Nearly a Month at Huntley Park, LOVING IT!

At Huntley Park, Gold Beach Oregon

We have been in Oregon for 40 days now, and here at Huntley Park for 4 weeks this Tuesday.  40 days, and we had rain for part of one day, overcast two days, early morning fog about 8 days (burned off by 9 am) , and we ran the A/C one day for 3 hours while at Loeb State Park.  To say the weather has been near perfect would be an understatement.

This afternoon I FINALLY got a few pictures of the Bald Eagle which has occasionally been traveling up and down the Rogue River.  Today it landed across the river from us, and I got the camera.  For the next 90 minutes it did not fly anywhere, but was keeping a sharp eye on the river, and the Osprey were keeping a sharp eye on the Eagle, although they did quiet down a bit after about an hour.  Skruffy’s alarm went off on my phone reminding me that she needed to have her diabetes test…by the time I got back out the Eagle was gone (Skruffy tested at 88, so she is doing well).  I still have 2 more weeks to try and catch it flying along the river.

So many birds along and in the water…

 

 

Of course, the Osprey are never too far away from the water…always watching, always aware, always sounding an alarm when an intruder, such as the Eagle or Buzzards fly in on their territory.  They work together, helping other Osprey.  I saw one Osprey miss a fish, getting in on a second try, and three Seagulls flew after it trying to steal some food…but other Osprey met the Seagulls head-on, and next thing I knew the Seagulls were headed back to the Ocean.  Just then the Eagle flew in…but being out numbered, it just continued along the river as the Osprey gave their shrilling cry over and over again until the Eagle was out of sight.

Inside the campground there is an abundance of Stellar Jays and Northwestern Crows…both loud, always searching out that camper who leaves food out, or fish guts which have been tossed out along the bank.  Sometimes they can descend upon your “area” and make things a bit noisy for a short while.  I have yet to have been “hit” by their "white debris" as they fly overhead…but we still have a couple more weeks...I might have to invest in a hat.

I took another short excursion along the north side of the river, found a place to turn around and low and behold, there was a young buck and a doe.  Saw the doe first, got a few pictures of her, and then I saw the buck.  Amazing how they blend in unless you really look things over.  Counting the deer we saw on the way to Agness, and on runs back into Gold Beach and back, we have seen around ten deer this year.  Others in the park have seen a few Elk, but we have not had such luck…yet.

For the past three weeks our fishing neighbors have been here in full force.  Our immediate neighbor was here for nearly two weeks, first with his wife, a daughter and two very young grandkids, but five days later the daughter and grandkids left.  A week later, the wife and husband left…but in their place three tents, relatives of some of the other fisherman, moved in for the week.  Today, they all left, all of them...but they left their RVs and their boats, and many will be back Friday. 

I close with this shot of “Libby Pond”, which is a body of water on the other side of the river from us...the north road runs along it. The Libby Pond property is up for sale, including what they call a sportsman’s hall (no sleeping, just a large hall includes a kitchen).  The entire property is 184 acres, and the asking price is just under $900K…just in case anyone is interested.

What Is It About Huntley Park?

At Huntley Park, Gold Beach Oregon

View of Huntley Park from other side of Rogue River as Jet Boat goes by

This is our third year coming to Huntley Park.  Like Loeb State Park, we just love this little place.  WHY?  Just BECAUSE is one answer.  The WEATHER is another answer.  The PEOPLE who work here is another.  The PEOPLE who gather here is another.  The VIEW is another.  The QUIETNESS is another.  Other than some flies, the LACK OF BUGS is another.  Also, being a day's drive from Sacramento area is another big plus!

Above is a panoramic view of Huntley Park from the other side of the river.  A road runs along both sides of the river from Highway 101 up to Lobster Creek, where the north side (the park is on the south side) road crosses Lobster Creek Bridge and ends…except for a few Forest Roads.  You can see Huntley Bar, with all the river rocks, and yes, you can drive down there.  At the far left of the picture, behind the brush in the foreground, is the beach that all those who want to swim, or launch a jet ski or a kayak from, is located.  Fishing boats sometime launch down there too, but more than likely they just pull up anywhere along the rocks, back the boat into the water, and they are off fishing.

The views to the east, up river.

