Week ending Dec 25, 2014 Auburn

Thursday, sunny and warm, we spent in downtown Auburn getting visitor information and groceries. We then headed back to the trailer to spend the afternoon making plans and checking the quality of the wi-fi by talking to Elizabeth via Skype. We confirmed that the wi-fi in this RV park is excellent, as good as the neighbours had told us when we arrived.

Friday was our rainy day. Joan did some Christmas baking, and we did our usual rainy day activities, Wii bowling and golf and some video pilates.

Saturday, although cloudy and damp, we headed to the farmers' market in old town. This area of California grows mandarins.  As well as vegetables we picked up some locally grown mandarin oranges.  We then walked through historic old town. This town is here because of the California gold rush. After browsing through numerous shops we headed back to the RV park for lunch and a lazy afternoon.

Placer County Courthouse

Although Sunday was a cloudy day, it was dry, a good day for hiking. We headed to Auburn State Recreation Area to hike the Park HQ-Confluence loop. Depending on which map you believe the hike was 3 1/2 miles or a little more than 4 miles. It was a great hike partly along the historic Stagecoach trail, that carried passengers between Foresthill and Auburn in the 1800s. The trail also took us through manzanita groves  and coyote brush, and returned along the American River. The recent rainfall has caused the all the streams to be full and Black Hole of Calcutta waterfall was spectacular. After our hike was completed we went back to the campground to soak in the hot tub to relax our well worked muscles.

American River Confluence

Manzanita tree

Calcutta Falls

Mountain Quarries Bridge

Monday was sunny and warm.  It would have been perfect for exploring the recreation area some more but our truck's 'check engine' light had come on the day before, so we had to take it to the local Chev dealer to see what the problem was.   While we waited for a fellow to finish a phone call, we heard him say 'We'll see you on January 9th'.    When we told him we wouldn't be in town that long, they said they hoped they could check it out today providing we could leave the truck with them.  They gave us a ride back to the trailer and we started laundry.  About 10:30 they called to say the problem was a glow plug, and did we want them to replace it.  Of course.   About lunch they called to let us know the truck was repaired.  After picking up the truck we decided it was too late to head out of town for the rec area, so instead we walked around the Rock Creek reservoir beside the RV park.  It was about 2 miles round trip from the trailer. The biggest issue was 2 long narrow metal walkways over a canal. Joan was less than impressed, but decided it would be okay as long as we didn't meet anyone. We got half way across the first bridge when three women appeared at the other end of the bridge. They waited until we got over the bridge.  It turned out one of them was just as nervous about this whole procedure as Joan was. She really believes that a handrail can't be all that expensive.  The reservoir is still suffering from the California drought of the past few years, although there is some water in it.



Tuesday was a perfect day for hiking again, so we headed back to Auburn State Recreation Area. After eventually finding the interpretive trailhead, off we went. It was an easy trail along the North Fork of the American river. We stopped religiously at each marker reading about the point of interest. As we were about to leave point 8 a couple of gentlemen stopped us to ask whether the self-guided pamplet we had said anything about the landslide they had seen at point 10.  After imparting the required information we stood and chatted with them for about 1/2 hour. They live in the area and gave us tips as to other hikes we  might enjoy. Point 9 was the underneath the highest bridge in California.   At point 10, the final one on the interpretive trail,  we turned around and returned to the truck. While eating lunch on a rock at the river's edge we watched a group of firefighters training a new group of trainees on water rescue techniques. We then left the trailhead deciding to do a scenic drive back to the RV park. We noticed a road down to Lake Clementine. We parked about 1/2 mile from the dam to walk in to see it. As we walked down the steep grade we encountered a fellow we had met on the last trail. It turns out that if we had just carried on for 3/4 mile from point 10 we would have arrived at the same place. Oh well the drive which took us at least 1/2 hour was scenic and well worth the time. Our trip also took us over the bridge that we had walked under earlier.







Wednesday was a dull and showery day so we hung around, did housework and in late afternoon had a Christmas Eve visit via Skype with John's parents and his brother George.

Christmas morning was beautiful and sunny, but just above freezing.  We had a pre-lunch group Skype visit with Trev, Sue, Anthony, Taylor and Jamie and Karen and Dominique.  Our first group Skype visit worked okay after sorting out a few glitches.  In the afternoon, we went for a walk in the neighbourhood and then came back to cook Christmas dinner.  Nothing gets the appetite activated better than the smell of turkey and stuffing roasting after a walk.

