Our First Destination--Oregon!

Thurs, 9-8-11 to 9-11-11
Day 3
Gold Beach, Oregon
Indian Trails Campground
$100 for 4 day stay w/full hookups

Traveled up 101 north to Redding and then took a left to the coastline on Pacific Coast Highway 1, to our destination, the Oregon coastline.  It took all day but was so beautiful.  Most of the coastline is forested and wild, and as beautiful as Big Sur, but it gets a lot less attention.  Traveled through Trinidad, the prettiest town on the northern California coast, and through Oreck, which we thought was dumpy but charming and on through Crescent City to the border of Oregon.  We even passed through a grove of Redwood trees.  By afternoon we decided to stay in Gold Beach, Oregon because we were tired and needed a break and needed to begin to experience the country that we had set out to see.  Gold Beach is a small, but charming town which sits right on the Rogue River as it meets the sea.  We found a woodsy campground for a reasonable price of $24 per night with full hookups.  They put us, at our request, at the back 40 where we could have some distance between our neighbors and extra parking space for the big dooley we drive.  We stayed 4 days and mostly went sight-seeing.

Day 3:  No time to really write anything.  Too busy setting up camp the first day, doing laundry and cleaning and sorting out some of the drawers in the bathroom and kitchen that I didn’t do before we left home.  We hadn’t used the trailer in more than a year so I couldn’t remember what things I had and what was needed.  Plus, it’s different to use an RV for a vacation as opposed to living in it full-time.  Different things are needed.

As we set up camp we discovered the refrigerator  and the water system didn’t work.  So it took Dan several hours to fix both, or at least get them working.  Also, things began to break.  One of the shock absorber bars under the bed broke and we’ll have to get new ones ordered and installed.  The gas cap on the truck disintegrated and we’ll have to replace it.  We are worried these things may be a harbinger of worse things to come, and our funds to fix and repair stuff is limited.

We get restless every day too, to explore the town and our surroundings, to try to suck out ‘all the marrow out of life,’  (Thoreau from Walden), and do not wish to just hang around our trailer and campsite.  We wasted an entire day by driving to see a historical community only to find, after 90 minutes of driving, that it was nothing more than a post office and store.  Big deal.  And the worst was having to drive back 90 minutes as well.  The only nice thing about visiting Agness, was that we got to see so much of the Rogue River, which is beautiful, and see a couple of bridges and enjoy the wildflowers and all the lush greenery that flanks the road. (See my photos on Facebook).

We also, to my delight, discovered that Dairy Queens continue in the state of Oregon!  I had not been in a DQ for more than 30 years, and in fact, had thought they were obsolete.  So we made a couple of trips there for ice cream desserts and burgers and fries.  I find DQ much superior to the fast foods of my hometown although I’m certain, from a nutritional standpoint, they aren’t any healthier.  They only taste better!

We rented movies for evening and indulged in tv and I finished the book I was reading, the third in a trilogy of Swedish mysteries entitled The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest by Stig Larrsen.  I enjoyed reading all three of them.

So, we visited shops, talked to people (our favorite thing) and the four days passed quickly and we felt ready to move on.

At a ‘Sacred’ Shop where they sell incense and buddhas and icons and tarot cards, I bought a very funny bumper sticker that read, “Fat People Are Harder To Kidnap.”  We got a laugh out of that.  The cashier was a middle-aged woman we enjoyed chatting with, who resembled in many ways our deceased friend Carlah Henderson.  Her hair was a different color but she had the same eyes and expressions, and I thought it uncanny.

We quickly discovered several things that are very special to Oregon.  One is the bridges.  There are so many and not only beautiful in their way, but could often be considered engineering wonders.  We just don’t have bridges like this where we come from (Central Coast of Calif).  The other thing is that so many of the little towns up the coast have so many murals on their buildings.  We tried to get as many pictures as we could.  Another thing is the beautiful lighthouses.  Oregon is very rural and we saw so many charming towns and pastoral scenes everywhere.  We found that Oregon is populated with mobile homes which are everywhere and these are a marker of status and class.  The run down mobiles are a sure sign of poverty while the newer ones which are in good repair and have landscaped yards and matching garages and storage units, are a sign of middle-class.  The upper class have the beautiful, large homes, while the middle class have the smaller A-frame, clapboard houses.  These A-frame architectural style from about 1920 are really my favorite.  Coupled with the lush greenery, there are some homes to envy.

