Oregon – Page 4 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

5-09-2014 Leaving Brookings and Highway 199

Current Location: Rocky Point Oregon Sunny and in the 70’s today

We were so lucky to have three gorgeous sunshiny days at the Oregon Coast. Thursday and Friday were dark and rainy, but we thought our entire time at the beach would be dark and rainy, so we were prepared.

After our morning hike on Wednesday, I checked the weather radar and with the wispy clouds in the west and the low cloud bank over the ocean and knew that anything else we wanted to do that required sunshine should be done soon.

Azalea Park is one of the treasures of Brookings. Located on the east end of town, the park has a rich history dating back to the 1800’s. I read that some of the old azaleas in the park were there when Lewis and Clark wintered here in 1805-1806.

Unlike the gorgeous hybrids of rhododendrons and azaleas we have today, these old beauties are tall and rangy, with soft muted colors. Still, it is great that the city of Brookings has preserved the park and the old azaleas.

We have visited the gardens in the past, at different times during the spring, but this one I think was the best. As I said previously, it is a crap shoot, and there is no way to plan a specific date for the best bloom.

We again walked the same paths that we walked last December in the dark of winter, enjoying the Christmas light show. The paths meander around the grounds lined with every possible color and variety of rhododendron you can imagine.

Another favorite of mine are the pastel spring growth of the Pieris japonica.

Huge gunnera plants I first saw at Butchart Gardens in Victoria are reminiscent of a fairy tale world where people are tiny and can hide under giant leaf umbrellas. With blue skies and brilliant sunshine, we had no need to hide under any kind of umbrella.

Thursday night the rains started, and we didn’t mind a bit. Lowering the awning on one side let the water pour off without pooling in the canvas, and we picked up the rugs and kept the chairs safe from rain. Even a walk or two around the park was a welcome break from reading, watching a couple of great movies, and doing that ‘relaxing’ thing that we had promised ourselves for this trip. Loeb Azalea Gard_218

I have often mentioned traveling home via Highway 199, but usually I never manage to get any photos of the route.

It is a magnificent drive along the wild Smith River, past the redwoods at Jedediah Smith State Park, winding into the mountains adjacent to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

There are steep drop offs along the way, some narrow roads with signs warning of even more narrow sections and sharp curves.

Still, we saw full size semi’s negotiating the curves easily, with even more large fifth wheels and Class A motorhomes along the route. It can be done, and isn’t difficult in a big rig. It just requires slowing down and enjoying the view.

There are a very few parking areas along the way, but plenty of turnouts to let the speedy ones pass, and a few places with passing lanes.

Hiouchi RV Park is just a bit east of the redwoods, and is a nice private park. We stayed there once in 2011, and enjoyed sunshine away from the coastal fog with only a short drive to either Crescent City or Brookings. After leaving the river, at the Oregon-California state line, there is a large tunnel, with plenty of clearance for most any kind of big rig.

When traveling to and from Brookings and Grants Pass, the route crosses over the Oregon-California border twice. Sometimes the ag inspection stations are open, most of the time simply asking us if we have fruit, plants, or firewood on board. We do say ‘no’, in spite of the occasional apple or head of lettuce hiding in the RV fridge. So far, the inspectors are usually so taken with Jeremy on the dash that they smile and nod and never give us a bit of trouble.

It takes a short two hours to travel from Brookings to Grants Pass, and we arrived back at the cottage early in the afternoon to mixed sun and rain. It was that blustery kind of spring rain that comes and goes, however, and Mo managed to mow the property on Friday afternoon. I did a bit of weeding, visited with the neighbors, and made plans to enjoy the next two days of Mother’s Day weekend with three of my four kids. Lucky Me!

Two Trails

Current Location: Brookings, Oregon 49 degrees and 100 percent chance of rain

At the moment, it is raining and gray and we are comfortably relaxing in the MoHo. Just a warning for all the blog purists out there who say they don’t want too many photos. There are 20 photos in this post, more than I usually add, and yet it IS a photo tour of our trail walks yesterday. If you don’t like photos, then skip it. I made them big specifically for Nicki, who always requests the big ones so that she doesn’t have to click to get a bigger image. You can’t please all the people all the time, but you can definitely please some of the people some of the time!

