Saturday Market--Portland Style

We were planning a bike ride along the river today, but it was so hot we decided to drive to the Saturday Market instead. That's right--the Saturday Market runs on Sundays too. It's a giant crafts fair downtown. We ate, strolled around, and then decided to head to Powell's Books, a huge bookstore with a little something for everyone.

The biggest excitement of the day was actually finding a parking lot with a space big enough for our truck! Chris suggested that we might want to take the bus downtown next time to avoid the hassle of searching for a space that will accommodate a ginormous dually.

Our truck stuck out a little more than the cars in the lot we found, but vehicle could get by.

I didn't feel great today--possibly I ate something that disagreed with me yesterday. Maybe a good night's sleep will help.
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Mt. Saint Helens!

We set out this morning towards the volcano, stopping along the way at view points and visitor centers. We learned a lot about the eruption and were awed by the power of the volcano.

Chris, Annie and Lee stopped with Sweetie to take in the view of the volcano from one of the viewpoints.

We enjoyed the flowers and the view of Mount St. Helens from the Forest Learning Center.

The Spirit Highway, State Hwy 504, ends at the Johnston Ridge Visitor Center. It looks like you could almost reach out and touch the mountain, but it is actually over 5 miles away. That distance wasn't enough to save it from the "wind of rocks" that devastated a large blast zone. The whole north side of the peak blew away, two new lakes were created, mud and ash flows choked the Toutle River, and millions of trees were flattened or destroyed. Over 50 people were killed.

The landscape today is quiet, but the evidence of the volcano's power is everywhere. The video recreation of the May 18, 1980, eruption shown at the Johnston Ridge center is a powerful experience for the viewer, capped by the raising of the curtain to reveal Mount St. Helens itself, presiding over the surrounding landscape, projecting ominous power.

Loowit Viewpoint gave us a good view of the north side of the volcano and some of the destruction it caused.

The chipmunk was very comfortable being close to us humans, but it turned cautious when Lee brought Sweetie around.

We got a good look at a pair of barn swallows very close to where we had seen the eagle.

The lakes near the volcano gave us pleasant places to take breaks along the drive to the volcano. Ken, Annie and Chris particularly liked this spot at Coldwater Lake.

It was a long day, and we were all tired but impressed, when we returned to camp. After dinner Ken lit a campfire and we settled in to absorb the experience.
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An Excursion

After only a few days at Sandy Riverfront, we packed up this morning and headed into Portland to pick up Chris and Annie for a trip north to visit Mount St. Helens. We are staying at Seaquest State Park, a lovely wooded park just across the highway from the first visitor center for Mount St. Helens, adjacent to Silver Lake.

I wish I could say we pulled into our spot and set up camp in record time. Actually it took a couple of hours before Ken maneuvered the rig into our assigned campsite (#15). It was worth the trouble--we had a lovely wooded site with picnic table and fire ring. After lunch we headed over to the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center and viewed the displays.

Then we walked the one mile trail around Silver Lake, much of which was on a boardwalk over the lake. We saw lots of birds, including a bald eagle in flight, and many water plants in the shallow lake.

The eagle was impressive flying over the lake, but the longest look at it we got was when it was sitting in this tree a few feet above its nest.

We found a lot of these yellow flowers in the lake. We're not sure what they are.

We had egg salad sandwiches for lunch and veggie chili for supper.
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Columbia River Gorge

Today we planned to drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway to see the sights, and especially the many waterfalls. First we stopped at the Portland Women's Forum State Park, where there is a magnificent vista of the Columbia River, Rooster Rock, and Crown Point upstream. Next we stopped at Vista House at Crown Point State Park, 633 feet above the river. From the balcony you can see a 30 mile view of the gorge. Our first waterfall was next: Latourell Falls plunges 249 feet. Just up the road is Shepperds Dell, which falls in two sections, hitting rocks and sending up spray to make a show.

Next we came to Bridal Veil Falls, another tiered falls. This one required a short hike, which Chris, Annie, and I made while Ken waited at the parking area and took photos.

The next falls heading east is Wakeena. The parking area was full, with cars stacked up along the very narrow highway. I dropped Ken, Chris, and Annie off and went to find a parking place, heading east along the highway. They took the short hike up to see the fan shaped falls.

