From the Traveling Harringtons.
For Comments Please email; Olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com
Wednesday, May 27 we left Eureka and headed to Oregon. On the way were a few more stops in California - Redwood National and State Parks as well as Agate beach which caught Olivia’s attention. She just had to find agates….Fred says “she has never met a rock she didn’t like”. Well, we walked on the beach for at least a mile and found maybe a dozen, but the bucket was full of pretty rocks. Further up the coast was a road to Fern Canyon where, we heard, they filmed part of Jurassic Park. The trailer was prohibited from the road, so it was dropped at a trailhead and drove the narrow twisting gravel road
through a pristine forest with calla lilies on the floor to the Fern Canyon trailhead.
Along the way we saw Lupine and Sweet Peas blooming and
Elk feeding among Lupine very near our path.
We walked and waded in Fern Canyon
and saw the walls weeping.
On the trail to the canyon Fred kept seeing all kind of berry vines blooming
including salmon or thimble berries
And one he couldn’t identify
Along with a strange plant called horsetail fern which looks like a bottle brush and later learned it is prehistoric survivor - horsetail fossils are found nearby.
Fred says goodbye to California, now 7774 miles from home and 4000 in California. Gas was near $4/gallon in most of California. We paid as high as $4.31/gallon!!!!
FRED’S REFLECTIONS ON CALIFORNIA:
We spent 4,000 miles and nearly two months in California! What a state! We met some wonderful Californians - very down to earth and likeable people. We loved it, with a few exceptions. It has toooooo many people. Reduce the population by half and it would be a great state. Interstate 80 is worn-out – tear it out and start over from Donner Pass to SF. Their state road system has one category. If it is a state road it is Cal xx. Hard tell from a map if it is a road to take a trailer on. Some state roads have NO shoulder. They are difficult for driving. Some of the state roads are far inferior to Texas FM roads
Rainfall-Since we only spent a few days at any one location, I’m sure my perspective is off. However, it appears the southern half of the state gets very little rain. They depend upon melted snow from the Sierra Nevada for drinking water and to irrigate their crops. There are long irrigation canals over a large portion of the southern half of California. Small lakes are built in the foothills and water is released as needed.
Agribusiness-It was a shock to see the amount of agricultural activity in the state. Sure, I knew they grew oranges, strawberries, apricots, almonds, walnuts and some vegetables. They grow a vast range of crops. Agriculture is BIG in California! It seems they can grow anything. The soil is very good – just add water and they can grow it. We saw the Salinas Valley. It is huge and filled with crops for our table. I have never heard of Salinas Valley. California agribusiness is very big!!!
Fairgrounds – By California law counties are able to build “fairgrounds”. Most have. I’m not sure why, but it was probably for local agricultural exhibition. Most started with a show or rodeo arena, parking and an area for a carnival. Maybe because the carnival people asked for camping areas with services, they were added. How nice for us! Most have areas with full hookups for RVs and their price is very reasonable. Lead-in road signs are posted frequently along the roadways. During fair activities they may be closed to traveling RVs, but most of the time they are open. Also it was interesting to see the number of horses in California. Rural California is alive with horses.
Quakes-We crossed the San Andreas Fault many times. We even went through the town of San Andreas, but we never felt a tremor. Olivia wanted a small tremor so she could experience what the Californians feel, Fred was very happy nothing happened. If you remember the California cheese commercials, we never saw a dairy cow get a foot massage!
Wine-Wineries must expect a great increase in consumption. Napa Valley represents only a small fraction of California wine production. From near central California all the way to the north end, grapes and wine production are a BIG deal. It is a big part of the state’s economy. It appears to me that production is outstripping supply. Does this mean cheaper wine? I think not. The good wines will set their price. The bad wines have a problem. The mediocre wines may have a real struggle for a market share. Look for an increase in wine advertising from California.
Now, on to Oregon!
Arriving in Oregon (near Brookings) we pulled into Harris Beach State Park with its’ tall trees, wonderful Pacific beach views, abundant wild azaleas
and rhododendron – both in full bloom. We decided this was where Muddie painted her Oregon Coast picture
So we took a picture from where we thought she set up her easel.
We like Muddie's picture better than our verson.
Our first night the park presented a geology program in the amphitheater and then the next morning, a day walk program
on the nearby Oregon Coast with an emphasis on area geology. We enjoyed hearing all about the the formation of the coast. We learned the rocks we saw near the coast are actually called sea stacks and were built from lava in the earth cracks. Fred would look at this coast all day if he could. Move Here? He says it is much better than California. The ranger looked at our rocks and picked out a few Agates.
