Somebody Pinch Me

It's like we're living in a post card collection. Not living in a single post card - a whole bunch of them!

Every place we go (and we did choose a pretty amazing route for starters) is incredible. I worry I'm going to wear out all "those" adjectives in my posts.

With full and partial hookups, good showers, generous space, and beautiful locations, the Oregon State Park campgrounds along the coast are perfect places to stay. They are also full on the summer weekends. Cancellations do occur and if your timing is right (congrats BFF on scoring both Bullards and Harris Beach!) you can spend more than three or four days. We would definitely have booked more time here in Bandon, OR, if we could have!

Bullards Beach State Park is just over the Coquille River north of Bandon by the Sea, OR. The weather has been perfect for our three days here, making getting out and seeing the sights especially enjoyable.  Leaving behind those triple digits in SoCal, I didn't think I'd ever welcome the warmth again. But after just a few weeks of fog and clouds, it's been a treat to have some days of bright sunshine :-)

Our site is at the beginning of the C loop, gets great Internet, is sunny most of the day, and if we had satellite we have open skies on three sides. There is also a steady stream of kids, dogs and bikes to keep all of us entertained. It's nice to see families having a good time outdoors. Tessa falls in love multiple times a day.

 Relaxing in the backyard with a good book  (I don't know how he can see that little screen)

Tessa's first time out with the Trkes. She did great.

The small road off the campground follows the small peninsula between the Coquille River and the Pacific Ocean. It ends at the Coquille Lighthouse, decommissioned in 1939, but still maintained and open for daily tours. 

Coquille River Lighthouse

Expecting a cascade of blonde hair?

It is a cute little lighthouse, but the draw here is the huge, flat, blustery, foggy, goes-on-for-miles beach with rows of crashing gray waves on one side and piles of smooth gray driftwood on the other.

I'm sure it is spectacular every day, but on a day without another person in sight there aren't words to describe its power and beauty.





After our time on Bullards Beach we headed into Old Town Bandon. Several eateries and cute shops and folks enjoying vacation. Our favorite was the boardwalk along the marina. There are multiple types of local art on display, with the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and fishing pier making a unique gallery setting.

Several pieces honoring the local tribe

Different size and style, each a tribute to a loved one

One of my favorites of

over a hundred art pieces by all ages

 We wrapped up our second day's outing with a drive around Beach Loop Road. Although there were a couple dozen properties for sale along this section of ocean view homes among the forest, the one we fell in love with was not one of them.

Wednesday morning we headed south to Cape Blanco Lighthouse. I've seen and read about the spot in Nina's blog for a couple years and couldn't wait to see it in person. Knowing she wouldn't be there I didn't plan to take the tour and leave Bill and Tessa waiting, but I was still excited.

At the most western point in the contiguous US, Cape Blanco sticks her face out into the Pacific and catches the strong winds nearly every day. Our visit was no exception, but the sun was shining bright and we could see for miles which is not always the case.

Did I mention living in a post card?  Once again the "wow's" continued as the lighthouse came into view. And then some more as we looked out over the beach below. There were quite a few people for mid week, and one guide took a good size group for the next tour while we chatted outside with the other.

I perused the visitors building (they just moved to the larger one this week), read some of the history of the over-one-hundred-year-old working lighthouse, and bought my first souvenir sweatshirt since we launched. Had to, I was that excited to be there.

A couple and young girl arrived in a Model T as we were walking back to the Jeep. I laughed at the parking of the very old vehicle followed by the immediate pulling out of smart phones :-)

They drove it from Port Orford today

It was still early so we turned north, passed Bandon, and ended up in Coos Bay for lunch. We'll pass through again on our way north, but not to stop and look around.

Saw our first car dealerships since Ukiah, making it feel like a really big town, and the large Mills Casino with an RV park right on the water. Bill found a deli on BringFido.com and we enjoyed a couple of sandwiches before taking in the local farmer's market next door. City Sub has a great selection and brought Tessa three doggie meatballs to enjoy. Is it still a "doggy bag" if she brought some home?