Did I mention it's Memorial Day? And that I'm driving a ginormous wide dually truck? I sat in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic (mainly stopped)for the .5 miles to Multnomah Falls, the highest in the gorge and second highest year round falls in the country. Apparently way more people wanted to see it than there was parking space for. Clearly there was no way I was going to find a parking place for the truck, so I took the first opportunity to turn around and headed back towards Wakeena. Desperate people were parking half on the roadway, so the oncoming traffic was over the center line. My rear passenger side dually tire was an inch from the curb (overlooking the drop into the gorge....) as I inched through some extremely narrow spaces. When I got back to the Wakeena parking area, the entrance was at too sharp an angle to pull in, so I had to continue another quarter mile looking for a turn around opportunity before driving back to pick up the rest.

That was a very harrowing half hour for me, and we decided to turn back rather than try to get through the traffic jam. Ken took the wheel, and we decided to try the Larch Mountain Road, which offers a view of five mountains from the top. Chris noticed a sign saying it was closed at mile 10 due to snow, but we discounted it (snow? what snow?). When we got to mile 10, the gate was closed, so we turned around and consoled ourselves that the drive through the trees was pretty.... We'll go back another time.

Back at home we ate some leftovers. Then Chris and Annie and I biked over to the nearby community park and walked down to the Big Sandy River, where people were picnicking and playing in the water along a sandy beach. A rescue crew was on hand, offering free life jacket use for children. Signs warned of the shifting bottom, sharp rocks, swift currents, and broken glass and said you could swim at your own risk. It was both risking and nearly freezing water (46 degrees), but there were some people in the water. We poked our toes in and shivered. We came home and played games for a while. Then Chris and Annie packed up and we headed into Portland for dinner at Annie's favorite restaurant, Vege Thai, where Annie had her usual Pad Thai with TOFU and the rest of us shared Pineapple Fried Rice with Soy Shrimp and Massaman Curry with brown rice. All the dishes were good, but we really liked the Pad Thai noodles in peanut sauce that Annie shared with us. She was happy to share as long as we didn't take any of her favorite part, the tofu.

We strolled around the Hawthorne District, checking out vintage and dollar stores, until we were ready for dessert crepes at Chez Machin, a real taste treat. When we got back to their house, Annie's mom Edie had returned from Milwaukee, so they had a happy reunion. We made plans to pick them up Wednesday morning for our trip to Mount Saint Helens. It's going to require some tactical planning, because Venture is way too tall to get into their neighborhood. Ladd's Addition is full of lovely elm trees with low overhanging branches.
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Blue Lake Park

Chris opened his eyes several times this morning, but went back to sleep every time until after 9 a.m. We figured he could use the time to get over jet lag from taking a trip to Chicago the day he returned from his trip to Hawaii. After a late breakfast we headed out to a nearby regional metro park, Blue Lake, to bike and explore and play at the beach. We had to make two trips to get all four bikes and four people to the park.

The park is spread out along the lake, with picnic areas and paths and paddle boats. Memorial Day weekend found lots of people out to enjoy the sunny day, but it was not overcrowded. We rode around exploring, and finally came to a less traveled wetlands area where bird and wildlife viewing are possible. We saw lots of plants, including lily pads and wild iris.

After a picnic lunch we moved to the beach, where Chris and Annie braved the water, while Ken and I were content to watch from shore. Actually, Chris and Annie mostly waded, and then Annie played in the sand. After a pleasant day a the park we came home and fixed tostadas and burritos for supper.

We set up our chairs behind Venture, looking down the bluff at the creek below, and played a couple of card games (Circus Flohcati and Coloretto) before the chill evening air drove us inside.
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Chris Returns

Annie and I headed out for her music lessons this morning, leaving Ken to guard the fort and take care of Sweetie. After her music skills lesson and violin lesson, we drove to a nearby cafe where we met Chris for lunch. He had flown in from Chicago around 10:30 a.m. and taken a cab home, where he discovered that he didn't have his keys, so he stashed his stuff and walked to the cafe, only to find that Annie didn't have her key either--it was on Ken's key ring. Fortunately their landlord was at the house and left a spare key under the mat, so we were able to get in to pack things for them to come stay in Troutdale for the holiday weekend.

