Saturday, June 23, 2018

Lots of Seafood and Great Views

Here are a couple pictures from Cape Arago that I forgot to post last time:





Saturday 6/16 Charleston, OR

Quiet day today, took our time in the morning and took a short walk around the a marina. Lots of folks out on the flats digging clams, a pretty common occupation around here. Nancy did laundry this morning. I’m still fighting a long running sinus infection, not incapacitating, but uncomfortable. Watching LeMans  coverage today.

Walked over into Charleston proper and had lunch at High Tide Cafe, stopped at Crabby Cakes Bakery on the way home for a snack. We are really happy with this location compared to our original plan at Sunset Bay State Park. Good eating places within walking distance here and good places to walk around the harbor. Every cloud has a silver lining!

Sunday 6/17 Charleston, OR

First thing in the morning we headed down to Sunset Bay beach to see the tidal pools there. Arriving an hour before low tide there was wide expanse of beach. We parked at the south end as it looked most likely for the tidal pools there, but it turned out that was the discharge point of a fresh water creek! All the way at the other end of the beach, 



about a third of a mile along the nice sandy beach, was a rocky outcropping where we found a lot of tidal pools. A good amount of sea life in the pools, from sea urchins to tiny little crabs (which we found out later were apparently an invasive species!). 






That is a tiny little crab in the circle! About an inch wide.



Nothing really exotic, but it was quite interesting the amount of life that is left behind as the tide goes out. Spent the better part of an hour and a half looking at the tidal pools.




On the way back home we stopped at the Crabby Cakes Bakery (again!) for a fresh out of the oven cinnamon roll, another brownie, another sourdough donut and and a bear’s claw! Watched the finish of LeMans 24 hours and Sunday morning. Late in the morning we drove into Coos Bay and had lunch at 7 Devils Brewery (again!) using Libby Rd. again.

After lunch we headed north towards North Bend to visit a history museum there, but along the way we noticed the Coos History Museum which had not been mentioned in our guide books. Turned out it is a new museum, just opened in the fall of 2015. Quite a nice facility, with a nice collection of local, indian and maritime history.

After visiting that museum we decided to skip the one further north and headed home. Pizza at home for dinner.

Monday 6/18 Charleston, OR

Last day in the Charleston area. Moving a little north tomorrow. Mid-fifties and overcast this morning, turned sunny in the afternoon.

Mid-morning we drove into Coos Bay with the truck to get it washed. I had noticed a coin operated car wash with a tall bay on 2nd st. Turned out to have a spray nozzle with a hole in the hose! Managed to get the truck wash fairly well and only got a bit damp in the process.

A stop at the grocery store and back home for lunch.

Mid-afternoon we drove down to Simpson Overlook to look at the sea lions. Beautiful afternoon, slightly overcast, with a light breeze. There was a lady there from Oregon Game & Fish with a spotting scope. Turns out there are sea lions, and several kinds of seals out on the rocks, including some elephant seals, which she showed us with her scope.

Tide coming in so the surf was beautiful. We watched the sea lions and seals for quite some time with binoculars, and sat an watched the surf. Then we went on to Cape Arago and sat and watched the surf. 

Turns out there are seals here, not on the rocks but out in the surf. We just could not see them with the naked eye when we were here before. All together we probably spent close to two hours out there. Only a short drive from where we are camped and a really beautiful spot.

Tuesday 6/19 Winchester Bay, OR

Moving day, but we’re only going 30 miles north to Winchester Bay RV Resort. Took our time getting ready as we are not supposed to check in at Winchester Bay until 1 PM. Supposed to check out of Charleston Marina by 11. So we took it easy, rolled out about 10:50. Stopped at Pony Village Mall in North Bend (because it has a large parking lot) and had lunch at Los Dos Amigos, picked up a couple of pizzas at Safeway for the next two weekends.

Did not bother to load the car for the short trip so Nancy followed along in her car. Winchester Bay RV Resort is a beautiful place, right on the water with generous spaces and nice landscaping. We had checked it out last Tuesday.



Got here early enough to do some cleaning up on the outside of the trailer as it was looking a bit grungy.

Took a nice long walk about a mile around the marina to a small shopping area and had dinner at Griff’s on the Bay. Nancy had nice crab cakes and I had an excellent steak. The prices at these places on the shore are amazingly cheap. Those meals along with two beers and a glass of wine? $42! 

