More lighthouses and seafood

June 23 - It was chilly again this morning!  I’m not liking this weather.  At least we don’t have snow like our friends in Colorado! Bill wasn’t feeling really well so once I had breakfast and he perked up a bit, he went out and did the outdoor stuff while I did the inside stuff.  We had to stop at the dump station and we were 4^th in line.  Once that was done we only had about 40 miles to our next stop.

Bill called the state park when we got on the road to see if we could come in early but there was no answer.  When we arrived in Coos Bay there was a big casino on the river and they have a huge parking area.  There were already trucks and RV’s there so we parked and drove to the state park.  It was much further than we thought and when we got there our site was right after the entrance and it was empty and was tagged with our name already.  However, the ranger said we could not check in until 4.  So now what!  I had left Molly with food and water so we ended up doing today’s designated sight seeing and got back at 4.

Cape Arago Lighthouse

As the day went on we decided to skip that campground and just park overnight at the casino.  The site was kinda small and then there wasn’t really room to park the truck and it’s WAY off the main road with no view, so later I called the casino and they said we could but we needed to pay a fee at their campground.

Cape Arago Lighthouse is on Chief's Island off the coast of Sunset Bay State Park where we were supposed to camp.  You can't go to it but with a zoom lens I got a photo of it. 

We stopped in one part of the park on the way out and there was a sea lion and seal

Sea lions and seals

viewing set up.  There were volunteers with 3 telescopes to see the 4 different breeds.  It was really something to see.  I took some decent photos and Bill chatted with one of the

More sea lions and seals

volunteers.  They gave us a map that helped with where we were headed next.  

The decision was to go to the furtherest stop and work our way back.  So we headed to Cape Blanco where we visited the lighthouse.  It’s out on a tall cliff and

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

the wind was so powerful.  I can’t imagine living there.  The original house is long gone but the lighthouse is in excellent condition.  They give tours but I’ve been on a lot and there’s not much difference in them.  One of the keepers was here 42 years, first, as an assistant and later as the head keeper.  Two of his 3 sons went on the be keepers as well.

Griff's on the Dock

Next stop was Port Orford where we scoped out lunch spots but one had a 35 minute wait and I didn’t really care for the menu of the other.  So I checked Yelp again and there was a place called Griffs on the Dock so we headed there.  It is literally on the dock and was tiny and run down looking.  I could tell Bill was not totally in favor of it as there was no one there when we arrived except a guy buying fresh seafood.  We took our seats and had a great lunch!  Bill had chicken (boring) and I

Calamari is larger than
the fries

had prawns and calamari.  It was unlike any calamari I’ve ever had.  It was thick long strips, about 4 inches and 3/8-1/2 inches square.  It was very lightly battered and so tender.  It was the first time I really got to taste calamari as it’s usually much smaller pieces and thinner.  The prawns were excellent as well.  I’m not much of a fries person but these were fresh hand made French fries!  Yum!  Gold Star!

Coquille River Light

We popped by the tiny post office to put cards in the mail and then on to search out Coquille River lighthouse.  We got confused on if there were 2 or just one lighthouse.  The directions we had were a bit confusing and didn’t match the map we were given.  Bill spotted it over a bay and we stopped and I took my first photos.  Then we went along a side street and got closer shots and then Bill pulled in a parking lot and we were directly across the bay from it. 

Time to head back and check on Molly.  On the ride it dawned on me that we left the RV on battery power and didn’t know how long that would keep the freezer frozen.  All I could see was melted huckleberry ice cream.  Molly might be a little hungry as we didn’t plan our day this way, but she’d be fine.  The RV was right where we left it and Bill went to the RV park and paid for our overnight stay and I moved to a spot beside a couple other RV’s.  The ice cream was fine!!

Bill called the campground at Crater Lake, where we’re headed tomorrow to verify which roads are best for the RV.  We’ll be there 3 nights and since they cancelled our boat trip on the lake and part of the rim is closed due to late thaw and broken equipment, we should have a little bit of down time!

When we had lunch today I had them bag a big piece of smoked salmon to take with me for my dinner.  There was a hamburger left for Bill and we had enough broccoli slaw left to share.  We were both happy with our dinner, delicious smoked salmon!!!