Oregon and California

Oct 17, 18 & 19
Blue sky and nice weather is forecast for a couple of days.  Dick decided he wants to go crabbing so we find a sport shop that rents crab rings and he also gets a three day shellfish licence.  We stop at the grocery store and pick up some chicken legs to bate the rings and head down the road from our campground to a dock out in the river called South Jetty.  There are quite a few people already there and they seem to be catching crab.  One group of 6 are really pulling in the crab.  The first time Dick pulls up the ring we have a legal crab.  It slowed down until later in the afternoon and we finally got 4 crab for the day. 
The weather is great again on Tuesday so we drive 20 miles south of Florence to the town of Winchester Bay.  There is a really long dock there where people have their crab rings out.  We stayed until 3 in the afternoon and ended up with 4 crab again today.  We take them to a market and get them cooked and cleaned for $1.25 each.  Well worth not having the mess in the motor home. 

Early Wednesday morning we left to crab in Winchester Bay again.  When we get there a cold wind is blowing and no one is on the dock crabbing.  We decided it was too cold to get out there and drove south to the towns of North Bend and Coos Bay.  In Coos Bay we visited a farmers market and bought  bread, tomatoes and a cranberry/apple spread.  Drove back to Florence and it was still too cold to crab so took back the rings.  We stopped at a dune buggy place and decided to take the ride out on the dunes.  The Oregon Dunes stretch for 40 miles along the coast and there are designated recreation areas.  We went in a 10 seat dune buggy but it was only Dick and I.  We were seat belted and shoulder harnessed in and wore goggles.  What a wild ride!  I held on the dear life and closed my eyes part of the time.  I'm not really a fan of roller coasters and fast rides and we were treated to a fun but scary ride.

Dick throwing the crab ring

Dune Buggy

Top of a tree sticking out of the sand that is 80 feet high

In our goggles

Oct 20,21,22

We didn't do much for the next 3 days.  Ate a couple of meals out and stayed around the campground.

Oct. 23, 24

Sunday we moved south to Brookings OR which is a few miles from the California boarder.  We stay in beautiful Harris Beach State Park.  It is up on a cliff overlooking the ocean.  We can even see the ocean from our motor home.  Took a walk on the beach which is accessed from the day use area.  Our campsite is large and surrounded by a low hedge.  Oregon has wonderful state campgrounds with hookups and very reasonably priced.  The coast is littered with large rocks on the beach and in the water.  What a sight, the rock formations and the ocean crashing over them. 

Highway 101 south of Florence

Bookings OR

Monday we drive into California to the town of Crescent City.  Stop at the Redwood National and State Park visitors center, the park is part state and part national, and got information and maps about the park.  The state of California preserved some key groves in the 1920's.  Congress created Redwood National Park in 1968 to protect the world's tallest trees.  In 1880 redwood forests probably covered two million acres but gold fever subsided and redwood fever replaced it.  Redwood lumber built some of San Francisco's great Victorian homes.   Redwood National and State Parks protect nearly 40,000 acres of ancient forest, almost half of all that remain.  Redwoods grow to a height of 380 feet and live to be 2000 years old.  It's bark is 12 inches thick and the base will get 22 feet in diameter.  We took one of the scenic drives on a narrow winding road through the giant trees to Stout Grove and then a short hike around the grove.  It is hard to get a good picture of the giant trees because they are so enormous and tall.  Pictures just don't do them justice.  When we got back to Florence we took a ride north to stop at some of the vista points we had passed in the motor home.  It is hard to stop at scenic overlooks with the motor home and a towed car.

Stout Grove

Redwood tree root

Oct 25
We have been enjoying beautiful sunny weather for the last few days.  Today we move 50 miles south to the town of Klamath California.  It is located about in the middle of the Redwoods and we are staying here 3 nights.  We did a scenic Coastal Drive which followed the coastline high up on the side of a cliff above the ocean.  In the afternoon we go to the Trees of Mystery.  This is a private attraction which has been owned by the same family since 1949.  There is a wonderful Indian museum which has displays from different tribes and is free.  We pay to follow a trail through interesting trees and displays and take a tram up the mountain where we have views of the ocean in one direction and the forest covered mountains in the other.  We had a good day in the Redwoods. 

