Oregon Coast – Page 2 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

April 19 to 23 A Short Week at Newport and South Beach State Park Oregon

Current Location: Old Fort Road apartment Klamath Falls Oregon

Tuesday April 19

It’s a wonderful day to be driving north on I-5. Traffic is light, no rain for the moment, soft sunshine on leaves that are still in that springtime stage of lime green gorgeousness. Mo is doing most of the driving, giving me time to play around with the new phone. I switched to Verizon from AT&T and so far am incredibly impressed with my reception, at least in my part of Oregon. I was able to talk to my daughter all the way around Klamath Lake and over High Lakes Pass. No more cut off goodbyes!

We left around 10:30 this morning from Grants Pass. The last few days have been really warm with temperatures almost to 90 in Grants Pass yesterday. It felt wonderful after the long cold winter and chilly spring we’ve had. It’s supposed to get up to at least 68 degrees in Newport today and then it’ll start cooling down again but the predictions for rain are only about 20%. We couldn’t ask for much better on the Oregon coast especially in Newport, a bit farther north than our usual haunt in Brookings.

Looks like our route north was a LOT longer than our route south

We decided to try out a different route this time, thinking the drive straight north to Corvallis and west to Newport would be a bit repetitive. Instead, we decided to get off the Interstate new Drain, and take the Territorial Highway through Eugene and on north to intercept Highway 20 toward the west, entering Newport from the northern edge. We were winding and wandering all over the place from the Territorial Highway first to the Applegate Trail and then around on some other back roads until we hit 99 northwest of Vaneta. All the leaves are bursting with spring, and both the wild and domestic dogwoods are especially beautiful.

We thought it might be fun to take a different route to see something new, but realize that were on most of these roads when we did our covered bridges trip in 2012. Although it was a nice break from the interstate, we decided that we won’t take this route back home. It is a simple thing to buzz over from Newport to the freeway at Corvallis and head south on I-5 getting us home in a lot less time.

We stopped in Philomath, west of Corvallis, with a hot dog craving, but we were not successful. Philomath is a really cute little Oregon town but there are not many places to eat. I did find a small donut shop where I asked directions and discovered some good pastries, soups and salads, but that wasn’t right for our mood and we continued west. We didn’t spend much time walking around the town, since it was over 80 degrees when we stopped. With the air on in the MoHo we had no clue it was that warm out.

While driving along, we entertained ourselves trying to figure out what the difference was between a wine cellar and a winery. We did know that a vineyard is where they grow the grapes, and that most wineries don’t grow their own grapes. Then we saw a sign for a wine cellar and that question entered the mix. I had a good time saying “OK GOOGLE” what is the difference…etc. In no time we had the answers.

It took a bit more than five hours to get from Grants Pass to Newport, where just a mile or so east of town, the bright warm sunshine turned to chilly fog. Ahh, the beach.

The family wagons were all close to each other near the trail to the beach, with reservations handled well by brother Dan, who often spends time at South Beach.

Mo’s youngest brother Don and wife Wynn. Double camera from the Galaxy Note 5

Mo’s next younger brother Dan and wife ChereMo’s oldest younger brother Roger and wife Nancy

Each family was responsible for a single dinner, with the option of spending a night eating out in Newport. It was unanimous when someone suggested this first night was a great time for fish and chips. Dan and Chere knew a great place in the small old town of Nye Beach, on the west side of Highway 101. In all the times Mo and I have visited Newport, we never discovered Nye Beach. Not only are there some sweet little shops there, the beach is wide and dog friendly and our supper at the Chowder Bowl was wonderful. Fish and chips and chowder were good but I had the special, chipotle shrimp tacos! ohmygoodness!!! Heaven in a tortilla for sure.

Wednesday April 20

“Well I’m tired tonight and as usual when I’m tired I have a hard time writing so I’m wondering if I’ll have his herd of time talking as I do trying to write put him tired. But most said you’re better make a list you better make no what did you say mom said you better make your notes tonight so you don’t forget what you did today”

Did you understand that? Me either, but it is what was transcribed by my handy phone assistant as I attempted to verbally write the blog.

