Road Trip -- Coasting Oregon toward Seattle

Murphys, Ca -- We ended our   week of camping on the North Coast of California on a Saturday and headed north following Route 101 along the ocean.

The trip took us past California's Prairie Creek State Park where we first met Banana Slugs 30 years earlier, and we spotted a few herds of elk grazing in fields along the roadside.
As we left California we could see off to the South dark smoke moving out over the ocean, a sign of the fires that were just beginning to ravage the west coast. It was the last time we would see that for the next two weeks.

Saturday is not the best day to look for a motel room on one of the busiest vacation weeks of the year, but we landed in a soft bed in a clean room in Gold Beach, Oregon, just a block or so away from the Rogue River and about 40 miles above the state line.

Gold Beach is not close to any major population area, but it is popular for fishing and camping, jet boat trips up the river and great scenic views.

We like it as a good spot to clean up, take care of some minor restocking of food supplies for the camper van, and good places to eat.  On our last trip through town we ate dinner at an all-you-can-eat fundraiser for the local high school, but we missed that this year.

We stayed in a 1970's-styled motel, refurbished, clean and available, just off the main drag. The place we stayed before, right on the river, was booked solid. The new/old motel had the added charm of a fenced-in backyard just outside our window filled with chickens. The people were courteous. The room was ample and not too expensive. Just right.

We are particularly fond of a breakfast cafe and bookstore we found on an earlier trip on this route. You can get fresh brewed coffee, bagels or burritos and a big variety of books and other readables all in one place. The customers included us, a few other tourists, fishermen and a Sunday school class of teenagers getting ready for church.

Books and coffee in Gold Beach

We headed north, primarily because there was no room in the inn for a second night in town, so  we took our time along the spectacular Oregon coast. It's hard to describe how each turn in the road brings another spectacular cliff over the ocean, or a sandy strip of beach, or a turnout to a park or a lighthouse.

It is a glorious part of the U.S. that everyone should see. Oregon loves visitors, and treats visitors and residents to an amazing number of parks, large and small, scattered along the coastal road. It seems there is a chance to stop and look every mile or two, and a campground or state park every ten miles or so. Even so, it was peak vacation season and the road was busy and the stops fairly busy with people -- not crowded, just busy.

Out by the rocks is a marine sanctuary

There are so many lighthouses along this coast, maintained primarily as historical sites now that GPS navigation rules the waves, that you could spend a week and never see them all.

We stopped briefly at Umpqua Lighthouse where our in-laws had served as volunteers, but stopped and explored at Cape Blanco which showed on the map as being on a point out over the ocean. It probably was, but when we got there a blanket of fog had rolled in, the wind was howling off the  cold ocean, and we only had the sound of waves crashing on the cliffs below to assure us the water was there. It did not matter, it was still spectacular.

Pat walks to the lighthouse at Cape Blanco

The docents were well-informed and helpful, full of history and enthusiasm for their beautiful part of the world.

The coast is thinly populated in this area, but towns such as Sixes, Langlois, Bandon and Port Orford offer anything a visitor could want.

We took our time and arrived in Coos Bay, a larger and somewhat industrial town, in the afternoon, found a motel room and settled in.

Here a happy surprise caught up with us, thanks to Facebook. We discovered that old friends and colleagues from The Modesto Bee -- Bob and Becky Bazemore -- were in Oregon working at their jobs for the Good Sams Club.  Basically, they travel in their very large RV all over Oregon and evaluate Recreational Vehicle Parks for the organization. Their "home" near Coos Bay was right on the beach at a town called Charlestown, and they just happened to know of a good place to eat seafood.
A meeting, as they say, was quickly arranged.

The place, Jack's Crab Shack, was closing soon so they went ahead, got a table and arranged for beer while we drove over to meet them. We were the last customers in the place, and the hosts were gracious and the food delicious. Bob ad I both had Dungeness  Crabs and Becky and Pat had the Crab Cakes. It was the real deal, a great meal and a great reunion.

Bob and Becky love what they do, traveling much of the year, some for work and some for pleasure. They live in a giant 45 foot motor home with their happy dog. They spend part of the year working in Oregon, part traveling to see daughters and grandchildren, and part hanging out with friends in the Florida Keys. They both look 20 years younger: trim, fit and tanned. They took an early retirement from The Bee more than 20 years ago, and have clearly been living the good life on coasts, ski resorts and Alaska -- wherever the spirit moves them.

The dog in Becky's lap was eating Bob's ear -- no damage done

Back when Bob was a city editor at The Bee, and Becky a reporter, he gave me the best ski lessons I ever had -- all in one weekend day. I never became an expert -- he had been on ski patrol -- but he helped me move from novice to comfortable intermediate as a skier and I always will be grateful.
It was a great mini-reunion, which we hope to continue in the Fall.

After  a big seafood dinner, a lot of catching up on families and friends, we got another night's rest ad headed north again.
Next: More coasts, more friends waiting.

A cooling off trip

Murphys, Ca -- Back home in time for the Fourth of July, and 100 degree heat, I need to share a few items from our recent vacation trip to the California coast.
If you have not been to this part of the world, it is hard to imagine the variety and the beauty of the coast. That's true north and south, but for this trip we went first to the San Francisco Bay area for some sailing, and then drove north for a week or so of camping with friends and family.

Here's a rare photo of s/v Good News with Oakland in the background, heading out for the bay. It turned out to be a lot windier than we expected, so it was more exciting than planned.

The next day I decided to pull down a sail that needed minor repair, and replace it. Bad decision, as we ended up with a jammed halyard that I will have to fix next time.

I did not get our boat problem fixed, but I was able to help out a neighbor who cranked me up his/her mast to retrieve a loose shackle and lanyard. It is easy: all you do is sit in the Bosun's Chair while someone else does all the hard work. Easy in a calm harbor, that is. The top is about 50 feet up.

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We then drove north on Highway 101, aka the Redwood Highway, and made an overnight stop at  Richardson Grove State Park, along the Eel River, the first test of our new "instant" tent. It worked fine and the next day we drove on up through Coastal Redwood forests and along the coast to our destination: Patrick's Point State Park, where we settled in for almost a week with family and friends.

Here's Pat enjoying a bit of sunshine at our campsite. Just beyond the trees on the right is the top of the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a place we visited for sunrises and sunsets.

 This is the view from just south of the camp area, looking north into the little harbor at Trinidad. Picturesque, and fully equipped with good clam chowder and colorful people.

Pat with daughter Ruth on a hike. The extended family present included 18 people! Ruth and Brian and their kids, Brian's folks and sister Tammy and her kids, his cousin and his family, and our friends and neighbors Gary and Jeri Carson Hull.

Just another stunning view.

Jeri and Gary, probably looking for the warm sunshine.

Agate Beach at the state park. Yes, you can find and bring home agates. 

On the way to and from Oregon we stopped by a meadow at Prairie Creek State Park to share a lunch and watch the elk. The new babies were gamboling on the meadow. Really.

And then to the southern Oregon coast. This is at, you guessed it, Arch Rock, just north of the California border.

Our next-to-last night was spent at Gold Beach, Oregon, where our room balcony overlooked the Rogue River very near where it meets the sea.

We drove through the Trinity Alps area, including Weaverville, spent one night in a so-so motel, and got home about ten days after we left.

The views were obviously spectacular, but the best memories are of the family and friends we were with, the new people we met and simply being together in a wonderful place and time.

We did have one serious discussion with Gary and Jeri, trying to decide what we are vacationing from, since we are retired. Gary suggested we were vacationing from volunteering, which is probably as good an answer as any other.