Back home and relaxed for the evening.

Wednesday 6/20 Winchester Bay, OR

Nice walk around the perimeter of the RV park, which is on a peninsula out into the bay. Drove up to Sourdough Bakery just a mile or so away for the highly touted cinnamon rolls. Nothing there in the way of pastry’s, only what looked like day bread! Unenthusiastic girl behind the counter first said “No cinnamon rolls yet.” Then said, “Maybe none today, I can get you a bagel?”

Late in the morning we drove up to Reedsport, just five miles up the road, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. Not much to see or do there. We went on through town to the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area east of the city, but there were no Elk to be seen. Nancy got a glimpse of the herd when we went by there on our way out to the coast a little over a week ago. This morning she saw one or two off in the distance east of the viewing area.

Back in Reedsport we stopped in the Sugar Shack Bakery, which in itself was worth the trip! Had a little snack and bought some cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow.

Drove back through town but saw little of interest other than a couple of restaurants. Stopped in the grocery store and then back home.

Weather is cool and a little misty this afternoon, just kicked back and relaxed for the afternoon.

Thursday 6/21 Winchester Bay, OR

Cinnamon rolls from Sugar Shack Bakery for breakfast! Delicious! Mid-morning we took a walk around the RV park and then headed back into Reedsport. Stopped at the National Forest Service Visitor’s Center to get info on the Oregon Dunes Recreational area, drove a little ways East to the Elk Viewing area but no luck. May be due to haying going on in the area or the fact that they did a controlled burn in the area two days ago.

Went back to Reedsport and the Umqua Discovery Center to check it out, but it appeared as we suspected to be primarily aimed at children and looked pretty small. Decided it was not worth $8 each to see it. Took a short walk on the small boardwalk there, then drove across the road to the Sugar Shack Bakery (we are nothing if not predictable!) where we had excellent light sandwiches for lunch. Nothing fancy, but good. Picked up some doughnuts for the next few days, but managed to resist the cinnamon rolls!

Drove north up to the Oregon Dunes Overlook. Spoke to a couple of Forest Service rangers who had a display of invasive plants at the overlook. It seems the Forest Service brought in scotch broom and European beach grass to prevent erosion of the dunes. Those plants were joined by another invasive species, foxglove, and the three plants are now threatening to completely cover the dunes, with no good method of eradication in sight!

Back to the RV park mid-afternoon and Nancy did some more clean-up on the front of the trailer with tar remover. It really looks great! I’m still dragging a bit with this sinus infection that will not go away. 

Sat on a bench out by the harbor for a while, then drove back into Reedsport for dinner at Bedrocks Pizzeria, Chowder House, and Grille, where I had a pizza and Nancy had bacon wrapped halibut.

After dinner we drove by Umpqua Lighthouse to see how long a walk it would be from the trailer. Not a bad walk, but no good place to walk on the road up to the lighthouse. After that we went a couple of miles south along a road through the dunes and one of the ATV off road areas. Stopped and walked over to a beach. Really nice beach with swells rolling in from the open ocean. A really nice evening.


Friday 6/21 Winchester Bay, OR


Took a nice walk around the peninsula the RV park is located on, had some Sugar Shack doughnuts with breakfast, then mid-morning we went up to the Umpqua Lighthouse


The light may look a bit short, that is because it is situated on a headland. Shore light houses are all built and situated so the lens is 146 feet above sea level. That height permits the light to be seen all the way to the horizon, about 20 miles. So Umpqua Light is only 61 high since it's base is 100 feet above the river.

Looked through the excellent museum and took a guided tour of the lighthouse which was quite informative and interesting. The tour group was actually allowed up to the floor just below the Class I Fresnal Lens where we were able to individually climb a small ladder and stand with head and shoulders actually inside the lens!


As you can see the light is lit. It is on and rotating 24 hours a day.




Very interesting history of the Umpqua Light and the Lighthouse Service in the museum with photos and artifacts. The entrance to the Umpqua River was once a major port on the Oregon coast, with much of the lumber used to rebuild San Fransisco coming out of the forests in this area.

Back home for lunch and a quiet afternoon, a couple of walks around the RV park on a beautiful sunny afternoon, about 65 degrees. It’s 105 in Tucson today and we are REALLY enjoying this weather. And the trees! I never realized how much I miss trees. Here in Winchester Bay we can look out over the water of the bay and then turn around and see fir tree covered mountain slopes least than a half mile away!

