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July 28 2015 Taking a Break at Waldo Lake

Current Location: Rocky Point, Oregon

Current Temperature: 97 degrees F

I am NOT complaining about the heat. It is warmer than I can remember here in Rocky Point, but at the moment the WunderMap shows temperatures ranging from 106 to 109 in the Grants Pass area. That is NOT “feels like” weather, that is the real temperature. The Rogue Valley of Oregon is even hotter than notoriously hot Redding, California! Go figure.

In addition to being almost ten degrees cooler here in the trees at Rocky Point, the house is even cooler yet. I just returned from taking Mattie for a walk, a very hot walk, and when I walked into the house it felt as if we had air conditioning. So grateful for a well insulated, well built, cool and comfortable home. No air conditioning needed.

Insulation was the last thing on my mind on Tuesday morning when we packed up the MoHo and headed north to spend a bit of time in the mountains. Yes, I know, we live in the mountains, but camping at a lake at more than 5,000 feet elevation surrounded by mountain hemlock is a lot different than hanging out at home.

Our destination was the incredible Waldo Lake, Gem of the Cascades. Waldo isn’t far from where we live, and is just a short 13 miles north of the Highway 58 route that we often travel on the way to Eugene. However, as beautiful as it is, the reputation for heavy mosquito infestations keep us from camping there more often. According to the website, Waldo campgrounds are barely habitable until after mid-August and into September, and then the snow can fly as early as late September.

We found that out the hard way the last time we camped at Waldo, during the latter part of July back in 2010. It was a wonderful, albeit short stay, and both of us still laugh about the heavy clouds of mosquitoes surrounding us as we attempted to enjoy the beautiful lake. I wrote about that visit here.

The most wonderful aspect of Waldo Lake is its protection from gasoline engines. Only electric motors are allowed on this lake. The water is incredibly pure and crystal clear. Because it is a snow fed lake, and is surrounded by rhyolite and pumice, there is nothing to contribute to the growth of algae or murky water. It is wonderful to be near such a large beautiful lake without the sounds of jet skies and motorboats. Obviously, it is a very popular kayaking and sailing lake. There are so many places where fast boats are allowed, I am grateful that there are a few places like this for those of us who like the quieter pursuits.

Waldo Lake view from the amphitheater at North Waldo Campground The beauty of the place is so enticing, we decided that since we needed to travel once again to Eugene, we should go a day early and make an attempt at warding off the mosquitoes long enough to at least enjoy the lake for a little bit. I am not yet at my 90 day mark for healing from my surgery, the magic day when my lifting limit increases from a maximum of 5 pounds to 20 pounds. Mo refused to even think about taking the kayaks until I got the Ok from my surgeon.

I couldn’t imagine being at Waldo without my kayak, but it turned out to be one of the most memorable overnight camps we have ever spent.

Arriving late morning to a quiet campground with many open sites, we were amazed to discover that there was not a single mosquito in sight, nary a one, nowhere. We set up camp, parked in a nice open breezy site to ward off the supposedly ever present little beasts, and opened the doors to fresh mountain bug free air.

A few days before our visit, a cold front slipped through this part of Oregon, and I remember seeing temperatures in the high 30’s on the east side of the Cascades. Maybe the little stinkers decided to go south.

Our afternoon was filled with fresh, cool air, and skies so blue they looked almost electric. I pulled out the no nitrates/ no sulfates, whatever uncured bacon we found at Costco last week, sliced some fat tomatoes and we feasted on luscious sandwiches piled up with our fresh garden lettuce.

We decided that it was time to hike the Shoreline Trail. Not all of it, of course, but as much as we could manage in an afternoon. I knew that the Taylor Burn had decimated much of the land north of the lake, and that we probably wouldn’t make it all the way west to where the trees were still intact.

Still, it was a great hike, in perfect temperatures, with gorgeous views of the lake that would have been otherwise hidden by the deep hemlock forest if not for the burn.

There are many ponds tucked among the rolling slopes above the lake, and the trail is never really too steep or rocky to be enjoyable.

The wildflowers were sparse on the eastern edge, but as we walked west, and the landscape showed a bit more moisture, we saw more and more flowers blooming among the old burned stumps from the fire in 1996 that burned more than 10,000 of forest on the northern edge of the lake. Fireweed and pussytoes were the most prolific flowers, but there were a few others tucked away, and many sedges along the ponds.

