Salty Dawg

We enjoyed a relaxing evening yesterday after our return from the coastal driving excursion.  While I downloaded photos, wrote and posted my story for the day, Gene did a little surfing on the internet.  After the evening news, we went into Waldport for dinner.  

We’re quite fond of Mexican and it has been a while.  The nice lady at the Chamber recommended the Salty Dawg when Gene inquired where he might find some Mexican food.  We drove by to check it out on our way home earlier in the day.  “Salty Dawg” didn’t sound Mexican and it certainly didn’t have that Mexican look.  Well, they did have a Corona sign, but no pinatas, no sombreros, and no red chili pepper fun lights.  We decided to go there anyway, even if we couldn’t get mexican food.  The place was just too cool.  It was located right on the Alsea Bay, even had a boat dock out front.  How could it be bad?  Besides, there were several cars there at 4 PM.

When we went back about 6:30, we had to park a block away.  All of Waldport may have been there.  Several of the locals who had apparently stopped in after work for a beer were still there and very relaxed.  We found a booth and began the menu search.  There was one full page of appetizers--fried clams, peel and eat shrimp, and one item, Mexican only in the sense that it was a chili, jalapeno poppers.  There was a wide variety of burgers and sandwiches.  Yesterday was Moo Monday.  That meant steaks were on special.  Finally, on the back of the menu was Mexican.  I guess the nice lady at the Chamber hadn’t misunderstood after all.

Of course, wanting a second opinion, we asked our waitress.  She naturally said it was all good, especially the broasted chicken.  Since no one seemed to be having Mexican, we decided to play it safe and ordered the chicken.  It was good, not outstanding.  Since clamming is big around  here, I could resist ordering a cup of clam chowder.  Now that was outstanding.  I haven’t had fresh clam chowder in several years so can’t really say if it was better than any I ever had.  It was very good and I should have ordered a bowl and a small salad and left the chicken for someone else.

Drift Creek

Today we drove a few miles east of our campground to the Drift Creek Wilderness.  The nice lady at the Chamber said it is a popular place to hike and that was confirmed by our guidebook.  Gene got directions to the trailhead and a map of the trail from trails.com.  It was a moderate 4.5 mile hike loosing 1200 feet down to Drift Creek then, of course, gaining 1200 feet back up to the truck.  The trail meandered through old growth forest, but we were not able to pay much attention as we had our eyes on the trail.  The treadway was in good condition generally free of rocks, roots, and ruts, but it was very steep and pretty overgrown.  There were places where we had to hack our way through.  We were rewarded for our efforts when we reached the creek.  The trip back up the hill gave our hearts a real workout.

Tomorrow, we move to Salem, the state capitol.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouses

Our day got off to a dreary start with heavy cloud cover and even a little misting.  The sun finally won the battle, however, and by mid-afternoon had forced the dreariness away.

We expected Oregon to the shrouded in mist and we weren’t going to let that deter us from our goal of seeing the coastline.  I tend to move a little faster in the morning if it’s bright and sunny so this morning I just kept sipping coffee. We finally got started on today’s journey about 10 AM.  We headed north on US 101 with no real destination in mind.  Our intention was to hit the overlooks to get the views and just stop anywhere we found something of interest.

Alsea Bay Bridge

We turned onto 101 and immediately stopped at the Alsea Bay Bridge Interpretive Center.  The original Alsea Bay bridge, one of several coastal bridges designed by Conde McCullough, was built in 1936.  That bridge was replaced in 1991 by this new bridge, but the magnificent art deco towers (2 at each end of the bridge) remain.  While I was off making pictures of the bridge, Gene attended a clamming and crabbing demonstration with the local park ranger.

Driving on up the coast, we stop at a few pullouts for those rugged coastal views.  We soon decided it would be best if we did this on the way back to avoid crossing traffic to get to the coastal side of the highway.

A few miles north of Newport, we found the Yaquina Head light.  We toured the small interpretive center and gift shop then walked the quarter mile out to the lighthouse.  This is the tallest light on the Oregon coast.  We were not the only ones breathing hard after climbing the 114 steps to the light room.  On the rocks in front of the light were colonies of shorebirds.  It was pretty impressive to see so many birds in one spot, but boy did it smell foul.