Went over to the other side of the bay to Double D’s on the Rocks for dinner. Nancy tried a Triangle Oyster Slider which she said was very good, The Triangle oysters are grown on ropes hanging from barrels in an area of the bay here called the Triangle. When they extended the north jetty on the Umpqua River it caused a build up of sand around the south jetty so they built a new south jetty and created a triangular backwater that turned out to be the perfect place to raise oysters with a perfect mix of 20% salt water and 80% fresh. Since they can suspend them from drums there is no sand and grit in the oysters.

The Triangle from Umpqua Light

We waited until 10 PM to take a ride up to the lighthouse and it still was not completely dark! The sun comes up at 5:33 and sets at 9:01 right now! The light house was beautiful nonetheless. It was a clear night so you could not see the beam very far from the lighthouse, but you could see the beams hitting the tall pines trees around the back of the light as it turned. 


There are 24 bulls eyes in the Fesnal Lens, 8 reds and 16 whites, so out at sea the light flashes white, white, red at 15 second intervals.

Saturday 6/21 Winchester Bay, OR

Last day at Winchester Bay, tomorrow we move 20 miles up the road to near Florence. We wanted to take one last look at the breakers at Cape Arago, so we headed out fairly early back down south past Coos Bay. Unfortunately we arrived just after high tide, so the breakers were not as spectacular as they had been last time we were there. Still pretty though.

Also stopped at Simpson Overlook to look at the sea lions and seals for a few minutes. A stop in Charleston at Bayside Roasters where Nancy picked up some coffee and of course we had to make a stop across the street at Crabby Cakes Bakery for cinnamon rolls. The owner and his wife are so enthusiastic about what they do that it is a real happy place to stop, we are going to miss it.

Drove over to the southeast side of Coos Bay and took a short walk along a path that led out into Millicoma Marsh along the South Slough of Coos Bay. Really pretty spot and a good view of the kind of salt marshes that used to cover much of this area. This was the first time we used the book ‘Day Hiking the Oregon Coast’ that we had picked up at Summit Hut in Tucson. The other book we bought at the same time “Oregon Off the Beaten Path’ has been invaluable in finding places to eat and things to see and do. 

Decided to try a different restaurant from ‘Off the Beaten Path’ for our last day in Coos Bay, Shark Bites Seafood Cafe, which also turned out to be an excellent choice, That book has not led us wrong yet.

After lunch we made a stop at Walmart for meds and then back home. Another gorgeous day, bright sun and virtually no clouds. Stiff breeze a little cooler than the past few days though. We have been blessed with spectacular weather all the way along on this trip.  

Went back to Double D’s on the Rocks for dinner again, good food and friendly service.





Saturday, June 16, 2018

Charleston Turns Out to be a Good Choice!

Tuesday 6/12 Charleston, OR

Took a short walk around the harbor here first thing in the AM, lots of fishing boats already out based on the number of cars in the lots near the commercial piers and a few boat trailers in the public lot by the boat ramps.

After breakfast we headed North to take a look at our next destination, Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. Along the way we were looking for a carwash as the smart was absolutely filthy from the wet roads coming out to the coast.

Drove into Umpqua Lighthouse State Park campground and checked out our site. Looked pretty tight, probably doable, but that combined with 10 nights without being able to dump our tanks (which meant a long walk to the shower house to conserve water) meant nixing this park as well. We will receive a full refund if we cancel now. 

Stopped and looked at Umpqua Lighthouse, looks like a cool place with an ocean overlook for whale watching. We will stop back here later on when we are up this way to visit the museum and tour the lighthouse which is still an active light.

Drove into Winchester Bay and found a nice commercial RV park, Winchester Bay RV Resort, which had space for five nights starting on Tuesday the 19th. Called Charleston Marina RV and confirmed that we could stay four more days through Monday the 18th. So that gets us through Saturday (6/23) and we have reservations at Beachside State Recreation Site starting on Monday 6/25. So we will have to find a spot north of Winchester Bay for Sunday night.