Shrubs were dominated by willow and a few mountain ash with bright orange berries, and the regenerating trees were mostly mountain hemlock and red fir or subalpine fir.

It was Mattie’s first real hike, and she managed to keep up with us fairly well. Watching her trot along with those short little legs made me realize that she had to go at least six steps for every one of ours. Here and there, among the snags, we found old ponds and standing water. Good enough for Mattie, although something in the 4 inch deep water scared her back out of it after taking a drink.

In less than 3 miles, we found a side trail leading down toward the shore and enjoyed a beautiful break in the crystal clear cool waters. Mattie is still learning to go into the water, and it was exciting to work with her and get her to actually retrieve a stick in belly deep water.

Fun for us and cooling for her before we began the trek back home. The hike was 5.7 miles, and on the way home, Mattie saw a strip of snag shade across the trail and decided to instantly flop down and rest. That is when I knew that maybe we shouldn’t try to take her on more than a six mile hike on a sunny day in the mountains.

Waldo Lake near the swimming area After we got back to camp and rested a bit, it was time to go back beyond the boat launch to the swimming area. I so love swimming in crystal clear water with a clean sandy bottom. But oh! that water was COLD. I managed to jump in and swim a bit, and then after warming on the nearby rock, I jumped in again and swam part way across the narrow channel to one of the islands.

I was probably in the water a total of ten minutes at the most. Wish I had a photo to prove it, but we didn’t bring the camera along for our swim.

Back again at camp, Mo built a fabulous campfire and I heated up some leftovers I had planned for dinner before pulling out the marshmallows. I have no idea why I do that, I don’t even really like the marshmallows, I just like to roast them.

Finally, as evening progressed, the little no seeum’s found us and we decided to retreat into the motorhome.

The next morning, while it was still early, we walked the opposite direction on the Shoreline Trail toward Islet Campground where we had stayed in 2010. It is only about a mile and a half between campgrounds along the trail. Still, even early in the morning, there wasn’t a single mosquito to bother us and the no see um’s were nowhere to be found either.

A lovely breeze accompanied us as we hiked out on the Islet Peninsula where we tried to hike five years ago and were run off by mosquitoes. I have no idea why there were none on this most magical trip. I have no idea if they will hatch again before the fall frosts.

When we turned around to walk back through Islet Campground, we checked out our previous campsite, and then saw two little dogs that looked an awful lot like Mattie. Walking by, the two women who belonged to the dogs came over and asked if Mattie could be off leash and play.

What a time the three of them had! Their dogs were also Rat Terrier mixes rescued from a shelter. The women told us about a place near Portland along I-84 that is a 1,000 acre dog park. I guess we will have to find it someday.

By the time we got back to camp and ready to pack up, Mattie was in her perfect travel dog mode. She loves the motorhome, and always settles right down when we leave, usually in my lap or Mo’s depending on who is driving. As the day progresses, she will retreat to her bed on the floor, but she is never a problem while we are moving along. How lucky we are to have chosen a dog who likes being in the car or truck or MoHo especially!

If you would like to see the rest of the photos of our time at Waldo Lake, a link to my SmugMug Gallery is here.

On Wednesday, we left the campground by ten and were in the parking lot at the Eugene Valley River Mall before noon. In plenty of time for my doctor visit. The temps were already getting hot, and we turned on the generator and the air, with plans to settle in for the afternoon.

UhOh. The generator rumbled to life and then within a few minutes, it rumbled right back into silence. No generator. Mo tried a few things, but while she was messing with it, I was calling local RV parks! In plenty of time for my appointment with exactly one minute to spare, we managed to relocate to the Eugene Kamping World RV Park in Coburg, full hookups, TV and air conditioning! The price was fine at $33 bucks and some change. Armitage was nearby, but neither of us wanted to try to get in or find it. This was quick and easy and served our purpose just fine.

Later that evening, after my successful three month surgery checkup, we drove back to the east side of Eugene to have dinner with Phil and Joanne, friends of mine since 1977, that are now friends of ours.

It was the first time we had been to their new home, and Joanne had a great meal waiting for us. Their son Michael and his sweetie joined us for pre dinner snacks. It was great fun seeing him, and finding out that he is to be a new daddy in January.