We had a great day today. It began early with a beach walk on a cloudy but windless morning. As much as we love Harris Beach and Brookings, the sandy beach at South Beach is long and unbroken by the wild Oregon sea stacks that make the views so spectacular. I love being able to walk long and steady on firm sand without having to turn around until I feel like it. Lots more photos are here.

Mattie had a great time running wildly in the sand. Just south of the trail to the beach, the southern boundary of the state park is marked and we no longer have to keep her on a leash. She bounded and ran, but still really isn’t too happy about the waves if they get too close. She can swim, but really isn’t interested in it.

After our walk, we spent some quality time relaxing and reading at our site until the rest of the crew returned from their town shopping excursion. A kayak afternoon was planned with Mo’s brother Don, and we had researched local kayak locations, deciding on the gentle inland waters of Beaver Creek, about five miles south of the state park.

The put-in was easy, with a nice boat launch and a gentle incline into the silky water. There is a bit of tide current, but it is light, and the current of the stream is light as well, so you can kayak both upstream and downstream without a lot of effort.

We saw some great blue herons, some river otters, and a mama duck with a brood of a dozen babies. We saw a single eagle. I didn’t pack a camera, and used the phone for the photos that I took. It is great for landscapes, but I had a terrible time trying to catch the birds as they flew in the screen.

I think if you click on any of the photos for a larger image, it will take you to my smugmug gallery and you can see the rest of the photos for the kayak trip.

I thought about Direction of our Dreams Sherry a lot on the trip, realizing that she would have kayaked that river in at least twice the time that we spent. Instead, we did and up and down thing, without a lot of time for dawdling. It was my night for dinner, and I was feeling a little stressed.

There was absolutely no reason to feel stressed because everybody is just easy to please they’re not hard to please at all. I had marinated the chicken and made the salad before we left for the kayak, and everything turned out just fine. Best part about taking over one full meal is that I won’t have to cook again! Chere brought a watermelon and Wynn brought a raspberry cake that was yummy. Perfect preamble for lots of laughter as we sat around the fire.

Thursday April 21

While Mo and I were walking and the women were shopping yesterday, Dan and Don and Roger went crabbing. They were out several hours, but our planned crab salad dinner was postponed in favor of my chicken because they didn’t get any crabs big enough to keep.

Mo and I began our day once again on the beach, only this time the sun was shining and the skies were gorgeous. There was no wind to speak of, which seems unheard of on the coast, and I was grateful. We did notice that Mattie was a little bit less wild and crazy on the beach than she was the first day out. She only ran wildly half of the time instead of 100% of the time. We also found some fun things on the beach to look at. There was a truly amazing log that was covered with some kind of shells, each one hanging individually from a long string. They were waving in the wind and sounded like a shell windchime as they bumped against each other.

By 10:30 it was time to go out with Don and Dan to see if we would have better luck at crabbing than they had the day before.

We haven’t been crabbing before, and I was looking forward to seeing what it was like.

We were really lucky because the sun was shining when we left, and even though it was a bit chilly for me, we didn’t have rain or bad weather. It was my first time out crabbing. It was interesting, but I don’t think I’ll ever have to do it again. The little crabs when they’re caught or all crawly and wild and look kind of scary. The guys have to get them out of the rings without getting pinched. The worst part of the whole thing was the bait. Normally they use turkey legs which isn’t too bad. The other options are fish heads which the seals eat. The disturbing option was mink. I had no idea that meant little actual frozen mink bodies. That was extremely creepy. However the crabs really seem to like the mink which eventually became unfrozen and we’re even more disgusting than you could possibly imagine. The gulls were also incredibly interested in both the crabs we threw back and the bait as well. Funny, I had never seen crabs actually swimming in the water. Creepy.

It is the same reason I don’t really like fishing, the bait thing! Even fishing for trout with spinners and no bait requires actually killing the fish, which I couldn’t do very well. I’m not very good when it comes to fishing or crabbing or hunting. Totally hypocritical I know because I do eat meat and I love fish.

Still, I was very happy to have had the experience of going crabbing at least once in my life. We got lots of crabs, but they were all too small. Dinner once again was not crab salad, but some rather fantastic tacos made by Brother Don’s wife Wynn.