Drove back into Coos Bay, stopped and finally got the car washed at Hot Stuff Car Wash, a small place that did a combo hand wash and machine wash; stopped at Porter’s RVs for a new nylon disc for the fifth wheel hitch (our old one broke and fell off when I unhitched last night!); then parked in downtown Coos Bay to take a look around.

On the way through town going to Porters Nancy had spotted the Blue Heron, a German/seafood restaurant, so we stopped there for lunch, turned out to be excellent choice! They had more than a half dozen German beers on tap and we both had excellent meals. Young man who runs the place was quite personable and very proud of the remodeling that he has done. Nice place.

After lunch walked down to My Yarn Shop, a place Carol had told Nancy about, but they were closed for the next 45 minutes, so we took a walk around the downtown area. Stopped at Remember When Toys and found some good gifts for certain young people in Colorado. Stopped at Jennie’s Shoe Store where I bought a pair of slip-on loafers and then the Coos Bay Visitors Center for a fistful of brochures. Finally made it to My Yarn Shop where Nancy picked up yarn for several projects.

Back at Charleston Harbor we did some closer looking at our upcoming state park reservations and all of them through the middle of July look eminently doable for us. So our small crisis is almost completely solved. We will have to look at the last two weeks of July as we go along.

Walked to nearby restaurant Miller's at the Cove for dinner. Good beer on draft and good food. Nice to have nearby eatery's that we can walk to!

Wednesday 6/13 Charleston, OR

Fog and drizzle this morning, overnight temps pretty much match water temperature here, 52 degrees the last couple mornings. Lazy morning and lunch at home, then we drove down the coast to Cape Arago State Park, just a few miles past Sunset Bay State Park, one book I have called it the prettiest coast drive in the state and they weren’t far off!  

On the we stopped at Shore Acres State Park which is the site of the former Simpson Mansion built in 1905 and destroyed by fire in the early 20’s. Spectacular scenery from the overlook where the house was, magnificently carved sandstone cliffs. While we were there we could see 3 or 4 orca whales several hundred yards off the shore.

Walked through the beautiful formal gardens including an amazing rose garden. Lots of spectacular trees as well. Beyond Shore Acres we stopped at Simpson Reef Overlook, another great view and rocks on the reef covered with sea lions. In fact the picture in that link is just what it looked like when we were there! Then on a little ways down the road to Cape Arago State Park where there is also a nice overlook with great views of the coast. nice view of Cape Arago lighthouse This is the end of the road south of Charleston. On the way back there was a nice view of Cape Arago lighthouse which is out on an island off the coast and not accessible for visits.

Nice afternoon with breaking clouds in the 60’s. We are sure enjoying this weather! Supposed to warm up a bit next week. Turned into a pretty evening, we took a walk around the harbor after dinner at home, Lots of commercial trawlers and some pretty ratty looking small time fishing boats.

Thursday 6/14 Charleston, OR

Quite windy this morning. Headed out mid-morning for Bandon, about 25 miles south. Took Seven Devils Road southeast out of Charleston to US 101. Up over a mountain past a lot of freshly logged areas, look pretty bad with a lot of forest debris. Some areas where there was new growth starting, but still covered with stumps.

Along the way we stopped at Bullard Beach to see the Coquille River Lighthouse. Picturesque spot, not much to see except a nice beach that was exposed to a very stiff wind out of the northwest. Beautiful day in the 60’s if you can stay out of the wind! Walked across the beach and Nancy dipped her hand in the Pacific just before she had to trot back out of the way of the waves!

Bandon, billed as a ‘picturesque’ town was very touristy. A fair number of gifts shops, book shops, and eateries. Supposed to be a nice walk out onto the jetty and south down the beach, but the wind was just too strong and too cold.

Visited the Bandon Historical Society Museum which was very nice. We like small town museums. Spent a fair amount of time there. Lots of pictures telling the story of small town life, the Native Americans, the logging industry, the fishing industry, and the cranberry industry. A lot went on in this small town's history! The town burned twice, first in 1914 and again in 1936 when it was totally destroyed by a fast moving forest fire. The town history is divided between BF (Before Fire) and AF (After Fire).

Walked back into the shopping area and had nice sandwiches and pastry at the Bandon Bakery and then head back home.

Walked over to Millers at the Cove again for dinner. Quite busy this evening, much more so than earlier in the week.

Friday 6/15 Charleston, OR

Up early to take the truck in to Gold Coast Truck Repair to have the air leak fixed. Stopped at Walmart to arrange for a prescription to be sent from my doctor in IL, then back home. Took a short walk around the harbor to stop at the Charleston Marine Life Center, but not open yet. Another bright sunny day in the 60’s, but still a cool wind off the ocean. We are enjoying this cool weather!

Found an RV park for Sunday night the 24th, Darling’s Marina & RV Resort near Florence.

Drove back into Coos Bay for Lunch at 7 Devils Brewery. Really good beer, poutine, tuna and mac & cheese. Picked up the truck and returned to Charleston. 

Walked over to the Charleston Marine Life Center. A great little natural history museum with live and still exhibits. Fascinating variety of sea life in the live tanks. 

Quick run back into Coos Bay late in the afternoon to pick up prescription for sinus infection and then dinner at home tonight.


Monday, June 11, 2018

Back on the Road Again!

Summer 2018

Headed out for the summer. Planning on two months in Oregon, a month in Northern Illinois, two weeks in Denver and then back to Tucson in Mid-September. A bit late with the post as we were without WiFi for much of the last week. So here we go!

Tuesday May 29, 2018 Ehrenburg, AZ

Spent the last week getting the house ready to close up. Cacti are blooming everywhere, particularly the saguaros. Our neighbor’s mature trichocereus hybrids had beautiful blooms a week ago, too bad they only last for a day!

Several of our trichocereus are budding, huge buds. Opening to beautiful flowers the morning we left! We had one that is about 10 inches tall that produced a bud at least 4” tall! It was really close to opening one evening 


and the next morning it was gone! Probably eaten by a deer. I put cages around the others that had buds before we left.
Some of our other cactus flowers:




Those stone are 1/2” ground cover.

Spent Sunday and Monday loading the trailer, can only work early in the morning due to the heat. Had a nice cool morning Sunday morning and were able to get most of it done. Up around 100 every day now.

Monday morning we biked down to the little Memorial Day parade in Tucson Estates I. Bigger than we expected, but they really need a band.

On the road right at nine AM Tuesday. Went up Kinney Rd. through Tucson Mountain Park and then up Sandaro Rd. to Marana where we got onto I-10, avoiding the traffic around Tucson. Stopped in Eloy to fuel up, found a Cracker Barrel there (!) for lunch, then took I-8 west to avoid Phoenix, then north back onto I-10 and west to Arizona Oasis RV Park in Ehrenburg, on the Colorado river at the CA border. Uneventful except for a half hour stoppage for an accident 30 miles from our destination!  

Wednesday 5/30 Barstow, CA

Got an early start this morning, 8 AM and it was an uneventful day. Got to Shady Lane RV Park in Barstow a little after one. A bit slow going as the towing speed limit in CA is 55! 

Hot and very windy here. Hopefully we will get away from the heat as we head up into the mountains tomorrow. After hooking up and getting the AC running we ran back into town for lunch at Tom’s Burgers, OK but nothing to write home about. Did some grocery shopping and back to RV to relax.

Thursday 5/31 Mammoth Lakes, CA

Well after two uneventful days this one did not start off well. Forecast for Mammoth Lakes tonight was low 30’s (say what?!!) so I checked propane tanks last night and one had just gone empty. Host at Shady Lane told me of two places, so this morning we stopped at K&L Gas. Not open yet so we went on to a U-Haul store where the attendant looked at my tank and said it was out of date and needed to be re-certified! “You can get that done over at K&L.”

So, back to K&L - only a mile or so - and they were open. Very nice young man inspected and certified both tanks for $10. Filled the empty tank and then I realized that the air on the truck was bleeding down faster than it should. Nancy had been saying she could hear an air leak and it seemed to be getting worse. The man at K&L recommended American Towing on the other side of town. I called and they said they could check it out, so over there we went.

Guys at American Towing could not have been nicer. Checked it out right away, found a leaking cab air bag (air suspension), no new bag available in town so I had them cap off the line. Only charged us 60 bucks!

Called Volvo dealer in Sparks, NV and made appointment to get cab air bags replaced on Friday afternoon.

Got back on the road about 10:30! Not too bad for all that went on!

Headed North up US 395, we were surprised by how dry and desert-like the East side of the Sierra Nevada’s is. Lots of snow capped mountains though.