I tried to get photos, but the new camera didn’t do quite what I expected, so these photos are a bit strange, but I wanted to put them here anyway, in honor of the lovely grilled salmon with homegrown basil pesto, quinoa and mushroom pilaf, and wonderful salad. Joanne made a blackberry cobbler for us as well, a gluten free/vegan recipe that she was trying out. It was interesting. Sorry Joanne, I probably won’t be going gluten free any time soon.

We left Eugene the next morning, grateful to be heading back over the crest of the Cascades as the record breaking heat wave was to hit the Willamette Valley and Eugene.

In the next few days we are expecting exciting company from Harris Beach/Brookings, so I am grateful that the heat wave is predicted to dissipate a bit.

In the mean time, the Blue Moon is set to rise over the lake at 8:32 PM and I plan to be there to enjoy it!

(Later: seems as though the Blue Moon was not mine to see. Dark and loud, but dry thunderstorms rumbled over our evening skies last night, and the power went down as well, but not a drop of rain)

July 4th at Lake of the Woods Oregon

Current Location: Rocky Point Oregon on a coolish partly cloudy day at 57 degrees F

I must say, after the heat wave we experienced during the latter part of June and early July, this cool, rainy weather is a welcome blessing! But I also must say that I am really glad that July Fourth was hot and sunny and gorgeous, in spite of a late thunderstorm in the mountains.

From home to Lake of the Woods is an easy trip

For several years now, we have talked of trying to camp at Lake of the Woods for the Fourth of July weekend. Only ten miles away, Lake of the Woods is a high mountain lake that is clean and swimmable. Unlike our magnificent Klamath Lake, filled with birds and ripe with food for them during the summer (aka algae). In fact, blue green algae is harvested on Klamath Lake and sold as an expensive food supplement. My grandmother swore by this stuff, along with liquid chlorophyll, and lived to be 86 eating bacon, chicken fat, pure butter and lots of cream.

Mo and I sailing at Lake of the Woods back in 2004

We have tried several times to get a reservation to camp at Lake of the Woods. There are two main campgrounds, Sunset and Aspen Point. Reservations are allowed at a maximum of six months in advance, so on January 1 I started calling at 8am. Too late. Every single reserved site through July 4th was already taken. A couple of times in the past, we have driven up a few days early to see if the non-reservable sites might be available. Nada. All taken through July 5th.

Tent camping with the grandkids at Lake of the Woods pre MoHo days

We even tried for the expensive campground at the Lake of the Woods Resort. People must reserve these sites years in advance. Who knows, we have never been able to get any kind of site anywhere at any of the campgrounds around the lake. Maybe it is the fireworks, maybe it is the evening music at the resort, maybe it is just because it is a lovely lake that is boat-able and swimmable and it is summer time.

Last year we scouted the entire perimeter of the lake hunting for possible parking spots along the roadway where we could hike into the lake. We found a couple, but much of the lake is ringed by privately owned residences leased by the Forest Service and the shoreline is off limits. Last year with plans to drive the ten miles up the hill after our day at home in Rocky Point to see the fireworks, we decided that dealing with traffic and people and all that was just too much trouble.

Klamath Falls fireworks were great when over Lake Ewauna and Veterans Park in the past

This year, the Klamath Falls City fireworks show was moved from our lovely Veteran’s Park to the local fairgrounds. Bleachers, dirt, pavement, crowded parking, and crowds. Not even a grassy park to have a picnic or a pleasant place to hang out while waiting for the very late hour of darkness to arrive. No thanks. They even moved the parade from early evening before the fireworks to mid morning. Much too long to wait around all day between the parade and the fairgrounds fireworks, so our little town of Klamath Falls was a no go this year, in spite of the many holidays we have spent there in the past.

Once again, we came up with an idea for going up to Lake of the Woods for the fireworks and it worked perfectly.

That is the MoHo next to a random truck in a ‘no parking’ spot, and our convenient picnic table.

Mo and I got up early on the 4th, and drove the MoHo and a second car to the day use area at Sunset Beach. We arrived just a little bit after 6am, and were happy to see that there were still parking spaces available for boats and trailers on one side and more long spaces that didn’t specifically prohibit vehicles without boat trailers on the other side. We parked the MoHo in a spot right next to the picnic area near the boat ramp, and staked out our tablecloth on the big picnic table nearby.

