Ring Ring ...... Home Is Calling .....

I'd really rather not answer that call, but there's lots of things to get done at home.  Both of my internet connections will be discontinued in October so they can force me out of my unlimited use contracts.  I'll look at what they have, but my plan is to see if maybe the old units will keep working. 

There's still some last minute ranch paperwork and finding a responsible babysitter for my puppies the last week of October.  Much as I would like to relax, those things and more are laying heavily on my mind.  It's that nagging feeling you just can't get rid of.   I'd really like to move to this part of the country too, but I love my house ... and where would I go???  Questions questions .....

It was gorgeous as I pulled out of Florence on what is close to the last leg of this trip.  There wasn't even any traffic to add to the stress level, making it a nice drive.  

Some sections of the highway show the ravages of lumbering, but then what would you build your house with, or that guitar you play, or the loom I weave on??   At least nowadays they are replanting for future harvest, like in this section.

Another tall bridge ... this one being EXTRA tall to let the ships through.  Around 10:00 the clouds came in and blocked the sun for the rest of the day, kind of matching my mood.  Maybe a little shopping excursion would brighten things up.

As I pulled into Coos Bay there was a huge ship on the dock loaded with containers, and waiting to be loaded were enormous piles of timber.

Finally checked in at Bandon RV Park (I had to back in to my site ... yikes!!), I ran a quick load of laundry and headed off to the harbor for some halibut and chips.  It will be the last chance I have for good fish, so I'm taking full advantage!!  These pieces were over an inch thick, juicy and delicious!!

Although apparently beautiful the day before, THIS day was cold and very windy.  I thought to walk around for pictures, but got too cold too quickly.  I got all of three instead of my usual 89!!  Remnants of the old docks still exist in the bay, perfect perches for the seagulls.

Whitecaps kept most of the fishermen off the water, except this guy who caught one small salmon.  He was cleaning it on the back of his boat, with lots of company from the seagulls!!

I walked down the dock to talk to some fishermen at the end who were trying to catch bait fish, wanting to go out for salmon, but the water was just too rough.  In two seconds, one kid caught a tiny three inch fish and was thrilled!!  He thought it was a baby salmon!!

I wandered around town and stopped in at a shop I missed last time.  These are actually quilted tablecloths I'll use at home.  So much stuff I can't find in my little area of the world!!

This is a gorgeous fall-colored silk scarf Cooper is modeling for me.  He really wasn't too happy about it as you can tell!!  Are you done yet Mom?  Are you done??

Lastly, this is Zoey, just so you'll know when you go to Given Back in Florence!!  She's a little camera shy and wouldn't look at me!!  Too funny ... but what a sweetheart!!

There's only one to-do on my list today ...  West Coast Game Park Safari.  Okay, maybe two ... the ice cream store is just down the street!!  Then there's the Wool Store and downtown shops and .........

Moving On Down This Time ....

Such is the life of an RV traveler ... always moving from one location to the next.  It must be that time of year to head south since I hear huge flocks of geese flying overhead.

With the internet working, I didn't have to drive to town early, but I did go back to Bay Street in Old Town Florence for one last piece of quiche.  Arriving a little too early, I sat on the street and read a few chapters of Nick Russell's book Big Lake Reckoning.  What a great way to spend a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning.  Surprisingly, Sunday was MUCH more crowded than Saturday.  There were even tour buses parked down the street.

I walked down to Given Back and was immediately greeted by Zoey!!  Such a sweetheart ... but here's the trick.  If she greets people who come in, she gets a treat ... and Zoey LOVES treats.  No matter, I sat on the floor and played with her (a medium sized Australian shepherd) for 20 minutes.  Good thing my puppies weren't around.

This is the bird feeder ... made with an illusion roof.  It's actually one solid piece of wood with a well in the center for seed.  The outside pieces are for the birds to land on before jumping up on the edge.

 The hole in the center back is for suet or peanut butter ... apparently a favorite of birds.  Who knew??