Week ending Dec 18, 2014 Eureka to Auburn

Friday morning we awoke to big water puddles all over the RV park. We have been lucky so far with rain overnight but decent daytime weather.  The hurricane type weather they have been threatening has not come to fruition.  Today we did a scenic drive. Our first stop was Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge where we completed a 1.7 mile walk through the marsh, viewing numerous water birds.

Our next stop was Loleta, where we came across the Loleta Cheese Factory. They make many different cheeses; one we discovered that we particularly liked was a garlic cheese. We then went to Ferndale a neat little town renowned for its Victorian Style homes and storefronts. We  then headed to Petrolia over hills on  a narrow steep road, going from sea level to 1800 feet and then back to sea level near Petrolia. 

We carried on the scenic loop toward Humboldt Redwood State Park, the road again narrow, rough and we climbed to an elevation of 2860 feet this time before coming back down through the state park.  We stopped in Redcrest for coffee, and while the coffee was brewing, we found some Redwoods hoodies.   The rivers are all overflowing their banks, quite a difference from California the past few years where water has been at a real shortage.

Saturday was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. Our first stop was the Arcata Christmas craft market at the Community Center.  The only thing that struck our fancy was a couple of coffee mugs, which we bought as backups, since we have had so much trouble finding the style of mug we like. We then headed to Trinidad.  Our first stop was Trinidad State Beach where we did a 1.4 mile walk to College Cove beach and Elk Head. It was a great little hike with fantastic views down the coast, where we were able to watch the surfers on Trinidad Beach. Our next stop was the hike up (1.5  miles), to the Cross at the top of Trinidad Head. At the top we were able to view the Historic lighthouse (1871) which is still operating today.

We then  went back to the trailer to watch curling.


Sunday, we went into Eureka to walk around their historic downtown area. 

We found an interesting map store where we were able to pick up the California Road and Recreation Atlas with back roads and hikes marked on it.  After we walked along the boardwalk we headed to Arcata to their downtown area.  As it was Sunday many shops were closed.  We headed back to the trailer to watch the Grand Slam curling finals.

Monday was our last day at the seashore. We are planning to head inland tomorrow. We decided we should go for a final beach walk. We went to Clam Park on the Hammond Coast Trail to walk along the beach. While there we chatted with a woman from Colorado who was traveling up the coast to Oregon. After our walk we went back to the trailer to do the usual housework in preparation for tomorrow's move.

Tuesday morning the rain held off while we packed up. As we headed further south along 101 we encountered areas of rain. The drive down the redwood highway was really nice, not much traffic and the scenery was wonderful. We stopped in Garberville at Bon Bistro and Bakery. John had his usual favourite caramel machiatto and Joan found a new favourite Peanut Butter Cup frappucino. A short while later we stopped at a rest area, and chatted with a fellow about Canadian hockey.  As we returned to the truck, his first question was 'Are you an Oilers fan or a Flames fan? He was a California resident, but had lived some of his life in Ontario and his Mom still lived there. He was a Toronto Maple Leaf  fan, but is now a Sharks fan. John  admitted  to being an Oilers fan and Joan told him she was a Boston  Bruins fan. After chatting with him for a while we both carried on. We arrived shortly after lunch at the Willits KOA. We found that the office is closed for lunch from 11:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M.  As we were looking at the information on the wall, we heard a voice behind us, which turned out to be coming from the intercom at the electric gate into the park.   She told us to look at the night check in information for which sites were available, which was basically any site.  We walked through the park, chose a site, buzzed them so the could let us in the locked gate.  The site was pretty level so we didn't bother unhooking the truck for a one night stay, and the cable TV's 10 channels was adequate, since there is no curling or Canadian sports on today, so didn't need to set up the satellite either.  By the time 3:00 came around we were set up, the electric heater had warmed us up and the rain had started. We went to the office and paid our fees and got our wi-fi password.  We emailed an RV park in Sacramento to see if they had space for us the next night.