 

I especially loved the old historic churches with their steeples.  Lots of these around in the small towns.

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to access everything as we are travelling from one destination to another because the trailer with truck is too big to park in most places.  We really have to be creative to figure out how and where to park when we see something we want to take a photo of.  What we really need is a motorcycle to do the actual exploring with, and leave the trailer at a campground.  We missed photographing several bridges and lighthouses as a result and will have to make do with postcards.
 
Truth #2 Learned:  Everything is filled with both good and bad.  There is an upside and a downside to everything.
 
Sunday, 9/11/11
South Beach State Park Campground
Newport, Oregon
$21 for one night of dry camping

We pulled into this campground just to get a nights’ sleep and a shower and planned to leave early the next morning.  It turned out to be a delight—very new and clean and we were put in the outback away from neighbors with easy access to bathrooms.  The bathrooms and showers were almost luxurious because they are so new.  We slept well and were on our way early the next morning.

The state of Oregon has really invested a lot of funds to build new campgrounds and refurbish old ones, and the ranger said the governor made it a priority so more families can go camping.

 
One of the unique things about Oregon is their Myrtlewood Trees.  This particular species is Umbellularia Californica, a member of the laurel family and is found only in a small area along the Oregon coastline.  'The myrtle tree is a broadleaf evergreen which is peculiar from other evergreens due to its tiny white blossoms that appear annually.  The tree grows in a stocky umbrella-shaped manner and produces a wood that varies in color from a deep, rich brown to silvery gray, red and even yellow.  The grain is so interwoven that no distinct growth rings can be seen and splitting the wood apart becomes nearly impossible.  When you take a leaf and tear it you’ll enjoy a pungent, spicy odor that is strong proof that it is indeed, a myrtle.  These trees usually exist in relatively isolated groups.  Growth is moderately slow, taking from 100-150 years to reach commercial use.  But the limited range, and the fact that myrtle is not particularly productive, will no doubt always relegate the species to the class of rare trees.  Many household items are made from these lovely trees—bowls, lamps, trays, cutting boards, jewelry, coaster sets, candlesticks, clocks, carvings, cribbage boards, etc.'
 
Myrtlewood trees are ancient in origin and mentioned in the Bible several times, “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree.  And instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree.”  Isaiah 55:13.

Monday, 9/12/11
Vancouver RV Park, Washington

Back on the road traveling north up the coastline and then east across the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon, then turn south and drop into Vancouver where we found an RV park.  Will stay only a couple of days and leave on Friday, Sept. 16^th for Oregon and to see my cousin.

We enjoyed just passing through some of the most delightful, charming towns along the northern coast of Oregon —Winchester, Reedsport, Bandon, Seaside, Warrenton, etc.  In Reedsport they had some sort of cyclist thing going on and what looked like thousands of tents set up at the school we passed by.  In Bandon we visited the Game Park where we got to pet a baby tiger and mingle amongst the petting animals—deer, goats, geese and even a little burro who would bray in the most dejected manner.  This little burro followed me for a little while and kept grabbing at my purse.  I don't know what he was up to so I tried to dodge him until he lost interest in me.  The children around thought he was adorable.

The sand dunes in Oregon are very different than California.  They have a lot of trees and forest growing out of them in clumps.  And some of the sand is grey colored.

Lincoln City was very nice and I wouldn’t mind checking it out again someday.  They had so many old clapboard  A-frame houses and old buildings.  I also love the old churches with the steeples.  The land around Cloverdale all the way to Hebo and up through Tillamook is all dairy farming and it is all so picturesque with the pretty little Jersey cows everywhere.

Rockaway Beach was very charming and artsy.  I’d like to see it again.