The predicted rain finally reached Harris Beach early this morning. We knew it was coming, in fact it was expected to show up on our first day here. Instead, we enjoyed three days of gorgeous sunshine. Waking this morning to the sound of rain was soothing, and we actually slept in to almost 7:30. Of course, it helps if someone gets up at 4:30 or so to let the dog out, give the cat a treat, and feed the dog. Then they are ready to settle in and let us sleep. Two Trails_156 Yesterday, knowing that our sunny respite was soon coming to an end, we were happy for one more day to walk the beach and hike a couple of the trails. I know that someday, when I am hopefully much, much older, I won’t be able to hike these nice little trails with their gorgeous views, and decided I wanted to do a “Sherry” and take you on a hike, and give myself a place to go when I want to remember just how lovely these walks can be on a sunny day at the ocean.

A short trail we sometimes forget to do is the Harris Butte Trail. The trailhead is just north of the entry kiosk at the park. The Harris Beach Trail also begins at this location and makes a loop around the tree covered butte, but Mo remembered that there is a lot of poison oak along that trail. With the dog along, I get a bit paranoid about poison oak, so we decided to skip that route, lovely as it is.

The short hike to the top has a few switchbacks, is a bit rocky in places, and a bit steep. The hike takes maybe ten minutes at the most, but the view is wonderful. The hillside is covered with thick vegetation, with only a few limited views of the beach below through the trees.

The viewpoint is a great photo site, especially in the early part of the day when the sun is in the east. Sunsets viewed from this spot must be spectacular, but for no reason I can imagine, we haven’t hiked up here to view the sunsets.

Below the cliff where we stood, was a great view of the Harris Beach State Park Day Use Area, the one we walked to Tuesday afternoon.

This is the best spot to view Goat Island, and we noticed there was a kayak parked on the steep shoreline, with a few people (dots of color) moving across the slope. It seemed as though they were monitoring vegetation or bird sites or something, with the faint impression of some kind of marking posts on the north facing grassy slope.

With a bit of searching, I found out that Goat Island is the largest island along the Oregon coast. It was the first unit comprising the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1936. The island contains deep soils and a variety of native vegetation condusive to burrow-nesting seabird species.

Goat Island hosts 24% of the statewide nesting Leach’s Storm-Petrels and more than 109,000 nesting seabirds comprising 11 species. The island serves as a night roost for thousands of Aleutian Canada geese in the spring and a wintering area for a small group (40) of Dusky Canada geese.

In addition, it seems that the biggest problems for the nesting birds are boats approaching too closely, low flying aircraft, and “human trespass”. I would imagine that the people we saw walking across the slope were supposed to be there, and that kayaking to the tiny beach and exploring the island on foot would be illegal.

The second trail we walked was our favorite South Beach Trail. This trail can be accessed directly from the big parking lot just west of Highway 101 near the entrance of the state park.

In addition, there is a sweet little trailhead that begins at the southern end of the campground. This walk leads through deep spruce forest, and is lined with thick vegetation typical of the moist climate in the Oregon coastal forests.

Emerging at the aforementioned parking lot, the trail continues down the steep cliff to the beach below.

With asphalt pavement on the steep trail, it is a joy to walk, either up or down, and there is a nice bench for a break if you need it. On this spring day, we were surprised that the park staff has yet to do much clearing along the trail and the grasses and flowers were wild and overflowing and lovely along the path.

At the bottom of the trail, there are a few logs to walk over, arranged conveniently into a rough step like configuration, and the beach stretches to the north and to the south.

We usually walk south, because with the tide out we can walk a greater distance before being stopped by rocky cliffs. The beach shifts and changes with the winds and seasons, and we noticed that the ephemeral brackish water lake was gone, completely erased by tides and winter storms. The large pool was formed by a small stream, emerging from the cliffs, and the water was fresh enough that Abby could swim and even drink.