We decided that since it was late afternoon a suitable adventure would be to bike into the historic section of Troutdale and walk along looking at the shops. Many were closed since it was later on Saturday afternoon, but we did get a chance to see some interesting artwork and Amish furniture.

Back at the rig we ate supper and played some games before turning in early.
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Sweetie Visits the Vet

This morning we got Annie off to school and then it was time to take Sweetie in for her vet appointment at the Powell Boulevard Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Felton prescribed some antibiotics and probiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine for her, which we hope will make her more comfortable and help her regain some weight. She was down from 17 pounds to 10.1, which is a pretty substantial loss for such a small dog. She's clearly showing her age. Dr. Felton was very gentle and understanding with her.

During the day we walked to the circle and to the East Rose Garden, both within yards of the house. The day was sunny and and the flowers spectacular. We called Jenske to wish her a happy birthday. It's always good to hear her voice, and we're looking forward to seeing her and Wes and our other friends in July.

We picked Annie up from Poekoelan again and headed out to Sandy Riverfront again. We'd gotten a call during the day to let us know we had a flat tire on Venture. It turned out to be a nail embedded in the tire, and Ken got out the compressor to refill it temporarily until we could get it repaired.

We had spaghetti, mixed veggies, cole slaw, and fresh pineapple for dinner. Annie especially appreciated the pasta and pineapple.

Sweetie took her medicine with no trouble after I wrapped the pills in cheese, covered them with turkey baby food, and sprinkled on the probiotics. She licked her dish and looked around for more even.
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Solar! and On to Portland

This morning we rolled out of the AM Solar bay, and the four solar panels immediately sprang into action, charging our new batteries. Michael said that all was well and we were good to go. We checked out with Deb, and by 11 a.m. we were on our way to Portland.

On the way we stopped at Corvallis at a shop called the Rain Shed to buy some fabric for a bike cover. That took us a bit off our route, and nearly resulted in damage to our new solar panels--oh no! We tangled with some tree branches when we parked in front of the shop, and I had to get up on the roof and cut them back to free us up. Fortunately there was no significant damage (what a relief!), and after a quick lunch we were on the road again to Portland. As we neared the city we were impressed by the sight of Mount Hood, cone shaped and covered in snow and ice, rising above the horizon off to the east.

We made the mistake of taking I-5 through Portland to I-84 at 3 p.m., so our first views of this lovely city were marred by our anxiety to get through the rush hour traffic in time to set up camp and pick up my granddaughter, Annie, before 6 p.m.

Our campground is actually in Troutdale, east of Portland and at the gateway to the Columbia River Gorge. We rolled in around 4 p.m., set up camp quickly, and headed in to Portland to pick up Annie from her after school Poekoelan class. Luckily we made it in time and then headed over to her house to spend the night.

Chris called from Hawaii to check on our progress and to talk with Annie. I made some tomato bean soup to go with the leftover pizza we found in the fridge. The cats, Phoebe and Violet, were glad to see Annie but a bit leery of Sweetie.
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Go, Ducks!

While Chris and Jason worked on our solar installation today, we went to the University of Oregon in Eugene. We were drawn to the Museum of Natural and Cultural History by the nature photograph exhibition entitled A Myriad of Wildflowers & Leaves by Don Lown.

Afterwards we went on a tour of the university led by a graduating senior named Rebecca. The tour appears aimed at prospective students rather than the general public, but we did see some interesting things, including Hayward Field. Eugene is known as "Track Town USA" and has been the venue for the Olympic trials in track and field several times. One of its legendary coaches cofounded Nike--he developed special shoes for his track star, Steve Prefontaine.

In line with Oregon's green image, the campus features a new green business building, the Lillis complex, which caught our attention because of the incorporation of solar cells in the glass facade and roof.


We stopped at Market of Choice, which Debs at AM Solar had recommended, and picked up several things, including fresh corn on the cob, which we had for dinner along with steak (for me)) and chicken breast (for Ken).
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AM Solar

We've been anticipating this day for three months, since we made our appointment to have a solar system installed in Venture. We finally met Deb Holder, co-owner, with whom we've been emailing for those three months, and she introduced us to Mike and Jason, the techs who are doing the custom installation of our system. We had already decided to get a four-panel Sun Runner system with a 2000 watt inverter and four AGM deep cycle batteries. The battery compartment had to be relocated to the front compartment (along with the inverter), since the current battery compartment will hold only two batteries. This will be a two-day job, and we're eager to see the results.