We then drove back home and loaded up the kayaks on the small trailer and hauled them up with the baby car, leaving the trailer in front of the MoHo. When Melody arrived at the Rocky Point house at 11am, we loaded ourselves into the baby car and drove to the day use area. Of course, by then, everything was jam packed full, and after unloading the rest of the supplies that we brought up in the car at the MoHo, Melody and I parked the baby car in a wide place on the main road and hiked back to the picnic area.

The best part about using the MoHo for a day trip was the convenience. We had a refrigerator to keep everything nice and cold. We had our own clean bathroom and a place to change, a bed where Melody enjoyed an afternoon nap, and a place to retreat and wait for the fireworks safe from crowds. The price was perfect! $5. parking reduced to $2.50 with our Golden Age pass was a lot less than trying to pay for an entire week or two of camping just to get a space.

The day was perfect. Gorgeous. Blue skies and warm temperatures. It was my first day in the kayak since my surgery, and Mo and Melody obligingly hauled the kayaks down to the beach for me. It was heaven getting back on the water again at last.

2015 Fourth of July (27 of 51) We had fried chicken, potato salad (of course), watermelon, and chocolate cupcakes to keep us well fed throughout the day and evening. We had our comfortable chairs, the great picnic table in the shade, and lots of entertainment watching the people playing, swimming and enjoying the perfect family Fourth of July day.

Later in the afternoon, Melody and I kayaked over to the main resort marina to watch the huge crowds mashed in together along the beach and hear the loud and happy rock music playing out over the water. Everyone was having a great time, and it was pretty noisy and looked like the “in” place to be if you wanted to party. We were extremely happy to be at the other side of the lake!

We found out during the day, from a helpful ranger, that the fireworks would be shot off on the southern shore of the lake, and that the trees between us and them would block our view. Ah well. Hiking around a bit for a better viewing site didn’t yield much, so we accepted our losses and decided that hearing them would be enough.

As sunset approached, the skies were filled with color and the water was still warm enough for swimming. Lo and behold, once the fireworks started, we found out that we only had to wade out into the water a few steps to see at least part of the huge colorful blooms exploding in the sky. I love the sound of fireworks, and one of my favorite moments of the evening was hearing the incredible echoing of that sound from the opposite side of the lake. It sounded like distant thunder. Amazing. 2015 Fourth of July (47 of 51)

We had already decided to load up the kayaks and hook up the trailer while it was still light, thinking it would expedite our departure. Of course, it did do that, but next year, if we do this again, we will leave the kayaks unloaded and take them out a bit from shore to watch the show. There were many boats on the lake, but not any close up near the dock to worry about, so it would be perfect. 2015 Fourth of July (50 of 51)

When we pulled out after the show, we were the first ones out of the parking lot, Mo leading the way in the MoHo, and both of us were amazed at the quick escape without any traffic problems at all. Most people had to get to their cars or get their boats out of the water, so it took longer for them to get moving. We were down the mountain and home in minutes.l

On another sad note, most people know that fireworks are deadly for dogs, and we saw a beautiful retriever in the road that had evidently run from its owner in fear and was killed. Broke our hearts. The statistics are awful. More dogs are lost during the Fourth of July than any other time of year. Lucky for us, Mattie was safe in her crate tucked away in the motorhome sleeping. She seems to be not the least bit disturbed by the noise so we didn’t have to worry about her at all.

I have such good memories of the Fourth, and this year added to them once again. Even though we had just one daughter sharing it with us, it was nearly perfect. Stories from the other daughters and grandkids about their day in other parts of the country were perfect as well, so I wasn’t too sad about not having the big family gathering that I sometimes enjoy on this great family day.

One last note: I decided that I needed a “bridge” camera, something smaller and lighter than my DSLR for our coming trip to Ireland, and for times when I might not want to haul around the big heavy camera and lenses. I tried out a Canon SX60. From what I hear, it isn’t as good as the SX50. I tried it for the entire July Fourth weekend, but couldn’t come to terms with some of the features, and the picture quality. (All the photos in this post from 2015 are with the Canon)

I know lots of Canon users that will think I am crazy, but I took it back on Monday morning and my check had not yet cleared. I must say that our local Leo’s Camera Shop was great about the return. I just wish that they carried the Panasonic Lumix FX1000 which shipped today. I would have loved to have purchased locally. At least I tried.

