Back in Oregon

Captains Log August 7 – Heading back to Oregon!  Well, for 3 nights then we dip back into California for 3 nights and then back to Oregon again! 

On the drive through Crescent City where we stopped at Walmart for our groceries as the next

Battery Point Lighthouse

stop is a really small town, we could see the Battery Point Lighthouse.   There was no where to park the RV except along the highway and you can’t walk to the lighthouse since it’s on a tiny island, so I managed to get a photo from the RV and we continued on to Wally World!

The drive was just a nervy as it was going south!  Curvy, up and down and plenty of traffic!  I pulled over 3 times to allow the crowd behind me get ahead.  Most of the drive is along the river, some at road level and some way down in the ravine. 

Our reservation is at the Laughing Alpaca, which was recommended to us by one of the camp hosts we met.  Well, it’s not the best place we’ve ever stayed nor is it the worst, but it’s mostly a trailer park with 6-8 overnight spots.  The couple that own it are young people and are very nice.

After lunch we thought we’d take a trial run to the visitor center of the Oregon Caves National Monument so we’d know how long it took since Bill called a couple of weeks ago about tickets and was told to be there by 7 or we wouldn’t get a ticket.  Well, we won’t get a ticket because

One of the Laughing Alpacas

they have a sign out that says they are closed for the rest of the summer due to Covid.  Crap!

We drove thru Cave Junction to see what there is and it’s got a nice main street with 2 grocery stores, a Dollar General, 2 thrift stores and a variety of other shops and restaurants.  There are quite a few empty buildings.  We stopped at Taylor’s Sausage Country Store.  What a place!  It’s been the family business for 4 generations and they make all kinds of sausage, jerky, steaks, burger, totally amazing.  They sell to places in California where the business started.  I got us some “trail jerky” which is thicker and wetter than regular jerky.  It’s really good!

We stopped at Grocery Outlet and I got a bag of mixed carrots, quite a change, and a bottle of wine.  Can’t let that run out!

Once we got home I baked a batch of Almond Cream Cheese Pounds cakes and we had leftovers for dinner.  Later once the cakes cooled we had some with blackberry sauce.  Surprise!!

I got on the computer as normal and Bill read, as normal.

Trees of Mystery

Captains Log August 6 – Wow!  Two great days in a row – how is that possible?

Before heading to Trees of Mystery today, we drove passed it to Wilson
Creek Beach where 

the fog is so thick you can't see much of the ocean.  We took a  few photos of the rocks poking up and then some of us on the huge drift wood.

We had decided to go to Trees of Mystery at $20 each, but I think it ended up being $16 each because we’re old!  It was a well spent $32!  We expected to be a bit chilly again today under the trees, so once again we wore long pants and jackets!

 Out front of the store and museum are huge statues of Paul Bunyon and Babe, the Blue Ox.  Lots of people take photos of the kids and the whole family in front of them.  Paul talks to the kids and invites them to sit on his boot, etc.  He also can wave his hand.  It’s an actual person doing the talking as he doesn’t  repeat things over and will tell a child not to be afraid, etc. 

A barely stood still
for the photo!

Then behind Paul and Babe starts the trek through the tree canopy.  It’s all uphill going in and downhill coming back!  Put on those walking shoes.  We didn’t see any trees as big as those on our tour yesterday but there were a lot of big trees.  Some had story plates posted and some were down and there was info on the tree’s life.  We took the stairs up to the Redwood Canopy Trail.  It’s a series of nice suspension bridges from Redwood to Redwood.  Bill was not overly excited as he’s not much on heights.  He goes really fast across and I wait til he’s done because

One section of our trek

he shakes the bridge so much.  The landings around the redwood are big and you feel totally safe.  There are 8 platforms 50 -100 feet up with 9 suspension bridges that are 23-130 feet long.  It was awesome!  Not sure Bill would give it as high of a rating as I would!

We saw the largest privately owned Redwood tree and it was magnificent.  It’s names The Brotherhood Tree and it spans 19 feet at its base.  The trail back to the bottom is a mile long but it’s easier that going a mile up.  We took the Sky-trail Gondola to the top where there is a

Ready to board the gondola

large observation area of the surrounding backcountry and the Pacific Ocean, except that today there was a LOT of fog again.  You could see the fog line at the top hovering over the woods.

The last thing you see as you approach the gift shop at the bottom are numerous redwood statues and carvings.  Some are Paul Bunyon related and others are whimsical or logger related.  Those take a lot of talent and are of Paul Bunyon sizing!