The AM Solar facility is new and modern, with a nice customer lounge and bath including shower. We have a 50 amp electric hookup, and the building is set back from the road and looks out on water.

Today was chilly and overcast,with scattered showers. We took Sweetie to the Wash Your Dog Spot and bathed her. Not her favorite thing to do, but it was convenient to have her tethered in a waist high tub with all the accessories around.
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Market Day

We had a busy day today. First we went to the Saturday Market near downtown Eugene. It's part farmers' market, part crafts etc. There's not much ripe in Oregon yet, but we did get some rainbow chard which we had braised for dinner. We ate some Farmer's Quiche at the Field to Table booth, served with baby greens with feta, spiced hazelnuts, and roasted beet dressing--all quite yummy.

After going home to put our purchases away and take Sweetie out, we headed to Cuthbert Amphitheater for the Willamette Valley Music Fest. The locale is quite attractive, and we enjoyed the people watching and music.

The setting reminded us a little of the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

Was it the music or the people watching that led to her smile?

After dinner we went to see Oliver! at a small community theater nearby. It turned out to be a youth production (all the roles were played by middle school and high school students). Some were quite talented, and the performance was enjoyable. The venue was small and rather primitive. We sat on wooden bleachers (the reserved section on the floor in front was folding chairs). Of course lots of approving parents were there to applaud their kids' efforts.

We walked around the RV park this morning to see the flowers in bloom, including some really spectacular German irises. Some of the RV spaces are actually riverfront, with trees and grass and picnic tables (unlike the parking lot we're in).

The photo doesn't show it, but some of the iris were larger than we've ever seen.

Our parking lot.

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Arrival in Eugene

This morning we packed up and left the Florence Elks Recreation Park, which we had enjoyed for four nights, and moved to Eugene. We stopped first at the Eugene Elks Lodge, but there were no suitable spaces open, so we went on to our second choice, a mobile home and RV park on the Willamette River. The RV spaces are actually near the inevitable railroad tracks and barely large enough for our rig, but we don't expect to be sticking around here very much, since we have lots of plans.

Tonight, to celebrate Ken's birthday, we attended a performance at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. We actually dressed up--good thing too, since people in Eugene (unlike many in LA) actually dress up to go to the theater.

The show, called Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway featured five Broadway singers: Steve Blanchard, Carter Calvert, John Jeffrey Martin, Rita Harvey and Brad Little. All of them have starred in multiple Broadway hits. Brad Little, for example, has starred as the Phantom more than 2100 performances. Rita Harvey sings opera as well as Broadway musicals, and she has an amazing trained soprano voice. One of our favorite pieces was Steve Blanchard singing Don Quixote and Brad Little singing Sancho Panza in a duet from Man of La Mancha.

For dinner we had roast chicken, baked potato, broccoli, and salad, with chocolate brownie, strawberries, and whipped cream for dessert later.
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Happy Birthday, Ken!

Ken turned 64 today, and a beautiful day it was! We strolled around the waterfront and Old Town Florence, checking out the historical buildings and the little shops. The sun shone on the water, and the rhododendron blossoms caught our eye everywhere we looked. This weekend is the annual "Rhody Days" and car show in Florence, but we're heading over to Eugene tomorrow. We have our choice of things to do in the Eugene area--too many choices, actually. We're planning to attend a show tomorrow night in honor of the birthday boy.

The highway from the south enters Florence across one of the many bridges along the Oregon coast.

Not all of Old Town's original buildings have survived. There's not much left of the restaurant that once sat here over the Siuslaw river.

Beautiful rhododendrons are found all over town

The old man's sexy wife caught him grinning at her.

In lieu of birthday cake tonight we had hot fudge brownie sundaes, one of Ken's favorites. We're in a poor cell phone reception area, but Ken got some birthday wishes in his voicemail and some cute e-cards and e-mails. It was good to hear from friends and family. Our snail mail chases us, so it will be next week before he gets any mail.

