Fog and the Coast

 We managed to squeeze in another trip with Waddles and the Big Red Van.   This time to the southern Oregon coast.   The intent of this trip was to investigate whether this was an option for the winter months as my brother normally heads to a warmer climate in winter.

We packed up Waddles and the Van and headed out.   First stop was my normal 'check to make sure everything is secure and good' at the White River parking lot.  You've seen Waddles in this setting before.

Then the long drive south.    We had reservations at a campground just south of Bandon, at Boice Cope Park, which is a county park on Flores Lake.   This is a place where windsurfers play.     It is small, near the water, electrical hook ups, water and showers.    Not a lot of privacy as it is mostly a big open lawn area, but nice.     The first night it was quite windy and the side tent was a bit tenuous! 

We staked it down as well as we could and put heavy stuff inside and hoped for the best.   It was damp and chilly, typical coastal weather.  This sign, at the park, was pretty interesting!

The next day we drove south down Hwy 101, and off on a lot of side roads exploring the area.   Gold beach is a lovely little town, Sixes is barely a town, but the bingo building looks like a going concern.   There is an interesting monument at Sixes describing the gold found in the sands in the area.

We continued down the coast to Port Orford and Brookings.    We were looking at For Sale property, just to see what was there.   We found a wide range of options; bare land, houses that needed work, mansions, and our favorite was the one my brother dubbed the 'Witches House'   The road in was STEEP downhill.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos, but the main house was an A-frame design, sitting on a carved out flat spot.  From the deck you would look DOWN and see the roof of a log structure.   Wandering down to that structure revealed that is was an OLD small log house with a roof overhanging a porch.   It looked cool, and SCARY at the same time, thus the name.    The take-away from all our exploring was that this area is almost all VERTICAL!   I kind of knew that, but wandering around on back roads, and to out of the way properties, really drove that home.

We did discover some very lovely places, including Cedar Valley Road.  We came in from the south and it was not terribly impressive  Then we came in from the north and it was lovely.  Open valley, protected from the coastal weather somewhat.   Lots of potential there.  Not sure what kind of tree/shrub this is, but it had amazing fruit/nut/seed pods on it.

The next day we headed inland from near where we were camping.   It was a very foggy morning and the dew on cobwebs in the grass was amazing.  Unfortunately we couldn't find a good place to pull off the road to take a picture.    We did stop when we saw this cool tree, and curious cows.    I wanted to get a photo of the cow with the tree, but of course when I walked out to take the photo, the cow moved out of the picture.   

The wind subsided after the first night, but there was lots of fog, some smoke, and a bit of rain, so it was cool and damp. This, however, made for some great sunsets.

We planned to spend 4 nights, but after 3 decided that we wanted to do some exploring on the way home, so opted to take 2 days instead of 1 for that drive.  We headed inland just north of Gold Beach along the north side of the Rogue River.   The town of Agnes is along that route, and the map showed the road going through to Merlin and Grants Pass.  It did indicate that this road is closed in the winter.   

When you get almost to Agnes(which is a loop off the road), there is a sign that says, 'One Lane Road, next 35 miles'.    We decided to go for it.    Good thing my brother has a CB radio and knows how to use it.     The mile markers were painted on the road and we started to hear others checking in with their direction (east or west) and what mile marker they were at.    We first encountered a group of vans, who were obviously shuttling boats and people who were running the Rogue River.    Then we encountered a full log truck.   He gave us plenty of warning so we were able to find a wide spot and pull over to let him by.    The road was mostly paved, with a few sections that were pretty bumpy.    I imagine the views would be spectacular but there was a LOT of smoke in the air so we couldn't see much.  We climbed from sea level to over 5000' on this road.    It was a bit of an adventure!

That night we pulled in to Joseph H Stewart State Park, between Gold Hill and Prospect on Hwy 62.   This park is HUGE, with over 200 sites.   It has lots of trees, electricity, water, showers, a big lake/reservoir.   The wild ride of the day resulted in a bit of a tossed salad in Waddles, even though I had secured things pretty well.  A can of soda exploded in the refrigerator and a hard boiled egg was smashed to bits.   A screw came loose from one of the door locks also.  It could have been worse

The next day we drove through Crater Lake National Park.   It was again very smoky; we could barely see the island in the lake.     

