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.

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.