Oregon

Before I begin, I have a funny story……well now it is funny but it wasn’t at the time. When we were at Reyes National Seashore the second time, my camera stopped working. I was bummed because it has a lot more functions then the phone camera. However, I was glad I had something to take pictures with as Bill was always doing videos on his phone. We were in Humboldt Redwoods and it was raining and I was taking pictures having to wipe off the phone’s screen constantly. I got back in the car and saw I was under 50% power so I plugged the phone in and the screen went blank. Nothing I did would start the phone, we went online, Bill called Apple and they walked us through a cold boot process which still didn’t work. I was worried that a drop of rain may have gotten on the part of the phone where it connects to the charger and it shorted out. They said we would have to take it to an Apple Store however, we were over 200 miles and 4 hours away from one and so I thought I would be without a phone and a camera for about 10 days. Well Bill saw a comment from a user online to hit the phone on something soft but firm at a certain angle 5 times which polarizes the battery. He tried this and unbelievably it worked! I did not believe him at first as he had just teased me minutes before that it was working when it wasn’t. Anyway after letting it charge for what seemed hours it was working again. Well then for the heck of it I did the same thing with my camera and low and behold, it started working again! You could imagine I was happy as a pig in mud!

On Thursday June 4th, we left Eureka and headed up the coast road.  It wasn’t a clear day and the ocean was rough as usual.

 We stopped at one of the Redwood National Forest’s visitor centers and asked how to get to Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail.

I asked if there were any RV restrictions and the ranger said “not where you are going”. She told us to go the scenic route after we saw the Grove as we would see Elk and lots of trails and redwoods. So we drove up to the Grove and it was quite steep and when we got to the parking area it was too small for the RV and car. I looked at the brochure and sure enough it said no RV’s! We pulled over on the side of the road and knew we would have to drop the car in order to back up and turn around when we left. We took the hour long hike through the grove which of course was awesome but misty and wet. I guess this is very normal in these coastal redwoods.

We got back to the RV, dropped the car, backed up, put the car back on the dolley and drove down to the bottom of the road and continued on Highway One until we saw the turnoff for the scenic route. We did see the Elk in the Prairie Area of the park and continued on through the scenic redwood byway.

We then arrived in Crescent City where there we spotted surfers of course with wet suits on as it is quite cold up here all the time. We did not go to the downtown area as I understood it to be a lot like Eureka and it was getting late in the day.
We turned on highway 199 to start heading east away from the ocean.




It was a beautiful drive through the mountain range and over the Klamath River all the way to Cave Junction, Oregon where we turned off on Highway 46 to get the Grayback Campground in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

We arrived around 8 pm and by that time I was hungry and grouchy as we drove through the campground deciding on what spot to camp at. I liked one slightly above the river even though the spot was kind of small so Bill gave in and we parked for the night.

This was a campground with no hookups but normally has running water spigots but the water was not working at the time. Therefore they dropped the price from $10 a night to $5 a night, not a bad deal for the view we had. One thing about California, everything is so expensive, even camping in the National Forests you can only camp in the State Park areas that charge $35 a night with no hookups.  Also did you know Oregon has no sales tax or state income tax?  I guess if you don't own any property you can live pretty cheap here!
The next day we went 8 miles up the road to the Oregon Caves where we took a 90 minute tour of the most awesome Cave I have ever seen. This was a marble cave and was so active it was unbelievable.

 It was very wet and we had to duck under many areas including one that was only 46 inches at one point. We walked up and down over 500 steps in the cave, saw tiny bats and the water running through the bottom of the cave that was discovered 100 years ago. I have been to Mammoth caves and many others but this one was more active and the only Marble Cave I have been in…very cool.

We then hiked a short trail up above the cave overlooking the Siskyou Mountains. 

We left early the next morning and drove east to Klamath Falls where we were going to stay at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Campground. There are only 5 RV spots but the spots are level in the parking lot next to the Gym. It was fairly quiet except for an occasional train in the distance and the many F15’s coming and going from here. The sunset was beautiful  the first night we were there.

On Monday morning we woke up at 7:15 am and looked out the window to dozens of cars at the GYM.We were going to stick around and do our laundry and local things but the weather was beautiful and the weather channel said it was going to be a clear day today but the rest of the week it was going to be windy and cloudy then raining so at 11:30 we left for Crater Lake. It took us and hour and a half but it was a beautiful drive past the Klamath River Basin and up through the Ponderosa Pines.

