huntley Park…time is of no consequence.  I have taken over 200 pictures this past week, ALL of which you will have sit through and ENJOY!  Well, I'll narrow it down to just a few.  We have had three sets of neighbors on our driver’s side, and the absentee fisherman on our passenger's side.  The second set on the driver's side was a couple of Engineers from Santa Rosa who LOVE to windsurf.  They told me they go down to the Pistol River area where there are many other people windsurfing and kitesurfing, so I went down there for a drive hoping to grab some good pics.  WELL, unless I wanted to hike down this steep embankment down to the beach and around some large rocks, I would have to get my pictures from way above. In the picture above, I don't know if this is one our neighbors or not.

This picture (above) is a shot of three kitesurfers, also called kiteboarders.  They actually get air…saw one guy headed out into the ocean, went up on an incoming large wave, was in the air and landed on the next approaching wave.  Being so far above them did not provide the shots I wanted, I did not hang around very long.

This is one of the views that I enjoy here, looking out at the river.  You can see a white trailer being pulled down the road on the other side of the river to the right in the picture.  We only really hear an occasional large log truck go by.  When our third set of neighbors came, Linda and Calvin from Coquille near Coos Bay, we were all sitting out talking and meeting each other, and I saw a deer on the far bank just the other side of that rock island out there (the dead tree stump covers a bit of the island).  That is the first time we have seen any large wildlife here at Huntley, although we have seen them along the highway between here and Gold Beach, or up by Lobster Creek.  Wish I had my camera with me that evening.  Our new neighbors are going to be here at least a month, and they have been coming here for over 20 years...they remember when it was free, when the bathrooms were pit toilets, when the water was through a hand pump, and when the showers was jumping into the river.  They know lots of people here.

 

Lots of birds fly by all the time, and occasionally you find a kayaker or paddle boarder floating by.  Of course, the Jet Boats are a daily routine…you get to the point that you don’t notice them anymore.  Besides, they may be a bit loud, but it only lasts for a moment…unlike the generators that run in the morning and late afternoon.  However, even the generators have not been that hard to handle.

This is another view that I enjoy in late afternoon.  It gives me a good vantage point of two Osprey nests, and I know there is another in that mountain of trees, which is on the other side of the road from Huntley Park.  In the afternoon some of the Osprey fly cover way up in the air.  At first I thought these old nests were vacant…but the one on the right definitely has one or more juvenile in it because I see one spread its wings now and then, but it is not flying just yet.  A pair of adults come and go with food, and one typically is always in the nest to thwart off any attack which may come.

  

Above top is the nest on the left from where I sit, and the above lower picture is the nest to the right where you clearly see two Osprey.  Earlier I saw a crow standing almost in the same spot as the Osprey in the top picture is…which leads me to believe it is an empty nest…no eggs or juveniles inside it.

I ‘should’ always take my camera outside with me when I sit…but sometimes I am not alone, and it is hard to have this beast on my lap and take pictures at the same time.  If I let her lay on the ground, she gets all sorts of leaves, stickery things, and dirt all over her…so I don’t do that anymore.  Being in the shade, and not facing the sun, she sees people walking by, and gives a short deep groan…but if they have a dog, there is no stopping her from letting them know she is there.

On Tuesday we had been here a week, so it was time to head to town with the motorhome and empty our holding tanks.  After that, we took Highway 101 up north about ten miles to Sisters Rock.  It was a lovely day, and below are a few more pictures we took on our journey back to Gold Beach.

Smaller rocks near ‘Sisters Rock’

Looking South towards Gold Beach

Looking north towards Port Orford

Rogue River meets Ocean and Fisherman

We have had cool sunny days all week, with a bit of overcast coming in around 4 pm on only one day, which required about an hours worth of engine time to be sure the batteries were charged.  Friday is laundry day, with bedding done the first week, and the rest of the laundry done yesterday.  Internet for the most part has been adequate, but it does slow down now and then, especially between 5-8 pm, and it is sporadic during the weekends. Keeping ourselves entertain in the early evening until midnight by watching Amazon Prime movies and TV shows.  We thought we would stay here until August 20th, and then go back to Loeb…but we might change our minds and stay here through Labor Day and then go back to Loeb for a few days before heading back to California.