Trees of Mystery

Indian Museum

Going to the top in tram

View of ocean from the top

View of the mountains from the top

We will be here in Klamath for 2 more days before moving further south.  Happy Travels, Barb

Oregon

Oct.10, 11, 12, 13, 14

We are at a campground by Newport OR called Whalers Rest.  Newport has a wonderful old town area down along the waterfront that we visited.  Lots of shops and restaurants.  We ate lunch at Mo's and had fish and chips and chowder.  Found a boat which sold live crab so we bought a couple and took them home and boiled them.  Having them for dinner tomorrow night.  California Sea Lions are along the water with their loud barking sound.

California Sea Lions

Tuesday we drove back up the coast to Pacific City and Lincoln City to check them out.  Looked at a campground in Pacific City that we were going to camp at but people had told us it was tight to get our motor home into.  We found it to be O.K. and would stop there next time.  Went shopping at the outlet mall in Lincoln City. 

Wednesday we visited the lighthouses around Newport, Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head.  Yaquina Bay is the second oldest standing lighthouse structure on the Oregon coast.  It was only in service from 1871 to 1874 before the brighter Yaquina Head Lighthouse was commissioned and eliminated its necessity.  The light is built on the top of a house where the keeper and family lived.  The house is open and furnished as it was when it was a working lighthouse.  Yaquina Head Lighthouse in a 93 foot high tower and the tallest on the Oregon coast.  Illuminated in 1873 and is still a working lighthouse.  We were able  to climb to the top and saw a wonderful view of the rugged coast.  Oregon has one of the most beautiful coastlines we have seen. The Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia is as beautiful.  Highway 101 winds along the rugged rocky coast and we got wonderful vistas of the ocean below. 

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

Inside lighthouse keepers home

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

View from the top

My reflection at the top of lighthouse

Thursday we had a delicious dinner at the Local Ocean Seafood Restaurant.  We sat at the bar right in front of the open kitchen and watch our dinner being prepared.  We had Fishwives Stew and was loaded with all kinds of seafood in the tomato broth with crusty bread.  It was one of those memorable meals that you never forget.  All the dishes being prepared looked really good.  We will definitely go there again. 

Fishwives Stew

Friday we left Newport and drove to the next campground in Florence called South Jetty.  It is a nice wooded campground and plan on staying for 9 days. 

Oct. 15, 16
Today the weather in going to be sunny.  We have had lots of cloudy days since being on the Oregon Coast.  We  spent the morning in Florence's Old Town which is along the water.  Lots of shops to visit and little farmers market on the grassy area at the end.  We couldn't resist eating lunch at one of the restaurants.  We had delicious clam chowder, bread and salad.  It rained hard in the night but by Sunday morning we had sunshine.
Today we drove to see another lighthouse back north or Florence.  Heceta Head Lighthouse, illuminated in 1894 has an automated beacon which is seen 21 miles from land and rated as strongest light on the Oregon coast.  We couldn't tour it because it is closed for renovation so just took pictures.

We are staying in Florence all next week and moving further south on Sunday, Oct. 23rd.  Next week we plan on doing some crabbing off the dock if the weather is nice.  Happy Travels, Barb

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Sea Lions enjoying the sun by Sea Lion Caves

Travel for winter of 2011 and 2012. Oregon Coast

Oct. 5

 We got the water turned off and the house closed up for our winter trip.  Able to leave Colfax and on the road again by 9:15.  We spent the first night in Ainsworth State Park which is along the Columbia River not far from Multnomah Falls and about 35 miles east of Portland.  It rained on us off and on through the day and heavy rain in the night. 

Oct. 6

Today we drive to Seaside Oregon to spend 4 night.  The campground is nice and surprising, lots of camping rigs.  We exprore the town and find the area where all the shops are.  Spent the afternoon checking out the shops.  The street goes to the beach where there is a turn a round and a statue of Lewis and Clark.  We also sat for awhile and watched the people on the beach flying kits etc.  Had a great seafood dinner at Normas Seafood Restaurant.  The weather cleared and the sun even came out.  We had a good day.

Lewis and Clark

Oct. 7

Rain in the night and still rain in the morning.  Decided to go to Canon Beach which is just down the road about 10 miles.  We had mist most of the day.  Had fish and chips for lunch and walked around the shopping area of Canon Beach.  We road along the beach to see the famous Haystack Rock.  Too cold and rainy to even get out of the car.  Not many people on the beach.