Here's one more I couldn't resist ... a hanging model.  All of these birdhouses are for outdoor use and will last for years as every piece is cross-nailed in place.   I think this one will end up inside, hanging from my fireplace!!

I got back to the rig in time to see some guy pulling a boat come around the corner too fast and knock over the street light at the front of my rig.  He didn't say a word, just drove off.  I thought maybe he didn't feel the hit, but I don't know how he missed the BANG!!!  Everyone else moved out and the park is practically vacant now!

If you are an Elk and haven't stayed at this RV park in Florence, be sure and check it out.  The sites are large with lots of trees between for privacy.  Easy in, easy out and GREAT people working the registration desk.  My AT&T phone doesn't work here, but others seem to be fine.

The rest of the day was spent playing with the puppies, watching football and trying NOT to eat.  There's nothing worse for a diet than sitting around bored, eating everything in sight!!  It won't stop with a move either, as Bandon has that halibut and chips ... the best I've ever tasted!!

Time to get going .... see you in Bandon at the West Coast Game Park!!

Given Back Birdhouses!

I'm SOOOOO excited!!  The Elks WiFi is back online and I'm in internet heaven!!!  I probably looked up ten things last night, just because I could!!

After another good breakfast at Le Bouchon yesterday, I walked down to the Farmers Market.  I guess it’s late in the year, because there were only a few tables.  Nothing to write home about anyway.  On my way back to the car, I discovered Given Back Birdhouses was open!  This is a stop you MUST make in Old Town Florence on Bay Street, down close to the bridge.  I think they are only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5:00, but SO worth the stop.

Although they call themselves a museum, that’s kind of a stretch, but please pay the entry fee of a measly 25 cents … I promise you won’t be disappointed!!  You will be greeted by Amen and Maria Fisher, amazing artists and wonderfully friendly people who combine art with science and forestry to bring you birdhouses extraordinaire.  I know, sounds kind of silly, but they know everything about every bird you might entice into your garden, and what their exact real estate needs are.  Here's one they made last year with a Nuthatches inside.

Be sure and take time for Amen's little tour of the shop.  He has a wealth of interesting information and is more than willing to share every bit of it.

Here’s another example … made specifically for pollinators … the bees and wasps that will pollinate your garden.  The bird houses contain holes of the appropriate size, a condo of specific proportions with exact roof heights and perches.  If you want to attract anything else, including bats, wrens, chickadees, hummingbirds or owls, they can help you there too.  

This pollinator isn't just one sided ... it is decorated all around, including the back.  Each one is made specifically for one type of insect or bird and decorated to help keep other predators at bay.  Here's an interesting tidbit ... momma bird brings spider eggs into the nest, which hatch and eat mites on the babies.  The babies, when old enough, eat the spiders.  Pretty smart little cookies!!

If you want to make your own, they have an autographed book for $25 that will tell you exactly how they do it, including measurements and requirements for each type of bird.

It's just fantastic what they have put together in the small studio, along with their sweet dog Zoey (who likes her tummy rubbed).  They can even make a customized piece just for you.  If I’m going to pay for “art”, this is the kind I like.  Most bird houses run around $45, all made with parts and pieces they have collected from the beaches and forests and have ingenious hangers.  These aren’t made with fresh cut wood, but dead wood or driftwood and require many hours to hollow out the right sized hole.  

With a purchase or maybe two in hand, I drove out to the jetty again to check on the wind conditions.  Mother Nature said not today, so after a quick stop at the rig to check on the puppies, I headed out to gather some pieces for MY birdhouse, to be built when I get home.

Bob’s Beach was a great start, where I picked up lots of redwood bark driftwood to become birdhouse shingles.  Once you start looking, there’s lots to find.  All driftwood is not smooth however, so be careful when picking pieces up.  I got a nice sliver that took me 30 minutes to remove!!  The tide was coming in, so the tide pools were out of the question for pictures, but there are rocks you can still climb on.  

Course there’s always someone who tries to push the envelope … not a good idea here.  These two girls were stuck on the rocks until the tide went back out enough to clamber down to the sand. 