Tried to get a picture of our motorhome, but we are under a tree, and the other trees block the view…awe shucks, but the arrow shows where we are.  No one can see us from the other side of the river which is a big plus...they can't see us means WE won't see them.

Now when I say it is quiet, I don’t mean there is never any noise.  EVERY TIME one of these suckers (tour boats) goes up or down the river, yes, you hear them.  However, it is not a obnoxious noise, and it lasts for perhaps a minute…slowly hum, then it increases to a noticeable louder engine noise, then it goes by, and soon just a low hum, then quiet again.  The 'RED' boats are louder than the smaller "BLUE" ships are.  Yes, there is traffic on both roads, but unless it is an 18 wheeler, you hardly notice.  The park itself gets a bit traffic coming and going, but again, not that bad.

To our right there is a string of smaller motorhomes and trailers…the first three or four with fishing boats.  The assistant camp host told me that they live in Grants Pass, and come over for the weekend to fish…they have been here for 3 weeks now.  So nearly $100 per week to sit there empty for 65% of the time?  Well, that makes it that much more quieter for us now doesn’t it, and so far I have only seen one person, and that was today.?

   

In fact, this year over 50% of the people camping at Huntley have fishing boats.  You can see a boat in each picture above, and there are a lot more than these five. The fishermen leave in the morning, sometimes return early afternoon, but it is not uncommon for them to return near dusk.  The Rogue River is in its early stages of a King Salmon Run.  The river water is still too warm, but at the mouth of the river, near the ocean, is where  the fishing is, and they are starting to catch them.

Not everyone uses a boat, and this guy is probably going for steelhead-trout.  He was right out in front of our motorhome, and was enjoying himself…

…until that Jet Boat pictured earlier went by and he suddenly gave up.  I have seen the Jet Boat operators pull up alongside fishing boats to try and get the fisherman to talk, but the only talking I saw was hand gesturing…showing the boat operator that he only had one friend in this world.

This Blue Heron was fishing too…and it took off as the boat approached.

As dusk arrives, I put away our solar panels each day.  So far, we have only run our engine for about an hour once.  The next day I decided that after two years I would fill the batteries to the proper level with water.  So I went down to the river, grabbed me some water, and filled them suckers up.  OK ARNY, YOU CAN CALM DOWN NOW!   I got some distilled water from the grocery store and did them right…each of the two batteries took about an 1/8th of a gallon, so I was a bit low.  Good thing is, the charge is much better.  Unless we hit an overcast day, we probably won’t need to use the engine to help charge them.

Moved on to Huntley Park Today

At Huntley Park, Gold Beach, OR

Yesterday (Monday) I traveled to Brookings to publish yesterday's post (when there are pictures, it is hard to post without a faster connection...let alone saving usage on our Aircard), do laundry, and do one last quick shopping trip at Fred Meyer.  I found the public library to be the best place to post from in Brookings...it is open from 10-6, you can see the password as you walk in the door, and you can be in and out real quick.  Did some movie downloads at McDonalds...that took a long time, and the Fred Meyer Internet, which is also used by the famous coffee store located there, is just too slow to even download a movie.

The laundromat is actually in Harbor.  Harbor and Brookings are separated by the Chetco River, and most people passing through don't even realize that they are not in Brookings when they are in Harbor.  It is a large laundromat, and I had no problem finding washers or dryer.  The only thing, the washers are what they call "High Efficiency", and they take over 40 minutes per load, but you use way less detergent.  All came clean, and the people in there were real friendly...found out that one lady at the laundromat was also staying in Loeb State Park as we pulled out of Loeb today.

Huntley is very empty compared to last year...we are about 6 weeks earlier than last year.  Lots of fishermen use the park, and I expect as we closer to the weekend there will be more local people coming up for the 4th of July.  Last year it was $77 per week...this year it is $95 per week.  The daily fee is up to $15 per day, up from $13 last year.  WHY?  Probably because it is operated by the Port, and the Port is up to its neck in debt due to ex-staff lawsuits.  There have been turnovers (recalls) in the Port Authority board...I think in time things will be better.

It was a nice cool day here today, maybe reached 70.  Since we are right along the Rogue River, the temps here will be just a bit milder than we had Loeb.  Will get some pictures and do another posting soon.  But I will include this one picture below I got with my cell phone on my way back from dong laundry yesterday.