We will see if I can be happy with this one. As Erin says, nothing will truly replace a DSLR, so it is always a trade-off in one way or another.

06-10-2015 Visiting Judy at Harris Beach and something new

Current Location: Rocky Point Oregon 80 degrees F at 7pm Nice

I didn’t take my computer with me to the beach on this trip. Didn’t even take the MiFi for internet, and instead depended on the LTE Verizon signal on the iPad and the 3 bars of AT&T on my phone. Sometimes I get a bit tired of all the cords and devices and packing up all that stuff. No photo processing, no writing, nothing completed on the blog while we were playing at the beach. In fact, some of the photos in this blog were…gasp…taken with my iPhone. Judy said to me that she prefers blogs that are at least somewhat close to “real time”, otherwise what is the point.

I suppose I could agree in some respects, but then again one of my favorite bloggers is currently writing about her Antarctic adventures that took place months ago, and I wouldn’t miss a paragraph. To me it is every bit as exciting as if it were in real time, probably better, because she has time to flesh out the posts properly. If I tried to blog with the iPad using Blogsy, I have a feeling it would be more like a hit and miss thing…and of course, no photos. Can’t get RAW photos from the camera to the iPad without something to process them.

I am sure you don’t care a whit about all this anyway…you came here to see Judy. So I am slipping back in my mind to a few days ago, and with a little help from my photos, I will recreate our moments as close to real time as I can manage.

After all the hoopla with the tire thing, we were happy to slip into our site at Harris Beach and settle in for the evening with tasty leftovers for supper. After walking up to Judy’s site to let her know we had arrived, Mo and I enjoyed the beautiful warm evening. with Judy at the beach (1 of 13)

In spite of my plans for Tuesday, I somehow lost 24 hours to who knows what that knocked me flat. With the surgery thing recent enough that I am watching for infection, I was glad that I didn’t have a fever. Whatever. The whole thing was frustrating and boring and I hate to even talk about it, but needed to explain since Judy already gave away that we missed her fabulous planned chicken supper. I think Mo enjoyed my down day, and did not much of anything except truly relax and read and enjoy the gorgeous sunshine, something we don’t often get at the coast. I think this is the part where Judy is thinking Mattie is a puny pipsqueak.

By Wednesday morning I was fine, although the gorgeous sunlight and warmth of the previous day had returned to June gloom and fog usually expected at the coast before noon. with Judy at the beach (4 of 13)

We waited till afternoon and then met Judy for a beach walk and then went back to the overlook where Judy set up her scope. We enjoyed listening to her stories about the birds of Goat/Bird Island, and she even solved a mystery for us. Last fall when we visited, we saw something that looked like humans on the island where no humans are supposed to be. Judy trained her scope over there and showed us the regularly spaced wildlife cameras set up to try to document a very rare bird that only comes out at night. As Judy says, Cool Beans.

I also learned there is no such thing as a “seagull”. That bird on the post is a “western gull”.

Supper at Judy’s site was great, although we did decide to leave Mattie at home. Emma is nothing if not exuberant, and Mattie is about the size of a big cat, and we do remember how Emma got along with Jeremy the first time we met her. Ha! I am sure Emma would be fine eventually, but Mattie is still new enough to us that we aren’t exactly sure how she is with other dogs, so it was better to wait for that meeting. Maybe next time.

The New York chicken was wonderful. I found out why Judy’s is so much better than mine, even though I followed her recipe. All except for the poultry seasoning, which somehow didn’t make it to my copy of the marinade. No Wonder. We had so much fun talking about Judy’s new home base in Jojoba Hills, and our tire adventures, and eating great food, that both Judy and I forgot to take any photos. I think that is a good thing.

Thursday morning Mo and I drove to town to pick up a new tire and buy a few groceries. The day was again sunny and gorgeous, without a trace of fog and very little wind. Amazing! Leaving Fred Meyer, we just sort of ambled down the road and found a brand new place we had never visited before. You must realize that Mo and I have spent no less than a dozen years visiting Brookings, we even spent a good year looking for property to buy there until we decided on Grants Pass instead for MoHo winter storage. So it was crazy to me that we found not only one, but two brand new places we had never seen in all our explorations of this very small town. Our first discovery was Mill Beach, which on a Wednesday morning was quiet and peaceful with only a few folks ambling around. There was no leash requirement for dogs, so we walked to a deserted portion of the beach and turned Mattie loose. Oh My! You have never seen such a frenzy in your life. That little dog was like a bullet train, loving the soft sand, and running in circles in such happiness and joy it make my heart just sing.