Astoria marks the end of the Oregon coast and is at the mouth of the Columbia River.  I found it interesting—gigantic bridges, very crowded, narrow streets and old buildings.

Lots of wildflowers along the roads, very different ones from California.

We sent postcards to people back home and a few packages to others.  We’ve had to make repairs to both the trailer and the truck.  We’ll need to find an RV center to buy some replacement parts.  The northern Oregon coastline is very beautiful.  Some of the coastline is rocky and other parts have accessible sandy beaches.  There is easy parking in Ophir with access to the beach.  And there are lots of State Campgrounds as well that are very nice, much nicer than Calif State Parks.

 

Tillamook, Oregon is famous for their cheeses which are marketed in the supermarkets back home.  So we visited the Cheese Factory and had a delicious breakfast there.  We bought the granddaughters  magnets with their names on them with the Tillamook logo.  We also bought a bright orange (cheddar cheese color) crazy t-shirt for Dr. Bloom, our family doctor back home.  He likes funny t-shirts.  We mailed everything off as soon as we could.

The reason we are in Vancouver is because our son Brian asked us to do a reconnaissance mission for him.  When we arrive he tells us it’s a mistake, it’s Tacoma he wants.  Sorry, pal.  Maybe next year.

So we are stuck for a couple of days here but we need to get the truck fixed and work on the trailer a bit.  Buy some parts.  We take the truck into a shop to replace the U-joints.  And I have laundry to do.  So we keep busy.  Most of the other RV people and campers are very nice and helpful, although I knew our luck wouldn’t always hold in having great neighbors.  An old chain-smoking woman moved in next door yesterday with about 8 barking cocker spaniels.  I like dogs, but not when they are excessive like that.  More than 3 and I consider it a mental illness.

We went to the cinema last night.  That’s what they call going to the movie theater here.  We saw Contagion, which I really liked but Dan found boring and he groused about the $33 it cost.  We got a senior discount but bought small sodas and soft pretzels and that cost more than the movie did.  Normally we don’t eat at the movies but we skipped supper and were starving.  It's the first movie I've been to in 6 years so was a treat for me.

Afterwards we stopped at a Pie House Restaurant and had coffee and pie and played our beloved Cribbage.  Dan won as usual.  It’s nice when people stop to talk to us and comment on our game.

We made a trip to Wal-mart to pick up some RV supplies and a few other things and found a couple of funny t-shirts to send to Joe and Brian, our sons.  We’ll have to get those mailed off.

We also purchased a $25 gift card to McDonalds for a woman named Nancy who helped us with our new laptop and showed us how to access the internet at McDonalds.  I was supposed to have bought her meal and forgot all about it, so I’m going to mail it off to her.  Thank goodness she gave us her card with the address on it.  My declining brain and short-term memory loss gets me into embarassing situations sometimes.

September 20, 2011

Anderson RV Park

Vernonia, Oregon

Today is Dan’s 62^nd birthday.  Both boys called him which made him happy and pleased me.

We’ve been staying in Anderson RV Park in Vernonia, Oregon for about 4 days now.  It seemed to be the closest we could get to Forest Grove where my cousin Dianna lives.  I’ve spent several hours visiting her this week.  I like her daughter Krisha equally well, and it was nice to see Aunt Phyliss.

It’s very pretty and rural here.  The town of Vernonia is a block away and a very small historic town.  There is a little latte bistro where we can get free internet.  It’s very charming.  The people are all very nice.

The only problem is the hornets which have been driving us mad.  We finally bought a trap and today when we returned we saw that it had collected about 50 of them.  I hope we don’t have further problems with them.  They are very aggressive and try to get into the trailer.  At least bees we can appreciate--they produce honey and pollinate crops.  These pesky red and yellow-jacket hornets are nothing but carrion feeders and I get a certain pleasure out of killing them.  This is another indication that I won't ever make a very good Buddhist, with the dharma teaching against killing.

