TUESDAY, SEPT 2

TUESDAY, SEPT 2: 

     Left shortly after 10.  This was a very nice park to stay a few days – clean, tidy, very nice & helpful managers.  The only bad taste – their ridiculous sign in the dog-walking area! 

                                                                 

     Another sunny, warm day when we left.  A nice drive down Hwy 101.   We made a detour at Camp Blanco, about 80 miles south of Florence, to see the lighthouse there – the southernmost one on the Oregon coast, and the oldest – commissioned in 1870.   As soon as we opened the truck doors in the parking lot, we were almost knocked over by the wind!  We thought yesterday afternoon was windy – was nothing compared to this – Bill thought probably gale force.  Since this is the most westerly point of the Oregon coast, it gets slammed with wind.    

     But we braved it to walk up the hill to the lighthouse.  And what a reward!  Unparalleled, magnificent views of rock, foam, gorgeous blue water.  The contrast between the unsculpted wildness of the sea pounding the rocks offshore and the subdued artistry of the scalloped edges of the shoreline is part of what makes a scene like this so mesmerizing.

          

     Too bad it was so windy – we could have pulled our chairs out and had lunch overlooking this sublime scene.  We both remarked that if it were this windy in the summertime, we could only imagine what it might be like during a winter storm!  During the long winters, it must have often felt like a very desolate place for the lightkeepers and their families.

     As we continued driving south, we came upon some of the most scenic stretches of this highway so far. Cliffs hewn out of the rock right down to the shore, piled up driftwood, and such a deep indigo blue ocean.  What a gift that it’s so clear, and we can see this splendor at its most dazzling.

                                                        

           

     We’d booked an overnight spot at a campground that had high reviews in the town of Gold Beach, not far from the California border.  Arrived around 3:00.  Was a little off the beaten path – but what a hidden gem!  It bills itself as an RV Resort, and, even though it looks like there are quite a few permanent or semi-permanent residents, it lives up to that billing.  Right on the Rogue River, although this must be a tributary, as it’s pretty small, and we assume that the RV park takes its name from it – Kimball Creek Bend.  The “resort” is huge – Bill thinks around 20 acres.  So the sites are all spread out, with lots of grassy common areas spread out amongst the sites.  Shade trees everywhere.  It’s a blend of the best of “RV parks” – e.g., WiFi, very clean, spacious restrooms, pull-thru sites, and “campgrounds” – e.g., generous spacing of sites, very natural, rustic feel.  Reminded us of the other “resort” we stayed at, near Sedona.   If we didn’t have our rafting trip booked for Friday and wanted a cushion day at Grants Pass before that trip, we’d be tempted to stay here an extra day and just sit by the river relaxing or taking the kayaks out. 

                                                    

 

Had our leftover Margherita pizza & a salad for dinner.  Getting pretty dark now by 8:30.  Summer’s definitely waning.                

 

                                        

     

MONDAY, SEPT 1

MONDAY, SEPT 1:

      Who gets to wake up to BLUE sky on the Oregon coast??  We do!!   

      So after breakfast, we grabbed our books, threw in some snacks, and headed back up to Heceta Head.  We knew it should be low tide when we arrived, which would give us a chance to explore some places we couldn’t yesterday.  No tide pools to speak of, but we did explore several sea caves carved out amongst the rocks, a couple of which looked like real grottos – moss hanging, etc.

                                                                 

                                                       
                                                    

 

 

 

We later asked a Ranger if sea lions visited those caves in the winter; she said it’s totally unpredictable . . . a couple of years ago, they had hundreds; last year, they had hardly any.  The late morning light was of course different than yesterday’s late afternoon light, so Bill had fun taking more pictures of similar places as yesterday, to compare how they looked in the different light.  Was an absolutely beautiful morning.

                                                             

                                                

              

                                                                    

                                                            

                         

      Heceta Head was given an extensive renovation beginning in Feb 2012, which lasted until June 2013.  One of the unintended consequences of modernizing and automating the lighthouses with electricity in the 1930’s, and therefore not manning them round the clock with lighthouse keepers and their assistants, was that the routine maintenance of these structures ceased.  The lights functioned fine, but the buildings which housed them began deteriorating . . . water seeped in behind the brick, wood floors started rotting, etc.  The $1.2 million restoration here was exquisitely done.  The original interior brick was painstakingly and gorgeously restored, the roof re-done, the exterior corbels re-built . . . a whole list of things.  While we waited for our tour, we watched a slide show which documented a lot of the restoration process.  Those guys should be really proud of what they left for future generations!