No more. Now the stream crosses the sand, circumnavigating the large stacks and going directly to the ocean.

My Keen Targhee boots did their job and I crossed the stream without getting the least bit wet. It was just a bit cold for barefoot hiking and wading, so I was glad for dry feet this time.

As I was taking photos, I realized that we rarely do this walk in the early part of the day. Most of my photos of the ocean from this part of the beach are against late afternoon sun. It was a treat to have the sun behind me for a completely different kind of light.

With low tide just an hour or so ahead of us, we saw only one red sea star, too far out to get much of a photo. There have been times when we have seen more than we can count, along with green anemones. It is never the same.

This time the most dramatic find was brilliant green moss on the rocks, soft as velvet, and many different kinds of algae covering the sea stacks, still dripping with seawater.

Just around the corner from the rocky jumble that stopped our walk, is another small beach that lies directly below Mo’s former condo. Sometimes we can negotiate the jumble, but this time it looked daunting so we didn’t bother.

We spent a bit of time wondering at how it might feel to ascent this tram, and remembered climbing steps like these to get to the beach from the condo.

I am not sure exactly where the state park boundary ends on South Beach, but we assume that once there are homes along the cliff above us we are outside the state park and Abby can run and play off leash.

Mo threw the ball for her until Abby finally refused to drop it. I think that was her way of saying she was finally worn out. For 12 years old she does great, and still loves to retrieve the ball, but she is getting a bit slower. Makes me a bit sad. Of course, I am slowing down as well, and that makes me a bit sad too.

Nothing Peaceful about the Pacific

Current location: Harris Beach State Park, Oregon Clear and sunny predicted high 61F

As anyone knows who has lived near the Oregon coast, the Pacific Ocean in this part of the world is anything but peaceful. It is wild, raging, cold, and big. Waves are monumental, even historical in some places. The wind often blows relentlessly, the skies are often stormy, although we have been blessed on this trip with brilliant sunshine.

I never thought much about this face of the ocean until I visited other places where the seas are gentle and the surf laps at white sands like a kitten at milk. Last night when we hiked down to the beach, my first thought as I stepped onto the sand was, “Oh my gosh! I forgot how dark the sand is here!” Before our Florida visit, I never gave it much thought, it was simply ‘sand’. Although as a sand collector, my jars of sands from around the world run the gamut from white to brown to gray to yellow to brilliant red, even black. There is a black sand beach just south of here on the California Lost Coast, so I didn’t have to bring it from Hawaii.

The winds in Brookings were howling yesterday afternoon, with a steady 20 mph blow. The ocean as far as I could see was whipped up into a frothy frenzy, and the waves crashing over the rocks had long veils of wind-whipped mist. It was beautiful, and energizing, wondrous to behold. Not peaceful or necessarily relaxing.

There weren’t many people down on the beach due to the wind, but a few hardy souls braved the wild weather. We saw a young woman get out of her car and climb the big rock overlooking the largest sea stack island on the Oregon Coast, Bird Island, also sometimes called Goat Island. She stood in a few yoga poses, a rather amazing feat in that wind, and then I heard her voice against the wind in prayer.

Down on the beach, a lone woman with gray hair to her hips was raising her arms toward the wild waves and chanting and singing loudly toward the sea, oblivious to us and our dog as we walked behind her in the wind. Crowds are definitely not a problem when visiting the beaches in Oregon. It is always a bit of a shock to me to see people lined up arm to arm with umbrellas and towels on those beautiful white Florida sands vying for space. Not here.

Another difference: both in Texas and Florida, along the Gulf Coast, we found beaches, long level gorgeous beaches where you could walk as far as you could manage. There was nothing to make you actually turn around and walk back. Here, walk one way and get stopped by cliffs, another way the jumble of rocks is too complex to navigate, or the tide has come in and there is another small sea stack blocking your progress. I saw no tide pools in Florida, or in Texas. I saw so many beautiful shells, but no agates or crazy weathered sea rocks.