Almost every day we discover more things broken either in the trailer or the truck.  Yesterday we saw the platform under the bed was broken, which is why the hydrolics weren’t working.  Dan repaired it and put new hydrolics in.  I hope it holds.  I hope it wasn’t my fat ass that broke the darn thing in the first place.

Every day we head for town and shop for parts or things we need.  We bought a little bookshelf to set on the counter.  We bought some wood to shore up the sagging shelves in the bathroom cupboard.

This is much like living on a little boat and sailing the ocean, like in the book Dove.  I keep reminding myself this is an adventure and not to expect perfection.  Really though, so far everything is fine, except for the daily trials, many of which are draining our bank account.

Our routine follows along these lines:  We awake and I make coffee and tea for us.  I read a bit.  Dan works on the computer.  I do some writing.  We make the bed, sweep the floor, wash dishes, tidy up.  We go take showers.  Then we decide what we are going to do that day.  Lately it means a trip to the hardware store to buy parts for repairs.  Or we head to the coffee bar to use the free internet.  We do laundry once per week, and that takes a couple of hours.  Sometimes we go out just to take pictures of things.  Sometimes we go to thrift stores just to look around.  We keep our eyes open for funny t-shirts and things for the girls.  We go to libraries to read and kill time.  Sometimes we do tourist stuff.

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011

We rented 5 movies for $5 for 5 days and we watched the last one this morning when we awoke early and couldn’t sleep.  Two of the movies were good, the other 3 lousy but at least it gave us something to watch since we don’t get cable or internet in this park.  So, today we return the movies and we will do laundry at the corner Laundromat.  This park we are in is very rural and there are no laundry facilities like in some parks.  It’s very green here and since the park is barely half full we have plenty of space between our neighbors.  If there weren’t so many hornets, it would be pleasant to sit outside and barbeque.  I have learned this—that to live in green, forested beauty, one has to pay the price for that with an increased number of insects.  Here, the insects are larger than I saw back home, there are more of them, and they sting and bite!  No wonder people have screened-in porches and patios.  Even the ants are larger and meaner looking.

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011

So, today I decided to try out my oven and bought a package of muffin mix to use.  Back home I bake only with whole grains and make everything from scratch, but this lifestyle is very different. First, I tested the oven by putting in a thermometer and found that the oven was reading 25 degrees lower, so I turned up the degrees.  But the muffins turned out burned on the bottom because the temperature jumped about 50 degrees too hot.  The front of the oven bakes hotter than the back.  So, okay now I know and will know how to use it in the future.  Then I cooked bacon, which also burned a little because I got sort of scattered at the end, trying to remove the muffins and the bacon at the same time with the smoke detector sounding.  In the chaos, I wasn’t thinking properly and burned my fingers when I touched the thermometer I had just removed from the oven.  It was excruciatingly painful and for an hour I had to hold on to an ice pak.  Finally, the pain subsided and I saw that all my fingertips are blistered.  Great.  One would think I have never cooked or baked anything before.

So, the day unfolded thus….not really anything too exciting.  We went out to take pictures which is really a lot of work.  It’s not easy to pull the truck over on the road to snap a photo of something interesting.  Another reason why we need a motorcycle.  We also talked about having another laptop as we’ve discovered it’s difficult to share one.  We seem to both need one and they are not that expensive.

I’d like to stay put for awhile when we reach Arizona, at least for a month.  That would allow us to get a few things done on the truck and trailer.  I also need to get a few alterations on clothes done.  Dan ripped his fanny pak yesterday and now it needs repairing.  We had to rush out to buy a replacement but obviously, he could use a spare for times like this.  And I would like to try to conserve money better, so that we could afford some big things, instead of seeing our cash slowly leak out day after day.  A lot of this is just the eating out every day.  At least once per day we’re out at the burger shacks where we spend a minimum of $10-$15 for a meal; or a coffee bar where we spend $20 for lattes and pastries and use the wifi for free.  This past week we were staying out in the sticks and would head to town every day which is a 30 minute drive.  That means eating at least one meal out plus gas.  It adds up to hundreds of dollars in no time.  It’s cheaper if we find a place close to town and just stay put.