The whole trip was lovely, and the weather at the Southern Oregon Coast was cold and damp, so may not be a viable option for the winter, but the jury is still out.

Can I squeeze in one more outing before winter hits?   It is pouring rain and getting colder here at home.   We will see!    Are you ready for winter?

Page Springs in the Fall

 We have moved into some spectacular fall weather so two friends and I decided we needed one more outing.    I normally go to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge with these friends in the early spring to see the amazing birds that migrate through the area.   I have always wanted to visit there at different times of the year to see what I can see, so Malheur it was!

Page Springs Campground is a delightful campground at the southern end of the Refuge, near the tiny Oregon town of Frenchglen.   It is first come-first served, so I left home fairly early in the day to make the 6 hour drive in time to hopefully snag a spot before it filled up.    I drove over Mt Hood, and it has a startling lack of snow on it.   I guess that is not so unusual for this time of year.  

The drive down was uneventful, other than the thick smoke through the Warm Springs Reservation, I assumed, coming from the fires that continue to burn along the Cascades.

I arrived at Page Springs around 1pm, and there were exactly 2 spots open.  One had NO shade and the temperatures were expected to be in the 80's.   So I grabbed the other one, which had a small stream running right behind it, shade during the hottest part of the day and lots of trees and bushes for birds to hang out in.

I got Waddles all set up and my two friends showed up from their respective homes.    The bird activity was great right in our camp.   Lots of White-Crowned Sparrows, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Yellow-Rumped Warblers and California Quail.    Also saw a Downy Woodpecker, Osprey, Magpies, Great Blue Heron and more.    The actual refuge looked very dry as I drove down, which was not unexpected.

The moon came up and, being nearly full, it was almost as light as day!   It came up right behind this lovely tree, and just before the moon appeared this tree was illuminated beautiful.  I wished I'd set up my camera!   I am not very good at night photography, and decided by the time I got the tripod, and camera set up the moon would be up and the moment would be lost.  I'd try tomorrow night.

Cool Tree!

That night, as I slept quietly in Waddles, my tenting friends were awakened by mauraduing raccoons.   One actually opened a cooler and stole grapes out of it.  All the campground garbage cans were opened and garbage was strewn about.   We learned our lesson and didn't leave anything remotely like food out again.

The raccoon took a little jaunt over the hood and roof of my car,

The next day we took a hike from the campground, up the river to see what we could see.  It was lovely, with the fall colors coming on.   Quite a few people fly fishing along the river.

I then took a short trail that went up above the campground with some lovely views.   Waddles looked so cute from up there!

After lunch we stayed in camp and were entertained by the birds.  Looking into the little stream, we saw these cool plants (algae?) that were covered with air bubbles that looked like flowers!

That evening I set up my camera and tripod anticipating the full moon rise.  Being the novice that I am, I assumed it would come up behind the same lovely tree, and of course it didn't.   I took a lot of black, or blurry pictures, but this one was kind of cool.   The moon really was spectacular.

The next day we took a drive along the river a little ways north of the campground and saw immature Cedar Waxwings, and more White-Crowned Sparrows.   After lunch we drove up to the top of the Steens Mountains, about a 4000' elevation gain.   This road is only open from about July through October, and is snowed in the rest of the year.   From the top, looking north, you are looking into Kiger Gorge.  

The colors were spectacular

Looking east out over the Alvord Desert, 

Sorry this is a bit fuzzy, Phone photo.

and to the south is Wildhorse Lake,

It was a beautiful day except for the smoky haze, and a nice break from the heat of the valley.    We saw lots of hawks while we were up there, and the Aspen were all turning (I didn't get a good photo of them, sorry).

That evening we visited with some other friends who had come to the campground also.  It was fun to catch up with people I had not seen for many years.

Next day was time to come home.   So Waddles and I packed up early and headed north.    We stopped in Prineville to visit another friend and had a lovely lunch and walk around the Crook County Wetland Reserve.   Saw lots of ducks who, not being in their breeding plumage, were challenging to ID, so I didn't!