There are three major routes down to the beach from the campground. The first route is a road, paved, but rather steep, and that route ends at a large parking lot. There is an accessible paved trail down to the sand, restrooms, and picnic tables. From this area, the beach can be accessed either along the paved trail, or to the north down a short rocky walk over huge driftwood logs to the north end of the beach.

The second major route is called the South Beach Trail, another steep, but narrow path that has been partially paved to withstand the severe beach erosion that can destroy it annually. We like the South Beach Trail, and Abby likes it as well because it leads outside the state park boundary and she can be off leash. It is a bit more distant from our campsite, so last night we chose the road to get down to the beach. Walking back up the same way is a boring long steep haul up.

Instead of returning that way, we found the meandering path the winds over rocks and driftwood, and then up another steep and very narrow Rock Beach Trail that ascends an overlook with benches to enjoy the view.

We have hiked down this trail before, but going up was much easier. None of these trails are particularly long, and ‘real’ hikers might get a bit bored with them. We saw plenty of real hikers in the park, loaded down with backpacks, hiking the coast. There are many beautiful, long, and strenuous trails in the vicinity, especially at the nearby Samual Boardman State Park, but we simply haven’t wanted to find them. We come to Harris Beach to relax! No matter how many times we visit, the beach is never the same.

Another fabulous feature of the beaches here is that they are dog friendly. Some areas require leashes, but there are many off leash areas nearby where Abby can run, chase balls into the surf and hike the trails with us on her own. After spending so much time trying to find dog friendly places along the Gulf Coast, it is wonderful to be back in the happy dog land of Oregon

For reasons I cannot begin to fathom, in spite of the high winds above us and around us, our little campsite on the northeast side of the campground was protected. Our awning barely fluttered, and then only now and then. After returning from the beach we couldn’t believe how still the air was in our space. Mo built a nice hot campfire without a bit of trouble from the wind. Above us, we could see the giant spruces whirling around, but the campfire smoke didn’t even go in circles as usual, it rose in a nice column straight up most of the evening. Crazy, but welcome.

September 15 Magical Joseph

Currently in Rocky Point, cloudy breezy and 57 degrees F

For thousands of years, this land has been home to the Nez Perce, “Nimiipuu”. It is a magical place, tucked away in the remote northwest corner of Oregon, off the beaten track. For the past several days, I have been writing about the things to see and do, but in the midst of all the natural beauty, the scenic drive, the magnificent mountains, there is more to this place.

The Nez Perce National Historic Trail begins in this spot, home to Old Chief Joseph, father of the famous Chief Joseph who led his people on a sad but epic journey that ended just 24 miles from the Canadian border, where his band of hungry men, women and children would have found refuge. Old Joseph refused to sell his native lands, fought and signed a treaty that gave the Nez Perce 8 million acres “forever”. Later, when gold was found here, the US Government decided that he should sign a new treaty, giving up his ancestral homeland and 7 million of the original 8 million acres. He refused, and thus began the story that ended with Young Joseph’s famous words, “I will fight no more forever”.

I have traveled through Nez Perce lands ever since I decided back in 1972 that Idaho would be my soul home. Then again in the 80’s I learned much about the people and their land as I worked the Weippe Prairie, the terraces along the Clearwater River, the Camas Prairie, once ancestral grounds covered with gorgeous blue camas that provided rich nutrition for the people.

There is a special site just south of town called Iwetemlaykin, and no, I can’t pronounce it either. Just a small parcel of rolling grassland, near the grave of Old Chief Joseph, 62 acres honoring the ‘place by the lake’ where you can walk the trails in silence and contemplate the land that was taken from the tribe. This land is familiar to me, the Nez Perce story is important to me. I sat for quite some time in Nez Perce photo exhibit on Main Street in Joseph, looking at historic and present day photos of the people. I have danced and sweated with Nez Perce teachers dear to my heart. My old Nez Perce hand drum still sits in a place of honor on my shelf. Maybe that is why it feels so good to be in this part of the world.