Wednesday morning  we took highway 20 across the hills, and along Clear Lake, which is a beautiful drive. We arrived in Sacramento about 1:30 at the rv park we had emailed, but had no reply from. That was a common occurrence and every rv park we had been at to date was almost empty, so we hoped it would have space. No space at this rv park. So we had to find a plan B. Thanks to our Good Sam Directory we found a RV park in Auburn about 20 miles up interstate 80, called them and found they had space for a week. We headed out and found that the sites were decent with easy satellite access and good wi-fi.  We figure this is the place to be over Christmas where we can Skype with family. We did some searching about the area and found there is some Christmas events happening and hiking in the area.           

Week ending Dec 11, 2014 Crescent City to Eureka

Thursday after posting the blog we walked over to the Chart Room for dinner. Great views of the harbour and Joan enjoyed the seafood and John had a good tasting steak.

Friday morning after chatting with John's parents we drove up the coast to stop at the points of interest we had not been able to stop at when we moved last Tuesday. We find that many viewpoints are not large enough to accommodate the trailer, or we can't tell until we are past the entrance. Our first stop was All Star Liquor, just at the California border. It really lives up to its name, having some interesting liqeurs that we purchased as a Christmas treat. We stopped at Harris Beach State Park and walked down to the beach so that we could walk on the beach for an hour or so. 

We then carried on to Cape Sebastian State Park, where we turned around to head back to stop at the viewpoints. We then stopped at numerous viewpoints.
Arch Rock: 

Natural Bridges

 
Whalehead Beach,

 
House Rock,

just to mention a few)  in the Samuel Boardman State Park scenic corridor.  We stopped at Thomas Creek Bridge, the highest bridge in Oregon at 345 feet and walked to a viewpoint, which really doesn't give a true sense of the height of the bridge, as there are a few trees blocking the view.

We truly enjoyed the drive.



Saturday dawned dry and sunny again. After spending some time doing chores we went for groceries. We then decided it was time to take advantage of the beautiful weather. We walked from the RV Park to the lighthouse. The lighthouse was open from 2 - 4 today. We did wonder why, but by the time we got there we realized that the lighthouse was not accessible during high tide. The views along the shore from the lighthouse were spectacular.
 
Sunday again was a dry day. We headed south of Crescent City along Enderts  Beach Road to Crescent Beach Overlook. From the viewpoint it is obvious how Crescent Beach got its name. We then took Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, stopped at Ah-Pah Interpretive trail and completed 1/2 mile trail that explained the restoration process being undertaken in this part of the forest, removing the effects of a logging road. Our next stop was at the Big Tree. It is considered the largest tree in the Redwood State Park, about 1500 years old and impressive. Many years ago a local business man thought he might cut it down to make a dance floor on its stump.  Luckily another group decided they should save the tree, and we thank them for their foresight. 

As we headed back to the trailer we stopped at Klamath River Overlook. The viewpoint signs suggested sighting whales from Nov to March was possible from this vantage point.  As we don't have the patience to sit looking out over the ocean through binoculars all day, we did not see any whale. As it was extremely windy we had lunch sitting in the truck while we looked. 

We got back to the trailer in time to stuff a cornish game hen to test out the new counter-top convection oven.

Monday, our 4th dry day in row, was spent taking care of domestic chores. After laundry was finished Joan made a batch of peanut butter cookies.  The new oven seems to be working well.  After that we  walked along Crescent Beach as far as a stream too large to jump.

Tuesday was  moving day and of course it was raining. By the time we were all packed up we had to change out of our wet coats before heading south. Our destination was Mad River Rapids RV Park,  recommended by our friends Brian and Kris. By the time we got half way there the rain stopped and eventually the sun started to shine. We set up in dry warm conditions, a treat after the wet morning. The temperature is about 5C warmer here than in Crescent Beach. We did some internet surfing and decided the visitor info was the best place to go. Luckily we checked where it was before driving off looking for it, and discovered it is across the fence from the park. We walked over and  a very helpful young lady loaded us up with area brochures and many suggestions.

Wednesday morning was warm and dry, although the forecast was for a couple of wet and windy days.  We went shopping.  Joan got a couple of pairs of jeans and we got groceries.   Now we were prepared for the stormy weather that was promised. We got back to the trailer in time for lunch. After lunch the rain started, so we golfed and bowled on the Wii, which keeps us amused during bad weather. The clouds gave us a pretty sunset.