We had been so very lucky with no rain, but as we all gathered at Don’s place for dinner the rain started pouring down. Mo and I realized that we hadn’t put the covers on the kayaks, and for once we were really happy to have lots of brother help around to take the kayaks down, get the covers on, and hoist them back on top of the Tracker.

Friday April 22

Our last full day at the beach was again supposed to be a rainy one. The women had planned a trip north to the Outlet Mall at Lincoln City. I originally opted out, with mall shopping not big on my list of favorite things to do. But with the predicted rain, I thought better of my choice to stay home and by 9:30 we were on the road north.

It turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day, with brilliant sunshine and blue skies. I changed my mind about mall shopping when I discovered that there was a Harry and David store (one of my favorites originally from Medford) and a Chico’s. I introduced the women to Chico’s, which they loved, and I think before the day ended I had as many packages as anyone. So much for not liking mall shopping!

When we got back home, with plans for relaxing before dinner bike ride, I was greeted by a very unhappy Mo. Seems as though something had happened in the MoHo and there was water everywhere. All the towels and rugs were spread all over the picnic table and her brothers were attempting to find out why water was pouring out from underneath the rig.

Turns out it was something easy. They had worked on our kitchen faucet, turning off the main water, and then when the water was turned back on, a faucet was open and flooded the bathroom sink and overflowed under the rig. In the process, it filled up the black tank which was also completely full. We unhooked, drove down to the dump, and after dumping all the tanks, everything seemed to be just fine. No more mishaps, in the MoHo at least. We did have a very big carload of wet stuff to haul home to Grants Pass for a full day of laundry when we got there.

Dinner was great, with chicken on the grill and a fabulous salad from Chere and Dan. The campfire was once again ringing with fun and laughter. As you can see, Mattie is a cold blooded little thing, with her southern California puppy roots showing every time there is a chill in the air. We had to be sure she didn’t catch her fur on fire!

The next morning, Don offered to make omelettes with the leftovers from the tacos, and for the first time on the trip, we had to retreat to the shelter of Don’s awning as the rain started to come down in earnest. Couldn’t have asked for better timing, and we didn’t complain at all about having to drive home in the rain. It isn’t often that April yields up 4 sunny days in a row on the Oregon Coast.

Now, as I have finally completed the translation process from verbally dictated posts to something written, I have decided that maybe that whole process isn’t worth the effort. Reading, I can see that I seem to write a LOT better than I talk! LOL Maybe something in the writing causes me to think more clearly. That might be why I have always kept a journal, a way to keep my thoughts in order. My off the cuff speaking thoughts are really crazy and very repetitive! So much for that. Next blog post will go back to my usual method of typing as I think rather than depending on the phone to figure it out.

Shifting Sands

Current Location: Crescent City, California 53 degrees and raining

The title says more than you might think. Isn’t it funny how life sometimes can be a metaphor of itself? On the surface, the shifting sands that I refer to, are the famous Oregon Dunes. Our life is doing a bit of shifting as well, like the dunes, nothing stays the same.

Mo and I needed an escape. If we go more than a month without a MoHo getaway, that hitch-itch thing sets in and no matter the season, no matter the weather, getting on the road for a bit is a good thing. Just to change the daily scenery now and then keeps things fresh.

In spite of predicted rain, a trip to the coast sounded like the best plan. Even without a “real” winter behind us, the deserts east of Klamath Falls that we love are much too cold, and the wildflowers in the southern deserts are just too far away. Neither of us was up for another marathon trip south.

Instead, we decided to escape again to the Oregon coast and then travel south toward the beautiful Lost Coast region of Northern California. Some of the shifting dune life thing has to do with some surgery coming up for me in April. Nothing serious, but needed, and with the best surgeon for the procedure located in Springfield, we are making several trips there for pre-tests, consultations, and all the hoopla that goes along with this kind of stuff. Boring.

We spent a night at the mall in Eugene between appointments, and then quickly made our escape after the last early morning doctor visit. Eugene is just a little over an hour from Florence, and there are many campgrounds in that vicinity that we haven’t yet explored.