We didn’t buy anything as we passed thru the gift shop.  Primarily we were hungry.  There was a café across the highway so we decided to just go there.  The food was excellent and you received a good serving size for the price.  As we waited for our food to be served, just at the end of the lot there was a bad car accident.  Sadly a drunk driver and his dog crossed the line and hit a family’s car.  The drunk driver and his dog died and we think the father of the other car was taken to the hospital.  He was with is wife and son.  This is in the middle of no where with a road that is single lane so it was a while before the ambulance arrived.  The staff of the Trees of Mystery came out and directed traffic and guests who saw it came running.  There was an Asian doctor and his wife who went to help and as we left the restaurant we spoke to the young man who was pretty much first on the scene and the driver died in his arms.  What a think to experience!  So sad for his family and for the injured family who were probably on vacation and now they have no car, have to find a place to stay and change all of their plans.  We heard the dad wasn’t severely hurt but was going to the hospital.  Our timing was good as when we left the restaurant they were still directing traffic as the ambulance was turning around to head back up the one lane road and we were headed in the opposite direction, out of the traffic.

So, it was an exciting day in more than one way, but sad to be right there at such a bad time.

Tomorrow we will leave at 11 so we are in line to make passage thru the one lane when they open to the public from noon to 3.  We will stop in Crescent City to see a lighthouse and go to Walmart as there is no other town between us and our next stop.

Great day in California!

Captains Log August 5 – It was a totally awesome day!  We headed out after breakfast for a

Tiny Bill - Big Tree

drive thru the giant Redwoods.  We had originally planned to drive south about 2 hours but Bill was told that about 15 miles south of us is a nice drive thru the Redwoods National Park and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  Who knows where one starts and end!

I decided I better pack a lunch as we had no idea if there would be a town close by or restaurant as this is a rather sparse residential area.  Also it was rather brisk out and we’d be in the woods so we both put on jeans and a jacket.

It was so peaceful and for the first half of our drive there were hardly any other visitors.  About midway there is more parking as they have a walk-thru path that we definitely did not want to miss.  There were huge redwoods down, up, climbable, crawl in-able.  It was such a wonderful and peaceful walk.  We chatted some here and there with other visitors.  There were small kids who were really

enjoying climbing in and on the trees.  It’s so tranquil and peaceful as people show their respect as if it was a human burial ground.  There are numerous hikes and walking paths off of the road as well and one that goes right to the edge of the Pacific.  With my ankle I have to be very careful on paths and climbing, and I sure do miss climbing up on everything.  There was one HUGE downed redwood that a young girl jumped down from and I attempted to go up it but was worried more about how I’d get back down so I sadly, had to pass.

When we left the scenic loop we stopped at the Ranger Station where I got my passport stamp and Bill got a magnet and sticker.  The parking was nil, so he waited outside in the truck in on the lane while I went in and then he went in and I waited but was able to snag a 

Kelly climbed up into a double tree

 parking spot.

There’s a tiny town of 320 on the other side of the parks and we parked in a store parking lot and enjoyed our packed lunch.  We watched the field of cattle and sheep across the road while we ate and Bill kept saying the sheep were statues as they rarely moved from one spot!

The lot was next to a wood shop/sales shop of all things Redwood.  The tables and décor were beautiful!  From tiny little knick-knacks to a dinette for 4, they had something for everyone as long as you wanted to pay the price.  They make it all right there and Bill went out and watched one of the guys for a bit.  I’ve done really well so far this trip about buying more nick-knacks.  My house if full of all the “treasures” from the last 40 years so I’d have to REALLY want it and know where to put it before I’d buy another thing.

The horseback riders

On the way back to the campground, just as we hit the end of the Orick, I spotted a herd of elk and made Bill u-turn.  He thought I was crazy until I made him turn down the road beside the school and there were at least 50 males, females and baby elk.  They were not afraid of us as we pulled into the parking lot.  The continued to graze and paid us no mind until a group on

The ticked off Elk

horseback rode along the edge of the highway and stopped.  Those elk all lifted their heads and faced in the direction of the horses and
very slowly moved in a group towards them and as soon as the riders left they relaxed and played in the schools playground.  A second great site today! 

Bill was talking to a lady in the parking lot who is the Superintendent/Principal of the 23 student school.  It’s a nice size school and they only have 23 students K-8 so they are a 2 school room school.  Who would have thought schools like that still exist?  They have 2 teachers who teach K – 4^th and 5^th – 8^th.  The high school kids go to another school.  She told Bill back in the day of logging it was a huge town with full schools but the redwoods in the area are logged out and there are no other factories or places in town in entice people to live there.  Very sad!

Back in Klamath we drove the small side road where the main buildings of the town are like the fire station, and the Native government buildings are.  The bridge we drove over, the Douglas Bridge has a set of golden bears on each end and along the road are 2 monuments.