Friday, Sept. 23, 2011

Today, we move to Portland for a week.  A big city.  We’ll see how that goes.  The park hosts here in Vernonia are a wonderful couple.  The woman, Geri, gave me her Yuma address and told me we could stay on her property if we have trouble finding a place.  It’s true what I have been told —camping people, rv people are the best people in the world.  All so kind, and all so helpful and cooperative.

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011

Jantzen Beach RV Park
Portland, Oregon
8 days for $192.00 with full hookups

More and more RV parks are offering alternative lodging—cabins, yurts, teepees.  I’ve read up on yurts and would like to try one for a couple of days someday, as we continue to travel.  Maybe a teepee too.  I know that in the Black Hills the archeologists use teepees.  It’s the only thing they can use there.  The winds tear up their tents in no time.  And yurts are quite common throughout Mongolia.  It’s good these alternative housing options are appearing here too.

One has to be very resourceful to manage this kind of travel on a shoestring budget.  There are some tricks of the trade that we are currently learning.  While it’s easy to rent a space in an rv park with full hookups and all the amenities, that is very expensive to do day to day unless you stay in one park for a month at a time.  The longer you stay, the lower the rates drop.  For instance, we paid nearly $200 for 8 days while another camper staying there for a month only paid $390 plus extra for electricity.

When we are on the road driving every day to a new destination, we try to take advantage of free, or nearly free, overnight parking.  Like in Wal-Mart parking lots, or auto centers/truck stops.  At the truck stops we can share a shower for $12 if we like.  At state parks the rates for dry camping are about $21 per day/night and they have public showers to use.  In the Wal-Mart, of course there are no showers and we either use ours or we use baby wipes to wash up with.  We don’t mind paying rent when we stay somewhere for a while but when driving all day and just wanting a safe place to park at night, it seems wasteful to pay for a full 24 hour spot.

Most McDonalds have free wifi which always works good for us—meaning it’s not too slow because there really aren’t many people there using the net.  The downside to it is that they usually don’t have any electrical plug-ins, so you’re forced to use battery power, which runs out after an hour or so.  I guess that is their way of insuring you don’t overstay your welcome.  One McDonalds had one electrical outlet on the ceiling, ensuring of course, that you can’t really use it unless you bring a ladder with you or you are 9 feet tall.

Many McDonalds do let RV’ers stay in their parking lot only overnight—like 8 hours maximum—as long as you patronize their business.  I try hard not to buy their food and just order coffee.  I use their restrooms and their free wifi and consider it a bargain.  I’m sure before long McDonalds will be wise to this and start changing the rules to make it harder and more expensive for people like us.

The McDonalds that are inside of a Walmart don’t usually have any free wifi.  They want to make sure you’re on your way as soon as possible.

Traveling Between Oregon and Nevada

The traveling we are doing can be divided up between the time we stay in a park, and the actual traveling we do to get to a destination.  Most of the time we are on the road about 3-4 days at the most before we arrive somewhere we want to stay.  Sometimes we stay a couple of days, a week, or sometimes longer.

We watch the landscape change between the Oregon Outback which is a scenic byway from Sisters on down through the California border to Susanville, where the highway turns off and we head to Nevada, and to Reno.  There are funny and interesting names of towns.  One that caught our eye was Wagontire, on highway 31.  In Lakeview we stopped for gas and were interested in the mining operation across the road.  The gas station attendant told us they were mining gypson which is used to make drywall.

I really loved the town of Sisters, Oregon .  We had lunch in a café where we could gab with the locals.  One of the guys told us about the great hunting and fishing they have.  We stopped at a  food stand and bought some interesting things we’ve never had—Huckleberries, Honey Crisp Apples, and Elk Jerky.  All this in keeping with our goal to try new things including foods.

I enjoyed traveling through the little town of Alturas in California where my dads’ dad operated a little store for a few years during the depression.  The store went bust, my father told me, because grandpa was a soft touch and would let poor people get groceries on credit which they could never pay.  Back to Oregon they went after that. 

