Florence Keller County Park & Campground Again

At Florence Keller County Park & Campground, Crescent City, CA, USA

It was very mixed emotions that we left Huntley Park east of Gold Beach today.  Had a very good and long talk with Sean, the Camp Manager, last night.  Told him how thankful we were to  be able to get an extra week there (I think he extended to us because I fed him lots of info on the fire from three weeks ago…it pays to be a librarian who knows how to find information)…they have a strict 2 week policy, and we are so thankful that we were able to stay the extra week.  Sean and Patty, his wife, are great people…they have done a lot to make Huntley a better park than it was before they arrived over six years ago.  Of course, if the Port of Gold Beach would support them with more money it would be better…nothing Sean told me, just a fact I picked up myself.  After all, they have three sites with electricity…the Manager site, the camp assistant host site, and one for the public…if they can do three sites, they can do more…but the port does not want to invest the $$$$$.   So during the winter, the park sits nearly empty…what a shame.  Put in 12 electric sites, and that would bring in up to $300 per week.  But without electricity, no one wants to boondock in weather which is around 60 degrees high, 40 degrees low..so for the most part it sits empty.  What a shame!!!!

We started getting ready to leave around 10 am…pulling out by 11.  Did not need to dump our tanks until we got to Brookings since we dumped the other day when someone nearly let the propane go to empty.    Thank goodness the Union 76 station in Gold Beach sells Propane, and since we were in town, we dumped our tanks.  While in Brookings, we filled the motorhome with gas at $3.05 per gallon, then we went across the street and disconnected the car, took it back to Fred Myer to get some gas ($3.15 per gallon,. only had a 10 cent discount left on our loyalty card)., and do some shopping, then went back to the motorhome, put stuff away, and took the motorhome over to the Valvoline Instant Oil Change across the other side of Fred Myer to get the oil changed in the motorhome ($55).   We then joined the car to the motorhome and headed to Crescent City, specifically Florence Keller County Park & Campground.  This is our fourth time in the park, twice last year and twice this year.  We did not get site B, our favorite, but we did get site 4 which allows us to park without disconnecting our car.

Arriving around 3, I sat outside for awhile, Marcia took a nap, and we had our dinner (Steak and Salad…yum).  The park is more busy today than the last times we were here.  Nice park for $15 per night, and we are only going to be here for one night.  I already miss the solitude of Huntley Park, despite the family that arrive with a tent trailer at 10:15 last night, parked behind us, tried for an hour to put up the tent trailer, and eventually headed off to a motel room in Gold Beach.  They arrive back as we were pulling out…not sure if they ever got that tent trailer up, or if they gave up and drove off with it.  They are lucky we are not early to bed type of folks…  Tomorrow will be a Casino Parking Lot….

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.