Picked up a large bag of fresh blueberries and a couple tamales, exercised great control in not picking up some lovely smelling beeswax candles, and headed out. The produce was sparse and I was nearly cashless (have to remember to carry that stuff now), so it was a small-haul.

As if all the dogs and kids haven't been exciting enough for Tessa, this gal wondered into our camp.

I love that we haven't been ready to leave any place so far, and at the same time are excited to see what's next.

This is our life? Pinch me!

Our Time in Brookings, OR

Changing our route at the last minute meant scrambling for a spot over the July 4th holiday. Knowing the pace we wanted to set, I figured we'd be near Brookings, OR about that time so focused my search here.

Put our name on a couple waiting lists, made a reservation at a very busy, family park in Smith River, CA, and then just before we launched I found a spot I liked better along the Chetco River in Brookings. Cancelled the first reservation and booked four nights at At River's Edge RV Park.

The quiet mountain side

The park is indeed on the edge of the river, and if there was more water and some fish it would be a prime fishing spot. But neither of those is true this summer :-(  It is very clean here, even the 20% permanent residents. Quiet at night, beautiful tree-covered mountains on all sides, deer and birds. Unfortunately there is also a rock company destroying a section of mountain on the other side of the river. The heavy equipment runs all day, even on the holiday Saturday, and starts before 6 AM! They have a permanent set up so until there's no more mountain there, it will be a daily ear-sore. We'll stay elsewhere next time.

We spent most of our time at the water. There's a lot of variety with the harbor, state beach, and three large rivers all within a few miles.

Harris Beach is one of those post card places you can't believe you're actually seeing with your own eyes. The fog moved in and out over the rocks and haystacks and the driftwood made natural sculptures along the water. We took a short hike through one of the many small cliff areas to a tide pool fed between two huge rocks. Can't believe this is our life.

You'd think I'd learn to listen to my "self" by this age, but once again I ignored and regretted it later. On our way back to the parking lot there was a familiar looking woman talking with some folks at one of the over-looks. I told Bill "She looks like Judy who's blog I sometimes read." But I didn't ask her, just returned to the car. Of course when I opened her blog back at the rig the opening photo was Harris Beach! I should be sore from kicking myself!!

When I was here with the BFF we looked at a couple properties for sale, very different from each other, and I wanted to see if I could find them this time. Figured it was a fun way to show Bill some of the local area.

On our way out of the park a doe and her young fawn jumped out of the bush and loped along the side of the road for several yards just ahead of us. We kept back and just enjoyed their beauty for the brief encounter.

While looking for the property on the Chetco River we found a small access road and drove the Jeep out to see if we could find any fish. No fish, but a pretty spot along the water. And more deer :-)

Looking back at me

Chetco River



Mom and a couple teenagers

Did find a perfect house overlooking Harris Beach, just $800K and we could call it home. Think we'll keep driving.

All the RV parks and motels are full for the holiday weekend and we knew the harbor would be packed at night for the annual fireworks display.  Instead, we went early, enjoyed a couple fresh fish tacos, strolled the vendor tents, and listened to the live music.

Good turn out for the little town

 

Brookings Harbor Marina

This looked like so much fun :-)

Happy 4th of July!

We weren't up to hanging around until 10 PM for the show so we came back to the rig. The park remained quiet all evening, and although we could hear the fireworks at 10, we couldn't see them. We'll see some next year.

Nature's fireworks from our front yard

Our last full day we headed back into California in search of a good fishing spot. The Smith River is surrounded by redwoods, and like all the others we've seen, is at about 25% full.

It's a good thing we have the Jeep - it gets us down to the water's edge that is now very far from the roads that used to be the river's border. We bumped and bounced and scraped through the brush to find a beautiful, perfect fishing spot. It even had some fish!  Perfect, cloudy weather, and not another person in sight, it was a lovely place to spend the morning. Alas it was all fishing and no catching, but we had a wonderful time.





Not as smooth as it looks

"I'm good, you guys go walk on all those rocks"

Checked out nearby Lake Earl, and the "seen better days" community of Fort Dick. Stopped at the lovely little Visitors Center at Crissey Field State Park just north of the border. It is mostly a huge selection of brochures on the state and the area in particular, but has a nice section with historical maps and old photos.