We couldn’t see the Yaquina Head light without going to the Yaquina Bay light.  This small two-story clapboard light is the only lighthouse on the Oregon coast with living quarters attached.  Being only 5 miles south of the Yaquina Head light, it was really located in the wrong place and so was decommissioned after only 3 years of service.  It is now a museum.

We stopped at Lost Creek state park for a short walk down to the beach and a tour of the campground.  While there we fed our tummies.  It was too windy to be comfortable outside, so we feasted in the truck.

Yaquina Bay Bridge, another McCullough bridge

On our return drive to Waldport, we stopped at several pullouts.  By that time it had cleared and the sun was shining brightly.  Much more appealing photos, I think.

We plan to drive south tomorrow and maybe take in a short hike.

Waldport, Oregon

We were lazy in our departure this morning.  Perhaps that was due to the fact that we had enjoyed our stay at Port Orford RV Village so much and the fact that we hated to leave the friends we had there, both old and new.

Our drive up US 101 for the 140 miles to Waldport was a mixed experience.  This was, after all the end of a holiday weekend, and traffic was “heavy”.  Can I say “heavy”?  Certainly not compared to any metropolitan area, or even probably on any interstate highway in the country.  But for US 101, I’d say it was heavy.  We knew just off to our left was the breathtaking Oregon coast, but the farther north we went, the curvier the road became.  Not only curvier, but also more narrow and much fewer passing lane areas.  As a result, Gene and I both had our eyes on the road trying to anticipate problems that might arise.  We had a minor heart stopper when we read the low clearance sign of 11’6” as we approached a tunnel.  We had been forewarned of this hazard and knew we had plenty of headroom if we stayed toward the middle (and highest point) of the tunnel.  Hugging the yellow line, our exhaling breath was audible as we exited the tunnel on the other side.

With our total attention focused on staying alive, we missed the gorgeous coastline.  That’s okay, we’ll have another opportunity tomorrow as we drive southward to pause at the numerous pullouts to catch the views.  Besides, today was a little misty off and on, plus the other holiday travelers trying to catch a glimpse, would have made it a less than optimal experience.  We’ll enjoy that later under better conditions.

Having used up all of our fun factor for today during the drive to Waldport, we were more than a little dismayed when we missed the entrance to our campground on Oregon 34.  About the only thing we could do was continue on and hope to quickly come to a place where we could turn around safely.  I snatched up the truckers atlas and, like I expected, Oregon 34 was not a designated truckers’ route.  I remembered at a social hour discussion sometime last week that there are several covered bridges in Oregon.  A quick “thank you, Lord” escaped my mouth as I saw an RV park up ahead--the perfect place to turn around.

Now, safely parked without permanent damage to us or the Everest, and a little relaxing time to calm our nerves, we are ready for whatever adventure tomorrow may bring.

Fourth of July in Port Orford

What a busy day, we’ve had.  And just too much fun.  The small town of Port Orford with it’s tiny population of just over 1,000 put on a huge celebration for the 4th.  To start the day off right, the campground was all decked out in red, white, and blue.  It had us seeing stars!

There were several activities “downtown” beginning on the 3rd and continuing through the 5th.  We selected a few things we wanted to do today plus a hamburger lunch sponsored by the Senior Center.

First on our agenda was the sandcastle sculpture contest on the beach.  Incredible!!  The best I was ever able to do as a child was pile sand on top of my foot to make a small cave.  These folks put some real imagination and creativity into their projects and came up with some very interesting sculptures--not your typical sandcastles.

Of course, the town had a parade.  We’ve been watching all week as the son of our campground hosts has been creating a pirate ship out of the park service cart.  It was a small parade, but participants and viewers were very enthusiastic and it was so much fun to be part of the small town “everybody knows everybody” experience.  We happened to be sitting on the sidewalk next to a longtime resident of Port Orford.  She spoke to everyone who passed and even got up to give a few a hug.