One of the reasons we wanted to stay in the Florence area has to do with the amazing kayaking opportunities. This time, no kayaks, for several reasons, predicted hard rain among them, and thinking about doctor visits and loading up kayaks didn’t seem to go together.

Checking the maps and the campsites, we decided on Jessie M Honeyman State Park. We have avoided this area in the past, choosing to stay away from all the ATV’s that come here for the dunes. With Spring Break beginning, we had no clue what to expect, but in spite of having no reservation, we managed to find a sweet little spot in Loop F, just down from the ATV loop H, completely booked and reserved and already teeming with ATV’s, big trailers, and lots of little kids and little bikes. It looked like great family fun.

We learned that unless you are actually camped in H loop, there is no public ATV access to the dunes via the trail that leads west from the campground. That limits the crowds somewhat. There are no ATV’s allowed beyond the H loop, and the background noise in the rest of the campground really is quite minimal.

Honeyman is a wonderful state park, second only in size to the huge Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria where we stayed a couple of years ago. At Honeyman, the trees are huge, but access to the ocean is across more than 2 miles of dunes, and not something to undertake lightly.

We didn’t even try, although we did manage to crawl around on the dunes a bit from the access trail near our campsite. Literally crawl, I might say. The dune was so steep I could no longer get up standing up and had to resort to climbing on all fours to get to the top. Fun stuff! Going down was interesting as well. Seems as though sandboarding could be fun, but for me not worth the effort of trying to get back up!

We spent a couple of days enjoying nearby Florence, once again exploring Old Town along Bay Street, having coffees on the protected patio of the Suislaw Coffee Company, and browsing the cute little shops. We also explored both North and South Jetty roads, enjoying the gorgeous beaches and sand dunes in the beautiful sunshine. Structure construction with driftwood seems to be a big “thing” on the north beach.

The predicted rains gave us a bit of a break on both days, coming only in late afternoon when we were through exploring and then again at night to drum on the roof with soothing sounds that make sleeping a treat.

On another day we explored the historic area of the park, with stone buildings and walls built by the CCC in the 30’s. There are three fresh water lakes within the boundaries of Honeyman State Park, and while small, they would still be delightful to paddle and explore the inlets and byways. There are actually more than 30 freshwater lakes nearby in the Florence area.

After a couple of days we headed south along our favorite stretch of the Oregon Coast, between Florence and Brookings. Just north of Gold Beach there are several huge wide graveled overlooks that just beg for boondocking, without a single sign saying “no overnight camping”.

We used one for a great extended lunch stop, listening to the ocean and watching the light change on the waves.

Our goal this trip was to stay in places we haven’t yet, but we couldn’t resist making a quick drive through Harris Beach State Park, just to see how full it was on this pre Spring Break weekend. Every. Single. Hookup site was either filled or booked, not a place to park anywhere. Don’t even try to get a place at Harris Beach without a reservation this time of year. Most of the sites were booked through the following week, so arriving on a weekday wouldn’t necessarily assure you a spot.

The sun was gorgeous for the rest of the trip south, with brilliant green everywhere and beautiful blue skies. By mid afternoon, when we arrived at Crescent City, there was still no sign of the coming storm.

There are three RV campgrounds near town, and we chose what appeared to be the best of them. Mo wanted to have a day to explore around Crescent City, something we haven’t done much in the past, simply driving through on our trips south. We settled in at Sunset Harbor RV Park, using the after hours/weekend check-in process. The park advertises free WiFi, but we won’t have access to that, or to the bathrooms because no one is around to give out the codes. The place is clean enough, and quiet, a simple stopover place while in Crescent City before we continue south on Monday.

In the mean time, we have a few plans for the rainy day ahead, including some writing and reading and probably a card game or two. At least it is a break from all the shifting sands back home.

Those shifts have to do with our plan to eventually live on the property in Grants Pass. We have begun the process. In addition, I have decided to sell my house in Klamath Falls where my daughter has lived for the last almost 8 years. She is ready to downsize and my granddaughter is ready for her first apartment. Voila! Mo has some apartments! Just a small group of units outside of town that she has rented over the years, but they needed a ton of work before the next renters could move in. We have been busy! And now Melody and Axel will be moving there and Mo and I will be doing a ton more work on my house in town getting it ready for sale. Hence the needed break!