Wednesday night was very windy and there was lots of rain, part of the big storm hitting most of the USA Pacific coast.   Thursday morning was dry, except for our soggy lawn, and partially cloudy.  We went and did some shopping, looking for some items we hadn't found yet.   On our way back to the trailer we stopped at the beach to take a look at the 20 foot surf promised by the weatherman. All in all the surf was rambunctious but wasn't nearly 20 feet high.  We did get a shot of some birds skimming the waves looking for lunch. 

We drove back to the trailer following Greta's instructions to Mad River Park instead of  Mad River Rapids RV Park.  This took us over a rough narrow road through farm country. The good news was that for once John was driving when the roads were less than perfect, but they were paved unlike the dirt road Joan had to navigate back in Oregon at Beverly Beach.

Week ending Dec 4, 2014 Bullards Beach to Crescent City

Black Friday was our second rainy day in a row.  We decided that the best thing to do was to go into Coos Bay to Fred Myers to look for a cordless Dirt Devil and a new quilt for the bed. We picked both up and also some groceries at the Safeway next door to Fred Myers.  We have good news about the campground turkey, he survived Thanksgiving.  In fact yesterday he spent most of the day huddled under the tree next to our trailer, trying to keep dry from the rain.  Today it is not raining as hard so he is wandering around.

Saturday we did a walk along the beach to the lighthouse and then back to the trailer.  All in all about 5 1/2 miles..  It was a different view of the area, as the last time we came to the lighthouse, it was late afternoon, so we walked along the road instead of the beach.  We saw some pelicans skimming the waves.  There was a boat out on the ocean, that a fellow we encountered told us was probably setting out crab pots.

Sunday we  woke to frost on the truck.  We decided we should do a scenic drive to the town of Coquille up the river from Bandon,  on the way to Coos Bay. We had talked to a lady from Coquille in Safeway, so decided we should see why she would move from Texas to Coquille. We are still wondering.  The drive wanders through the Coquille River valley.  After Coquille we went into Coos Bay then back to the trailer back toward Coquille and then back down the north side of the river.   Once again, the GPS didn't like our road, and kept telling us to head off on roads over the hills back to the highway instead of through the river valley, even when we were close enough the road could see the bridge on the highway.  We knew the road was definitely one less traveled as some sections of it were covered in moss.  We stopped at the Bandon Marsh, which is an area beside the river that is sometimes covered by seawater when the tide gets particularly high.  Saltwater marshes are not very common.

Monday was another wet day.  We drove into Bandon to use the library wi-fi to find a campground further south. After some discussion we decided our next stop should be Crescent City. So we called Bayside RV Park to find out of they had space. As it was lunchtime Joan was only able to leave a message.   We had hoped to walk along the beach in Bandon, but there was too much rain.

Tuesday we departed for Crescent City. There are lots of roadside viewpoints along 101 and it is a fantastic drive.
 

At one view point we visited with a couple heading back to Montana.  Their ranch is near the Canadian border south of Cardston.  They were curious to find out if we knew who won the Grey Cup.  They follow the CFL a bit as a lot of Montana State players play in the CFL.



We stopped at the RV park, even though we hadn't heard back from them. The assistant manager was glad to see us and told us she would have called us back, but we forgot to leave her a phone number. Oh well, at this time of year space doesn't seem to be a problem.  Great rates for full service.  We managed to get pretty much set up before a drizzle started, but couldn't get a satellite signal despite being in a site next door to a fellow with a satellite dish.  No trees, but a few boats  parked on stands between us and the harbour.

Wednesday was information gathering day.  After finally finding the satellite signal, at a much lower arm angle than expected, our first stop was the Redwood National and State Park Information Center and then Crescent City Information Center. After lunch back at the trailer we  did some web surfing and then went for a walk along the harbour, which is right behind us.   We can hear sea lions from the trailer, and decided we should hunt them down.   There were a bunch of them lying on a rock in the harbour, and others on some docks anchored in the harbour.   We walked along the breakwater, and found nice looking restaurant on the edge of the harbour, checked out its menu.   We continued to the end of the breakwater, and climbed a little hill there to get a full view of the harbour.    By the time we came down, it started drizzling, so we were soaked by the time we returned to the trailer.  On the way back, we saw some of the sea lions swimming out of the harbour.

 After our walk we watched curling on TSN and were very sorry to hear that Linda Moore has retired from being the TSN curling commentator.