Haystack rock at Canon Beach

Oct. 8

Today we head north to Astoria.  Stop at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.  There is a reconstructed Fort Clatsop there.  It is where the origional fort was located.  The Corps of Discovery remained at Fort Clastsop from Dec. 7, 1805 until March 23, 1806 when they started their return trip.  They didn't have a very good weather while there.  Of the 106 days the explorers spent at the fort, it rained every day but 12.  We watched a movie  about their trip west and stopped at the museum in the visitors center.  We walked down to the canoe landing where an old dougout canoe was in the trees.
Went into Astoria and looked around.  Stopped at a grocery store and Costco before going back to Seaside.  We wanted crab for dinner so stopped at a seafood market and bought two big crabs.  Seafood is expensive along the coast so we have only bought these two crab.  Have enought left over to have crab cakes for dinner tomorrow. 

Sacagawea and Jean Baptiste

Fort Clatsop

Canoe Landing

Dougout Canoe

Oct. 9

It rained hard in the night but is just cloudy today.  We went to visit the Salt Works here in Seaside.  By the time the Corps of Discovery arrived at the Pacific Coast its supply of salt for preserving and flavoring food was nearly exhausted.  To remedy this, three men set-up a salt making operation at the beach in present day Seaside.  Salt was obtained by boiling sea water day and night in kettles placed on an oven built of stones and fueled by trees and wood debris along the shore.  Soon it was producing three quarts of salt a day. 

Tomorrow we leave and go down the coast to Newport area and will stay there for 4 nights.
Happy Travels, Barb   

Salt Works

Nevada, Idaho, Colfax Washington

April 13

Today we travel north through the state of Nevada.  We start our trip on the loneliest highway in the US, highway 50.  It is definitely desolate along the roads in Nevada.  We stop for lunch in Wells and before we left town it starts to snow.  The wind in blowing hard and the snow is going sideways.  We decided to try and get further today so we are spending the night in Jackpot NV, right on the border of Idaho.  Our RV park in right next to the casino.  We go to the casino for dinner and finally put some money into the slots.  We both put in $5 and both lost $5 pretty fast. That night it snowed again hard and the ground was white. 

April  14

This morning the sky is blue but it is cold outside. The road is dry and there is still snow on the grass.  We head north into Idaho and stop in the town or Hagerman at the visitors center for the Hagerman Fossil Beds Nat. Monument.  The fossil site out of town is closed because of a fire.  We saw a movie about the area and there were lots of fossils on display.  There is a life size model of the Hagerman Horse.  Ate lunch at a restaurant before moving on.  Got to my sisters house in the afternoon.  We had stopped here on the start of our trip durning Labor Day weekend.



Hagerman Horse





Hagerman Horse skull



April 15

Going shopping with my sister today.   Dick is helping my brother-in-law, Dick around the winery today while we shop.  We had fun shopping and got some good bargains.   

April 16

Shirley and I go shopping again today.  It is Dicks birthday today and he is helping around the winery again today.  The boys are putting the foil and labeling the wine from this last harvest.  Shirley and I hit some good sales and get good bargains again today.  Shirley cooks Dick a delicious steak dinner with birthday cake for desert for his birthday. 

April 17

Stayed around the house today.  In the afternoon  a group of people came for a wine taste and Dick and I help.  We are coming back to Parma Ridge May 1st to help out with their open house at the winery.

April 18

Rain this morning as we are leaving for home.  This will be our last day of travel for this trip.  The weather clears for awhile but we get into clouds with rain and snow most of the way home.  We get into Colfax around 2:30 and as soon as we enter town it starts to snow.  Could hardly see the road because it was snowing with big flakes and coming down really hard.  We finally get parked and go home to wait for a city worker to come and turn on our water.  We even get our TV cable hooked up again today.  It is good to be home and the house survived the terrible winter they had here in Colfax.




Coming home to a snow storm


We had a wonderful trip and totally enjoyed all the places we visited.  People ask us what place was our favorite but that is a hard question.  Each place is unique and we have many favorites and would like to return to revisit some of them in the future.  On the road for 229 days and traveled 14,643 miles in the motor home.  Don't have the exact mileage for the Jeep but it is somewhere around 9,000 miles.  We were in 38 states and 5 Canadian Provinces.  We have now been in every state except Hawaii and we are planing on going there in 2012.  We learned on thing, this country is large, too large to see everything in only one trip or even in a lifetime.  We met some wonderful people along the way and collected lots of name cards so we can keep in touch.  We will continue to travel in the winters, away from the cold and snow, for as long as we can.  We have the travel bug and want to see more of this country.  This is the last blog for now and will start a new blog when we take off the the fall. Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Nevada

Mar. 29 & 30

Sunny and nice today.  Do a little shopping and sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  On Wed we go to the lunch buffet at Boulder Station Casino just down the street.