The ocean water comes in around the reef at this point, making a nice pool about 10 feet deep.  A great place to look for critters!!

These guys are of course everywhere.  This seagull flew off the rock, grabbed a seashell from the surf, and as he flew up high, dropped it on the rocks.  I thought he was just clumsy until he landed on top of it and had lunch!!  Another smart cookie!!  I wondered how they got those tough shells open!

Big Creek bridge is a beautiful bowstring arch bridge, completed in 1931, one of three along the Oregon Coast Highway. 

You've seen this view before, but with lots of rain clouds.  This is looking South on Heceta Beach.  I didn't realize how much the landscape can change in just a couple of months.

So this blog was written from the comfort of my motorhome along with my morning cup of coffee.  I still have to make a trip back to Old Town to pick up a Given Back bird feeder.  They also have suet feeders, but I doubt that would work in my neck of the woods.  They can't make one big enough for buzzards!!   

I'll probably just hang out at the RV park today and start packing up for my next move south to Bandon.  I have to be in Hanford California for a meeting by the end of the month.  BOOOO!!!  Back to the old grind for a couple of months and dare I say it ..... back to the Magic Kingdom of Bingo!!

Heceta Beach Flying

This no-internet thing might just turn out okay after all.  I get to have wonderful broccoli quiche every morning at LeBouchon … and don’t forget that peanut butter cookie!!

After moving the rig, driving to Old Town and having breakfast while I wrote the blog, I took off South across the bridge.  At the sign for Thousand Trails South Jetty Park, I turned right and kept going, shaking my head at the sight of all those trees and tree stumps in that park.  If you have a small rig and don’t want television, it’s probably a nice place to stay.

At any rate, just continue on the road until you come to a sign that says OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) Park and Jetty to the left.  As you come in, grab another one of those envelopes and deposit your $5.00.  I’m not sure how often they check, but if the wind was good, I planned on staying awhile.

There are several paved parking areas along the 5-1/2 mile road … secure your valuables.  I put my computer and camera in the backpack on one shoulder and my kite bag on the other.  With a 45 degree ascent up the sand dune, it was a little tough going.  The trick is to walk at the very edge next to the bushes where the sand is hard, making it much easier to navigate.  

Heidi lives here I guess, as this seems to be her beach.  She wasn’t anywhere in site when I was there … nor was anyone else.  The beach was completely deserted!!  Perfect for kite flying!!

I set up my lightest kite, since the winds were barely 5 mph, and went to town!!  It took a few adjustments due to the light winds, but I was having a great time anyway.  Then that dog came along!!  Really, if your dog isn’t well trained, don’t let him run wild on the beach while you scream your lungs out.  When they were out of range, I went back to flying.  

It didn’t take long for the wind to die down considerably, making it a LOT of work to keep the kite in the air.  That wasn’t helped by the fact that I was flying in a bowl where the wind pretty much went over the top, so when I did crash, it was almost impossible to get it back up.  Time to quit and enjoy the view!!

It’s always easy going downhill … going back up, not so much, especially when you are loaded down with camera, computer and kite bag.  It’s a gorgeous view however, even if you only go up the sand dune and stay on top.  The beach and ocean seem to go on forever!!

If you keep going North on the jetty road, you will actually leave the “parking fee” area, coming to a large parking lot towards the mouth of the bay.  If you have four wheel drive, you can probably continue even further in the sand, but I wasn’t taking any chances.  It looked to be a long walk to the beach from that parking lot, so I returned down the Jetty Road.  I did see lots of fishermen here, if that’s something you want to try.  

Here's a full-timer parked next to the sand dune you have to walk over.  He's ready for everything, from kayaking to biking to surfboarding (other side) to scooting down the sidewalk!!

One more stop at the bead shop for a couple of extra things, which turned into MANY more parts and pieces, and I was set to make a few more zipper pulls.  The ladies at the Waterlily Studio were very helpful, especially when we started talking about real estate here.  Seems everyone I meet who lives here, came from California, most retired and working part time.