Thursday morning dawned dry and partly sunny, a real treat after all the showery days we have had. After a chat with Elizabeth, to get caught up with life in Canmore where its cold and snowy, the rain doesn't seem so bad. We headed out to drive Howland Hill Road through Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park a scenic drive recommended by the park ranger, with some walks through groves of redwoods.  We completed a short hike through Stout Grove. After that we carried on and did another short hike at Simpson-Reed Grove.  The drive was scenic and walks really neat through the large redwood trees.

When we returned to Crescent City, we made quick stops to pick up an infrared fireplace (our ceramic heaters temperature settings are 5F or 3C apart, and we find it impossible to set them at a comfortable temperature)  and a counter-top convection oven. Now Joan can make shortbread for Christmas.

Week ending Nov 27, 2014 Bandon

Thursday after posting the blog at the Bandon library we went back to the trailer. By the time we arrived back in early afternoon our rainy day had become a beautiful sunny day. We decided to walk out to the lighthouse. Joan thought the walk was about 3 miles round trip, but as it turned out it was 6 miles. By the time we got back to the trailer it was getting dark. Next time we will check the distance of our walks more carefully.

Friday was our 44 wedding anniversary. We decided to celebrate by going to the Mill Casino in Coos Bay. John had read about Charleston, a port west of Coos Bay, and the Seven Devils Road, a scenic drive back toward Bandon.  Looking at the maps, we needed to find Beach Road (we think), which connects highway 101 to Seven Devils Road.    However, as we headed up toward Coos Bay, we saw Seven Devils Road first, so figured we didn't need to go to Beach Road.   We found out why the south end of  Seven Devils Roads wasn't the preferred route.  It is an unpaved road that wanders up and down hills toward the ocean, with very sharp turns, and a section that was barely wide enough for two vehicles.  We encountered a truck at one point, and he put his tires in the ditch on the uphill side of the road to make sure we had enough room to get by.  We couldn't believe that people built several really nice houses along this road. We eventually got to Seven Devils State Wayside for some views of  the surf.  Then we continued on the good section of the road to Sunset Beach, a nice park just west of Charleston.  There is both a day use area and a campground there.  While enjoying the view of sunset beach we saw a couple just floating with a surfboard in a sheltered area, which seemed a bit odd.  Then we noticed the heads of some seals swimming near them, the first wild life we have seen in the ocean this trip.

We then headed back through Charleston to Mill Casino in Coos Bay.  Thanks to Oregon state law, they have a non-smoking room with slots, a real treat. After lunch (not a place we would recommend highly but okay), Joan took $10 and promptly lost it. John's $5 resulted in about $12 in the same time. Some people are just lucky.

We thought it was odd that Coos Bay, at about 16,000 people, is the largest place on the Oregon Coast. Although Portland is a port, it is about 100 miles from the coast up the Columbia River.

Saturday morning after watching some curling we headed into Bandon to walk through Old Town.  After browsing through a number of shops we followed the signs to the Farmers Market.  One fellow makes all sorts of salt free dip and salsa mixes. We picked up some red salsa mix and a green onion dip mix. There are some nice murals on buildings around town. As we headed back to the truck Joan went into a fish restaurant and got some clam chowder to take home for lunch. John waited outside, which was a good choice as the smell of fish inside the restaurant would have overpowered him.  We then headed back to the trailer to enjoy the rest of the sunny day and watch a bit more curling.

Sunday was football day, with both eastern and western finals.  Fortunately there was also some curling on for Joan.

Monday was a perfect day to hike, warm and sunny. We headed out to Floras Lake State Natural area to hike to Blacklock Point, which was marked on a guide as one of the two main picturesque areas south of Bandon. The trail started out nice and wide, but shortly we came to an area that was covered in water.  There was a side trail that we took to bypass the water, but after a while we started having to push through thorny bushes several times, and decided that this side trail wasn't just a bypass to get around the marsh, so we retraced our steps (hopefully) and found our way back to the main trail.  We were able to walk along the edge of the marshy area and continue along the proper trail.  Eventually we arrived at Blacklock Point. (6 mile round trip) What a spectacular area. We were really happy that we had stayed the course.

On the way back to the trailer we made a quick stop at one of the many Myrtlewood Factory stores. We were curious as to what exactly myrtle is.  It is a hardwood deciduous tree that only grows between northern California and mid-Oregon, and in Israel.