Mar. 31

Sunny again today and we drive to Hoover Dam.  We stop at the new bridge and walk across it.  It is an amazing bridge that they built above the dam.  The road use to wind down the canyon and over the top of the dam.  We drove down to the dam and drove across it.  I got some great pictures of the new bridge.  We drove to Boulder City and had good hamburgers at the Coffee Cup Cafe.  There were some interesting shops along the street so we did a little shopping.

New bridge

Hoover Dam

April 1

It is hot today so we spent all afternoon at the pool.  The water was great and we enjoyed the relaxing afternoon.  We drive into town and have dinner at one of the casinos and then go to Fremont Street Experience.  Tonight there are free concerts along the street featuring country music entertainers.  The Academy of Country Music is holding their award show on Sunday in Las Vegas so all the country stars are in Vegas.  Fremont Street is a 5 block entertainment zone which features the world's largest video screen 90 feet above the pedestrian mall.  It was quite the sight with the lights from the video screen, music and a large crowd of people.  We listened to a couple of performers but didn't stay long because it was still 86 degrees out and the crowd was very large.

Fremont Street Experience

April 2

Still sunny and hot today.  We stay around the motor home most of the day.  My niece and her husband, Terri and Steve pick us up for dinner.  We had a great seafood meal and enjoyed our evening with them.

April 3. 4, 5

The weather is a little cooler and I fell like I'm coming down with a cold so we stay in the campground for a few days. 

April 6

Sunny and a little cooler today.  After lunch we drive to the Strip area of downtown.  There are lots of people walking and traffic is bumper to bumper.  We decide it is too busy there so just drive up and back down the strip and look at the many hotels and casinos.  We have dinner at Memphis BBQ and order fried dill pickles to try. 

The Strip

April 7

After breakfast we drive north to the town of Overton and meet some friends, Jack and Rosie, we met at Central Ferry Campground three years ago.  We are meeting half way between when we both are camping.  We have lunch with them and have a good visit.  They are spending the summer working in Yellowstone. 

April 8

After lunch we do some shopping and Dick bought a shirt and shorts.  My sister and brother-in-law flew into Las Vegas so we met them for drinks at a casino.  Dick and I ate dinner at the Mexican Restaurant.

April 9

Today is a busy day.  After lunch we go to visit my two great nephews.  We met James, Teresa and Desmond who is 6 mo old and Brian, Rachel and Ethan who is almost 4.  My sister and husband and another niece, Debbie are there visiting also.  Tonight we are going to a surprise birthday party for my niece's husband, Steve. 

April 10

Sunny and warmer today.  We stay around the campground today and in the afternoon enjoy talking to our neighbors.  For dinner we go to Grimald's Pizzeria. 

April 11

It's sunny and nice as we leave Las Vegas.  We enjoyed our stay and will probably come back to Vegas next winter.  The drive up through Nevada is pretty boring.  The mountains are pretty but the scenery is pretty much the same for the 300 miles.  Our campground in located right on the border of Nevada and Utah.  The motel and gas station are in Utah and the casino and campground are in Nevada.  After dinner we drive into the little town of Baker which is at the edge of Great Basin National Park.  On the way to town we saw 5 bull Elk along the road about 30 yards from us.  That is the closest I have ever been to an Elk and have never seen that many at one time.

Elk

View from our campground

April 12

Today it is cloudy but not too cold.  After breakfast we drive to the Great Basin Nat. Park and go to Lehman Cave Visitors Center.  We get tickets for the 1:00 cave tour and watch two movies on the cave and the park.  Not much of the park roads are open because of snow so we can only drive a little ways into the park.  We eat a picnic lunch before our tour which last for 90 minutes.  This cave has great decorations and formations like stalactitetes, stalagmites, columns, draperies, flowstone, soda straws and rarities like shields.  We have seen 5 caves on this trip and this is the wettest one.  We all got dripped on on the tour and there was standing water on the floor in places.  The melting snow is entering the cave and it is especially bad this time of year. 

Lehman Caves

Tomorrow we travel north and probably spend the night in Wells NV.  Our next stop will be my sister's house in Parma ID where we will spend a few days.  I need a shopping fix with my sister.  We should be home sometime next week.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb