kyotesue

02-14-2021 Valentine’s Day by Humboldt Bay

We woke on Sunday morning to a somewhat dreary day brightened by our bright tiny red and pink lights in the window, a box of See’s Chocolates, and shared Valentines.

Deborah said she slept well on her first night on the make-down bed, and in no time had everything back together and tucked away for the day. Mo and I have been skipping breakfast lately, but Deborah was forewarned and brought along her own favorite breakfast, an homemade egg-bake that she cuts into squares and heats in the microwave. She even brought enough to share for when I decided that waiting until 12 to eat was a bit more than I wanted to wait.

We took our time getting out of the house since the day was gray and rainy and we didn’t have a lot planned. I originally thought we might try to visit the historic Samoa Cookhouse for a Sunday brunch. However, the restaurant was not only closed for indoor seating, it was indefinitely closed. The website didn’t reflect that, but I called the phone number and the sad message said they weren’t sure when they would open again.

We also planned to drive and walk around Old Town Eureka, but when we left around 10, we altered our route to follow the bridge across Humboldt Bay toward Samoa. In spite of the restaurant being closed, it was nice to see the old historic buildings, check out the exterior of the museum, and take a few photos. The Samoa Cookhouse is the last lumber camp style cookhouse in the Pacific Northwest.

Originally it was a dining facility for the employees working the mills for the Vance Lumber Company and opened in 1893.The cookhouse opened to the public in the 1960s and serves “lumber camp style”, or family style, meals at long communal tables. The building also houses a museum with artifacts and images that focus on logging and “maritime industry” history. The building is large enough to seat five hundred workers and to make cleaning the floors more efficient there were holes drilled into the floor with a grate to act as drainage for water rather than mopping.

Mo and I had been to the beach along the Samoa peninsula in the past but had never traveled as far south as the Samoa Dunes Recreation Area. The road is paved as far as the Coast Guard facility, but beyond that it is rough sand with lots of potholes. The day was chilly and windy, so we were surprised to find quite a few cars and trucks parked at the various access points to the wild ocean to the west of the road.

The dunes are a popular area for OHV riders, with an unloading ramp, restrooms, tables, cooking grills and a scenic overlook, easy access to 140 acres of “open” terrain, containing numerous trails and the beach strand. There is an additional 75-acre riding area that extends about 1 mile north of the park. The rest of the beach and dunes along the peninsula are closed to vehicle use, except by special permit from the county.

On this chilly day we didn’t see any riders but we were excited to discover that we could drive the Tracker right up the dunes overlooking the entrance to Humboldt Bay from the Pacific ocean. It was cold and windy, so we didn’t stay outside very long, although Mattie didn’t seem to mind too much. She loves time on the sand and with the beach fairly open and empty she was able to run a bit.

We were thrilled at the huge waves coming into the bay, with water breaking over the jetty at times and waves at least 12 feet high.

On our return trip from the dunes, we stopped to visit the Woodley Island Marina. There is an excellent seafood restaurant at the marina, and it appeared to be open, but we weren’t the least bit interested. After two meals of fish and chips the previous day, if we decided to eat out again it wouldn’t be seafood. We were hoping to find some fresh crab but didn’t want live crabs since cleaning and cooking them in the MoHo wasn’t easy. We found several signs for live crab, but none of the boats in the marina had cleaned, cooked crab for sale. Deb remembered times on the Oregon coast when she was able to buy fresh clean cooked crab right from the boats. No matter, we weren’t hungry anyway.

Driving back across the bay we turned south to enter the section of Eureka that is called Old Town and is on the National Historic Register.

The Carson Mansion at the northern pert of the Historic District is highly recognizable and is considered one of the best examples of Victorian architecture in the United States. The Carson Mansion can only be seen from the outside since there are no public tours allowed. It is now owned by an elite private club called the Ingomar Club. Sad that this beautiful historic place doesn’t do tours unlike some of the other famous mansions in the United States.

Across the street from the big green house is another mansion, sometimes called the Pink Lady. The pink mansion was a gift by William Carson for his son Milton. The mansion is currently a guest house and was for sale for 1.5 million back in 2020. Not sure of the current status.

There are carriage rides available in Old Town Eureka, but on this cold and rainy day they didn’t appeal to us. I did notice that the couple inside the carriage were wearing masks, and heard just a bit of the guide’s conversation about the mansions as he passed us on the street.

Something we did discover about Eureka and the surrounding area is that people are diligent about wearing masks. Nearly everyone we passed on the trail the previous night was masked and even street people in town were wearing masks. A refreshing sight for sure.

Photo from our 2011 visit to the same store Deborah visited on this trip, with blue skies

We drove down to the main part of Old Town to explore some of the few shops that were open. In addition to requiring masks, the shops only allowed a very few people inside the store at once. The proprietors were diligent about enforcing the rule, and once inside everyone kept a respectful distance. Deborah found some lovely pottery mugs to commemorate her visit and we ran back to the Tracker in the rain where Mo and Mattie were patiently waiting for us.

During previous visits to Eureka, Mo and I discovered the North Coast Co-Op. I knew Deb would love checking out the wonderful huge natural food store. I also wanted to share the beautiful murals that are on the east side of the building with her. We wandered in the store for a time, and Deb bought a bunch of cheeses and other goodies before we left.

The day was so very dark and wet and dreary that even driving around to find the murals and art installations that are scattered all around the town wasn’t much fun.

Instead we returned to the MoHo for a rousing game of Hand and Foot for Deborah and I while Mo watched the news. The mirror casting app worked just fine during the day with fewer people around in their rigs sucking up the airwaves.

We enjoyed a great supper of homemade enchiladas and salad before settling in to watch a silly but fun Brit Box show called Death in Paradise. It is a bit “cheesy” to use Deborah’s word, but she loved it as much as we do. For us it is an easy escape, with a delightful Caribbean vibe and music, sunshine and palm trees in the midst of a murder mystery with a somewhat goofy but endearing Investigator. The show kept us entertained at various times throughout the trip. Deb wasn’t sure her partner Bob would be interested, but asked if maybe we could watch an episode now and then during our Sunday visiting times back home.

02-13-2021 Three People Traveling in the MoHo

Once again we headed for a coast, but this time instead of the Oregon Coast our destination was the Northern California coast. For the first time in the 13 years we have been traveling in this MoHo (not counting the two prior years in the baby MoHo) we had a guest traveling with us.

My eldest daughter Deborah often visits on Sunday mornings. She only lives an hour away and comes to spend some time with us and with her son who lives across the street from us. Especially in this time of COVID she and her son are part of our “bubble” and the visits provide a sweet interlude. On one such visit, as we were talking about our upcoming travels, we came to a great idea. Deb has been working from home, has had her first vaccination, and has lots of leave accumulated that she needed to use. In moments, we decided that a joint trip in the MoHo would be a great way for her to use her leave.

It was in 2013, three years after purchasing the MoHo, that Mo and I had the large sofabed replaced with a comfy dining booth with seats that make down into a reasonably comfortable bed. In all that time, except for when it was first installed, we have never used the bed. Mo and I tested it before this trip to be sure we remembered how to convert the booth to a bed and packed a large cushy sleeping bag for Deborah.

On this Saturday morning we woke to rain, but we had been following the weather and knew this would be the case. Predictions for our six days on the road indicated rough weather for most of the trip. Undaunted, we didn’t even consider trying to reschedule. Changing dates is easy for us as retired folks, but not so easy for my working girl. Besides, we were all excited for the trip. Deborah works hard, has a partner who is disabled, so doesn’t get away very often.

The predictions for the weekend included rain and snow over some of the passes, including sections of Highway 199 that is our route to the coast from Grants Pass. The predictions were just a bit off, thank goodness, with temperatures on our route remaining in the low 40’s and no snow except on the mountains around us.

For Deborah, the winding road along the cliffs bordering the Smith River was thrilling, with waterfalls cascading down the mountainsides at every turn, and the Smith at the highest level we had seen yet in our years of traveling this route.

When we began the trip, I prayed to the travel angels to be with us and let it be a memorable time for Deborah with no glitches. The first day out lived up to every expectation in spite of the rain. As we approached Jedediah Smith State Park the rain stopped and there were a few moments of sunshine peeking through the clouds. It was Deborah’s first visit to the redwoods.

We parked the MoHo and took the Tracker on the park roads. The campground had recently opened and the day use area was easily accessible. The Smith River was running high and wild and people were fishing along the bank. The park road meanders beyond the river to a place where we know there is a very large tree and a little bit of a wide place in the road to park.

We stopped, the sun came out again, and we enjoyed taking photos of the huge tree that seems to draw us each time we visit this area. I have photos of Nickie and Jimmy and Erin and Mui at this same tree. I used the opportunity to teach Deborah how to do vertical panoramas with her phone the same way Erin taught me at exactly the same location.

Leaving the park, we continued on the Redwood Highway toward Crescent City, with the mist making the redwoods even more mysterious.

Once again the travel angels were with us, bringing out a bit of sunshine and letting up on the rain as we parked at our favorite Chart Room to order fish and chips to go. The dining room was open for inside dining, since numbers in Del Norte county are down. Deb and I looked inside and it felt claustrophobic even though people were spaced well.

Sticking to our “to go” plan, we ordered our fish and took it back to the comfy warm MoHo for a perfectly fabulous lunch. The servings are huge and we knew that there would be plenty for our early lunch and for dinner once again when we got settled into our park in Eureka.

Leaving Crescent City, we traveled along the coastal highway 101 through misty rain. At a location about 20 miles south of town there was a traffic stop due to a huge slide that was being repaired.

As we were parked waiting for our turn to pass, we saw large amounts of mountainside continuing to slide toward the road. UhOh. We were lucky to get through, and learned later in the afternoon that Highway 101 had been closed at that slide after we passed. Thank you again, Travel Angels!!

Checking the map, we decided to take a short alternate route south for about ten miles that meanders through the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. For reasons I cannot explain, in all our trips south on this route, Mo and I have never stopped at this state park. It was gorgeous with huge groves of trees that seemed even taller due to the steep slopes on either side of the road. We parked at the closed visitor center where Mo took Mattie for a walk in the meadows and Deborah and I ventured onto a short trail where dogs weren’t allowed.

For Deborah, it was even more fascinating to be up close to the big trees in the beautiful groves along the trail. I had the camera and the phone, but Deb was the one snapping away with her phone. I think she had more than 1000 photos when we returned at the end of the trip. It isn’t easy getting good shots in the dark woods, but between the two of us we managed a few good ones.

The rain held off again for our short hike, and only started up when we got back on the road. By the time we reached Eureka, the rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy an easy setup at Shoreline RV Park, right on the edge of town close to Highway 101.

I think Deborah got a kick out of watching Mo and I do the unhook/setup thing since she hadn’t experienced it before this trip. We take it for granted and are pretty quick at the shared process after so many years traveling together.

Mo and I have stayed at this park in the past. It is convenient and close to town for exploring areas around Eureka, but not particularly exciting, with sites spaced fairly close together. Still, it was for only 2 nights and the main purpose of staying at this park was to have close proximity to Eureka and Samoa.

The biggest surprise of the evening happened when Deb and I decided to take Mattie for a walk and after crossing under the highway on a paved pathway found ourselves on the beautiful Eureka Waterfront Trail. Completed in 2018 and meandering along the salt marshes of Humboldt Bay the trail was a complete surprise. Reading about the concept and construction of the trail was wonderful. The project is beautiful and a great accomplishment for the city of Eureka.

There were many interpretive signs along the paved path and long boardwalk. We also enjoyed the creative benches scattered along the way, although it was too dark to get good photos of any of them

We walked much farther than we planned and it was dark when we returned to the MoHo. Mo was getting a bit worried about what happened to us, and it hadn’t occurred to me to take a phone with me to explain why we were gone so long. After all, we were just taking the dog for a short potty break when we started out.

After our left-over fish dinner we settled in to watch a little bit of TV. Seems as though the park now uses some kind of cable box for TV that requires plugging in a bunch of stuff to the TV. Ours is installed behind the wall and we have no easy access to the back of the TV without removing screws and such. Instead we once again decided to try the mirror casting capability of the phone. That wasn’t very successful at this park because there were so many rigs so close to us that the phone kept trying to cast to several tv’s that weren’t ours. Funny stuff!

It only took a few minutes to shuffle things around a bit for Deborah to make down her bed. We settled in for the night listening to the rain on the roof of the rig, a wonderfully soothing sound for all of us.

12-16-2021 Last Day at Bastendorff Beach and a Scary Dog Story

When we woke on Saturday after such a foggy Friday, we were thrilled to once again see brilliant sunshine. The temperatures had warmed a bit and the winds were quiet. It was time to drive down to the beach parking area once again for a last walk.

Being a Saturday on a three day weekend, the beach was already filled with people and dogs by the time we arrived around 9. We had Mattie on a leash, but some people didn’t follow the rules and big and little dogs were running free everywhere. One dog especially was a problem.

The owner of the dog told us that his dog didn’t like other females, but he didn’t leash her. She was an older chocolate lab and we avoided them as we walked in a different direction. We didn’t realize that he and his dog were coming our way until it was too late, and the big brown dog that was off leash came after Mattie. It was too fast for us to pick her up which we try to do in these situations. Instead, as the dog was attacking Mattie, I tried to push the lab away with my walking sticks as the owner came over trying to control his dog. She wasn’t paying any attention to him but finally she backed off. In the mean time, he started yelling at me saying I had no reason to beat his dog!! Right!! Am I supposed to just let my dog get injured??

I lost my temper, and yelled at him to get that dog on a leash! I was so furious and my adrenalin was so high I yelled at him that I would beat him if I had the chance, along with some choice colorful words. He said, “Yeah right”, but at least he didn’t come after me. I was ready to light into him physically whether he killed me or not! Don’t make an old lady with a cane angry.

It took awhile for my adrenalin rush to ease as we continued our walk toward the jetty. The ocean was wild and the waves were huge and finally that inner shaking settled down as we watched the drama unfolding along the jetty.

People were walking along the edge of the rocks as the waves crashed over the sides of the jetty. I heard one guy tell another one, “Hey Buddy, don’t be walking on that jetty today”. Sneaker waves that sweep people away are notorious is this part of the Oregon Coast.

It was a lovely walk and by the time we got back to the car the bad guy with the mean dog was gone. I was grateful for that since I had no more adrenaline for another confrontation.

We took our time packing up the rig, thinking we had until 2 PM to check out. I thought it might be nice to get some photos of the rest of the campground in the sunshine. As I relaxed in the MoHo working on those photos in Lightroom I suddenly saw a photo I had taken of a sign that said “Check-out at Noon”.

Oops!! It was 11:45. We had the MoHo packed up, unhooked, slides in and jacks up and Tracker attached in 15 minutes.

Our drive home over the coast range was gorgeous, with brilliant sunshine the entire distance. We traveled Highway 42 again toward I-5 and then south toward home. It was lovely driving in good weather and the weekend traffic was very light. Delightful! We fueled again at Seven Feathers to beat our Grants Pass prices and pulled into the driveway around 4 PM. A perfect ending to a very nice getaway.

We enjoyed the beach and the campground was nice, but after our experience with all the people and dogs we decided that limiting our adventures to Oregon State Parks would be a bit safer for all of us.

01-14 and 15 2020 Sunny Days and King Tides

We had big plans for the next couple of days at the beach. We were close to some truly gorgeous coastal views of big cliffs along the Cape Arago Highway. We also knew that there were king tides making stormy wavy watching quite spectacular.

We woke to a gorgeous morning with not a speck of fog. It was very wet though, and quite chilly, but the sun was incredible. Not something we expected at the coast in winter.

We have camped a few times nearby at Sunset Bay State Park, just a mile south of our current location at Bastendorff Beach. There is a beautiful hiking trail that meanders along the rocky coastline from Sunset Bay toward Shore Acres State Park and ends at the Cape Arago State Park Viewpoint. It is a lovely walk and when we camped there in 2014 (the story is here) I was trying to walk at least 5 miles each day. That part of the coast was a perfect location for wonderful walks.

On this trip however, we decided that driving the Cape Arago Highway was the best choice since my days of walking 5 miles are behind me. We checked out Sunset Bay, which was lovely, but even on the sunny morning it was still almost completely shaded. Traveling south toward Shore Acres we drove through the entry kiosk with notice of the required $5 per day to use the park. The gardens and buildings associated with them were closed but it looked as though the gates weren’t locked and one could possibly walk through on the open pathways.

We have visited Shore Acres at different times of the year, both when things are in bloom in the summer and during the winter nights for their wonderful Christmas light show. Each time we have visited, with our state park camping receipt, we never had to pay that fee. We decided to skip the fee and continue south toward Cape Arago.

Along the road there are several places to access the coastal trail and a truly spectacular overlook. When we visited Harris Beach State Park near Brookings last month I was impressed with the newly refurbished information signs.

It seems this is something that is being done all along the coast at the state parks. The signs were beautifully redone, colorful and fun to read.

Even far out on the rocks we could see the seals, although from this vantage point it was a bit difficult to identify which of two types of seals and two types of sea lions that frequent the area were on the rocks. I could also see sea birds, but only able to actually identify cormorants perched on the highest points of the rocks.

After enjoying the surf and the views we drove a bit further to the end of the road at Cape Arago. The skies were brilliant and the air was a bit chilly and breezy.

We walked down to a point overlooking the rocky shoreline and watched some seals happily playing in the surf and sunning themselves on the rocks. The waves were spectacular crashing wildly in all directions. Being a cape, the view is a bit more than 180 degrees in both directions.

The picnic tables were sitting invitingly in the warm sunshine and lucky for me I had actually remembered to pack a picnic for our day. We enjoyed our lunch and the beautiful views and sounds of the wild ocean for some time before walking back to the car to return to the MoHo.

Once back at camp, we decided it would be nice to check out the namesake beach of our park. Bastendorff Beach was wide and long, and the sand was clean. The waves were again huge, and the crashing surf accompanied our walk. There were bits of kelp and old wood on the sand, and a few broken clamshells, but no sign of any rocks or agates in the area.

Mattie again got to run off leash a bit, with no problems from other people with off leash dogs on this sunny afternoon. We were truly surprised to see just how many people were there and how full the several parking lots were. Coos Bay isn’t that big of a city and this part of Highway 101 isn’t usually that busy.

Most of the people recreating on the beach seemed to be local, with Oregon plates, not the out of state tourists that frequent the beaches farther south near Brookings or Bandon, or farther north toward Florence, Newport, or Lincoln City.

After returning to the MoHo for a bit of relaxation, we decided to take advantage of the very last day of inside dining in Coos County. We have had a truly marvelous dining experience at the High Tide Cafe. When we heard they were remaining open for one last day before closing due to an increase in COVID numbers in the county we decided to try it.

After talking about it a bit, we thought better of the inside dining experience and made a call to order take out fish and chips. Arriving around 4 we found a completely empty restaurant. Our dinner was ready and packed to go but the empty table with a view looked so inviting. I asked if we could eat in and the waitress said “Sure”, and brought us our meal and some real silverware. Another nice part of this is that we could have a local beer with our food.

The beer was good. We ordered just one fish and chips dinner and one bowl of chowder to share, but realized that we also should have ordered just one beer. Hard to drink that much beer I guess. Sadly, the dinner was simply adequate, not the superb meal we enjoyed two different times at this restaurant. It seems that they previous owners sold the business and the new owners took over just last month. They are excited about their new project and planning to open up the patio with heaters and lights to accommodate more outside dining.

The fish and chips only cost $15 instead of the $22. that we paid with the previous owners, and the difference in price reflects the difference in the meal. We like a light breading and while the fish was tasty, the breading was the typical somewhat soggy beer batter. The fries were boring and there was no cole slaw or salad served with the meal. Also, the chowder was good but not fabulous. It is sad that the new owners didn’t realize that they should have kept the previous menu. I wish them well, but I doubt we will rush to return for fish and chips here again.

The sun stayed with us the rest of the day until nightfall brought in a thick fog. We settled in with another game of cards and a good night’s sleep.

The weather forecast had mentioned rain for Thursday and when we woke that morning in addition to overnight rain, the fog was heavy and thick. It was more like what we had expected at the beach and we spent the entire day in the MoHo, relaxing, reading, knitting for me, a bit of card playing and some short walks. With such a quite indoor day it really made us appreciate the sunshine we enjoyed so much the day before.

01-13-2021 Surprise Surprise, we go to the Coast Again

Mo has made it an important priority to get out in the MoHo at least once a month. Weather be danged, we need to go somewhere! Often our winter getaway begins in late January and includes a week or a month or whatever it takes to get south to the warm deserts. We had reservations in early February for a trip to Catalina Spa, but with COVID raging in Southern California finally decided that we needed to cancel or at least delay that trip until it feels a bit safer to be traveling to that part of the world.

Site #69 at Bastendorff Beach County Park

We can stay fairly well distanced in the MoHo, but much of what we love to do in the warm deserts while near Palm Springs include dining out, spending time in the pools and the hot tub, and going to the big movie house with wine and comfy recliners. When I called Catalina I found out that the pools are open, but the spa, restrooms, and all other facilities at the park are closed for now. Ah well, time to figure out something to do in January since our early February trip is a bust.

Mo spent a bit of time researching coastal locations and parks and found a Coos County park near Coos Bay that sounded interesting. When I called Bastendorff Beach County Park the lady on the phone said we probably wouldn’t need a reservation and could waive the $12. reservation fee by just arriving, finding a caretaker, and picking a site.

We loaded up the MoHo in the rain the day before our departure, and planned once again to spend some time at the beach, in spite of the predicted rainy weather. The familiar drive north on I-5 was uneventful. We stopped for fuel in Canyonville at Seven Feathers since they have the best price around, even less than the Love’s Truck Stop just a few miles north. Neither of us can figure out why gas is sneaking back up again, and instead of the $2.29 we have been paying it has risen to $2.57 at our local Fred Meyer, and $2.45 at Seven Feathers. I read some old blogs of mine recently talking about gas being close to $4. a gallon on some of our trips, so the complaint isn’t a huge one, just a bit of a surprise.

Arriving at the park right at 2PM we were a bit lost as we attempted to figure out the process of checking in. We unhooked the baby car in the big parking lot and then saw a caretaker near the main office/garage and the mechanic took us inside to check for empty spaces.

Lower campground area at Bastendorff Beach Park

He was surprised that the park was almost filled up beginning Friday night and we planned to stay through Saturday. Both of us laughed when we looked at the calendar and realized that the upcoming weekend was the 3 day holiday weekend for Martin Luther King Day. We drove through the park a bit, first leaving the MoHo in his recommended site #46 with “an ocean view” before driving up the hill to a sunnier part of the park, minus the view.

We decided on site #69, long and fairly level, with a table and a firepit in a space that looked like it got lots of sun. That was important to me for this time at the beach, and the older sites in the lower part of the park were intensely shaded. It didn’t help that a storm on the previous night had left lots of tree branches and debris all over the camp road, and site 46 while somewhat level was surrounded by mud.

The roads through the park are quite narrow

Settling into our spot, we were quite happy with our choice. Within a short time we were ready to bundle up and go explore a ‘new to us’ beach. There are a few narrow roads north of the park that wind toward Coos Head and a Coast Guard facility high on the bluff overlooking the point where the water from Coos Bay enters the ocean.

There is a rock jetty on each side of the river, with the one by Bastendorff Beach having a paved walking path at the top of the jetty. With high tide warnings and king tides ongoing this time of year on the Oregon Coast, we knew it wasn’t wise to walk on the jetty.

Instead, we walked down along the path that bordered the BLM off-road area that crisscrossed the sand. There is no driving on the actual beach, but the off road section seemed quite popular. There are also no enforced dog leash rules, in spite of what the sign said. Someone later told me that the rules don’t apply to the hard sand portion of the beach where dogs can run at will. We let Mattie run a tiny bit that first afternoon.

Heading back home to our cozy spot we settled in with a card game, casting a bit of live news from the phone to the TV, and enjoying a good pre-cooked chile verde supper brought from home.