Got home feeling very DUSTY, and tired and happy.   Cleaned out Waddles and the car, did a lot of laundry, took a shower and am looking forward to a good sleep tonight!

Next outing might be to Brookings, in the southwest corner of Oregon.

 A little upgrade!

Waddles and I have been laying low, waiting out the fires and smoke!   We are a safe distance from any wildfires fortunately, but the smoke enveloped us for days.   But NOW it seems to have cleared out.  I spent a fair amount of time in fire camps during my career with the USDA Forest Service, so breathing smoke is a familiar sensation, but I have to say, it is certainly nice to see the sun, and breath fresh air.   My heart goes out to those who are so much more severely impacted by these fires.

During this break, I broke down and ordered Wing Walls.  I've been reading about these on the T@G facebook forum (T@G you're it), and they get great reviews.   Each pair is made to order, and there are many  choices of colors and patterns.    I first ordered yellow, and then decided that might not be exactly the right color so changed it to grey.   Meme, the lovely maker of these things, gave me a call wondering what had made me change my mind.   I told her why and she suggested I get the Sunflower color, as it would surely match Waddles.   I am so glad I did.   I kind of LOVE them, and can't wait to try them out in the real world.

The purpose of these little gems is to create a bit of a wind break and some privacy when using the kitchen.   If the wind is blowing, using the propane burners can be a bit challenging.   This will help!

They are ingenious   They are attached with velcro which is installed on the trailer.  I was a bit skeptical about how well the velcro would hold up, since these must be removed each time you close the hatch.  I have to say, while I was installing that velcro, it was the STRONGEST adhesive I have ever experience with velcro.  If it stuck to my finger, it was pretty darn hard to get off.   I'm pretty sure it is not going anywhere.   I have also never heard a complaint from someone who has used them for a while.

On the website there is a video about how to install and use them.  They also come with VERY clear instructions on how to apply the velcro to get the best fit.

I'm impressed, and excited to try them out.   Hoping for at least one more outing before winter hits, though it sure feels like fall outside already.   

How are YOU holding up.   Weird year for certain.

Beartooth and Red Lodge

 Bearthooth Highway!

I have been wanting to do this trip for 3 years.    I acquired a number of items that had belonged to a great aunt who grew up in Red Lodge Montana in the late 1800's, early 1900's, and wanted to donate them to the Carbon County Historic Society Museum.    For a lot of reasons my trip kept being postponed, so this was the year. (no more geriatric cats to take care of).

The Beartooth Highway, which terminates in Red Lodge, seemed like a great trip.    I invited my brother to join me, and since Waddles is pretty close quarters, we decided to make it a two-bedroom travel set up, and hooked Waddles up to his van.

We gave ourselves 2 weeks, found a house sitter to keep the garden watered, and packed up our respective rigs and hit the road.

Like me, my brother prefers backroads to freeways, so we headed across Oregon taking the scenic route.   The first night we spent at Oregon Campground, on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.   We were the only ones in the campground.  It was basic, small, pit toilets, and set up for OHV recreation play.    

We got up early the next day and headed for Craters of the Moon National Park.    Got there mid day and there were still plenty of campsites available and we found one of the few with a little shade.  We did a little exploring, and went to bed early anticipating a long day tomorrow.

The next day we drove through Idaho Falls, and cut over through Victor, Idaho, over Teton Pass and down into Jackson Wyoming.   Jackson was a MADHOUSE.     We didn't have camping reservations so stopped at the local Forest Service office to find out about dispersed camping.    They sent us up into the Forest to look for a site.    There were a lot of campers in the area already, and so we found what looked like an OK spot, right off the road, but with a bit of shade and a bit of a view.    

After being there a few hours we realized that there was quite a bit of traffic up and down this road, AND the mosquitoes were AWFUL!!!!    The next day we planned to drive through Yellowstone National Park and over the Beartooth Highway, which was going to be a very long day, anticipating lots of traffic through the park.   So we made a decision.    We decided to drive through the Park at night, and camp somewhere near Cook City, Montana.     We packed up camp quickly and set out about 9pm.