Hamburger lunch was next on the agenda.  The rest of the town gathered at the Senior Center for lunch, as well.  We saw several of our fellow travelers from the campground.  We made two more stops after lunch.  The first was at the library where local photographers had their favorite shots on display.  We went to see the photos, but were delighted to also find flower arrangements.  There were several roses, but there were also several wildflower arrangements.

Our last stop before coming home for a break was at the quilt show.  Most were new, but there were a few antique quilts.  All the quilts were beautiful.  It would be impossible to pick a favorite.  

We’re taking a break now, but after dinner will go down to the beach for the fireworks display.

Tomorrow, we are hitching up and moving up the coast about a hundred fifty miles for a short 3-day stay.

America the Beautiful

Happy Birthday to our great country.  As we travel around this land, we are continually impressed with the breathtaking beauty exhibited in every state.  Enjoy these few examples.

Acadia Shoreline, Maine

American Falls, Niagra Falls, NY

Cooper Kiln Pond, Adirondacks, NY

Cumberland Gap National Historic Site, TN

Maine forest

Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

Saint Gaudens, New Hampshire

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Have a joyous and safe July 4th.

Old Growth Forest

Our morning was bright and sunny at the campground, so you can imagine our surprise as soon as we turned onto US 101, a mere half mile away, and we saw the fog the Oregon coast is so renowned for. It was so thick, the ocean was completely obliterated.  Well, to say the least, we were impressed.

Gene had found two short hikes for us today.  One was another short segment along the Oregon Coastal trail and the other was a short nature walk through old growth forest.  Since the forest walk was away from the coast, we went there first hoping to give the sun some time to do its thing and burn the fog off.

The Shrader Old Growth Trail in the Siskiyou National Forest was a real treat.  Given the fact that so much of our forests have been cut by the lumber industry, we seldom have the opportunity to walk among the old giants.  It was a short 1.5 mile loop trail, but we got to see several big trees.  The most impressive was the Laddie Gale Tall Fir measuring 10 feet in diameter and 220 feet in height.  That is enough tree to build three 3-bedroom homes.

By the time we got back to US101, I really expected the fog to be gone.  Well, I was wrong.  It had pulled back a little, but not enough.  We drove farther south to Cape Sebastian where we found our trailhead at the very edge of the fog.  There were no sweeping vistas today along the trail, but I liked the effect of the fog along the rocky coastline.  The wildflowers were pretty; we saw several tiger lilies, a couple of wild iris, and a new one for us which we have not yet been able to identify.  This section of the Oregon Coastal Trail, like the piece we did a few days ago, was well maintained--a very pleasant hike.

There are several activities planned for the 4th of July in the town of  Port Orford.  We want to be able to take in some of those activities, so we will use tomorrow to do laundry and the few things needed to prepare us for moving on Sunday.  And who knows, we may find something exciting to do besides chores.

Oregon On The Map

It is hard to believe half of the year is history now.  Well, in some ways it does, anyway.  Most of the time I still think we are in winter.  Maybe that is because we still have the heat on almost every night and we rarely turn on the AC.  At other times, it is hard to believe we have been so many places and seen so many things since we left Nashville at the end of December.  Texas and New Mexico seem like ancient history.

Today, we stuck close to home doing mostly household chores.  Peanut was happy to have us around all day and I even took him outside for a short time.  Our next door neighbor here is big into rocks.  We went over to examine her collection this afternoon.  She, along with several others in the park, regularly scavenge the beach for agates, jasmine, and even petrified wood.  She then puts her rocks in a tumbler (maybe an agitator is a more accurate term) to grind down and polish the stones.  She has a very nice collection which will eventually become part of her “waterfall” or a piece of jewelry.

Fellow travelers and friends, Gordon and Juanita, came for dinner this evening.  Although we have seen them around the park, particularly at the morning coffee and afternoon social hour, we have each been busy with various activities and unable to get together for extended conversation and fellowship.  It was good to be able to spend a couple hours talking about our mutual love of the RVing lifestyle. We asked them to do us the honor of placing Oregon on our “see all of America the Beautiful” map which we proudly display on our truck.  Thank you, friends, for sharing this evening with us.

Tomorrow--I think Gene has a hike planned.  I’m not sure of the details, but whatever we do I’m sure will be just fine.