Solar Power, Sea Lions, Set-Netting

Huntley Park, Gold Beach Oregon

Have had more inquiries into our Solar Setup in this campground than ever before.  So I figured that others who are not here ‘might’ be interested too.  As I have mentioned before, we have the Go Power! GP-PSK-120 120W Portable Folding Solar Kit with 10 Amp Solar Controller purchased through Amazon.  They have two portable versions, 80W and 120W.  The nice thing is that the controller, which is needed so you don’t over charge your batteries, is built into the back of the portable units.  All I do is set it up and hook to the batteries, and make sure it is “on”.  There are many options to connect to the batteries…either through ring terminals, clamps, and there is a trailer connector for those who find that easier.  We use the clamps, as shown to the right.  I did use the terminal rings, but I found it hard to keep the connector clean even though they come with a cover.  I ‘could’ tie down the cover each and every time I travel, but that is just a pain compared to using this clips. 

This is the “controller”, which is attached to the back of the solar panel.  It is simple in its use, but the newer models have an even better controller on them, and you can buy the newer controller to replace this one…which we are going to do.  The orange button is the on and off, and also used in selecting the type of battery you have…sealed, gel or flooded.  You need to have it on, with the red light in upper right corner lit, for things to work.  That part of this controller is fine…but the lights to the left…the Temp (temperature) light, the “PV” light, and the Batt (battery) light are the problems…they are HARD to see.  I don’t know if you can tell that the PV and the Batt are both “green” in this picture…imagine trying to see that outside, while the panel is pointed into the sun. The NEW controller, shown to the right, is a better controller, and provides much more information, including voltage, and current battery level, and percentage of battery capacity.  It is also much easier to see, according to the reviews.

To replace, you simply unscrew the four connecting screws for the red and black wires, remove from the solar panel (it is glued), glue on the new one, and connect the red and black wires.  We have been able to run on our batteries and the solar for the past three days, although tonight we ran the generator for 90 minutes to charge everything up to a higher level.  All the while we power two computers, two kindles, two cell phones and the aircard, besides the “stuff” that runs on electricity in the motorhome such as the refrigerator (propane but also needs 12 volt), the carbon monoxide sensor, the propane sensor, the toilet, and the lights as we need them.  So far our batteries have remained at or above 12.2 volts.

Took a walk up the river to where many people go swimming…but I beat the swimming crowd, except for the three sea lions out in the river.  I was told the day before that sea lions were seen along the river by a local…so I am taking his word on them being sea lions and not harbor seals.  I was not expecting to see them, but I heard the splashing and well, there were three of them.  Below you can see two of them together…never could get all three in the same picture.

As I got to the swimming area, I came across some set-net fishermen. (below)

Of course, last year in Alaska when Skruffy got sick, we took her to the Soldotna Animal Hospital and Dr. Meezie Hermansen saved Skruffy’s life.  Meezie is a Vet by choice, she is a fisherman…a set-net fisherman…by birth.  She still commercial fishes for a month each year…only a month because that is how long Alaska will allow the commercial set net fisherman to fish.  However, Oregon does not allow set-net or gillnet fishing…and that is when I saw the patch on this guy’s arm (picture right).  The group is counting fish in the river, working for the Oregon Wildlife Department.  They catch, measure, weigh and release.  As I watched, two different jet boat tours came by, stopped to watch, and asked how the “fishing” was going.  They said they were doing good in the morning, but the last six tries did not catch very much.  In fact, during the two attempts I witnessed, they only caught one Steelhead.

They gather the net up into the boat with one end “set” upon land (in the hands of one or two people), head up stream letting out the net, work their way over to the other side still letting out net, work their way back down stream letting out more net, and then head back to land still letting out net.  (In the picture above, they are headed back to land to the pickup truck.)  Once there, they attach the end of the net to the truck’s tow ball, and it drives up the bank about 20 yards.  They unhook, and then the truck backs up to the spot where the boat took off from and they attach that end to the truck, and it runs parallel to the river for about 20 yards.  After that, everything is done by hand, pulling in the net, trying to capture the fish.  Once captured, but still in the water close to shore, the fishery biologist (I am assuming he is a biologist) weighs and measures and lets them go.  I enjoyed watching the process…thinking about our “Favorite Vet”, and how she does this out in the rough seas of the Cook Inlet, Pacific Ocean, in Alaska, sometimes in very extreme weather conditions. 