Monument to Captain Courageous

One is a big stone commemorating Captain Courageous, who was a bull that washed away in the flood and survived.   The other memorial is a Bear Statue that I think is related to the bears on the end of the bridge.  Bill drove through the "Drive Thru Tree", just barely!

He had to put one mirror in!

When we got back Klamath, which we learned at one time was a pretty large town and very prosperous, was washed away as it originally was RIGHT on the Pacific coast.  When it was rebuilt, it really never took hold and is primarily a native reservation of Yurok Native Americans.  They have a casino and a couple of motels but not much more.  There are more RV parks than anything else.  The other main attraction is the Trees of Mystery place on the north end of town.  We are going there tomorrow as we stopped by today and went through their fabulous museum of Native American artifacts.  They have a huge gift store with a snack bar also.  We were highly impressed with the museum that is free to walk about.

It was time to call it a day and head for home.  I made some Bison burgers for dinner with some leftovers and called it a meal!

As I stated in the start of my post, we had a really great day today!

Made it to not so sunny California!

Captains Log August 4 – Time to head to California for a few days!  We were at ¾ of a tank of diesel so opted not to stop for fuel since we only had about 120 miles to go and we had plenty

of fuel to get back to Oregon and NOT pay California fuel prices! 

It was a long 2 lane curvy mountainous road to get there!  At the California boarder we had to pull into a check point where they asked about specific items we might be carrying and how long we’d be there.  The guy was very specific in the end and asked if we had any cherries.  No, was the right answer and no, we did not have any but we have a load of blackberries!  He also warned us that Rt. 101 was only open from noon to 3 pm and from 7pm to 6 am.  There was a rock slide where the road is right on the ocean (it’s the Pacific Highway) and it’s only 1 way through there and they close it to work on it.  It took us over 2 hours of waiting after arriving right at noon.  Our side had to

wait for about 100 vehicles to drive north before we could head south.  And to think, we have to repeat the process in 3 days!  As we drove it was very foggy and as first we thought it was fire smoke but realized how close we were to the coast so it was actually fog and pretty chilly outside!

We didn’t arrive at our campground until after 2 so we parked and had a bit of lunch.  It was pretty brisk out and we didn’t do anything the rest

He was outside
the post office

of the day but read or crochet and I did 2 loads of laundry!

Nothing fancy for dinner tonight, grilled chicken sausages and corn on the cob with a few grape tomatoes.  Since we ate such a late lunch we didn’t need to have a huge meal. 

I was excited about this “resort” as they have WIFI, Cable, and beautiful grounds – well, that must have been a few years ago!  The grounds are level, but not well kept, the WIFI sucks, Bill didn’t even bother with the cable and we’re about 15 feet to our neighbors on one side and not 10 to the other side.  However, I didn’t feel so bad because there are 2 Tiffins in the row in front of us. 

I tossed in a few photos of all the bears we saw in Grants Pass.

 

Mostly chores!

Captains Log August 3 – I’m beginning to think we will be eating blackberries until we get home!  I made blackberry muffins this morning that will last a few days.  They went well with bacon!

Bill went into Grants Pass to scope out fuel places as there are no Flying J’s, Pilot’s or Love’s on our way to California and back to Oregon.  He managed to locate one place that we could pull into, fuel up and hook up to the truck in the Walmart lot next door.

While he was gone I cleaned, read, crocheted a while and made some phone calls for doctor appointments.  Ugh!  Want to hit the ground running when we get back!

When Bill got back we were hesitant but we attacked the water heater drip issue.  We got replacement plugs at an RV place in Grants Pass and when the mobile guy was out to install the leveling control he told us exactly what to do.  So we turned off the water supply, opened all the faucets, let the water drain out, turned off the water heater and removed the nasty corroding plug.  It took a while for the water in the tank to drain out.  Then we cleaned the threads really good and removed some debris inside, put a LOT of Teflon tape on the threads and put back in a new plug and slowly tightened it up.  The moment of truth was closing all the faucets, turning the water back on and once the tank filled, checking that there was no longer a leak.  SUCCESS! 

Bill washed the front of the RV and cleaned the rims so we’re pretty again!

I made some chicken tacos for dinner and heated a can of refried beans with some jicima on the side.  Good meal and a little change of pace!

The rest of the evening was reading and/or crocheting! 

I do not like boats!

Captains Log August 2 – As long as the AC runs it’s pretty quiet here, but when they don’t you

The kind of boat we were on and appro-
preately named!

can clearly hear the traffic on I-5 that is RIGHT behind our site!  Well, it runs along this entire side as well as one side of the other loops as well!  Ugh!