Or maybe I am just a sucker for fresh air, clean water, gorgeous mountains, and really cute little shops and restaurants. Yeah, I know, I am a romantic, and Joseph is the perfect place for someone like me.

In addition to the Nez Perce story, however, there is another story from Wallowa County that captured our interest. We read about the Maxville Heritage Center on our way to Joseph, and spent quite a bit of time looking for it. Once located in the town of Wallowa, it is now at a new location in Joseph, next to the Art Center on the north side of town.

Big surprise, the Logger’s Daughter was right there, and met us at the door to share her story and the PBS film that featured her search for the people and history of Maxville. When the Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company from Missouri founded the logging town, it brought African-American families with logging experience from the south to work and live in Maxville.

At that time, Oregon was almost entirely white, and segregation laws were strict. In spite of that, the people worked side by side until the town died and disappeared. Gwen was a delight, and her work and the story of Maxville are a great Oregon treasure.

So many things about Joseph are a surprise. The beautification projects that began more than a decade ago have created a lovely place to walk and enjoy really nice little shops. Almost every restaurant has outdoor seating and is dog friendly. The galleries are gorgeous, and I especially loved the restored bank building that houses the Stewart Jones Designs gallery. There is a chocolate shop with fine artisan chocolate makers, and I tasted a salted caramel right from the melter and had to buy a bunch, at a whopping buck and a quarter each. Worth every penny.

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I had a great birthday breakfast in the Old Town Cafe, enjoying every tasty morsel and the view of the mountains was gorgeous, even under cloudy skies. We visited the gallery housing more of the magnificent bronze sculptures that decorate every corner, with prices ranging from a mere $3,000 to more that $50,000. Who buys this stuff anyway?! The owner said that people come from all over the world to buy bronze in Joseph. In fact, the bronze medallions that decorate the World War II monument in Washington DC came from Valley Bronze in Joseph, Oregon.

The day before, on Saturday, we spent some time at the wonderful farmer’s market, small but still filled with fresh, organic food and local honey and jams. Perfect greens, heirloom tomatoes, fresh flowers, easter egg radishes, tiny little squashes, it was all there to tempt me into filling the small RV fridge to overflowing.

The town itself would be delightful even without the magical setting of the Wallowas and the Zumwalt Prairie to the northeast, the clear Wallowa Lake to the south. I kept looking around wondering why we couldn’t manage somehow to do for Klamath Falls and our lovely old downtown what progressive folks have managed to do for tiny Joseph. I spent a lot of time talking to the shopkeepers about this, asking what was their magical formula.

Sadly, some told me it was their ability to run a business that didn’t have to make a profit that made it work. Most of them had supplemental income and lived and ran a business in Joseph specifically because it was worth it to them to live in such a magical place. The most repeated phrase was, “Everyone here is here because Joseph called to them”. Not many of the shopkeepers were historically local, with the surrounding area populated with ranchers who didn’t actually shop much in town, according to one woman I spoke with.

Still, whatever they have done, we get to reap the benefits of a sweet little place to rest, relax, eat great food, see beautiful art and sculpture, drink in the skies and the views and the history, and leave refreshed and restored in so many ways.

Then again, there is always the story of OR7, or Journey, as he was named by the schoolkids of Oregon.

OR7 was part of the famous Imnaha wolf pack and was for a time the only wolf in the state of California as he journeyed far from home trying to find a mate. OR7 spent some time in the Wood River Valley, in the Cascades near our home, and one dark night, out in the hot tub, Mo and I heard him howl. Last I read, Journey is somewhere nearby in Western Klamath County or Jackson County. Like me, he left his homeland, wandered thousands of miles, and ended up back in Oregon. Gotta love that wolf.

September 14 The Wallowa Lake Tramway

Currently in Rocky Point, it is all the way up to 48 degrees F and there is snow at Crater Lake

Built in 1968, the Wallowa Lake Tramway is the steepest 4 person gondola tramway in North America. Beginning at the south end of Wallowa Lake, at 4,200 feet elevation, it rises 3,700 vertical feet to the top of Howard Mountain at 8,260 feet.