Crissey Field Visitors' Center

Like so many places, four days just scratches the surface of all there is to see here. It is a beautiful area with perfect weather. We'll definitely be back.

Made It Out of California!

It took us a little over three weeks (and really we could have easily spent another three or more) to travel the Pacific coast to Oregon, making it just over the border to Brookings yesterday.

Our last day in Trinidad was a fun combination of very wild and much more civilized.

Samoa peninsula includes Samoa Dunes, referred to as one of the most ecologically diverse areas in California. The peninsula is about 10 miles by 1 mile with a pulp mill (there since 1900), a large Coast Guard station, an OHV recreational area and campground, a unique jetty constructed of concrete dolos, and acres of protected dunes.  We had no idea what to expect, and really enjoyed the wildness of the place. Bridges hopscotch across two uninhabited islands and return you to Eureka.

Coast Guard Station in the fog

Not a swimmers' beach

Love the wild of this place

Next we headed for Arcata to check out this delightful university town we'd heard so much about. It didn't disappoint and we had a wonderful afternoon walking the cute downtown and plaza area (without the camera). The eclectic mix of residents and tourists made for great people watching, and the local merchants were very friendly.  I had the best time in the herbal shop where Tessa was welcome to join us. There's nothing like lots of large jars of wonderful smelling herbal tea blends to make me happy :-)

The scenery from Eureka to Brookings is incredible, with more rugged coastline and redwood forests. But the back and forth and up and down on the narrow road made me glad it was a less than 90 mile travel day!

We have beach and fishing and harbor and chilling in the cool and breezy sunshine on our agenda for the next four days.

Our little riverfront park seems like a great spot to spend the holiday weekend.

At River's Edge RV Park, Brookings OR

Beautiful and Peaceful Trinidad, CA

Trinidad State Beach, CA



I was completely unprepared for the beauty of this place.

We had reservations for eight nights camped in the redwoods before crossing into Oregon at the first of the month.

IN the redwoods

I knew it was on the coast and I had vague memories of some pretty pictures. But we've been at Morro Bay and Bodega Bay and Fort Bragg, and some pretty spectacular coastline in between. We've seen lovely and awesome for weeks.

Fishing boats in the foggy bay

It sounds like the ocean here

Flowers covering cliffs

And on the very top of large rocks in the ocean

This place grabs me and holds tight. I love the little (tiny) town and its community of organic, sustainable, artistic, dog-loving, friendly, proud residents. I love the fog that moves in and out like the tide, unveiling blue skies to warm the chilled air just long enough to keep the coats and warm shoes in the car. I love the flowers and vegetable gardens and mix of old bungalows and new cottages. I love the perfect market with a full meat and seafood counter and locally made cheeses and wines. I love walking on the beach through large rocks and beside tall cliffs.

So much to see

I even love the proximity to a university town and a full-service small city. Both Arcata and Eureka have everything you could want. Eureka certainly has signs of economic struggles, but we like it. Their Walmart is expensive and poorly stocked, but they also have two organic markets and a Safeway.....so you don't ever have to go there. Funny though, it's in the mall!

Eureka also has a Petco and a movie theatre. We combined the two on Sunday to get Tessa a much needed bath and trim while we took in Jurassic World. After the motorhome has been our home for a while longer we will feel comfortable leaving her for short periods, but for now we don't. So it was a treat to go somewhere together that wasn't dog-friendly for a couple hours.

The movie theatre was nice although the seats failed to maintain optimum comfort through the whole movie - which we both enjoyed.

Broadway Cinema, Eureka

The groomer at Petco was wonderful with Tessa and I felt comfortable leaving her there for her spa day. We already knew that if it didn't feel right, we'd change our plans.

Much nicer to live with than

Ms Dirty Dog

I'm so grateful that travel serendipity put us here for  a week.  Even cleaning house and doing laundry was a pleasure! Walks through the park were peaceful with 100s of towering trees. And several interesting stumps.

Old growth stumps

throughout the RV park

Some more "useful" than others

We will most definitely be back to Trinidad.