The truck did great on the climb up over 7,000 feet south of Bishop, held 55 in 9th gear all the way up. Nice drive on good road with very little traffic. Had lunch in the trailer at a rest area and arrived at McGee Creek RV Park at 4:30. What a pretty place! Right up against the mountains with a lovely creek running by and lots of trees. High 90’s in Tucson, Ehrenburg, and Barstow, but it was 63 degrees when we got here and it is supposed to drop into the low 30’s tonight! Perhaps because we are at 6,940 feet above sea level! The fresh cool air with a nice breeze felt great when we took a stroll around the park.

Here’s a pic of the fast flowing creek (sure could use some of that water in Tucson!) and a pic of the mountains taken from the same spot. Yes, that is snow up there!




Friday 6/1 Reno, NV

35 DEGREES THIS AM!! YIKES! Actually it was pretty good sleeping last night, we could just hear the water running in McGee Creek. Did need to turn our furnaces on this morning though.

Got a good start and made it to Reno just about Noon. Checked into Bordertown RV Resort, 15 miles north of Reno. Nice place, but tight sites and narrow roads. Paved roads, concrete pads, grass in between sites.

Had lunch in the restaurant here and then took the truck to TEC Volvo in Sparks to get the cab airbags replaced. Of course they said it would be late afternoon before they could start (in spite of what they implied yesterday) and it ‘might’ be done this evening. No problem though, just unloaded the smart and we spent the afternoon driving down to Lake Tahoe just to see the place. Not all that impressive, very touristy. Lots of pretty scenery on the way down and on a different route up through the mountains on the way back.

Back hime we picked up a pretty good pizza from the deli in the casino here. Waiting for the pizza neither of us could figure out how any of the slot machine games even work! No more just put a quarter in and pull the lever! Geezers are us!

Volvo dealer called about 8:15, truck is done. Will pick it up in the morning.

Saturday 6/2 Reno, NV

Took our time getting started this  morning. About 10:30 we went back into the city and picked up the truck and loaded the smart. Stopped at BJ’s Barbecue for lunch, pretty good pulled pork and brisket. Stopped for groceries, then back to RV park. Nancy cleaned tile floors, I shampooed some carpets & vacuumed, Nancy did some laundry.

Walked over to casino for free drink and Nancy gave them a few bucks in the slot machines while we waited for my pizza to be prepared.

Back to trailer and relaxed for the evening.

Sunday 6/3 Valley of the Rogue SP, OR

Got on the road about 8:30. No issue pulling lout of our spot in spite of the tight quarters. Good wether and good roads all the way to Valley of the Rogue State Park. Less than a mile from the RV park we crossed back into California. Mostly good two lane roads through pine forests from just past there state line all the way to I-5 near Mt Shasta. Speaking of Mt. Shasta, great views of the snow covered mountain for miles through the woods. Stopped in a pull-out along the way and had lunch of left-over pizza (the pizza in the deli at Bordertown Casino was great!) and PB&J mini-sandwiches from Trader Joe’s.

Arrived at Valley of the Rogue State Park just before 3 o’clock. Light traffic, good roads all the way, once again an uneventful trip.

Park is laid out a lot like Cherry Creek in Denver, just a bit smaller and tighter, but roads are fine for a big rig and no issues getting into our pull-through space that has more than enough room.

In spite of the trees our sat dish hooked up just fine. We were able to use the Sacramento spot beam from Dish Network for our three stops in California and Nevada. Switched to the Portland spot beam today which will cover us for the whole state. Used Dish chat to make the change each time and it worked fine.

Monday 6/4 Valley of the Rogue SP, OR

I realized this morning that I miss trees! We took a walk along the Rogue River at 6:30 this morning. A beautiful place with huge, mature trees all along the river - and all through the park. Lovely morning, 53 degrees with a clear blue sky.

Mid-morning we drove into the small town of Rogue River just a few miles from the park. Stopped in a visitor’s center there and picked up some info, then drove on into Grant’s Pass. After a spin around town we stopped at Wild River Brewing and met our friends from Desert Trails, Carol and Jack, for lunch.

After lunch they gave us a tour of Grant’s Pass and environs with a stop at their lovely home deep in the woods outside of town. Jack did most of the work on the house with an impressive display of cedar woodwork inside and out. Made a stop at an overlook over Hell’s Canyon on the Rogue, where we will be going on a boat trip tomorrow.