We passed by Goose Lake which sits on the border of Oregon-California.  It's a huge lake and looked very deserted of people.  What an interesting place this upper area of eastern California is, in Modoc county.  High desert landscape and very few people.  Some day I'd like to come back and camp at this lake.

Hitting The Road

Tues, September 6, 2011

First Day

So much to do before we left Paso Robles that we didn’t get away until 5:30 p.m. but we were determined to get out of there and not stay another day.  Unfortunately, we were not as well prepared to travel as I’d hoped.  Too much had to be done at the last minute including renting a second storage because we had more stuff leftover at the house than we thought we had.  The last couple of days we even had to rent a moving van instead of using the small space in the back of Dan’s truck camper, which saved us time and gas.  And the last day we saw how overloaded we were and had to unload everything and get rid of stuff to pare it down.  This resulted in another unplanned trip to the storage, and unplanned hours.  I also had to do laundry and that took a couple of hours at the Laundromat.  But finally we were on our way.

Things we needed were forgotten, and things we didn’t need we had.  I was later to discover that I wished I had brought certain things such as our carts and wagons.  I had to throw away our expensive electric toothbrushes because I forgot to pack them and there was no place to put them in the trailer.  I found I had 3 bottles of Goo Gone in the trailer and umpteen extra bottles of bathroom stuff and cotton balls and stuff like that.  I even found a bag of decorator marbles and wondered what in the world that was about.  I don't even remember putting them in there in the first place, nor for what reason.

Some mishaps occurred.  The road hazard reflector broke into pieces when Dan backed up over it.  The lens cover for the porch light fell off and now needs replacing.  I need an extra calculator or two.  I need to buy a couple of extra coat-hangers, as unfortunately, the million extras I had are now in storage because I did not think I would need any extras.  Dan also decided he needs an extra pair of sunglasses as his are very scratched.

By 9:00 pm we were tired and needing to find somewhere to spend the night.  The two guys working the counter at an AM/PM market at some outback area of the Central Valley off I-5 told us about a truck stop up the road and about an hour later we found ourselves tucked in amid hundreds of big rigs.  We breathed in exhaust all night and it was so warm we had to leave the door open with just the screen door closed and unlocked.  All night we heard the hum of the big rigs and their generators, which drove Dan crazy but was like white noise to me. 

You know what else?  Just trivia in my mind sometimes.  I remembered it was my late mother’s anniversary this day.  I think she married in 1953.

Wed, September 7, 2011

Second Day

We awoke at first light after getting about 7 hours of sleep.   Then we hurriedly packed up and made the bed, threw on our clothes and off we went to find coffee.  At least it was free parking.  And you know what I learned?  That almost nothing free is ever that good.  There is always more minuses than pluses. 

On this 2^nd day we drove all day with just a few stops.  We didn’t have time to wash the truck and trailer before we left so when we spied a big rig wash along the road we pulled in and paid the $42.50 they required.  But at least we drove away with a clean truck and trailer.  Later in the afternoon we found a TA Truck Stop/Travel Center and paid for a “team” shower, meaning a couple can share a shower which is half price.  So, for $12 we each got to shower.  We were amazed by the facilities.  It was like a large motel bathroom.  This particular one was all tiled with new toilet, sink and the best shower I have ever had.  They even provided towels.  Unfortunately, we discovered later that there were no truck stops on the coast, you can only find them on interstate highways and freeways where truckers travel.  So, on the coast we had to do without showers or pay for RV parking somewhere.  We could have used our own trailer shower but we were trying to avoid filling the tanks and using up gas and battery power.

This was a long day.  We made it to Redding by dinner and then drove 250 miles across the mountains and forest to the coast.  It was a gorgeous drive but wearisome at the end.  By late evening were arrived in Arcata and luckily the waitress at the restaurant we went to suggested we stay at the McDonalds parking lot in the shopping center in the next town which was a few miles north.  This town was called McKinnleyville and we enjoyed evening coffee and free wifi to go on the internet.  At around 10:00pm we crawled exhausted into bed.