Oregon Here We Come!

After our last camping adventure at Heyburn State Park, Linda and I reprovisioned the camper. I got everything geared up to travel southwest to Oregon where we would visit Linda's sister and her family.  Linda had planned for us to stay in Eugene for three nights visiting the family, then drive to the coast and meet up with our friends Caroline and Don Samuelson. 

Putting everything in order, we left Post Falls and drove to Arlington on the first day. The only interruption along the way was an hour-long shopping stop at the Kennewick REI. Neither of us bought anything, but it was a fun break from driving. 

Hydrofoil kiteboarder having fun in the wind.

We drove on and spent the night at our $10 boondock spot at the Port of Arlington. We had a great dinner and watched several wind boarders and a couple of kiteboarders working the wind and waves.  The wind had been blowing hard all day and when we neared the Port, I was ready to stop for the day. Wind makes for tense driving, but great sailing. We enjoyed watching the boarders perform.

The next morning we were up and on the road by 9 AM. I drove and Linda navigated. We followed Highway 84 west to Portland where we merged onto I-5 south. The drive was uneventful and we arrived in Eugene at around 2 PM. We parked the camper in the driveway and got our chairs out and started relaxing. Throughout the afternoon the Sollingers returned home from their various commitments and we greeted each with a hug as they arrived.

Mt. Hood was spectacular

Our 3-night visit with the Solenger family was very fun and filled with food, conversation, and exploration.  On Friday, we drove to several parks in the Eugene area and even spent part of the day looking for license plates in the city and around the U of O. 

Our travels took us up a hill to Hendrick's Park where we took a wrong turn and ran right into Pre's Rock. This is a monument memorializing the rock where Steve Prefontaine, a famous Oregon runner, crashed his sports car and died. 

That evening we ate like kings and played Skip-Bo. It was fun catching up, but mostly it was fun teasing Diane!

On Saturday we spent the day at the Wildlife Safari located in Winston, OR. Trip Advisor says, "

Monument to Steve Prefontaine

Wildlife Safari is a non-profit AZA-accredited zoological park dedicated to conservation, education, and research since its inception in 1972. Wildlife Safari is a fun-filled family destination where you can view over 500 animals in their natural habitat roaming freely much as they do in the wild! Visitors to the park drive through a 4.5-mile trek to see animals from Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This unique setting offers many opportunities to get up close and personal with animals large and small."

We drove the loop through the park and then walked the area around the petting zoo. Linda tried to hide one of the baby goats in her handbag, but we caught her, and she had to give it back. I don't know how she thought she could hide that little critter. You could not see it, but its bleats could be heard a mile away.

That night, the last night in Eugene, we celebrated Kenyon's 21st birthday. Specialty pizza was ordered and picked up and we had a feast before our final Skip-Bo game. We said our goodbyes and went to bed. It was back on the road in the morning heading to the coast.

The drive to the coast was uneventful. We checked into our campsite at Jessie Honeyman State Park where we were greeted by Don and Caroline. It was good to see them and we all sat around and chatted.

It was windy, but later on, Caroline and I took advantage of the Oregon Free Fishing Day and tossed some power bait into Lilly Lake. We fished for a bit and talked to a few folks about the lake. Lilly Lake is stocked with hatchery fish so everyone fishes with garlic-scented power baits. The fish feed on them because they are most like the fish food they have been given at the hatchery. They tend to be on a schedule and will bite better just before sunset. With all this info, we still could not catch anything, so we blamed it on the wind and quit.

Dinner time rolled around and Caroline prepared a wonderful hot dinner of clam chowder, crab and cheese sandwiches, and fruit salad. The wind was blowing hard and it was too cool to sit outside, so we ate in our little houses separately. We slept well with the wind cooling our camper making it very comfortable.

Monday all four of us took a walk over to Woahink Lake, where we explored the shore and took photos. The park has an excellent trail system that is paved so Don had no trouble riding his recumbent trike with us as we walked.

 

We stayed two nights at Honeyman State Park and then both rigs were packed up and we moved north to South Beach State Park for our final two nights.

You can make your own caption here.

When we were on the road to South Beach, Linda and I took the opportunity to drive about 20 miles farther north to Lincoln City and we did some shopping at the Outlet Mall which is located on the south end of the city. We both found some great deals while we were there. It turned out to be a great extension of our little vacation.

We arrived at our campsite in the late afternoon, got set up, ready to enjoy our dinner,

I walked across the campground loop road to have snacks with Caroline and Don. As we sat there talking, I looked over at our camper and noticed something hanging down under the front of the truck. I took a closer look and found that our brand-new steering rod assembly ($1200.00) had come apart.  The shock portion of the system had disconnected from the rest of the unit and was just hanging there. A large nut was missing. There was no way to tell if this had been detached for our entire trip, or if it had come apart recently. 

We took a few photos of the problem and called Les Schwab in Newport right before they closed for the day. They said that if it wasn't dragging, bring it in and they would check it out. The next morning we packed up and drove into town. It took them about 20 minutes to replace the nut. Nothing had been damaged during the time things were detached. We were very lucky and old Les was able to make the repair at no additional cost.

We drove back to the campground and set up for the second time. 

During our stay, we walked the paved trails out to the beach and enjoyed short walks in the sea breeze. The beach is one of Linda's happy places and she can walk and search for shells for hours. I love to watch her explore. Her smile is always amazing.

Fishing Lilly Lake in the wind!