            

      For the rest of the day, we just took out our Jonathan chairs on the beach, read, dozed, and watched increasing activity of the waves.  By the time we left, the wind had really picked up!  To the point that, at a nearby scenic pullout on the way home, Bill was going to set up his camera on the tripod in order to time a shot of both of us with the lighthouse in the background.  But he was afraid that a big gust of wind would knock the tripod over!  Just then, a very “energetic” (high?  Or just eccentric?) older man drove up, walked right up to us, began a very animated conversation about being from the Midwest . . . when Bill asked if he’d take our picture, he deferred to a couple of young men who were with him.  The 3 of them were hauling some sort of race car.  Who knows their story??  But they were all very, very nice and open and friendly, and captured on “film” the two of us and the lighthouse of which we have very fond memories. 

                                                  

 

 

 

 

Just a little further down the road we stopped to admire some of the famous dunes in this area.

                                                      

      Still windy when we got home.  Wondering if it will be this way tomorrow when we leave here to complete our travels down the Oregon coast. We’ll drive as far down as we feel like, spend a night, and then head northeast on Wednesday.  Will spend a few days near Grants Pass.  We’ve booked a white water rafting trip there on Friday!  Then on to Crater Lake, back up thru northern Oregon and into Washington and Mt. Rainier, and Seattle.   Then a right turn towards the Northern Cascades and home!  Beginning to think that we may not take time for Yellowstone on our way home . . . we’ll see.

       Grilled a nice steak and baked a potato for dinner.

 

       

 

                                              

                                                

 

 

 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31:

     Had looked up some churches last night; found a non-denominational one which sounded good.  Had 2 worship services, the first one at 9:00.  Found it easily, just before 9, but not a car parked there!  A sign on the door indicated that they were participating in a community-wide worship service being held elsewhere that morning.  Soooo, we remembered passing a United Methodist church on the way, turned around, and walked in just as they were singing their first hymn.  A very small church – probably a couple of dozen people were there, and not a soul looked under 60.  But they also have a second service, and it sounds like younger families attend that one.  Was Scripturally-based (although thin), and a very informal, friendly atmosphere, and we were made to feel welcome. 

     We were very close to Old Town, which we’d heard about, so drove over there.  It’s a charming section of town on the water (the Siuslaw River, which empties into the Pacific just a couple of miles away),
                                                One of the historic bridges in Florence: 

 

with lots of little shops, galleries and eateries.
                                                                       

 

                                                                                    

 

We ventured into a really nice kitchen shop - my downfall (well, one of them!) After  having succumbed to a few things, including a new salad bowl (which had been on my list of items I needed/wanted) and a pair of the softest slippers (which had not been on my list!) Bill whisked me out of there.

      We went a couple of doors down to Mo’s, which Lynn had mentioned as being “the place to go for clam chowder” in one of the northern beach towns near Astoria; they have other locations down the Oregon coast, it seems.   It obviously is the place to go for Sunday lunch for the locals in Florence; soon after we arrived, the place was packed.  Right on the water.  We had front row seats to a couple of guys taking lessons on some kind of contraption which was connected to a Seadoo which provided two jet streams of water to get the contraption in the air!  Was entertaining.  But didn’t look very fun nor relaxing to us!

 

     Came home & changed clothes, and drove about 10 miles north on the coast to the Sea Lion Caves.  We anticipated spending a couple of hours there.  However, when we asked, we were told that the sea lions had all left for the season, and won’t be back until December.  So we didn’t pay the admission fee just to see “the largest sea lion cave in the world.”

     We were momentarily disappointed, but not for long.  We continued north on the coastal highway, stopping a couple of times to admire the beautiful shoreline which hadn’t been visible when we drove down this same stretch two days ago.  Quintessential Oregon rocky coast. From these vantage points, we had really picturesque views of the Haceta Head Lighthouse (and the lightkeeper’s living quarters for him and his family, which now offer accommodations as a B&B) just down the road a ways.  

                                                         

            

             This is where we stopped for the remainder of the afternoon.  A really wonderful spot.  A nice little sandy beach, 

                                                           

               and then a lovely trail up to the lighthouse.    As we climbed higher on the trail, we were treated to marvelous views.

                                                                      

 

               And more of the same when we reached the lighthouse . . .     

                                                  

         

looking down at the sea and rocks, and across at the rugged coastline.

                                                                  

We’ve been blessed with unusually sunny, clear days here on the coast, at least in the afternoons.  The fog and mist do evoke a northwest atmosphere, but for a sun-loving girl like me, it’s always a treat when the sun is out and blue skies prevail!

     Back in time for dinner – last night’s 2^nd shrimp/scallop kabob, salad, and a yummy garlic bread made with a spread I concocted using some smoked paprika (one of my indulgences at the kitchen store this afternoon).

     We decided to add one more day to our stay here, mainly because the weather promises to be so nice again.  Have nothing special in mind – just thought it would be nice to take advantage of the gift of the fine weather.