Back at the Elks Park, I’m surrounded by smokers, beer drinkers, kids and big noisy dogs.  Two of those kids think it’s fun to run up my screen door and yell at my dogs, which of course makes them go ballistic!!  I wonder what the penalty is for …… oh never mind!!

I got a couple of tips on places to fly kites, so that’s where I’m headed today … and maybe one more trip to the Bead Shop.  Oh ... and the Farmers Market.  I left my big camera home since I'm listing to the right having carried it all day yesterday, so hopefully I won't miss any great photo opportunities. 

Morning On The Bay!!

I have to say it’s been pretty traumatic not having internet or phone service this time around.  I’m not sure if it’s the tower, the storms or the earth movement.  I really start to feel cut off from the world!!  I’ve even taken to watching the evening news on the local chanels, which I never do!!

This morning was no different, since I had to hang around the RV park and move my rig from one spot to another.  Seems someone special reserved the site I was in, so I moved to another directly behind  … also a pull through.  I apologize for being so late with the blog!

Once done with yesterday’s blog, I strolled down Old Town Florence to discover one of the best vegetable stands EVER is open every day of the week, not just for Farmers Market.  They have the sweetest tomatoes and white peaches I’ve had in my life, so I stocked up for the week.

I walked down on the docks and took a few pictures, while watching some people fishing pull up an empty crab pot. I teetered perilously on the dock, hanging on with my toes as the fishermen in boats raced by making waves two feet high!!  Ride ‘em cowboy!!  That was a real balancing act!!

There are a couple of new stores that I wandered through until I found this great picture!!  It’s not for the rig, but my seashore bathroom at home.  Then I hit Kitchen Klutter and showed considerable restraint, purchasing only one small spreading knife for dips.  Their pans were all over the top expensive!!

I found my little sandwich/wine shop … Le Bouchon Provisions … and had a delicious pulled pork sandwich on fresh baked homemade sourdough bread.  The salad was some Italian noodle that I suspect had anchovies in it.  There’s no faster way to make me sick than fishy noodle salad … don’t order that one if you come here!!  I did discover however, a gentleman sitting with a cup of coffee using his computer for over an hour.  So that’s where I sit today as I type.

This is only HALF the sandwich ... I ate the rest!!

I hope this picture comes out well on the blog.  It's one of my all time favorites.  While standing on the dock on the other side, I noticed a small sandy patch that I thought would make a great shot.  I drove across, parked in the hotel lot and scrambled down through the brambles to a little piece of beach.   I think it came out pretty nice.  I just might have to frame this one!!  

I wanted to check out the sandy beaches for wind, so I drove down Rhododendron Street North of the bridge for quite a few miles until I hit the end of the jetty.  There was another of those “secure your valuables” signs, so I didn’t go far from the car.  There were lots of vehicles there and people fishing everywhere … I imagine that’s part of the salmon run … and wall to wall boats just inside the jetty.

Unfortunately it was too windy to kite fly.  Today I’ll drive around the south jetty and see if it’s any better.  With all the storms going through, it may be just a tad too breezy.

My last stops were at two bead stores.  There are two rather large ones here, so I decided to drop in to see what the deal was.  WOW!!  There were millions of beads, all sizes and shapes, and walls of bits and pieces to put them all together.  I imagine if you know what you are doing, you could make some beautiful jewelry.  

All I wanted was to try and recreate some zipper pulls I had seen in most every “gallery”.  Not to say I'm getting old, but sometimes those zippers on my purses and backpacks are just too small to see, let alone grab.  Sure enough, they have all the supplies you need, even some of the same beads, but they are not exactly cheap … inexpensive … you know what I mean.  

The supplies to make this one cost me $4.05 … but it’s really pretty, right??  I paid $5.00 for the one in the gallery, so I’m saving money!!  Some things however, come in packages of ten.  So now I have to buy MORE beads to use up the findings.  I’m pretty sure that’s a planned strategy on the part of the manufacturer.

