090927 - Smith River, Oregon

September 27, 2009
Salmon Harbor
Smith River, California

While at Harris beach, we had an interesting discussion about weather patterns along the Pacific coastline with one of the park volunteers.
He surprised me with the term “Banana Belt” which referred to the area being warm and sunny. He explained that off the coast of northern California and southern Oregon, the air and water currents produce a warming effect in the fall season.

With this new information, we decided that there was no rush to leave the area so we’ll mosey along the coast instead of our prior plans of running to escape any cold weather.

We spent a very uneventful but totally wonderful week in Smith River at a park on the coast with a gorgeous view of the pacific. As we read and sunned ourselves, we could watch fishermen on the shore and in small motorboats hoping for a nibble on their bait.

There was no shortage of people to talk to and Danny could count on lots of attention and petting. Most of the conversations were casual and travel related but there was one that I did not expect to ever have.

A young man (looking about in his late 30’s) struck up a conversation one day about his plans to learn how to fish. It seems that his parents live at this mobile home park as permanent residents. His father recently died and he came from Alabama to live with and help take care of his mom. His dad had lots of fishing gear so he was going to learn how to use it but he claimed not to have a fondness’ for the taste of fish.
He claimed to have grown up in a small cabin in the backwoods of Alabama and was raised on a diet of local animals that he had shot or caught himself.
Sounding like he was the star of a local TV cooking show, he proceeded to describe in detail the preparation of various animals from the hunting to cooking stages and then commenting on their taste and texture. He covered the range from raccoons to possum to rabbit, dear, squirrel and various birds.

I sure hope he develops a taste for fish, just for the local wildlife’s sake.

090922 - Racquet of Death

Racquet of Death

Every campsite or region has their own variety of bugs and things that are placed on Earth to teach us that man is not as all powerful and in control of as he would like to think. Mother nature has her favorite “pets” that she likes to tease us with and remind us that size doesn’t mattter when it comes to invaders and the home team.

I like to refer to them as “The Insect De Jour”.

We have dealt with ants, spiders, noseeums, bees, hornets, wasps, cockaroaches, fleas, moths and mesquitos – especially the Texas type that are so large they should have numbers on their wings…. but the most common and to me the most bothersome is the fly. I have heard them called houseflies, horseflies, blueflies, shoflies and some other unpleasaant names, but other than size, they all look alike to me. I beleve they have a very short life cycle, but one day is too long for my liking.

. It doesn’t matter if the windows are closed or the screens are in, they manage to infiltrate the Beast and buzz around us at the most inappropriate times in the most inappropriate places.

Years ago I bought one of those battery operated fly swatters – the kind that looks like a small yellow tennis racquet and sends an electrical charge to anything that touches it. Sounds great except for a few points that were not mentioned in the advertisement. First, you have to actually hit the damn fly with the racquet. Of course, you don’t want to hit it when it is sitting on anything valuable or breakable like the TV, computer, glass or plastic items, Danny or myself. Next, you have to keep two buttons on the handle pushed for the circuit to be active at which time a small red light glows. Thirdly, touching the grid when the red light is on will deliver one hell of a shock – and I’m not talking about the sissy kind when you rub your foot on the carpet type shock.

To date, I can report that I have never been able to hit a fly “on the fly’ and kill it. The only success I have had was frying a spider as he descended from the ceiling and a few moths who were definitely slower and I guess dumber than flies. They tend to hang around light fixtures and make easier targets. A mosquito or two and many moths has been cooked in flight, but those damn flies either have better radar or superior aerodynamic skills than their fellow aviators, because they are the most elusive.

Good old hanging flypaper has come to the rescue when I get desperate and overwhelmed. If anyone has any good suggestions for getting rid of flies – please advise – I can’t keep the door closed because Danny likes to go in and out frequently.

090917 - Harris Beach State Park - Oregon

September 17, 2009
Harris Beach State Park
Brookings, Oregon

We have booked an 8-day stay here so the sites around us get new campers every couple of days.

Yesterday, while walking Danny, our new neighbor commented on how handsome Danny was.

A few minutes later, while we were relaxing at the picnic table on our site, our neighbor came over to as if he could pet Danny. Before I could answer, Danny was at his side begging for attention.

He was currently from Vancouver, but originally from Ontario with large family roots in New York City. Many of which were Irish policemen. He did have a pleasant bough.

He and his wife Alex were traveling the coast but were a bit sad that they could not take their 2 large German Shepard dogs with them. He then asked if he could take Danny over to his site to meet his wife because they so loved dogs and missed their own. Danny was in 7th heaven getting so much attention. We all had a lovely chat about travel and dogs.

This morning I was going to stop by their RV and leave a note but when I looked out my bedroom window, their space was empty. Later, when I took Danny out for a walk, I spotted a piece of paper on the ground and to my surprise it was a note from Alex expressing how much she enjoyed meeting us and wanted us to keep in touch by email.
She apparently did not know we have a blog but she will soon.It is days like these that make life so enjoyable.

090914 - Lifeboat Station Museum pix

090914 - Lifeboat Station Museum

Lifeboat station Museum on Oregon Coast

Today we visited the site of a monument to the brave men of a lifeboat station on Oregon’s treacherous and dangerous coast. These men, like firefighters, rushed into danger to save lives of people they didn’t know, at the risk of their own.

From a high tower, 24 hours a day, they scanned the ocean’s coastline for ships in distress from rough seas, bad weather and hidden sand bars and other threatening dangers.

when necessary, they fought the waves to reach ships and survivors thrown overboard.
They used small, specially built boats, that were self-bailing and self-righting, but by no means did that make them safe to use.

in some cases, they would shoot a rope line to a floundering ship from a specially built cannon on shore. With the line affixed to their mast, a transfer sling could retrieve sailors from the ship to shore.