Over the next couple of years, we will get Rocky Point ready for the change as well, and are already enjoying the process of looking at plans for the house that will eventually be our home in Grants Pass, land of no snow. Although Rocky Point seems to be the land of no snow for the last couple of winters, but that can’t last forever.

11-09-2014 Bullards Beach and Bandon

Current Location: Humbug Mountain State Park, 50 degrees F at 5:30 AM and clear starry skies

I have been awake for far too long, deciding that since I couldn’t seem to sleep, I might as well process photos. Great way to spend the early dark hours of the day. One thing about camping on the coast is the constant moisture. Even on sunny days, things don’t dry out much, and at the moment, almost all the clothes that I brought on this trip are in some stage of dampness, including night clothes. Geez. Better to just get up and sit by the cozy space heater with my one completely dry tee shirt and jammie bottoms on and dry out a bit.

After three lovely days at Sunset Bay, it was time to move south toward our next destination along the coast. With only 69 miles to go all the way to Humbug Mountain, we decided instead to drive the short 22 miles to Bullards Beach and spend a night in that very large park, with all the amenities.

Bullards Beach State Park not only has a dump station, which we used on the way in, it has a good Verizon and ATT signal, so we had both internet on the MiFi and iPad and telephone on the ATT iPhone. Like most RV travelers, we have found that having both service providers seems to be the best way to handle the varying availability of different signals. I have been in locations where the ATT phone worked great and there wasn’t a Verizon bar to be found, and the other way around. Seems to be a regional thing, and those coverage maps aren’t necessarily that accurate.

Bullards Beach SP Campground Bullards Beach is a huge state park, with several sites saved for first come first served, but we were surprised when we arrived at 11AM to see how many of those sites were already filled. There is a check-in time of 1PM, but it seems that no one cared that we arrived early. This time of year there are camp hosts, but no one manning the entry check-in booths. Park your rig and do a self check in within half an hour.

Another reason for staying at Bullards Beach was to give ourselves plenty of time to wander off to Bandon without having to continue south on the highway. We could play at leisure, and have plenty of time in the later afternoon for a long walk to the beach. And I do mean long. It is 1.25 miles to the beach from the campground along the new boardwalk trail that traverses the wet lowlands between the campground and the beach dunes. It is a bit longer if you take the easier paved and not sandy trail to the beach parking area south of the campground.

Once settled in, on the C loop space 55, first on the agenda was traveling the short distance south to Bandon to find a grocery store. Stocking up on a very few necessities didn’t take long. The only large grocery in Bandon is Ray’s, a local chain, with the nearest Safeway showing up many miles east at Coquille.

Ambling down the highway south toward the older part of town, we first encountered Face Rock Creamery. If you click on the previous link, you can read the interesting story of how Bandon brought this into being. In the location of the old Bandon Cheese Factory, bought out by Tillamook and then destroyed, Face Rock Creamery has a gorgeous new facility where you can watch cheese making and sample their wares. They specialize in flavored cheddars, with one version of an aged cheddar, a few kinds of pepper jack and cheese curds, which seem to be very popular.

We took advantage of the amazing ice cream, requesting the single scoop child’s version, and getting something that was very close to two big scoops of ice cream for a buck fifty each. Geez. Taking our treats upstairs to the comfy wooden tables overlooking the cheesemaking factory, we watched not only the cheese process, but the many people coming into the store buying cheese and gourmet goodies. I would say this has been great for Bandon.

Just next door to the cheese factory is a nice quilt shop, and I spent some time perusing the goodies but managed to get out of there with nothing more than a great pattern for another project to add to my list of todo’s.

Parking downtown in the Old Town area, we wandered the streets where I had an eagle eye peeled for the Coastal Mist Chocolate Boutique. A year ago, when visiting this town with friends Maryruth and Gerald we experienced their “drinking chocolate” and I didn’t want to miss it this time.

I love being in this little shop, all decorated with chocolate colors and very modern and trendy. I noticed as we sat in the comfy sofas that it was almost entirely women entering the shop and every single one of them left with something yummy.