We drove through the park and hit a detour at Canyon Village, which took us through Norris and up to Tower, about 30 miles out of our way.     We got to Tower at about 1am, and called it a night.    Woke up at about 6am and hit the road again.    Though we didn't see much of the park, we did see one Elk in the middle of the road near Canyon Village, and smelled sulfur, so knew we were near hot springs!

The drive from Tower to Cooke City was beautiful early in the morning.  It goes through Lamar Valley which is known for its wildlife.   There were already lots of people along the road with big cameras.    This is a great place to see Bison.

We stopped in Cooke City to see if we could find something to eat.    It is a small, quaint town.

And then we headed off onto the Beartooth Highway.  The highway is only 68 miles from Cooke City to Red Lodge, and passed through Montana and Wyoming.   It is SPECTACULAR scenery and an amazing engineering feat.  The highest elevation is 10,947'.  More photos to follow in this post.  

We had reservations at a campground just outside Red Lodge for one night, so checked it out before heading in to town.  Is was very close to its neighbor campsite (you could almost touch both tables at the same time), so we decided to see what other options we might find for camping over the weekend. 

We went to the Carbon County Historical Society Museum and met with Rob, the Director.  I showed him what I had to donate (photo albums, personal letters, personal items, and a large scrapbook from my great aunt's youth in Red Lodge).  My great aunt's father was an attorney in Red Lodge, and a prominent citizen.   I also had a photograph of the family home (taken in 1960) and wanted to see if we could find it.  Rob didn't know that house, but gave us an idea of where to look.   We found it!  Here is the 1960 photo and the current photo.

I apologize for this weirdness, I can't figure out how to fix it....We were delighted to find it.  I wonder what it looked like in the early 1900's when it was built.  It hasn't changed much in the last 60 years!

Rob also gave us a great place to look for dispersed camping for the weekend.   We planned to lay low until Monday and then drive back over the Beartooth Highway.  South of Red Lodge is Rock Creek, and a road that runs along it up into the canyon, terminating at the trailhead to Glacier Lake.   This area is a Very popular place for the locals to camp and ride their ATV/ORV toys.  We drove about 3 miles up the canyon and found the perfect spot to camp.  Unlike other places along the road, this site was away from other sites, in the trees, overlooking Rock Creek and with a view of the Beartooth Highway switchbacks climbing up out of Red Lodge.  If you look closely you can see at least 5 switchbacks in this photo. 

Our Campsite: 

One of the reasons this site was unoccupied when we got there was it was quite tricky backing in between the trees and the rocks and stumps.    My brother is a master at that, so we settled in for the weekend.

The next day we drove up to the end of the road to the Glacier Lake trailhead.    The hike is only about 1.5 miles each way, but quite steep.   We didn't hike it, but got a GREAT view on Monday when we stopped up at the top of the Beartooth Pass.   Below you can see the road up to the trailhead at the bottom of the canyon.   Glacier Lake is peeking out in the middle of the photo.

On Saturday we went into Red Lodge and toured through the Historical Society Museum and learned more about Red Lodge and the building of the Beartooth Highway.   Red Lodge was settled mostly because of Coal Mining.   The Highway was an idea to stimulate the economy when the coal industry was dying down.    The highway opened in 1936.    Today it is closed in the winter, and plowed for opening around Memorial Day each year.   You can watch the plows working on it via the internet.   I can't imagine doing that job.   It is steep, windy and drops off on the edges in many spots.

While we were in town on Saturday we decided to see if we could get a motel for Sunday night as we were both badly in need of a shower.     We found a 'condo' at the Chateau Rouge in Red Lodge.

So Sunday we took it easy and packed up our camp.    We went out for a great meal at the Hardwood Smokehouse, and had a good night's sleep at Chateau Rouge.     Sunday we headed back over the Beartooth Highway.    We stopped more frequently and got to take in some AMAZING vistas.   

Here is near the summit of Beartooth Pass, looking out over Rock Creek with Bear's Tooth off in the distance.  It is that little point sticking up to the right of the sign.

This is just south of the summit, looking southwest.

The photographs do not do this area justice.   It was another amazing vista around every corner (and there were a lot of corners).

We traveled back through Cooke City and into Yellowstone NP again.  This time we headed for the West Yellowstone entrance and got to see more of the park during the day.    The traffic wasn't too bad, except around the Visitor's Center at Mammoth Hot Springs.  