We did the laundry today. Somehow bathing Sweetie just didn't fit into the day, so she's escaped one of her least favorite activities, at least for today.

I finally made a decision about which GPS unit to buy and placed an order for it and for accessories. Taking advantage of having Chris's address available for deliveries over the next month, I ordered some shoes and a couple of other items too.
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Tidepools and (Another) Lighthouse

Today's weather forecast called for rain after 11 a.m., so we thought we were safe in planning a tidepooling trip for the morning. Low tide was at 9:52 at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area in the Siuslaw National Forest, so we left home at 8:30 and drove up the coast. When we got to the visitor center it was closed, but we were lucky enough to run into some rangers who told us where the trail to the tidepools was.

Called the Captain Cook Trail, it led under the highway to a rocky shore, full of pools among the rocks. We had a minus tide--the low tide mark was -0.4 ft., so lots of shoreline was exposed. We used our hiking poles to stabilize ourselves as we scrambled among the rocks. And by the way, the rain didn't hold off for the after 11 forecast time, so it was sprinkling on us, and there was a chill breeze, but we were somewhat prepared with our warmest layers.

At first we didn't see much, but then as we got nearer the ocean, the rocks and pools were full of life. Thousands of mussels and barnacles clung to the rocks, and we saw blue green anemones by the hundreds in the pools. Everywhere we looked, something was growing. The starfish were huge. As I was picking my way around the first pool where Ken had spotted a starfish, there was a sudden whooshing sound that surprised me. We finally figured out that it must be a small spout, formed when waves force water through a narrow opening.

Lee's looking for a good tide pool.

Ready to head back to our truck.

The starfish we saw were purple, blue, or orange.

We saw green sea anemones open in the tide pools and closed up above the water line.

Chilled but happy, we headed up to the now-open visitor center, where we watched a short video on the tidal area. Then we went back down the coast to Heceta Head Lightstation, a half mile uphill hike from the parking area. The lighthouse is very similar to Umpqua, since it was built at the same time and from the same plans, but it has an English made Fresnel lens, which is accessed from the side instead of below, so we couldn't climb up into the lens. Ken got a shot from below. A few years ago some of the crystals fell during a routine cleaning, and it cost $25,000 to replace them. The signature of this lighthouse is white flashes at 10 second intervals.

This lighthouse uses a lens of the same design as that of the Umqua Lighthouse that we visited a couple of days ago, except that all the lens elements are clear instead of a combination of clear and red.

When we got back home, we turned up the heat and made hot veggie soup for lunch with cheesy bread and hot drinks.
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Carnivorous Plants!

When we woke up today the sun was shining, but it's showered on and off. We took some of our stuff we had culled out to the Elks thrift shop in town. While we were there of course we picked up a few things, a book and some cd's (a 3-disc set of Willie Nelson and a Boston Pops showtunes selections by John Williams, and an audiobook of a Fannie Flagg novel). The book we'll read and pass on, and the cd's will get removed from their jackets and put in a large cd holder, so they won't add much weight. On the way home we stopped at a car wash that also has a do-it-yourself dog wash. We're going to try bathing Sweetie there--just put another quarter in when the machine buzzes.

After lunch we drove around the area and stopped at the Darlingtonia State Natural Area, an 18-acre state park dedicated to the preservation of a carnivorous plant, also called the California pitcher plant. It snares unwary insects and draws them into its hollow stem, where they fall into some liquid at the bottom and are "digested" by bacteria into nitrogen for the plants' use.


For supper we had cranberry ginger salmon with rice and mixed veggies and salad.
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Elks RV Resort

Today we moved to Florence, on the Oregon coast, to the Elks Mercer Lake Recreation Park. We're in a lovely spot with rhododendrons in bloom and surrounded by trees--very different from the usual Elks camping in the parking lot we've experienced before. Ken spotted an unusual bird outside near the rig that looked like a woodpecker--but it was pecking the ground. We checked it out in our bird guide, and it was probably a Northern Flicker, a woodpecker that often feeds on the ground, looking for ants.

Out our front door is a border of azaleas and other plants, and then an expanse of lawn. Very attractive!

Because of the way the sites are laid out, we have no other RVs right next to ours.