We decided that there was enough to do in the area to stay longer, so after paying for another week of campground fees we were off to Floras Lake trail.  On the way to the lake we stopped at Coquille Point Park in Bandon, the other place marked as picturesque in this area.  There is a very nice interpretive trail on the point above the beach.

 then to  Face Rock State Park, then Devils Kitchen and before going back to the highway to go to Boice Cope County Park. We did a walk past Floras Lake to the beach. This was a different type of beach, as there wasn't the offshore rocks that we have seen in most of the ther areas, and quite a coarser type of sand that didn't pack down along the shore as much as most places. Perhaps because of this, the beach was steeper and not as wide as most places we have seen, so the surf crashed harder
onto the shore.

  
We walked down the beach for a a short distance before meeting some people who had turned around ahead of us.  They told us that the tide was coming in and the area ahead had steep walls that would prevent us from getting up above the tide, so we headed back.   On the way back to the trailer we stopped at Misty Meadows for some blueberry spread, which is a jam of without added sugar, and some apricot bbq sauce.

Wednesday we drove down to Cape Blanco Lighthouse, the longest continuously operating lighthouse on the Oregon coast. The view from the parking lot across from the lighthouse was really picturesque, but the wind was blowing so hard we could hardly open the truck door, so we didn't tarry very long. 

We carried on to Port Orford to check it out, and stopped at another Mrytlewood factory.

Thursday was a rainy day.  We tried to get internet access using our phone at the park, but, perhaps because of the rain, the signal wasn't strong enough to do anything on the internet (we can usually do a bit, slowly).  We drove into town, and fortunately the wi-fi in the library is on even though the library is closed for Thanksgiving Day, so we were able to post the blog and check out a few things.

Week ending Nov 20, 2014 Oregon Beverly Beach to Bullards Beach

Friday morning we walked through the campground, checking out various sites, hunting for one that would allow us to get satellite signal. After much discussion between us we found one we thought would work. We then loaded up a TV, the satellite and a receiver to see if in fact our suspicions were true. Yes we found what the park rangers believe is one of the only sites in the park that has a line to allow us to get satellite. We then moved the trailer to the new site. John is much happier now that he will be able to watch football playoffs.

Saturday was a shopping day at Lincoln City, browsing the outlet malls. We made a quick stop at Ace hardware to replace our Damp Rid.  It is very easy to find when we are at the coast. On our way back to Beverly Beach we stopped at Boilers Bay viewpoint for lunch.

We then carried on the Otter Crest loop to Cape Foulweather. We chatted to a couple from Calgary who were on their way further south for the winter. At the Cape Foulweather visitor center we talked to a volunteer who told us he had seen seals from the viewpoint earlier in the day. But of course since we where there, the seals had gone into hiding. Our last stop before the campground was the Devil's Punchbowl.

 




Sunday we watched football and the final Nascar race of the season.

Monday was beach walking day. We walked from the campground to the Devil's Punchbowl along the beach.

The surfers were again out enjoying the rolling waves. After a stop for lunch, sitting on a log on the beach we headed back to the campground to complete the nature trail that runs through the  old growth forest next to the campground.



Tuesday was moving day. Our target was Bullards Beach State Park. The drive , although only about 120 miles took us almost 4 hours. The first viewpoint we stopped at was Cook's Chasm (Capt James Cook traveled along the coast here)  near Cape Perptua.  The rocks along the shore here are quite different than other areas we have seen so far.

We finally reach a tunnel, our GPS had been telling us to get off this road, just before the tunnel, and follow some forestry roads to get to the other side.  The tunnel is only 11 foot 6 inch and we are much taller than that. It seemed very odd, because we had seen many RV's and logging trucks on the road coming toward us.  We parked and walked up to tunnel.  It only 11 foot, 6 inches, on the shoulder edge, but about 6 inches from the edge, it is over 14 feet, plenty tall enough for us. In fact as we were looking at it, 2 large Class A motorhomes, with Alberta license plates, went through. Greta (our GPS) yelled at us as we traveled through, but once we emerged from the other side she was happy again.   A bit further down the road, we entered the Oregon Dunes area.  After looking for a pull-off for lunch for quite a while,  we pulled into the the Siltcoos River Recreation Area looking for a lunch stop with a view. No luck, so we returned to the highway, and carried on as paying to park and eat our lunch and look at trees seemed a waste.   A bit further on, we found a bit of pull-off for lunch in the little town of Gardiner.
We finally arrived at Bullards Beach State Park. Now we are pro's at the State park system and had no trouble finding a full service site from which we could get a satellite signal.