                     

 There was snow on the mountain ranges and as we got closer the snow in the National Forest was thicker. Before we knew it many of the pull off roads to see the view were not accessible due to the snow. We got up to Crater Lake and you could not even see the lake from the rim due to the six fee or more of snow piled on the side of the roads. We got out and had to climb through the snow at some sections to see the Lake.

The view was breathtaking and we realized right away that it was a great decision to come up there on this day. The Lake was so clear, it was mirroring all the points on Mount Mazama with the snow around it as well as Wizard Island.

The temperature was in the high fifties but with the sun shining and no wind it did not even feel cold.

 Ty hopped around in the snow just loving it, Lucky did not care for it. The trails were all snow covered and they recommended snow shoes or cross country skis which we did not have so we just walked around the Rim Village and Lodge and down to Discovery Point.

Since we could not walk on the trails we were there for about three hours then headed back to Klamath Falls.  We had fun when we stopped at a scenic overlook that was blocked by the snow.  While Bill filled the cooler with snow to keep the beers cold I wrote in the snow.  Can you believe that snow in the cooler lasted 3 days? 

Tuesday we took it easy and did laundry and shopped. It turned out to be a good day but it was nice just to relax. Wednesday we drove up to Lake of the Woods as we heard it was pretty. It was really just a camping and cabin resort on a lake.

 We took a side road that led us up some very remote butte, used mainly in the winter for ATVs and snow activities. We were the only ones out there of course but it was nice and quiet. There were a couple spots where tree limbs had fallen on the trail so Bill got out and moved them so we could get through. 

 We went back to Klamath Falls and after dinner took the dogs for a hike on the OCE trail, which is where the railroad was turned into a hiking and biking trail.

We walked about 3 miles round trip then returned back to the RV. Thursday we went to downtown Klamath to a memorial park with the dogs then we went to the Kamath Basin Brewery which used to be the creamery. It had a nice bar with a great selection of their unfiltered brewed beers. I got the clam chowder which was really good and a spinach salad.  Bill got into a discussion with a patron at the bar and I had a hard time pulling him away when it was time to go….what else is new… :)!

Friday we went to the Lava Beds National Monument which is actually in California, about an hour drive from where we were staying. On the way there we stopped at the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge visitor center which was across from the Tule Lake Refuge. We ended up walking up a steep trail that overlooked the Marsh and Lake below.

 We then walked on the Discovery Marsh trail and saw our first American Avocets.

 We then drove the next 9 miles to the Lava Beds and arrived at the gate around 2:30 pm. The ranger said there was a guided tour at 3:30 of one of the caves so we decided to join the tour even though you are allowed to tour the caves by yourself. You need lights and helmets as many of the caves are rocky and small. This one in particular was not small at all but it was pretty dark without our lights.

 These are lava tube caves, which were formed about 30,000 years ago after an eruption at Mammoth Crater. They are formed when the lava pours out of the volcano and the outer edges and surface of the flow cool rapidly and begin to harden. It is like a shell that acts as an insulating material while the rest of the flow beneath it remains hot and fast moving. Once the lava drains a tube is left. There are over 300 of these tube caves discovered so far in this area.

Oregon is a beautiful state, the weather is awesome inland this time of year and there are so many wildlife refuges, so many birds to see. Saturday we went to the Lower Klamath wildlife refuge and drove on the auto tour which was 10 miles around the refuge.

 We were able to check off dozens of birds that we saw such as the yellow-headed blackbird, tri-color blackbird, American Avocets and white pelicans by the hundreds, Black-necked stilts, western grebes, cinnamon teals and so many other wading birds. It was a relaxing and refreshing drive through this refuge. My sister Pat, “the bird woman”, would love it and said it was one of the must see places on her list. I can see why although fall and winter are supposed to be the best times to come and see the hundreds of nesting bald eagles.  We haven't seen any yet but they say there are still some in the area so we will continue to look.  Originally we were going to leave the next day, Sunday but decided to extend our stay for three more days so we could go back to the Lava Beds and see more caves on our own.  Check back next week for more of our travels!  

California still.....

The weather has been unusual here, one minute it is a beautiful clear day and the next minute there is a storm coming.  We are really enjoying the cool weather though because we know how hot and humid it is back in the southeast.  At night it is in the high 40's and during the day it can be anywhere from high sixties to mid fifties.  We were only a little over an hour away from Napa Valley so we drove on a scenic route through the Valley and could not believe all the wineries, hundreds of them.