On our walk we also saw Mountain Lilacs,
And an Octopus tree.
After the walk we drove into town and walked around in their Azalea garden and saw lots of pretty azaleas
and calla lilies
Friday we left Harris State Park and stopped in a Fred Myer’s store. It is a new store to us. It is a lot like Wal-Mart, only much nicer and pricier. They have all the items you would find in WM.
Heading north we saw beautiful Spruce trees. They are a much denser tree. Sometimes it is hard to see the trunk. We have enjoyed seeing the blue spruce in Colorado, but this is the first time to see the coastal spruce. We stopped in Port Orford’s harbor and watched from the dock as a boat was hoisted out of the water. All of the boats are dry docked here. It seems there is either no deep water for piers or the ocean is too rough for the boats to remain in the water. The boat we saw lifted out of the water was a private fishing boat.
Fred talked with one of the fishermen and found they had traveled about 60 miles up the coast to the halibut fishing grounds. Where they fished the water was about 600 feet deep. They didn’t use electric reel as they do off the Texas coast at the red snapper banks where the depth is only about 100 feet. He said it takes “a while” to reel a fish in. The limit for halibut is one fish per person per day. They all limited with the average size of about 15 pounds.
After the hike to the dock we ate delicious fish & chips & clam chowder at “The Crazy Norwegian” with a couple from Longview, Texas. They are the first Texans we have seen since Monterrey. We enjoyed visiting with them and comparing notes on our trips. We enjoyed the drive on 101 north to Bandon. Cranberry bogs were plentiful along the way. Our destination for the next two nights was Bullard’s Beach State Park. We found it to be another pretty Oregon state park. After unhooking in a lovely spot with full hookups, we ventured back into Bandon to browse. We found Cranberry candy and sampled lots of other flavors of their candy. Including cranberry walnut, lemon meringue pie, orange, lime, chocolate bark, and on and on. All flavors were out to sample. Fred did more than sample. He ate and ate and enjoyed ever bite!
This Bandon lighthouse is in the state park.
Then we bought salmon (ten dollars worth) and crab (for Olivia) for supper. We made it last for two meals. It was a disappointment to learn the season didn’t open for salmon fishing (commercial) this year. Prices are very high - $15 to $30/pound!!! Local Indians can continue to fish for salmon. Maybe Fred can find a tribe further up the coast with better prices. He loves salmon.
Saturday, May 31 was a leisurely day of sightseeing. Heading north we covered some of HWY 101 that we will miss because we will return to the coast about 50 miles north of here (near Reedsport) from our inland detour. We drove off 101 on 7 Devil’s Road to Charleston then SW on the coast through Sunset Bay State Park Campground. It is much prettier than Bullard’s Beach and the services are just as nice. We are finding the Oregon State Parks superior to any park we have ever been in, including Texas. The ones with camp grounds have full hookups, nice level paved spots, and are about $20 a night. To any campers reading this, put these parks on your agenda. Oregon has a State Park book that gives lots of details and their state map is wonderful. And while we are talking information, Oregon also has a book on the coast road providing a driving tour of everything along the way by mile markers. The only bad part of it is we have to read it backwards because the markers and the book start at the top of Oregon.
We noticed a lot of logging (clear cutting) has been done in this area, but enough time has passed to see very, very dense re-growth forests. It seems the logging did the land some good, just like a forest fire.
Back to today, we drove on Shore Acres State Park which is a day use park, with views
and a botanical garden.
The azaleas and rhododendrons, they call them “rhodies”, were spectacular in full bloom. Boy, did we ever time this one right.
We also saw wild bridals wreath blooming.
At Simpson Beach there was a wonderful docent with her telescopes set up to view the seals. She told great stories about how the male treats the females and how the mothers have to have the babies, train them to swim, and protect them and the males just rise up and snort and fight. It’s a testosterone thing! She also told us of the bull seals have sleep apnea, they sleep soundly, not breathing for about 20 minutes then they wake up and snort and roll around. She also told us of a pod of whales, 2 adults and 2 young coming to the seal resting area and of course scared all the seals and how the whales, as part of their hunting tactic, split the seals into sections. They then surrounded a group for the feed. She became a spectator with her camera instead of a docent.