Wednesday was a drizzly kind of day, but we bit the bullet and walked through dunes to the shore. We then walked along the shore to a parking area, and then followed the path back to the trailer, all in all a bit more than 4 miles.

Thursday was a wet day, with more rain than Wednesday, so we decided to head into Bandon, a few miles from the park, to do laundry, pick up some groceries, and post the blog at the library.  As we were leaving the park, the resident pet turkey was wandering around.   Doesn't he know that Thanksgiving is only a week away here?

Week ending Nov 11, 2014 Troutdale to Beverly Beach State Park

Friday after a skype visit with John’s parents we drove the Mount Hood scenic route.  Although it was foggy when we woke up, by the time we did the drive, the day became sunny and warm. We had wonderful clear views of Mount Hood and as a bonus there were great  views of Mount Saint Helens as we came down off the mountain toward Hood River.
 

From Hood River  we went back to the RV park by the Historic Columbia river highway,  stopping at numerous waterfalls along the route.    At Multnomah Falls, we parked next to a car which had a window smashed out.  The people had been at the fall for about an hour, and came back to find that someone had stolen a purse from the car.   We lent them our whisk broom to sweep out the glass fragments.

Horsetail Falls

Multnomah Falls

After the area with the waterfalls, we got great views of the Columbia Valley from Vista House. 

Saturday we explored main street of Troutdale, stopped and picked up some homemade salsa and some lettuce at a framers market. We wandered through the Premium Outlet mall, only picking up  some vitamins at a very good price.   After going back to the trailer to have lunch and pick up the truck we went to Kmart and Burlington coat factory.  John found a jacket to his liking, Joan is still looking for a new pair of jeans. This is the final day of football, so we headed back to the trailer to watch the double header that determined which teams are in the playoffs.

Sunday started as a rainy day, as promised by the weatherman. We consoled ourselves by noting it was snowing in Alberta. We walked to the Ye Olde Pub for breakfast. It appears to be one of the few places open on a Sunday morning.   After a nice breakfast we walked back to the trailer in time to watch the 2nd last Nascar race of the season. Joan made bread and while it was baking the sun came out.

Monday we enjoyed the drive from Troutdale to the coast. It was a beautiful sunny warm day. We drove through wine country and a wonderful forest. We stopped for lunch at a viewpoint south of Licoln City.  Around 1 we arrived at Beverly  Beach State Park. After discussions with campground hosts, cleaning staff and finally a park ranger we were able to get a site long enough for us, that was full service. including cable tv. We knew that it would be impossible to get a satellite signal through all these trees.

Tuesday morning we made lunch and headed to the beach. We walked along the ocean for a couple of hours, watched some seagulls having a bath in a stream flowing into the ocean as well as some young people surfing. We assumed they are young people, because it is far too cold for us more mature types to be in the ocean at this time of year.  There are very few birds on the shore, It is much cooler here than it was at the gulf coast last winter. Lucky for us the cold front that has come down from Canada and is causing havoc everywhere else in the states  is not effecting us along the coast.  It was pretty bad along the Columbia around Portland, so our timing worked out well.
 

Wednesday,  after doing some maintenance and house work we completed the nature trail that encircles the park. The trail reminds us of many trails we have enjoyed in various rain forests.   There are many trees, called 'octopus trees' that look like the one below.   Large stumps were left when the area was logged, and some new trees germinate on top of the old stump.  They send roots down through the stump into the soil below, and after the old stump rots away, the tops of the roots are exposed, and grow bark to protect themselves. 

Later in the afternoon we went up to the welcome centre so that John could get on-line to get instructions on how to use the app he downloaded on the phone to assist him in locating the satellite signal.  We will try that app out the next time we are in a place that has fewer trees that this park. After dinner we got a text from Trever. Taylor is in the hospital with type 1 diabetes. Amazing since James was diagnosed with the same problem when we arrived back to Cochrane in August. We had a chat with Trev, he says Taylor is okay and they caught this problem earlier than they had with James.

Thursday we woke to our first rainy day. Since it was too wet to go walking we drove south down the coast to check out campgrounds and pick up groceries. We stopped at a few viewpoints to watch the surf boiling in on the shore.