We stopped at a store of the Murphy Hemp Co. just to check it out. Nancy bought a jar of Topical CBD Salve after we tried samples. 

Back to the trailer about 4:30 for dinner and the playoff hockey game.

Tuesday 6/5 Valley of the Rogue SP, OR

Nice long walk on the path along the river this morning, about a mile and half, lots of birds with pretty songs around here. Nice morning, although it was 45 degrees when we got up. Waited until after brea
fast to take our morning walk. 

Late morning we drove into the village of Rouge River and had a second breakfast at Bee Gee’s Diner, nice little place. Went on into Grant’s Pass and spent some time roaming around trying to find the Chase Bank branch. Eventually determined that I was looking for the address of a branch in a different city! After correcting that mistake we found the ATM we were looking for.

The we met Jack and Carol at Hell’s Canyon Jetboats. We took a two hour jet boat trip down the Rogue River, 18 miles to Hell’s Gate Canyon. A really interesting trio and great fun, although we could have gotten along fine without the requisite water splashing. Lots of wildlife along the way (including black tailed deer and a solitary muskrat swimming in the Rogue) and interesting information about the history of the area. From just below Grant;s Pass the Rogue is a designated “Wild River” all the way to the Pacific in Gold Beach, so it protected from development.

After the trip we were all pretty wet, so we came back home to change and then Nancy & I went back into Rogue River and had dinner at Terasco’s Mexican. Pretty good dinner.


Wednesday 6/6 Valley of the Rogue SP, OR

A bit warmer this morning, 54 degrees. The beautiful weather continues, we have had nothing but warm sunny days since we left home a week ago. 

After breakfast we walked along the river path again in the opposite direction. Really impressive big pine trees. Once again we did a mile and a half.

Yesterday I realized that my right hand, which has been bothering me ever since I injured it several years ago felt much better since I used that sample of Topical CBD Salve at the hemp store On Monday! Not sure if the soreness is from arthritis or inflammation (or both), but I have been treating it by squeezing a small ball in my hand and this ointment really made it feel better! 

So when we went back into Grant’s Pass we stopped at the Murphy Hemp Co. there (the one we stopped at on Monday was in Merlin) to get another jar of the salve. Nancy decided on the lotion with the same ingredients.

Then we went west of town to Rogue Creamery. The farm store there was closed when we went by on Monday and we wanted to try their cheese sandwiches. Also looked around their automated dairy. They have a large cattle barn with open walls and a translucent roof, does not look or smell like any cattle barn I have ever seen! The cows are allowed to set their own schedule for milking! They come into the barn whenever they want, eat grain there, water or sleep and when they “feel the urge” to be milked they head up one aisle to the robotic milking machines. As they enter the chute and FFID chip in their ear tag sends a signal and, if they are due to be milked, the gate opens, allowing them into the milking parlor. If they are not due for milking the gate directs them back into the barn! From there they enter one of two milking stands. Once they are in place the robotic arm washes their udder and the attaches the milking device! 

The system monitors the amount of milk from each cow, identified by the chip, and analyzes the product from each milking. If the milk deviates from the norm (temperature, chemical content) it immediately notifies the farm supervisor by text so the cow can be examined for health issues.

Cheese sandwiches were were great and we bought some cheese and cheese curds.

Made a stop at a huge Fred Meyer grocery store and them Walmart to get a laundry drying rack since we left ours at home.

Jack and Carol picked us up at 4:00 and we drove into Ashland. Walked through  nice shopping area, stopped in a really nice used book store, The Book Exchange (bought 5 books!) and had dinner at a brew pub. Then we went to the theatre of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the opening night of Book of Will. Quite a good performance in a really nice facility. After 11 by the time we got back home.

Thursday 6/7 Valley of the Rogue SP, OR

Headed out a little after nine this morning on a day trip to Crater Lake. Took about two hours to get there, our senior park passes saved us $20 on park admission. Watched the video at the Visitors Center then drove a little ways along the East Rim Drive to a lookout area where we had a nice view of the lake, very blue and very pretty. 



Looks like maybe we could use a selfie stick!

Nice day in the 60’s although the roads around the rim are still closed due to snow and there was a fair bit of snow in the woods along the way. A pretty drive through pine forests most of the way. Stopped at an eating area just outside the park gate for lunch and then back home.