Then the docent found out we were going up the coast and rattled off all these places to see and eat. Olivia finally had to go to the car and get the map to circle. We hope we can remember a tenth of what she told us. She was so enthusiastic and animated in all she said.
All up and down HWY 101 we have seen Scotch Broom blooming. It is vivid yellow. We were told it was not native, but it has thrived.
Also we have found that in Oregon it is against the law to fill your tank with gas. No self service! WOW! Fred doesn’t know how to act! Just pay the $4.12 a gallon.
Sunday, June 1 was a moving day as well as church day. All along the way we saw 2 United Methodist Churches just as their service was letting out. They have church early up here and only one service. This was a day to follow the river. We followed the Coquille to the Umpqua to the Rogue.
We were going upstream on the Coquille and downstream on the Rogue. Generally upstream means a climb and downstream means down hill, but both up and down stream routes are some up and some down.
Before we left home several asked what Olivia would do on the long drives, knit, crochet, read? She said NO, she was going to see everything and she looks, and looks, and looks some more! The Coquille led us through dairies and forests of birch and Sitka spruce. Our roads started at the coast and made a lazy S into the Oregon Cascades to Crater Lake.
One of the stops we made north of Crater Lake was to see
Mt. Thielesen. OH BOY! It looked like the Matterhorn. Breath taking with its rugged crest. They say it receives many lightening strikes which actually fuse the rock at the crest.
The next stop told about Mt Mazuma that was 12,000 feet tall when multiple fissures and eruptions reshaped it. About 7700 years ago Mt Mazuma fell 5,000 feet in the middle, which formed Crater Lake.
It left ash deposits for miles around it.
We parked the trailer in a Forest Camp in a perfect Jo Adkins spot.
The only thing between the trailer and the Rogue River is a picnic table and camp fire. These are the head waters of the Rogue. It isn’t nearly as large as in Grants Pass, but it flows very strongly. It is about 40 feet wide and too swift and deep to wade. Fred says he is unhappy about coming to Oregon too early for most of the berry season, but the snow melt is near peak and river flows are near maximum. The rivers are something to behold. They are beautifully impressive.
After parking we drove the 20 miles to Crater Lake. When we arrived at the visitor center there was snow everywhere.
Olivia said "What Now?"
Oh my, talk about a beautiful blue lake and snow right down to the water. Our vocabulary isn’t big enough to adequately describe this place. You just have to see it to believe it.
Stupendous!We visited all the locations on the open south rim stops.
Crater Lake gets 44’ of snow. Yes, that is feet! The snow won’t be gone until July so the crater rim-drive is closed.
As you can see it has a long way to go. We walked around in the lodge and it was grand. We were impressed with the beautiful old log structure with high gloss wood floors. Stacy we read the menu and decided we would rather eat at the trailer. It was pricey! There was a ranger program going on by the fire place and we listened for a while. We did step out on the veranda to get the prize photo of the lake. Lillian this is a place you would enjoy.
When we came out some college students from Eugene were playing in the snow and they snapped our photo.
Monday, June 2, this was our least expensive day. We stayed in the forest camp with a camp fire, except for two short trips out. The morning trip took us to three other locations on the Rogue just south of our camp.
The Rogue Gorge,
which is very narrow and the water shoots through it.
We appreciated seeing and using the CCC work done in the 1930’s. The path led very near the gorge so we could see straight down into it. Fortunately the forest service has added a strong chain link fence.
We wish we had our family here to see this beauty with us.
Our other stop was to see the Natural Bridge formed when lava spouts drained, the river and takes it 200 feet underground through the ancient lava rocks. Below the bridge water boiled out of the spouts.
Later in the day we drove the few miles to Beckie’s for pie. Several people told us of the famous pie.
This lodge and restaurant are on the National Register having been in place since the 1920’s. Fred was hoping for huckleberry pie, but it isn’t in season, so he settled for boysenberry. It was very good.
So the whole day cost us $12.50 - $8 camping fee and $4.50 for pie. When we get gas tomorrow, we’ll up our average. Gas has been over $4/gallon since middle California. Our last fill-up was $4.12.
Some of you might be interested in the weather we have been having. In a nut shell - Wonderful! Since leaving Petaluma several weeks ago, our lows have been in the 40s and highs mostly in the fifties. A few days the high has been in the sixties. Mostly the skies have been clear to partly cloudy. A few days we have had a short period of mist, but no rain.
Love to all,
Fred & Olivia
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