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.