We continued to explore the little shops, with art galleries, funky souvenir shops, coffee shops and clothiers until I was tired of all the slow walking and we both decided it was time to get back to the campground and walk the beach. Somehow slow walking wears me out much more than walking out in a real stride.

Just before we got back to the car, however, we found the most amazing museum. The Washed Ashore project is one of the most creative and impressive solutions to beach trash that I have seen. Angela Pozzi, an artist and educator at Washed Ashore had said “It’s a project to show the everyday person how much garbage is coming up on the beaches,” she says. “I aim to grab people with the power of the sculptures, which are beautiful and then become horrifying.”

We wandered the museum, mesmerized by the gorgeous colors and beautiful sculptures that were created entirely from beach garbage. In addition to the work in the museum, there were extensive photo exhibits showing the scope of the project. I know from personal experience that many of our beaches are horribly littered with trash, and I know there are efforts to encourage people to carry a trash bag and attempt to clean up what they see.

This, however, is a huge effort that might actually make a difference. Plastic. It is all about plastic. I know I have a life filled with plastic as we all do, and while I have been aware of the issues to some extent, seeing this project made it much more real to me. We are killing our oceans and our animals with plastic. It is sobering. I hope to pay more attention in the future and do my part.

After visiting the museum, we traveled the short distance south of town along the coast and found a public beach on the South Jetty just across the the Coquille Lighthouse. With the huge recent rain storm and low tide, the beach was thick with people carrying buckets picking up something. Mo said, “They are getting something, we had better go check it out”.

Spending a bit of time wandering and picking up stones, we found some of the famous Oregon beach agates to add to our rock stash. It was nice to see dogs playing on the beach, and of course it brought back sweet memories of the many beaches we have shared with Abby.

This trip has been a bit different. No dog, no kitty, and in case you noticed, no bikes and no kayaks. Even without the extra toys along, we have certainly managed to stay busy and active.

Back to our campsite, we had enough time for a late afternoon walk to the beach. As I mentioned previously, it is more than a mile to the beach from the campsite, and even with the new boardwalk, much of the trail is deep sand.

There is a large horse camp near the beach, and after walking along the surf for a distance, we found that roadway leading south, with hopes that we could walk back via the paved road. The route home was easier but much longer, and with all that sand walking, I felt like I had trudged many more miles than the 3.5 or so that showed up on the GPS!

The next morning, before we continued south toward Cape Blanco, I walked again to the beach, this time avoiding the sandy trails and taking the nice partly paved bike trail leading from the campground to the beach. It is a simple 2.5 mile round trip, and I learned something new about the beach grasses along the Oregon Coast.

Planted in the 30’s in an attempt to control the constant blowing sand, European beach grass is terribly invasive and has taken over most of the dune landscapes on the coast. Unlike the native sea oats on the southeast beaches, this grass isn’t native and isn’t protected, but it still does the trick of stabilizing the dunes. Like rabbits in Australia, we sometimes change our environment without understanding the full extent of what we are changing. Unlike the rabbits, maybe it isn’t always a negative thing.

Tomorrow we move south again toward Cape Blanco and the lighthouse, Port Orford, and Humbug Mountain State Park.

November 5 to 8 2014 Sunset Bay State Park

Current Location: Sunset Bay Oregon: clear skies and 43 degrees F at 7am

I know I promised more on the wedding, but that will just have to wait a bit. We are camped on the Oregon Coast, and it is time to write about what is happening right now.

When November rolls around, our thoughts often turn to the Oregon Coast. With an unwritten rule that we get out in the MoHo at least once each month, a trip to the coast is easy. A quick jaunt over the mountain to visit the cottage in Grants Pass, do a few little cottage chores, and then we are close enough to be at the ocean in a couple of hours.

This time of year, weather on the Oregon coast can be anything from balmy sunshine to driving rain and wind with everything in between. About the only thing I didn’t pack for this trip was shorts. Not long ago I succumbed to Laurie’s (Laurie and Odel from Semi True Tales of our Life on the Road) inspiration and bought a tiny little pink thingy, the Fit Bit. I have committed to the 10,000 steps a day routine that is supposedly the key to staying reasonably fit.