On the way north we stopped at the Umpqua River Lighthouse near Reedsport. Its characteristic signal is a red flash followed by two white flashes. The highlight of the tour was a chance to climb up and look inside the first order Fresnel lens with its brilliant red bullseyes. The red glass was formed by adding gold to the glass and heating it.

The lighthouse stands next to the homes of Coast Guard families.

The Fresnel lens started beaming the red and white signals out to sea in 1894.

The lighthouse is featured on its own stamp.

We set up our HughesNet internet dish for the first time in almost a month. We've been in places that had good wi-fi, or only stayed a day or two (not worth setting the dish up for that short time), or not had a view of the southern sky. Bummer, since that means we've paid $69.99 for nothing! It took over an hour again. First the cables on the LNB had lost their color coding (Ken figured it out and marked them again). Then we had a cabling problem (the two sections of cable are joined by barrel connectors that regularly work loose). Then we apparently set it up pointing at a tree the first two locations. Finally on the third try we got a good signal.
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Pinnipeds and Waterfalls

After breakfast we headed out to Simpson Reef Overlook, armed with our binoculars, the spotter scope and tripod, and camera and tripod. When we arrived, the SEA (Shoreline Education for Awareness) volunteer docents had set up three scopes and were available to answer questions about the critters. They noticed Ken's Excel cap and struck up a conversation, since they are fellow Excel owners. We had noticed their rig at Sunset Bay State Park Campground yesterday.

We were able to observe the pinnepeds--fin-footed semi-aquatic mammals. Harbor seals, California sea lions, Stellar sea lions, and elephant seals use the reef and Shell Island as a haulout area to rest. We saw harbor seal mothers with their pups--very cute to watch.

Sometimes it was hard to tell the pinnipeds from the rocks.

Speaking of mothers, today is Mothers' Day, and all of my kids called to wish me a happy day. When Chris called, Annie was on the line too, so I heard a chorus of "Happy Mothers' Day!"

At the reef we saw some sea birds on the rocks, too, including pelagic cormorants and Western seagulls, but we didn't stay too long. The overlook is exposed to the wind and damp from the ocean, and the sun was not out, so it was rather chilly.

Later in the afternoon, when the sun had come out and warmed things up a bit, we headed for Golden and Silver Falls State Natural Area, about 25 miles northeast of Coos Bay. The trip there was an adventure, since the last several miles are on a narrow, winding, gravel road. When he saw Sweetie, one of the other visitors showed off his 7-month-old miniature Dachshund--a real little hot dog!

The hike to the base of Silver Falls was an easy one, and our first view of the falls took our breath away. Water pours over the cliff and breaks into spray, so no actual flowing water lands at the base--quite a spectacular sight.

We took the wrong fork in trying to return to the parking lot for another short hike to the base of Golden Falls. We were talking as we walked along so it was a while before we noticed that the trail we were following was not familiar. We ended up at the top of Golden Falls, looking down into the gorge. It was a longer hike than Ken had intended to take, but we made it back to the parking lot, where Sweetie was waiting for us in the truck.

The view at the top of Golden Falls.

Lee is just out of reach of the mist at the foot of Silver Falls.

One thing we noticed in Coos Bay was the interesting coffeeshop names, like "Java the Hut," "The Human Bean," and "Java Jones Coffee House and Art Gallery." We often spot cleverly named shops on our travels--one of the perks of being on the road.

For dinner we had poached eggs in Mexican sauce--a recipe I had noticed on the RV Times website this morning--very good!
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Getting to Know Coos Bay

After breakfast we drove south to the three adjacent state parks that occupy Cape Arago. The first park we came to was a Coos County park (Bastendorff Beach County Park) with an RV campground, so we drove in to look around. Very few of the sites were large enough to fit our rig, and with no reservations, we couldn't count on one of them being empty. We drove on to Sunset Bay State Park and looked through the campground there too. Again most of the sites were too small for us . . . We decided to stay where we are another day and then head north.

The next park we came to was Shore Acres State Park, best known for its formal gardens. Louis Simpson, entrepreneur, shipbuilder, and lumberman, built a mansion and had exotic plants brought in from around the world for his gardens. His estate was purchased by the state of Oregon in 1942. Today the azaleas and rhododendrons dominated, along with lots of annuals.