Chances Are…You RV Long Enough, You’ll Do Something Stupid

Huntley Park, Gold Beach Oregon

We made the move two sites down…and low and behold, I can see the nest right out my window.  But you all don’t want to hear about Osprey, you want to know what the heck Dave did that was SO STUPID.  Well, I’ll get to that…

Since we were moving, and since I did something REAL stupid, we decided to drive back to Brookings to go to Fred Meyer, before coming back and pulling into our new spot, two spots down from where we were.  We use to be where the second trailer in this shot, which I took this morning, is located.  That trailer is the son of the restaurant owners, and runs the restaurant during the week…they operate it during the weekend, along with their daughter who is located four trailers away in this picture.  “D & D” are the third trailer.

   

It sure looks like it is going to be a “boys and their toys” type of weekend.  Jet ski, fast boat…all have come into the park for what appears to be the last weekend of summer before school starts up.  The park is getting very busy.

 

This is the nice lady camp host…she was out and about a lot today.  Had a chance to talk to her for a bit…she said that on top of everything, a large business end of summer party is going to take place on Saturday.  The park is so busy this coming weekend, she opened the group area where the wedding took place last weekend to normal campers for this weekend.  She said they typically fill up just once or twice each year…this weekend is going to be one of them.

Ok, time for the “STUPID” story….  Our generator works real good most of the time…but every now and then it acts like it is running out of gas.  In fact, D & D’s daughter's generator did run out of gas yesterday and it acted just like ours does.  Problem is, we are not out of gas while they were.  So I figure our problem “might” be a bit of water in the gas, which the generator is more reactive to than our engine is.  So I decided to add some of our Lucas Fuel Treatment to our gas tank.  Of course, it would help if I really put it in the gas tank, and not in the fresh water outlet.  WHAT?  Did Dave just say what I thought he said?  Yes, in some sort of “STUPOR”, I opened the fresh water outlet, which is right above the gas tank outlet, and proceeded to pour about two, perhaps less, ounces of Lucas Gas Additive right into our fresh water tank.  I stopped only because it did not pour in right…that is when I realized what I was doing.  OH CRAP!  I have attempted, in the past, to fill up the fresh water with fuel before on more than one occasion.  But as soon as I open the outer door, I have always realized I did not have the right door open, and then opened the gas door instead and proceeded to fuel up.  I still don’t know why I did not stop myself this time…just a brain fart I guess.

Since we had been five days into boondocking, our fresh water tank was only 1/3 full.  We were dumping in the morning…we always use bottled water to drink, but typically use the fresh water for doggie water and for coffee in the morning.  So on Wednesday, while at the dump station, we emptied all the water we could.  We drove to Brookings for a Fred Meyer trip, where I knew we could purchase two 2.5 gallon containers of spring water.  I added that water to our fresh water tank, along with some bleach, and drove back to Gold Beach’s dump station (after spending megabucks at Fred Meyer to stock up our pantry and freezer of course).  About 6 miles out of Gold Beach there is construction going on, and we had to stop for about 5 minutes…so I turned on our pump and turned on our water faucet real low to start draining it into our grey tank.  When we got to the dump station in Gold Beach, I also ran water in the shower and the bathroom sink until everything came to a trickle.  Back at Huntley, I filled the tank to point that it overflowed.  We are still giving the dogs bottled water, and still making coffee with bottled water…and will do so until we get to Loeb State Park in a week.  In the mean time, we will empty the fresh water tank one more time…and the GOOF will be history.

There are a few advantages with our new site at Huntley Park, besides being able to see the Osprey out my window.  We get about 2 more hours of sunlight each day for the solar power…we get shade mid-day for the RV, and our bench is in the shade for much of the day with this great view.  Of course, the nature of the park being busy has cut down one our likability factor…but the type of great neighbors we have has made that change easier to deal with.  It did get up to 91 degrees today…for about an hour…then the cool sea breeze kicked in and it dropped back into the lower 80’s.  It is 10 pm, and 66 degrees right now…the perfect weather conditions.