Knowing that it could be wet and cold for my daily hikes, I brought an extra bin full of coats and poly fleece stuff that hopefully would keep me warm. One thing about camping in a motorhome in a lovely state park nowhere near a laundry is the wet stuff draped all around the rig in an attempt to dry it out a bit.

But I am getting ahead of myself.

As long time readers know, our park of choice is often Harris Beach State Park. It is the closest to Grants Pass, and we love so many things about staying there. Sometimes driving up the coast we have checked out other parks and thought, “Oh, let’s try this one someday”, but nope…back to Harris Beach we go. It has cable TV, good wifi and cell phone reception, a gorgeous walking beach, and is just minutes from town and shopping.

However, this time we had to come up with an alternative. Harris Beach State Park is temporarily closed for a few weeks while they repave the park roads. We looked at our maps and at last made plans to camp at a park we have long eyed, Humbug Mountain State Park, just south of Port Orford. We then thought it would be nice to get to the coast a different way, and decided to drive north to Roseburg, travel west along Highway 42 toward Coos Bay, and camp once again at Sunset Bay State Park for a few days before continuing south to Humbug Mountain.

Neither of us could remember when we camped at Sunset Beach, but we both remembered the scary waves when we kayaked the bay! A quick review of the blog revealed that our last trip here was back in 2009, when I still lived in California. I traveled north for a visit in July and we spent three days here before traveling east along the Umpqua River for some waterfall hikes. Definitely a good thing I write the blog or we would have had no clue when we were last here.

I did notice that my blog writing style has definitely shifted. So many details of that visit were omitted on the previous blog post, including our space number, and all I know for sure is that we had a full hookup site. With a bit of sleuthing, I did find a photo of our site number, A-10.

Sunset Beach lists an RV dump in the brochure amenities, but what they don’t say is that the dump is miles south at Bullard Beach State Park! In spite of the on site sewer, they also ask that you don’t actually dump in that spot due to possible overflow. Excuse me? Why pay for a sewer site if they don’t want you to use it? Makes no sense to me.

Last Wednesday afternoon, the skies were bright and sunny as we settled into our spot on the A loop. The park was very nearly empty, and we had our choice of several sites. I got out the compass and searched for an opening in the southern skies, thinking we had it nailed for the satellite. We settled in to A-24, hooked up all the goodies and started up the satellite finder. No go. With not much else to do on this quiet afternoon, we decided to move a couple of sites down to see if we could get a better signal.

No laughing here! With three days planned in predicted 100 percent rain, and no internet, TV would be a nice diversion, and was definitely worth the move! Before long we were settled once again, this time in A-28, with a clear view of the southern skies and no trees at that critical 145 degree angle where the satellites hide. Perfect.

One of the nicest things about this park are the trails. There are over 12 miles of developed trails, including portions of the Oregon Coast Trail that lead south toward Shore Acres State park and then beyond toward Cape Arago State Park, both day use areas without camping.

That afternoon, with the fitbit logging steps, and the GPS app on the phone logging time, Mo and I set off south for a hike toward Shore Acres. The map for the trails is less than optimal, and with no cell signal we had no clue how far we traveled. I kept thinking we should have arrived at the park, but after an hour and a half, we decided to turn around. It was getting late and with more than my 10,000 steps logged, I decided that the park destination could wait till the next day.

All night long we were serenaded by heavy rain, just as predicted, and we spent a lovely morning with a full breakfast, coffee, and the news, while I wrote some more on the Vermont visit for the blog. Mo read and I sewed bindings on quilts for a time and then finally I decided it was time to brave the rain and get in those steps. It is amazing how that little pink thing keeps one motivated.

My raincoat turned out to be less than optimal and it was soaking wet on the inside when I returned, along with my clothes which were soaking wet from the inside. Geez…all that walking in all that humidity really makes things wet everywhere, inside and out.

As the afternoon cleared, Mo and I took off with the car and our camp receipt so that we could park at Shore Acres State Park without paying the $5. fee. We enjoyed the beautiful gardens on our last visit, but this time we wanted to hike the Oregon Coast Trail from Shore Acres to the viewpoint at Cape Arago.