We saw more bison, and more hot pots along the way

We made it through the park and then started looking for a place to spend the night.    We found Flat Rock Campground on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.   Loop A was a bit funky, but Loop B was in the trees, and quite nice.    A bit of road noise, but not bad.

The next day we had a choice.  Either have a short day and stay at Crater's of the Moon again, or have a LONG day and get past the greater Boise area and travel back into Oregon and find a campground on the Willowa-Whitman National Forest.   We opted for the LONG day, about 500 miles.    It was HOT but we mustered and made it through the urban area and the freeway driving for a part of the day.

We stayed at Yellow Pine Campground, near the Oregon Campground we stayed at on the way out.   Yellow Pine was MUCH nicer.  Much bigger.  There were only about 5 other sites occupied and it was VERY VERY quiet.

 The next day we drove home.     This trip was amazing, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.    If you ever get a chance to drive the Beartooth Highway, jump on it.     We chose to do it in August to make sure the snow banks were gone, the views were there, the wildflowers were beautiful and the weather was good.    The weather is always a gamble, we did have a few thunderstorms while we were camping near Red Lodge.

I apologize for putting this entire trip into ONE blog post, but we didn't have internet access while traveling.    We also chose to make as few people contacts as possible, so we stayed off the beaten path, camped in out of the way places when we could, didn't eat out or shop much.    It was a perfect trip.   Thanks to Robin for house sitting, and to Richard for doing ALL the driving.

Out again...

It is HOT outside!!!   Waddles and I did a wander down near Mt Jefferson, here in Oregon.    Met up with a friend for a hike, and since it was a pretty long drive for me we decided to camp for a couple nights at Jack Creek Campground on the Deschutes National Forest.    It is a small, but lovely campground next to Jack Creek and with large sites, and lots of big Pine trees.

Jack Creek Campground

We got settled in for the first night and fortunately it cooled off enough to be able to sleep.  We were up and on the road for a hike by 8am.    Got to the trailhead of Jack Lake Trail by 9am and there were already quite a few cars there.

This trail leads up to a Circ on the side of Three Finger Jack.   My friend had been here a few years before, and knew the wildflowers would be peaking right now.   It was BEAUTIFUL    The trail climbs and winds though an old wildfire, maybe 10 years old.   The pine trees are coming back and provided a little bit of shade for the hike.

We didn't climb as high as the alpine lake (the last little bit is a vertical scramble), but rather chose to go down into the meadow that was awash with blooming lupin, paintbrush, columbine and a lot of other wildflowers.    I didn't haul my big camera on the hike so these are iPhone photos, but you get the idea.

The hike was  8 miles round trip, and a large part of the trail is a one-way loop, so you are not passing people much.   Very pleasant.   

                   

                  Mariposa Lily                     

We were both happy to get back to the car after a 4 hour hike.   It was getting quite warm and a cold drink and sticking our feet in Jack Creek sounded really good!

After cooling in camp for a bit we decided to drive over to Camp Sherman to see if the store had ice cream and ice.     They did, and were practicing good social distancing.  The ice cream was yummy and the ice provided for more cold drinks back at camp.

It was 10 degrees cooler next to the creek, so we moved our chairs there and did a little knitting/spinning and went to bed when it got dark.

The next day were needed to check out of the campground by noon, so we got up and took a little hike from the campground to the headwaters of Jack Creek.  It was about a mile out and a mile back.   There was a lot of brush along the trail and the birds were abundant!    We were not able  to positively identify a  bunch of them, but there were Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadees, Juncos, Warblers and more.

We packed up camp and headed toward our respective homes, having had a lovely visit and a couple wonderful hikes in a beautiful area that I am not very familiar with.   The refrigerator worked GREAT!!

Next week Waddles and I are off on a MUCH ANTICIPATED trip.   We are finally going to drive the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge Montana.     This will be a little different for us.  My brother is going with me, and we will be pulling Waddles with his van, so he has a place to sleep!

Stay tuned, this should be an amazing trip.    Another good friend is going to house sit.    She will have the company of these little lovelies... we call them Fawnzy and Blondzy.