Some of the most striking flowers in the garden were iris.

A monkey puzzle tree caught our eyes.

We stopped at vista points along the way. From one we had a good view of the Cape Arago Lighthouse (which is not open to visitors). At another we spotted some pigeon guillemots swimming around and sitting on the rocks in pairs. The swimming birds were particularly eye catching with their white wing patches and red feet and legs.

Cape Arago Lighthouse

The coastline looking south from a viewpoint south of the lighthouse.

Next driving south we came to the Simpson Reef Overlook, from which we could see (and hear) hundreds of sea lions. We're planning to go back tomorrow with our spotting scope to see the birds and animals closer up.

Sea lions were all over the rocks below the overlook.

The last park in the group is the Cape Arago State Park, where we hiked down to the beach to have a look at the intertidal pools. Unfortunately the tide was in, so we didn't see much tide pool life, but the views were still quite something. One area of the shore was all layered rock that had been thrust up by earthquakes so the layers are now visible on the surface.

Then we drove into the city of Coos Bay and visited the Oregon Connection, a myrtlewood factory and gift shop. After watching a short video about the factory, we walked through it, but no one was working on Saturday. Then we visited the snack shop and turned in our coupons for free (very small) ice cream cones. Ken had Oregon's 150 with huckleberry, honey, and hazelnut flavors, and I had Ol' South Fudge Pie with mocha, chocolate cookie bits, and chocolate chips.

Next we drove to the First Presbyterian Church, which Ken pastored, but the building is now empty--the church has moved to a new location. Ken wasn't sure he could find his old home, but he actually drove nearly straight there. It sits on a hillside and has a deck overlooking the Coos Bay (albeit through some trees).

For dinner we had turkey burgers, carrot salad, and broccoli, onion, garbanzo soup (of course I adapted this recipe--used carrots in addition to the broccoli, since I didn't have that much broccoli, and only one onion . . .). Ken actually agreed that it wasn't bad (and he really appreciated the burger and carrot salad).
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Coos Bay

We moved 50 miles north along the coast to Coos Bay today, a town where Ken lived in the 1980s. The town is dominated by the waterfront, and we saw a large lumbermill on the way into town.

We're in a park with Wi-Fi, so we have a much faster and more reliable internet connection now. It's a small private park with lots of permanent residents and not nearly as inviting as Cape Blanco State Park, but at least it has a sewer connection--something we really needed after a week with no hookups.

This morning I walked along the Coastal Trail for a bit and stood on an overlook watching the waves break on the shore.

Tonight we are watching The Diary of Anne Frank on Fox Movie Channel. They show their classic movies uninterrupted by commercials. It's heart wrenching and tense.
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Cape Blanco Lighthouse

Today we finally got to visit the lighthouse that we've been watching from a distance. The day was sunny and beautiful, in contrast to the weather earlier in the week. The staff at the lighthouse told us that the winds on Monday were sustained at 80 mph--hurricane speed. Fortunately for us, the campground was sheltered from the worst of it. The lighthouse has weathered many storms over the years.

The lighthouse tour started at the Greeting Center.

The views were impressive both north and south of the lighthouse. This is to the south.

We were accompanied on our tour by a couple who had a "puppy in training" to be a guide dog for the blind. The 10 month old golden retriever behaved admirably and made the climb up open iron stairs without fear.

From the top of the lighthouse, where the large Fresnel lens shines, we could see miles away--and also down to the rocky shoals that pose such a hazard for ships.

This morning when I went our for my walk, the sun was shining, the robins were hopping about, and there were bunnies everywhere.

One of the volunteer couples at the lighthouse are fellow Excel owners, and we spent some time talking with them about their workkamping experiences.
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Oregon=Rain!

We've been at Cape Blanco State Park since Sunday, waiting to visit the lighthouse, which has been shrouded in rain and fog. Tomorrow looks to be another cold rainy day, probably good for doing laundry and not much else. We're also waiting for our forwarded mail to arrive at General Delivery at the Port Orford Post Office.

We visited the Hughes House, a beautifully restored Victorian home built in 1898 by a successful local dairyman and his wife, with all the latest conveniences of the day. The family sold the house and land to the State of Oregon in 1971, and it forms the bulk of the current state park.