Again, the maps are less than optimal, and the trails are not well marked. Instead of staying on the main trail, we found ourselves on the Group Site trail, which follows the deep gorges and hills east of the Cape Arago Road. In addition to the steps, we got a good deal of steep ups and downs before arriving at the nearly empty Cape Arago park.

The viewpoint is magnificent, overlooking the ocean and wild surf directly below and views for miles to the north and to the south.

The hike home was a bit more simple, since we chose to follow the trail directly adjacent to the road and skipped all the ups and downs of the group trail. I haven’t had any trouble getting in my 10,000 steps per day, and more often than not on this trip, I seem to be going over 15,000 per day. I plan to keep up the pace, and hopefully the coming winter weather at home won’t stop me. Motion X GPS app on my phone had a hard time finding the signal on the hike, since we didn’t have cell service, but when I arrived tonight in an area with internet, I could see our path on google maps. Good job, iPhone!

Ready for an early afternoon supper, we decided to return three miles to Charleston and search out a restaurant to have something fishy. There are several small restaurants in town, including one that we tried on our previous visit that was excellent, and another one that I tried many years ago with another friend. Wanting something new, we settled on the High Tides Cafe, right on the main road on the west side of South Slough.

While a bit spendy, it was a great choice, with tables overlooking the slough, a delightful waiter who gave excellent service, and very good food. I had the special Cajun Tuna steaks with some kind of risotto garnished with tomato and avocado. Mo also had tuna, fish and chips, but she had the option to pick a lightly breaded and grilled style rather than the heavy beer battered fish that can sometimes be so greasy. Both of our meals were perfect, and when our waiter brought out the dessert tray we couldn’t resist the amazing pumpkin nutty pie topped with whipped cream to share with our coffee. Yum!

Friday morning dawned clear and bright as predicted, not a cloud in the sky. Even with the clear skies, however, things were pretty damp, including all my clothes hanging about the rig.

After a relaxing morning, I decided to attempt to find the trail from here to Shore Acres and then to backtrack and find out where Mo and I turned around. I succeeded in finding the easy trail to Shore Acres, but skipped the long way out on the bluffs and returned via the simple trail to camp.

Later in the afternoon, Mo and I took off walking north toward the Bay, and searched for a trail on the northern bluff that would allow a better view of the Cape Arago Lighthouse. The trail was very nearly vertical, and darn slippery with all the previous rain, but we managed to get to the top. Once there, however, the trail leveled off, and the going got a bit crazy, with a jungle of thick salal and other vegetation making the narrow trail a bit difficult to navigate.

Finally emerging from the forest into a large grassy area, we saw the lovely lighthouse against the sky. The building is on an island, and we could see old bridge abutments below the bluff, where once it may have been possible to get to the island. In the late afternoon sun, the view was beautiful.

Returning along the grassy area, we discovered a chained off area that contained gravestone, and then another memorial stating that we were in a Native American cemetery. UhOh. Then as we returned toward the forest, we discovered the “No Trespassing” sign. Hmmm. Remembering that I had read somewhere that this lighthouse was now owned and operated by the local tribes, I realized that we were probably somewhere we were not supposed to be.

As we walked out the main entrance road, we came to a locked gate, and we were on the wrong side! Ok then…back into the woods, searching through the brush to find a trail and get past the gate, we finally wound our way around to a small trail that led us out to the main highway.

I guess seeing the Cape Arago lighthouse from this viewpoint isn’t something that can be done without some kind of special permission. Be aware that if you hike up from Sunset Bay through the brush, you will have no way of knowing that you are in a restricted area. Here is a link to the history of this beautiful light on what is called Chiefs Island.

Last night we had supper at our picnic table, enjoying the big hot fire that Mo built with wood we brought from home. The parks often have firewood available, but it is often not very dry and hard to burn. Since we didn’t have to enter California on this trip to the coast, we were able to bring our own nicely dried and split firewood.

Today again we have sunshine, and our plans will take us south along the Seven Devils Road toward Bandon, where we plan to camp at Bullard Beach and spend an afternoon searching out delicacies, including Face Rock cheese and little pots of hot drinking chocolate.