  What a beautiful area this was, roses, old growth trees and grape vines everywhere!  Residents even grow vines in their front yards, maybe to make their own wine or sell..not sure why but it was really quite a sight.  There was also a natural hot springs spa there that looked a little ritzy.  We decided not to stop to do any wine tasting that day thinking we might go back later in the week.  We returned a different way, through the winding roads and mountains near Lake Berryessa, driving up to the Dam.  There were areas you could park and hike the trails all along the Lake, some were steep going down.  We decided we would come back one day earlier and hike some of the trails.

When we went back we walked a very steep trail that you could take the dogs on, but we had to lift them up it was so steep especially for Lucky who I had in my care.    I carried him some of the way and I couldn't believe what an extra 10 pounds feels like when you are hiking like that.  On the way back down we had to climb down using our hands and Lucky kept sliding down the trail on the steepest parts.  

 Talk about sore muscles the next few days!  We put the dogs in the car and started to walk down the river trail where you weren't supposed to have dogs but we came across several hikers with their dogs and they said nobody ever gives you a hard time so Bill went back and got them.  There was a sign to be aware of mountain lions and to make noise so you don't encounter them.   It was a beautiful hike among the wildflowers, flowing creek, pines and oaks on the trail.  I couldn't stop taking pictures of the flowers!  Luckily we did not encounter any moutain lions.

Memorial Day weekend we went to a parade in Vacaville as well as the green market days.  The streets were full of people, horses, car clubs, motorcycle clubs and more.  It seemed everyone wanted to be in the parade but there were definitely more parade watchers on the streets. 

  One day we went back to Point Reyes as the weather was perfect for it.  It was close to 80 degrees in Travis but when we got to the Lighthouse it was in the high 50's and windy!  Dogs were not allowed down to the lighthouse but someone decided to bring their very overweight American Bulldog and the poor thing was snorting like a pig when he got to the bottom of the steps. 

 We drove around the point to Drakes Bay and the beaches.  I was not impressed by the beaches but it was cool to see the pacific ocean again as the waves and rocks are pretty big.  We even saw some elephant seals at the old Coast Guard house.   

 On Memorial Day we met up with an old friend and colleague of Bill's, Gene,  from his Elizabeth City days.  We ate at Sandy's, 101 omelette cafe.  The omelets were three eggs and you could have anything imaginable in them with a side.  They were so huge I could not finish mine.    Bill and Gene enjoyed talking about old times and others that were in their unit.

At Travis AFB, there was an elementary school next to the FamCamp and in front when we went walking one day with the dogs there must have been 30-50 ground squirrels standing on their hind legs looking like meer cats!  Of course Ty was going crazy and wanted to chase them.  Bill would let him go once in a while to chase the Jackrabbits but he was way too slow.  We put a bird feeder out and the scrub jays would come around and eat from it.  It was a nice base so we ended up staying there for 17 days until June 1st.....we will miss it.

We left and headed towards the coast, saying goodbye to Napa and Sonoma Valley and getting to the coast to drive North on Highway one. 

What a view of the ocean and the surrounding areas we had for several hours until we realized how late it was getting as the sun set at 8:30 pm.  We stayed in Fort Bragg and continued on until we reached Humboldt Redwoods National Forest.  It was raining but the view was awesome just the same.  We drove the 33 miles on the Avenue of the Giants, stopping along the way to get pictures and just take in the amazing site of these huge trees. 

 We ended up in Eureka around 4:30 pm and found RV camping at the Fairgrounds of all places! We set up in the rain and ended up staying in the RV the rest of the night and most of the next day due to the rain.   In the afternoon we decided to venture out in the continuous rain and drove 10 miles to McKinleyville to a Farmers Market I found advertised on the internet but there were very few booths there.  We drove by the Market and came up to the largest Totem Pole in the world, so they claim. 

 It was a redwood that was 500 years old according to the sign.  We then drove a few miles down the road to the Azalea Garden Reserve.  There were a few dozen still in bloom, but I could just imagine how awesome it would be to see all of these trees in bloom.

  It was still raining but we decided to go find the maritime museum, which wasn't much of anything but next door was the  Samoa Cookhouse with the Tsunami warning sign on it..the signs were all over the roads up here.

 

 We then headed to the beach and to see the coast guard station. Of course Bill had to stand on the Jetty that the sign said not too because of sudden waves that come up over it!  

    We then went back towards downtown Eureka where we walked the dogs then went to a really good Irish Pub for some really good fish and chips and beer.  There was a musician playing authentic music with several instruments.  This was a really nice downtown area obviously revived over the years.

 

Tomorrow we will be leaving to head north again along the coast where we plan to visit the Coastal Redwoods and then camp in one of the National Forests in Oregon on the way to Klamath Falls.