Life in Perspective

At Alfred Loeb State Park, Brookings Oregon

Need I say more?  This was yesterday and through the night at Florence Keller Regional Park Campground in Crescent City, CA (we just got to Loeb State Park in Oregon this morning).  We have stayed at this park a number of times over the past few years.  A nice park for $15 per night, BUT, as with most places, they raised their prices to $20 per night.  No electricity, there is water to fill your tanks, no dump station, but $20 per night to camp among the redwoods is still pretty cheap. 

One thing nice about Keller Park…it is only minutes away from Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (no day use fee), which is one of four parks operated under the Redwood National and State Parks.  The four parks, together, protect 45% of all remaining coast redwood old-growth forests, trees which are the tallest and one of the most massive trees on Earth.  I was up for a drive…Marcia was not, so off I went.

Just 5 miles away from our campground is the Hiouchi Information Center at the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  There I got a map, and quickly eyed just what I wanted to do…the scenic Howland Hill route which Marcia and I had taken back in 2013.  It is just the best way to see much of the park without having to do a long hike.  

      

Notice the dirt road…it was a good dirt road with just a few bad spots, 6+ miles

I absolutely LOVE the Redwoods…have for much of my life.  Back in 2013 THIS BLOG POST covered the drive pretty good, so I won’t waste time talking about it again.  I just enjoyed the drive, and was back to the motorhome within 2 hours.

 

No sooner did I get back from the Redwoods, and Marcia decides to take her afternoon nap…so Skruffy and I drove to the Ocean along Pebble Beach Drive, another 10-15 minute drive away from the campground.  I LOVE the Ocean…

Battery Point Light

Looking North

Looking south…Battery Point Light is in far distance

Well…I guess it is never too cold to surf!

How Cold Is IT?

68 Degrees, Noon and THAT is our Forecasted HIGH 

THAT's Life in Perspective

Not Longest Day, But One of Our Hardest Days

Florence Keller County Park, Crescent City, Ca

If you are a faithful reader, you probably know by now that Marcia and I are not early morning people.  Today we got up at 5:25 am, I had been awake somewhat since 4:45…but I did fall back asleep for a bit.  The alarm went off at 5:25, I told Marcia it was time to get up, and off we went from there.

The first 200 miles were easy peasy…a stop at the 49er Flying J to get coffee, a stop at a rest area to feed the dogs at 7:15, a stop at a rest area to empty our holding tanks, a stop at Pilot Flying J to get gas…we were moving right along. 

The next 200 miles were grueling…with speeds varying from as low as 30 mph to the 50 mph range.  Lots of twists, turns, and road construction spots.  Marcia felt it was the hardest day of travel we ever partook in….I think it rates within the top 10 trips, but not necessarily the worse.  However, it was a hard travel day, and when we arrived at Florence Keller County Park in Crescent City California, I was ready for a rest. Not only did we have construction along highway 299, which otherwise was fine except for the 3-4 miles of 8% downhill grade, highway 101 is still being reconstructed from damage that occurred 2-3 years ago.

    

I have not seen Whiskeytown Lake since 1971 when my brother Roger, cousin Bill and neighbor Harold along with his standard poodle and I hiked the Trinity Alps way back then.  The poor dog got its pad cut on the granite, and thank goodness the hike came to an abrupt end.  Unfortunately our pet dog which was back home had to be put down…she was around 10 years old, a cross between a Chihuahua and a Terrier, her name was snoopy, also known as snooper.  I did not have another dog until Skruffy…don’t know which dog I like more…probably equally, but Skruffy is still with me.  My thoughts were with my memories of her much of the day….

Don’t know who thinks that this is a nice place to have a picnic…but someone might think that.  Doubt it would be full on a holiday weekend, that’s for sure.

Our longest delay of the day was right near Skunk Picnic Grounds…at least it did not smell…except for that fresh asphalt they put down on the road…it is enough to make me puke!  The delay was for at least 20 minutes, and the pilot car guided us all safely through the 3-4 miles of construction.  Some a-butt-orifice passed me after we started going…guess they did not know what it means to “follow the pilot car”.  The “honk” and the “finger” we got was totally un-called for.  Wish one of the ten CHP that we saw today was near us…but they were not.

After reaching the 3,500 or so summit, we started to see the Trinity River along the roadway.  Saw a few rafters, but did not stop to get pictures…I knew it was going to be a long day, why make it any longer.