I’m off to the South Jetty, hopefully for some kite flying, then to the bead store for 9 more beads!!  By the way, the quiche here at Le Bouchon is delicious with a capital D.  Lucky me, she gave me her secret for a tall luscious pie.  I'll let you know if it works!!

Boiling Water!!

I took a nice long drive North on the Oregon Coast Highway looking for some adventure.  It didn’t take me long to find it.  I actually drove about 20 miles North, then stopped at several spots on the way back, since all the pull-outs are on the ocean side.     

                                     

This is Bob Creek.  I don’t know who Bob was but he has a nice roadside rest stop where you can walk down to the tide pools and beach.  It just doesn’t get any prettier than this!!  Rubber boots would probably be a good idea so you can walk in the tide pools and cross the little river without getting wet.  I left mine home, so I went barefoot when I crossed the creek.  It was a lot colder than I imagined, forcing me to sit on the wet sand to replace my socks and shoes.                        

                                    

With the current storm coming in, winds were blowing the wave tops as they crashed over the rocks.  The rainbows were totally unexpected. There were lots of green sea anemone and hundreds of shells on the beach, just none of the sand dollars I was looking for.

Further down the highway I came across the Devils Churn, a cut in the mountain allowing sea water to boil into the chasm.  With the storm coming in as well as the tide, it was a pretty spectacular place to visit.  It looked surprisingly like my boiling pot of stroganoff!!

Don’t forget to put $5.00 in an envelope for parking, then walk down the switchback path until you reach the top of the stairs.  Instead of going down the stairs, go left down the path until it ends at the cliff edge.  You’ll find this tree and a view of the beach towards the South.  

                                                     

Go a little further and there is another set of stairs you can descend to the tide pools below.  Here's the cool part ... if you continue around the cliff edge to the right (there's plenty of room) ... you will experience the crashing waves up close and personal.  It's amazing to watch the waves come from two different directions, smash into each other and explode like a bomb!!  It definitely resembles a pot of boiling water!!

Keep walking in a Northward direction and you will end up at the chasm at the bottom of the OTHER set of stairs, getting a view very people see.  Check out the tide tables first so you don’t get washed out to sea, but I guarantee you’ll like this short hike. 

The waves not only crash on the rocks outside the chasm, but inside as well.  I could sit here for hours and listen to the ocean.  When the water hits the rocks, it makes an indescribable noise!!

I got just a tad too close to this one.  Either I got sprayed or it started raining again!!  I think the wind just came up at the right time.  

There was a big swoosh as this wave hit the edge of the chasm and sprayed upward.  I'd bring lunch to this spot and sit awhile.  Mother Nature is AWESOME!!

I stopped at Muriel Ponsier Wayside, but the sign that said “take all your valuables, the Sheriff’s Department patrols this area” was rather a put off.   One last stop at Strawberry Hill ended up being a great place for an adventure.  I didn’t find any strawberries, but the hill had kind of red rock as I followed the trail to the bottom.  Head off to the right and over the rocks to the beach beyond.  There were lots of broken sand dollars here, as well as great tide pools and a nice fort.  Watch the tides here too, as you will get wet feet if you stay too long.  The good news is there wasn't a sole around!!

The cool part about every beach I stopped at was the lack of people.  They were all at the big stops, like Heceta Head Lighthouse and Cape Perpetua.  Stop in at these out of the way places and bring some snacks.  It’s just gorgeous, even if it is raining!!

Having run/walked a couple miles in the morning, then hiked down and back up every beach, as well as at least 3 more miles ON the beaches, I was pretty tired by the time I got back to the rig.  It rained on and off all day, pouring enough occasionally to make me nervous, so I stayed in most of the late afternoon!!

I spent an hour crunched in the car at the quilt store, writing the last blog, so this time I wrote it the night before in Windows, which I copied here.  It really wasn't much easier, as I again sit in the car in Old Town Florence.  Today I'll scout out a better place as I head off to my favorite Kitchen Store to look for a new pot.