Mo had taken her to the beach the day before without me, so she knew that Mattie loved that sand. The other thing she loved a lot was all the smelly things that she could drag around and try to eat. Especially appetizing to her were the loose clumps of mussels wound up in dirty seaweed. Yum.

After hiking around on the beach, we noticed there was a trail above us on the cliff, and I thought it might be the park that Russ and Donna spoke of. Sure enough, another little drive with the iPhone led us to the parking area for Chetco Point Park just off the road by the sewage plant. Who would have thought?! Except I did have a memory of Russ and Donna writing about walking this trail a few years ago.Here Mattie had to be on leash, but we would have had her leashed anyway. As good as she is, there are moments when her little dog brain gets focused on something that isn’t us and she forgets what “come” means.

The trail was easy, not to tough for ole slo-poke Sue. Ack. I am usually a fast walker with a long stride. All those years in the mountains of course, but now I toddle along like an old lady, barely able to keep up with Mo, much less the dog. At least I could walk, and that was heaven, believe me. Especially with such gorgeous views, warm temperatures, and balmy breezes. I spent many moments during this day just enjoying the skies and the air and the views. It is interesting sometimes to be forced to slow down. I see and feel more it seems. I hope as I heal and get back to my old ways, I’ll remember to slow down and take it easy now and then.

On Thursday evening it was our turn to treat Judy to supper at our site. Unlike Judy’s shady spot, Site A11 on the front row is wide open, with full sunlight until almost 9pm. I had to wear sunglasses to eat and Judy made sure she was facing away from the sun so she could see. Mo had enough wood for wonderful fires every night and even in the full sunshine of a bright evening, she started up another great campfire. I managed to eat one marshmallow with melted chocolate inside. Couldn’t tempt either Judy or Mo to partake of the gooey sweet, neither care much for sweets. It isn’t about eating the marshmallow anyway, it is about roasting it to perfection. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t. Fun either way.

With plans to leave early enough on Friday morning to get to Grants Pass by noon, we were all dumped and ready to roll when Mo noticed the right rear tire was flat. Oh no…Not again?!? This truly WAS one of the 2013 tires. We pulled down to the overlook parking area, called Brookings Les Schwab, and waited for them to come and air up the tire so we could get to town for a tire change.

The best part of this story is yet to come. The previous night I had received a call from my realtor saying that she may be calling me with an offer for the Klamath house in the morning. I told her we would be without telephone for a few hours as we traveled back home and she was a bit concerned about it. At 9:30, while we were still at Les Schwab, she called with a very good offer! I needed to receive 15 fax pages, sign then and fax them back.

Brookings is a small town, with not much around for office stores, (remember Judy’s story about finding a place to fax her papers!). Then my realtor suggested that I go talk to the office people inside Les Schwab. Sure enough, they let me receive the fax, and fax everything back, all for no charge, just a “Thanks for being a Les Schwab customer”.

Another great part to this story is that it wasn’t the tire, it was the valve stem. That always seems to be the problem. They fixed the tire, we put the new one on in its place, and the bill for all that work, including coming out to the park to air us up was $10.50. Amazing how things work out.

We left for home at 11:30, a bit late, but in time to stop at an icon restaurant along Highway 199 in Gasquet called She She’s. We have driven by here a bazillion times and never stopped, but today just seemed like a day to celebrate. Big thick blackberry milkshake, a great burger and home made fries, shared between us, was perfect for the brilliant sunshiny hot and windy day along the Smith River toward home.

06-08-2015 Blowout on the way to Brookings

Current Location: Rocky Point, Oregon Sunny and warm at 79 F

Ah yes, every RV’rs worst nightmare. Believe it or not, it wasn’t nearly as terrible as you might expect.

Finally, after a couple of months of working on projects, preparing and recuperating from surgery, and enjoying our little Mattie, Mo and I headed for the beach. We wanted to go to Harris Beach State Park for several reasons. We love it there. Judy is volunteering there this summer. It is only a 2 hour drive from the Grants Pass cottage.