During World War 2, these stations did double duty by watching for enemy aircraft and submarines off shore.

One famous incident involved the Japanese Submarine I-25. This sub was specially constructed to house a seaplane in a water tight hanger compartment under the forward section of the boat which was used for surveillance.

This sub was spotted several times off the Pacific coast but never intercepted.
Stations like these were discontinued with the advent of aircraft and helicopter rescue equipment development in the latter part of the 20th century, however, the bravery and dedication of these special, fearless men who rescued thousands of people from death at sea will long be remembered and thanked for their efforts.

090923-Cape Blanco SP, Oregon

September 13, 2009
Cape Blanco State Park, Oregon

As soon as the Labor Day holiday weekend ended, Mother Nature changed the rainy weather to warm and sunny;. Some sense of humor she has, huh?

Oregon has one of the best state park systems for RV travelers and we love to take advantage of it. The parks are clean, with well paved roads and RV pads with grassy and tree lined sites with not a piece of gravel to be seen.. Living in a beautiful green forest is a great way to spend the time if you can. The park supplies the electricity and water for $`16 a day and there is a dump station to empty our tanks.

Even after Labor Day, there are lots of people camping, and many of them have dogs. Danny gets to meet new friends all the time and sometimes I just accidentally let go of his leash and let him run around for exercise.

The Oregon coastline is such a joy to experience with its pristine atmosphere. It’s so clean and clear that cell phone and web signals are also absent. At least as far as Sprint is concerned. I have noticed someone talking on their cell phone one day but did not ask them who their carrier was – I knew it wasn’t Sprint.

Our campground is located on a cape of land jutting out into the Pacific Ocean, high on a cliff. It is appropriately named Cape Blanco (Land protruding into ocean with nothing around it … Blank) It sounds like a great place to build a lighthouse, so they did … back in the late 1800s and it is still standing today. The view from the base of the lighthouse is majestic – did not have the ability to climb the hundreds of steps up to the lighthouse lamp. No handicap elevator.

Unfortunately, the lighthouse does not have a cell phone tower, and so we get no bars on our phone or wireless connection card.
However, like every law of science, there are exceptions and modifications. Just like we thought there was no gravity in space – lo and behold – they discover there is micro gravity – not enough to keep your pants from falling down, but just enough to disprove the absence of.
So, while there may seem to be no signal to receive, every once in a while, I will get a symbol on the screen showing some kind of activity but not enough to use. A couple of times this week I have gotten a message on my screen that I have a new voice mail, but there is no way for me to use my phone to find out what it is. One day, while sitting around reading, one of my phones (I have 2 with 2 different numbers for back up) vibrated and my Treo smart phone had a string of emails that I could read but could not respond to. I noticed that there was the hint of a bar on the screen so I attempted to make a phone call and of course the person I called was not home and I got their answering machine and then the bar was gone again like the breeze that carried it.

090908 - Bandon, Oregon

September 8th, 2009
Bandon, Oregon

Bandon in one of those little seaside communities you want to stop at to just walk around and enjoy the moment. It boasts having the smallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast, standing just 40feet tall at the mouth of the bay.
“Old Town” is just a couple of blocks along the water’s edge with small local restaurants and shops selling everything from bait to clothing to fudge. It is completely devoid of any recognizable chain or national fast food place.
Unfortunately Mother Nature was unaware that this was the Labor Day weekend and shed rain on and off for most of the long weekend. While it dampen our spirits a bit, on the good side, it kept many tourists away and so there were no crowds to contend with.

There is a lot of road construction going on – I guess it’s being paid for by some stimulus package – and that means lane closures with those pesky orange lane dividers to redirect traffic Sometimes they make lanes a little too snug for RVs and I “tapped one”.
When I got a chance to examine the point of impact, I had a right rear wheel fender flapping in the wind. It Is really more cosmetic than functional; a skirt of fiberglass tacked to the fiberglass body with a few pop rivets. Unfortunately, driving and flapping are not a good combination and if not repaired would probably fall off.
I asked Mike, the park manager if he could take a look at the damage for me and after a quick inspection, he disappeared and then reappeared with a handful of tools. In about 15 minutes he had stabilized the fender with a new pop-rivet and secured a metal brace to the frame. When I tried to pay him for the work he refused.
Another name to add to my thank you Christmas list.

090903 - Lakeside, Oregon

September 3rd, 2009
Osprey Point RV Resort
Lakeside, Oregon
Having never been to this membership RV Resort, we are always apprehensive and start with low expectations to avoid great disappointment. Unfortunately, there was no reason to be pessimistic. The campground has smoothly paved roads with green grassy sites for Danny to sunbathe on. The sites were pull thru which avoided the treacherous backing in maneuver, and had hooks ups that were easy to use.
A very handicap accessible bathhouse and modern laundry facility made me quite happy.
A final touch was the Pizza Pub, which was a small chicken and pizza restaurant with a liquor license and a comfortable patio facing the lake. Pizza and Beer on the deck facing the lake and small marina is a great way to spend an afternoon and there is always someone around to talk to.

There were lots of dogs for Danny to bark at and make fiends with, especially Larry, a miniature Australian sheep dog. His owner was a lovely older woman, Karin, Swedish, born and lived in the area for many years with her husband Gene. Karin was a retired nurse, and loved to talk and tell stories about her experiences. Gene was a retired truck driver who also could tell some great stories and appeared to be lucky to have a wife who was skilled in nursing care. They currently live in Redding, California and love to visit this area in their trailer.
The morning we left, I found an envelope addressed to Steve and Danny with a note inside from Karin and Gene telling us how they enjoyed meeting us and wishing us safe travels.

090903-Osprey Point, Oregon

September 3, 2009
Osprey Point RVR

Now that’s the way to travel with your toys.