We have decided that they do not do the kind of site cleaning that we do as hosts.  There is all kinds of trash in our site, nothing huge but if you take a walk around the RV you can clearly see things that no one with eyes should miss! 

Once we had our breakfast and were ready to greet the day, we left for Grants Pass.  Bill did a map with the general locations of the various stores we planned to stop at in addition to the location of the boat trip he scheduled for us this afternoon. 

We stopped at an RV place and got replacement plugs for our water heater as it leaks.  Now I get to try and change it out.  Not today!!  

Lots of beaches along the way

Then we hit the plaza where Harbor Freight is to check on solar rope lights that the guys at Joseph Stewart told us about.  You put them around your RV and once the solar charges the lights come on all night to keep varmints from chewing into your underbelly. Next door is a Goodwill and Bill found a couple of books and videos that he wanted.  Then he went to the truck and I did a quick run through Ross.  I did get a couple of Christmas items there so it was a fruitful stop! 

We needed to be at the Hellgate building by 1:15 for our boat trip so we googled places for

The sprays soak the people on the sides

lunch.  The first one we picked it was open on Google but not in reality.  Then there was a busy place a few blocks down the street and they had a 30 minute wait time, so we drove in the other direction to another place that was highly rated.  It was primarily an Asian place with sushi etc. but they did have “American” food as well.  Upon entering we thought we were the only ones there but once we got in the back area there were other diners and then once noon hit there was a steady flow.  The menu was huge which takes me along time to decided!  I had Fluffy, which is a Specialty Maki with tempura salmon, cream cheese, yamagobo topped with tuna and an order of seaweed salad.  Bill thought I ordered Ceasar salad and went up to the counter and ordered another seaweed salad, so I got to have it with my dinner!  He also ordered a veggie roll as he wanted to try something new.  He didn’t care for the seaweed wrapping but he really enjoyed his burger and fries! 

Lucky to get shot of bald eagle

Now will FULL bellies, it was time to find the starting point of our Hellgate Experience.  I checked us in and picked up the tickets while Bill parked and then we walked down to the Rogue River’s edge and down to the dock point of the trip.  Now I was expecting a Riverboat that was going to slowly navigate the river with a guide telling what we were seeing along the way.  It was a 2 hour trip.  To my utter shock as soon as we left the loading pier he jacked up the speed and did a spin and we were seated on the outside edge so I could get good photos but instead I got soaked!  It was a LONG 2 hours for someone who is NOT a water person, who suffers with severe motion sickness.  It was

Beaver Dam

the longest 2 hours of my life other than giving birth! 

I think Bill enjoyed it but he knew I was fired up over him not knowing exactly what the trip was about.  There were 3 boats leaving one after the others so at some points they would spray us and we would then spray them.  I couldn’t look around a lot and not at all when he was spinning it.  Any future boat trips I will personally verify exactly what is going to happen! 

Back on the Road Again!

Captains Log August 1 - It was a long day!  As soon as some of the 35 sites became vacant we did our first trip around.  I think we did about 10 and then we finished putting away anything we had left outside.  Bill went back out to try again while I put in a last load of laundry and put the inside stuff away.

Bill took a break and I went out and did a site run and we were down to 8 when we gave up and had a quick lunch and then took our last load of limbs to the wood pile and burnt wood to the maintenance area.  We did pick a couple pounds of berries, it’s so hard not to when they’re everywhere!  I had the little vase to return to Doug from my baby sunflowers he gave me, so we filled it with berries to take back.  Bill came over in the morning from D loop to say goodbye and take photos of my cactus with the solar lights that I made years ago.  I gave him some pointers as he really wants to make one for his yard.

We went to see Gary in B Loop who said he’d finish up our sites and said our good-byes but as we finally pulled out we stopped at the dumpster to put in our last load of trash and  hook up the truck so we got to have another laugh with him before pulling out.

We only had an hour drive to Valley of the Rogue State Park near Grants Pass, OR.  I had pre-registered online so check in was pretty simple.  We had no problem finding our site and this is a big park with 152 camp sites, 6 yurts, group camping, amphitheater, Disc Golf and it’s along the Rogue River. 

We settled in and I decided we were not having leftovers as there is a town, Rogue River,

We saw this Greek Orthodox Church on 
the way to dinner

about 7 miles away that had a few restaurants so we went there for dinner at a Mexican place.  It was very good but a little slow as they have the same issue as other places, no one wants to work!  The shrimp cocktail was delicious and Bill had some kind of quesadillas and their chips were awesome.  Nice place and nice staff!

Once it got dark we got a neighbor but we had noticed a sign when we came back from dinner that the campground is full!