As soon as I knew when Judy was going to be working, I made a reservation. That was two months ago, and it is a good thing I did. Seems as though Harris Beach is fairly popular in the summertime. I realized as I looked back that we haven’t actually visited very often during the summer months. Both of us know that the coast is often just the opposite of inland when it comes to temperatures, and summer fogs are common. I warned Judy about that. When people refer to Brookings as the “Banana Belt” of the Oregon Coast, they are usually talking about those gorgeous sunny days in December that can sometimes reach the 80’s while the rest of Oregon is cold and rainy. Mattie at the Beach (13 of 22)

Summertime, however, is a different story. Hot inland, cold at the coast. Chilly inland, warmer at the coast. Oregon was in the midst of some record breaking heat last week, so we expected it to be cooler in Brookings.

The day we drove west, however, last Monday June 8, was hot and gorgeous just about everywhere. We left early enough to arrive around 1, even though check in time is technically 2pm. blowout on 199 (5 of 10)

The winding drive from Cave Junction to Hiochi along Scenic Highway 199 next to the Smith River is impressive. Lots of curves, drop offs, gorgeous views of turquoise pools far below the cliffs adjacent to the highway. The very narrow highway.

BOOM!! on a curve, with a vertical cliff upward on the passenger side, and another vertical cliff down to the river on the driver’s side, that boom wasn’t something we were expecting. It was LOUD. and SCARY. Adrenalin pumping, Mo had no trouble keeping the rig going forward and we realized that the blowout must have been an inside dual. We slowed way down and crawled to the closest turnout, which happened to be on the other side of the road going the opposite direction.

No cell service. Not a hint. Nada. Sure does make us appreciate that we have a toad! Mo unhooked (this surgery recuperation thing is a true pain, I can’t lift the hitch for another couple of months) and I drove off west to find a spot with a signal.

Calling AAA wasn’t a problem until the dispatcher (someone somewhere in a far off state with a very difficult accent) said that AAA can’t change an inside dual, and that we would have to be towed. Where did we want to go. I told her several times I didn’t have cell service, but it didn’t click and she kept saying she would call me to keep us updated. Nope.

Instead I drove back a few miles to Mo and the waiting rig where we were conveniently parked in the shade in one of the prettiest spots on the entire route. Many times as we have passed this turnout we have wanted to stop, but usually it is full so we haven’t done it. Shade, a view, no cell service, but who cares. It is a gorgeous afternoon and we have a reservation so we can be as late as we need to be. Whew.

Within an hour a van pulled up, with a guy who said AAA sent him out to find us since they couldn’t reach us by phone. He couldn’t change the tire, but he also said that we could obviously not be towed because we had a flat tire!. He said that Les Schwab in Crescent City could do the change if we were willing to pay for the repair and then get reimbursed by AAA. Sure. Another hour went by and the Les Schwab truck showed up, but the guy didn’t realize that our hubs had covers on them and spent a very long time trying to find a lug wrench that would fit over the caps before we realized what he was doing and told him he needed to remove the covers to get to the lugs.

After a lot of work, he did manage to get the tire changed, but rather than straighten out the bent mud flap before putting the tires back on, he thought he would just pull the flap down. Another half an hour went by before he decided he needed to take the tires back off, work at getting the flap untangled, and put the tires back on. While we were waiting, I enjoyed every little moment of fluttering maple leaves against the brilliant blue skies. It was an incredibly beautiful day to be sitting outside. By 3:30 we were once again on our way west. We at first couldn’t figure out why that tire had failed, and had failed so badly. This set of tires was a full set of six that Mo got as part of a recall by Michelin in late 2013 just before we went on our three month trip to Florida. What both of us had forgotten, however, is that back in Florida we had a flat, and the spare was installed in the inside dual position. We didn’t find out till the next day in Brookings, when Mo bought a new Michelin tire, that that spare was one of the original tires from the MoHo with a date of 2005. UhOh. I guess a tire might fail if it is ten years old.

We managed to get to Brookings by 5, a little bit worn out, and I walked up to Judy’s spot to let her know we had made it to camp. The next few days were great, with beach time and Judy time and some new places to explore in Brookings that we had never seen.

But more of that in the next post…

A test (with a photo of Judy)

Checking to see if my LiveWriter is working properly before I do a full blog post.