FINALLY we made to highway 101, and quickly saw the ocean.  About 20 miles out from the ocean we saw the temps drop from low 80’s to 68 degrees….WOW that feels good.  The overcast came and went all the way to Crescent City…where we have had fairly clear skies above the tall trees.

We found Keller Park last year in July.  It was 80% full on that visit, but a lovely park surrounded by Redwood Trees and White Pine Trees.  This time…it is only 20% filled.  The pull-through spot I wanted was empty, and we did not unhook the car.  The only drawback with this park is so full of trees that one cannot get the solar to work for very long…otherwise we would stay much longer than one night.

Tomorrow is a hop-skip-and-a-jump compared to today.  Last time we were at Loeb we found that getting there around 10 am gives you a good chance of getting a spot.  Since this park is not even busy, we hope we have no problem getting into Loeb tomorrow, where we plan to stay for 12 nights.  You get electric and water for $24 per night…which means we will need to dump our tanks once while there.  This time we have our car to hold our camping spot, so it should not be a problem…there is free dump station at the rest area just north of Brookings, and we can get gas at the Fred Meyer that we go by on the way to dump tanks. 

We both look forward to the kick-back atmosphere, the cool temps, and just being lazy for a few weeks.

Oregon Coast to Sacramento – Hot and Busy

We left Tillamook on Tuesday morning, stayed at Osprey Point RV Resort (Passport America $21), in Lakeside Oregon that night, drove over to I-5 and stayed at On the River Golf & RV Park in Myrtle Creek (Passport America $15) on Wednesday, stopped at Harry and David in Medford and drove on to McCloud RV Resort (Good Sam $35) Thursday, and made it to my sister's house at 1:30 Friday afternoon.  Mom and Dad were there waiting for us, and we parked, set-up, and kicked back for the rest of the day.

We always enjoy the drive along the Pacific Ocean, and could have stopped and stayed for many nights enjoying the cool weather and the lovely scenery.  But we also wanted to spend time with the family before we head back to Florida…so on to the hot Valley weather it was.

One last look at the ocean before we stopped Tuesday night.  The white building in the fog on that piece of land sticking out in the top left corner of the picture above is one of the many Oregon Lighthouses.

  

When we left Osprey Point RV Resort, we headed north for 8 miles and turned onto highway 38, a new route for us.  Umpqua River runs along this route, and there are a few good Elk Viewing areas along it too.

On Friday after we left McCloud, we past Shasta Lake, and it was good to see water in the lake.  The last few times we passed by the water was so very low.

On Saturday I had the car cleaned and detailed and they got 95% of the Alaska Highway grime off of it. If you open a door and look hard you can see some of the dust…and I opened the hood and found it loaded with dust…that will be a job I tackle in a few days.  After the car wash I fix our grey tank lever, so I can again close and open a valve to allow the grey to flow as needed.  Our end cap had a small hose attachment, and I put a open/close nozzle on it so I could empty it as needed through a used garden hose…it is nice to have it working right again.  I had ordered a new valve through Amazon, along with a new laptop, which were waiting for us when we arrived. 

NEW LAPTOP?  Yes, the laptop I had been using was starting to show signs of age…sticking keys, turning off when you close the lid even though all settings tell it not to turn off, and it always ran real hot.  Last year we got Marcia an ASUS, and I got nearly the same one for me.  It is light, runs cool, and is easy to run on 12v unlike the previous laptop I was using.  Also, this is a windows 10 computer.  I just started to use it this morning after spending a good day and a half setting it up, updating it, etc. etc.  

Finally, I am replacing our water fill hatch, which is also on order and will be here Wednesday.  It has a small leak when hooked up to a city water system, mostly due to the pressure valve in the nozzle.  It should be a simple replacement now that I have loosened up the sealing tape.

I am also helping out Arny with his mother as needed.  Today two different caregivers were unable to make it, and at least one won’t be here tomorrow either.  We also have laundry to do, and pick up some groceries.  Picked up some more insulin for Skruffy today, who is enjoying being back in Sandy and Arny’s backyard…but can’t understand why she can’t run over to Grandma and Papa’s house like before…but she enjoy our visit at their Assisted Living home yesterday.  And Bubba, well when Bubba is at Arny’s, he is the happiest little fellow…he loves his Uncle Arny and Aunt Sandy, that’s for sure.