The cold rainy weather seems appropriate for a sad day: today is the second anniversary of my mom's death. I talked with her last remaining sister, my Aunt Iris, today. She is just recovering from a bad fall down a flight of steps at church and has a way to go before she'll be back to her usual busy self.

Tonight for dinner we had the last of the delicious roast pork from the Park Sierra Easter dinner, with sauerkraut,and definitely delicious.
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Move to Cape Blanco State Park

We left Gold Beach this morning headed north along the coast on Hwy 101 to Cape Blanco State Park, intending to visit the Cape Blanco Lighthouse tomorrow. Oops, it's closed on Mondays, so we'll hang around a day and see it on Tuesday.

The campground is wonderful, with large sites and lots of greenery to provide privacy. It looks like most of it may be large berry bushes. Another case of poor timing, since the berries don't ripen until late summer (and I love berries!).

We like the seclusion provided by the trees and shrubs.

Our campsite has a wide grassy area right outside our door--open but surrounded by the woods.

We tried our best to find a site that would offer a view of the southern sky so we could set up our HughesNet dish, but no luck. The elevation is only 29 degrees, and we're surrounded by trees. Fortunately, the Verizon modem is working, though a bit slowly and unevenly.
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Goldrush Art Festival

We left Crescent City about 11:30 a.m. and headed towards Brookings, OR. When we crossed the border into Oregon, we stopped at the Oregon State Parks Welcome Center and picked up an Oregon map. This is my first visit here, but Ken lived in Oregon for some time during the 1980s. He recalled eating some great clam chowder in Brookings, so we stopped at the Beachcomber Restaurant for lunch and enjoyed the clam chowder and fish and chips.

Then we moved on to Gold Beach, where the Goldrush Art Festival is underway. We set up camp at Secret Camp RV & Tent Park just outside of town, along the Rogue River, in a lovely pull through under the trees, and then headed into town. First we stopped at the Rogue River Myrtlewood Shop and Factory, where we admired the myrtlewood lighthouses and many other gift and home decor items made of this evergreen tree native to northern California and the Oregon coast.

We went to Gold Beach Books, Biscuit Art Gallery & Biscuit Coffeehouse for a presentation that was part of the Goldrush Art Festival: The Art of China: Brush Calligraphy, the Dance of Tai Ji, and Symbolic Metaphors. We weren't sure what to expect, but we certainly weren't disappointed. Chungliang Al Huang, the presenter, is "the founder-president of the Living Tao Foundation. A philosopher, artist-calligrapher, bamboo flute player, and Tai Ji master-mentor . . . ."


He demonstrated brush calligraphy, showing how the brush strokes embody the visual or emotional depiction of concepts like human, heart, Tao, nature. He went beyond the Chinese character to the body movements/dance that it inspires to the philosophy it expresses--bringing oppositions into unity (not Yin and Yang, but Yin Yang, an integration of body and mind, male and female, sky and earth.

The bookstore was quite impressive--a large collection of both new and used books, with an art gallery integrated--and of course the coffeeshop. Ken wistfully suggested maybe we could get a trailer to put behind Venture just to carry books . . . .

By the way, we decided to stop before reaching Humbug Mountain State Park so we would be closer to Gold Beach. One advantage of our lifestyle is that we generally have lots of freedom to change our minds!

We finally had the experience of breaking camp in a real shower, so our raincoats came in handy. The weather on the Oregon coast is as wet and chilly as Ken remembers it. Rain is expected the next five days, with highs in the very low 50s (brrrrr--that's cold for Southern Californians!).

For dinner we had chicken enchiladas, refried black beans, and green bean/corn/red pepper mix with lime cole slaw.
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Rainy Day

Another cocooning day--too wet to go outside, so we did some planning and worked on reducing the weight of the trailer (Ken: "Do we really need all these paper clips and post-it notes?" Lee: "Well, maybe we could spare some....").

Tomorrow we'll be moving on to Humbug Mountain State Park (wonder how it got that strange name....). On the way we plan to stop in Brookings, OR. Ken has some fond memories of eating clam chowder there, so we'll stop for lunch.

For dinner I roasted a chicken, which came out moist and delicious, and served it with stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. Yum.
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