Loaded the car on the truck and got ready to head for La Pine State Park in the morning. 

Friday 6/8 La Pine SP, OR

Short walk in the morning, 49 degrees. Heading for La Pine Sate Park today, only 161 miles with the first 60 retracing our route from yesterday.

On the road about 9:30, uneventful drive to La Pine SP with is way back in the piney woods. About 13 miles into the closest town - La Pine - and 27 miles into Bend.

Pretty spot, pull through with fun hookup. We will be going without sewers for the a while after we leave here and our shower tank seems to be filling up too quickly and the tank monitor is only showing half full. Will try to sus-out what is happening while we are here.

Before dinner we took a walk along the bank of the Deschutes River which wraps around the campground, really pretty spot.

This evening I decided to see what was going on with the gray tanks. Earlier I had put some tank treatment in to try to clean the sensors, but I decided to dump that tankful. Then I took a 6-1/2 gallon water jug and refilled the shower tank - 50 gallons. Did not seem enough as we are supposed to have 87 gallons of gray water storage. 

Then I drained the kitchen tank then refilled it using two one gallon jugs to measure. To our surprise it took 41 gallons! So the shower tank is filling up completely. Apparently we (particularly me!) have been using more water than usual during our showers. Will have be more conscientious while we are without full hook ups over the next few weeks.

Saturday 6/9 La Pine SP, OR

43 degrees this morning and light rain, rained on and off most of the night. The pavement in the park (and elsewhere as it turned out) had streaks of yellow material that ran in the rain. Later we found out is was ponderosa pine pollen!

Took our time getting started, watched F1 practice and then headed for Bend. Stopped at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument visitor’s center in the Deschutes National Forest. Quite an interesting place, the geography, and geology, of the entire area has been shaped by volcanic activity.

Then on into Bend where we found a laundromat that also had good WiFi! After doing the wash and catching up on our e-mail (our phones barely work in the state park and the Verizon hot spots are virtually useless) we had a good lunch at the Pour House restaurant.

A stop at the Albertson’s for groceries and then 22 miles back home to watch F1 qualifying. Still cold, never got much above 50 today. Supposed to be low 30’s tonight, of course we are at 4,100 feet here!

Sunday 6/10 La Pine SP, OR

33 degrees this morning! Glad I disconnected out water hose last evening and switched to our fresh tank. After breakfast and CBS Sunday morning we headed north to the Oregon High Desert Museum. Quite an interesting place, a nice museum with sections on Native Americans and early settlers. Also an outdoor portion with a neat display of otters in their natural habitat. 

Spent several hours in the museum and then went on into Bend and had lunch at the same place we did yesterday and stopped at Walmart before heading back to the campground. On the way in to the campground we detoured down a side road to see “The Big Tree”, which is the largest Ponderosa Pine ever recorded. It was pretty big, 162 feet high and 28 feet in diameter.






Back home for pizza and to watch the Formula One race from Montreal. Oddly enough ESPN choose to run it on a delayed broadcast so they could show NCAA Baseball tournament. So race in Europe and elsewhere are shown live in the middle of the night or early  morning, while a race that is in North America at mid-day is tape delayed! The new owners of F! who supposedly want to develop the market in the US are doing their best to drive the audience away before they can get their act together. 

Turns out the F1 race was not on when the Dish Network guide said it was! May have been on during the day while we were away. Fortunately they are rerunning it let tonight - supposedly.

After we arrived home I checked tires and wanted to ad air to one, when I fired up the truck and opened the brake balance valve to get my air hose going I found a pretty good air leak, confirming the hissing Nancy heard when she was helping me back in. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

Monday 6/11 Charleston Harbor RV Park, Charleston, OR

On the road about 9:30, 44 degrees and spitting rain. Really scenic drive across the Cascades to the coast. The air compressor was holding it’s own against the air leak, so far so good.

Arrived at Sunset Bay SP to find a really (I mean REALLY) tight campground. Our site was big enough for us but that was no way to back our trailer in there as it was at right angles to a very narrow rod with trees right up to the pavement. Gave it a try, but it could not be done. Drove down the road and were fortunate to find Charleston Harbor RV Park which had a site large enough.


Got parked and checked in. Walked across the street to Portside Restaurant for an excellent dinner, short walk and then home to watch F1.