From the top, the views are among the most magnificent in the state of Oregon. There is a small restaurant at the summit and a few nice trails that meander around the peak for about 2.5 miles. Most access into the breathtaking Eagle Cap Wilderness require a lot of miles of hiking and some very steep ascents to reach the high glaciated lakes. Not so if you take the tram and access the wilderness from the top of Mt Howard.

We didn’t see any backpackers on this day, but a friend of mine used to talk about how long it took to get UP in the Eagle Cap and how great the tram was to allow high mountain hiking from the very beginning of a backpack trip. Looked great to me, I’ll tell you!

Of course, we didn’t come to backpack, just to see the views and enjoy the walk and maybe even enjoy a beer and a wild mountain berry cobbler in the restaurant. The regular fee is $27. but for seniors it is a mere $24. Yeah. A bit steep, but worth every penny. It actually costs a bit more than the huge Palm Springs Aerial Tramway that we visited when we were in Desert Hot Springs a couple of years ago. I think that tram was a lot more vertical, but the cages were a lot bigger than these tiny little 4 person gondolas. A different experience entirely.

It was in the low 60’s F, about 12 degrees F colder than the valley below, when we arrived at the summit, just enough that we were still ok in shorts and shirts with no jacket. Still, it is something to be aware of if you want to spend any time at the top and have been warm and toasty down in the campground before your ascent.

The views really are breathtaking, and the trails to each overlook are easy enough that little kids can do it, maybe on the back of a parent some of the time, but there were plenty of families walking the trails. I would have loved to have been prepared, and had the time and the permit to just wander off on the trail that led south into the wilderness. Even for a day if not an overnight. It looked so incredibly inviting.

At the north side, the Valley Overlook has views of Wallowa Lake, Joseph, and Enterprise in the valley below, and the Zumwalt Prairie to the northeast and toward Washington to the northwest. In the somewhat smoky and cloudy skies, I could even make out the dim outline of Moscow Mountain near Moscow, Idaho. I used to sit on that mountain and look toward the Wallowas. I could also see where the Lewiston Hill begins it’s winding descent toward Lewiston, another place where I would look south to the magical outline of the Wallowas and the Blue Mountains. It was nice to be here again looking north. The last time I was in the Wallowas was in 1979, in another life completely.

Also at the north view was a jump-off spot for hang gliding launches. I used to think I wanted to do that, but lately that particular item has drifted to the very bottom of my bucket list. After looking at that drop, I sort of dumped it out of the bucket altogether. There were lots of people taking photos, and of course, you know how it goes. Someone walks up to a couple and says, “Do you want me to take your photo together?” The same person taking this photo of this happy couple said it to us, but we declined. Just how many photos of the two of us with a gorgeous view in the background can we keep anyway. I think these shots are kind of like the shots I get of the front of my kayak on the water that my daughter always laughs at. Water, Sky, Mountains, and oh…the pink triangle of the front of my boat.

everyone wants a photo from this spot Just a little aside here: you know how some people have lives that are linked together through the years? Mine doesn’t seem to do that very well, and it seems I have lived a lot of different, unrelated lives in this one. With no real extended family, the only links that connect all these different phases of my life are with my friend Maryruth and my children, which I had when I was almost a child myself. Maryruth and I will celebrate 50 years of friendship next month. Maryruth and her husband Gerald, and Mo and I are all going to spend a few days together at Harris Beach. UhOh, more Harris Beach photos will be coming up I am sure! Wallowa Lake Tram-025

While the tram ride is just a short 15 minutes, it is easy to spend a few hours wandering around, drinking in the views, and sipping a beer to celebrate once you are up there. I am not sure I would have to do it every time I decided to visit Joseph and Wallowa Lake, but I would definitely not want to miss doing it at least once.

More photos from our day at the top of the mountain are linked here.