After two nights at South Beach, it was time to split up and both groups head home. It is always so fun to see Caroline and Don.  We said our goodbyes and reminded each of us that we will be traveling together again at the end of June. We can't wait for that next adventure!

The next morning we drove through Newport, found Highway 20, and headed east. We intersected I-5 and drove north. When we neared the Portland area we exited I-5 and took 205 around the jam of traffic in Portland. We intersected I-84 and followed it up the Gorge and back to our spot at the Port of Arlington. We had dinner, played Skip-Bo, and went to bed.  Our final night on the road had the perfect backdrop. Cool winds, train whistles, and the sounds of the waves on the shore of the Columbia River. Brings tears to your eyes, doesn't it?

Siuslaw Bridge entering Florence.

We retraced our route down, with the exception of the REI stop. Our big white box was back in its parking spot by 1:00 PM and we were unpacked by 2:30 PM. It was good to be home. Little did we know that the next week would bring a huge bittersweet change into our lives.  I will explain all that later.

No nut! That's not right!

Two beach eagles and a dead fish.

Photos from the Wildlife Safari:

"Can I see your park pass, please?

This one is way tired.

Yes, this little guy would fit in my bag nicely!

Red Wolf pretending to be dead. 
Yes, it is sleeping.

Rare Fall Sun on the Coast

Lunch stop at the Port of Arlington rec site.

These are unfamiliar times.  Through our final years of work and into our retirement we have had the amazing freedom to travel when and where we wanted. We were able to have wonderful experiences connected to these adventures.  Over the past few years, our windows of escape have gotten harder and harder to come by.  With Linda's parents aging and all that comes with that, the added drama that the Covid pandemic provides, and a change in the overall need to stay closer to home, we have found that we now have to "schedule" our adventure opportunities.

Gorge windsurfers in action.

The last two weeks Linda and I did just that, we "scheduled" a week away from home. Linda spent the week before we left making sure that her parents were going to be attended to properly and that her siblings were aware that we would be gone. We would be a phone call away most of the time and our plans could be changed in the event of an emergency, so off we drove.

Four weeks ago (our last blog post), we drove to visit Linda's sister and her family, and during that visit, we got a short taste of Oregon beach life. The draw was huge. After our return from that short visit, Linda got on line and secured two camp sights for three nights each at coastal state parks. 

We drove down through the Tri-Cities and stayed our first night at the same little campground that we did three weeks prior. Wyeth Campground is 329 miles from Post Falls. This distance is well on the edge of being too long of a drive for me, but the highways we follow are straight and well maintained. We can make the trek without getting too tired. 

Oh, the Beach!

Our second day of driving took us to our first destination, South Beach State Park. This park is a very large and popular stop-over. The park is located just south of Newport. Linda had secured a spot for three nights.

Arriving in the late afternoon we found our spot and set up. The first thing Linda wanted to do was take a walk on the beach. The days were nearly cloudless and spectacular. Once we finished our walk, I unloaded the bikes and we went for a ride around the campground. The sun set and we had a nice dinner before we went to bed.

Linda on her eBike as we explore.

The next day Linda had a beach day in her head. We did our morning things and she then walked down to take in as much ocean beach time as possible. I got on the bike and started exploring. By 1 PM I was back at the camper and Linda arrived for a late lunch. Once we were full, we hopped on the bikes and went for a ride.

I led the way and we rode north to the Yaquina Bay South Jetty where we followed the road inland and under the Yaquina Bay Bridge. This path took us over to the area where the Hatfield Marine Science Center Oregon State University and the Oregon Coastal Aquarium were located. Since we had visited them before we rode around looking at the boats, docks, and harbor workings in the port of Newport.

Yaquina Bay Bridge from the Jetty. 

To get a few more miles under our belts, we followed the signs to an abandoned RV park out on Idaho Point. I took some photos and we rode slowly back to the camper. Linda settled into her chair, taking in the sun, and because of the bright sunshine, I continued exploring.

One of the plans we had made included a bike ride over the Yaquina Bay Bridge. I had no clue how we would approach this task so I went off to figure out how we could get onto the structure and how we could make this crossing. Yaquina Bay Bridge with its Art Deco & Gothic design look opened in 1936. It spans the bay covering 3261 feet of distance from one side to the other. At its highest point, it is 133 feet above the surface of the bay. When you stand on the bridge walkway and look down it gives you the heebie-jeebies. 

Yaquina Bay Bridge from Idaho Point.

I rode to the entry point to the bridge and found that to go over the structure you were required to walk your bike. This was a relief! I pictured myself riding up to the crest of the bridge and falling off my bike. Walking would give me a better chance of making the crossing. 

Looking at the small sidewalk and then looking around at the beautiful blue skies, I decided that I needed to walk over the bridge now so that I could get good photos of this great weather. On the coast, who knows what will blow in off the sea. 

Walking briskly I proceeded up and over the bridge. It was spooky, but I was able to make the trip and I decided that Linda would be able to do the same when we chose to cross over.

The port, boardwalk, and Jetty.

Back at camp I told Linda all about the adventure and assured her that she could make the walk very easily. I told her it was scary but that she could do it and this put her mind at ease. We ate dinner and played cards before we went to bed.

The next morning we got ready and rode to the bridge. An offshore fog was moving in and out. One minute the bridge was fogged in and the next it shimmered an elegant green.

Linda led the way. I had told her to keep the bike on her left, between the traffic and her. Because of the height, she looked straight ahead. Off we pushed. A steady stream of traffic on our left and 133 feet of air on our right. It was nice to have the bridge railing keeping us from rolling off to the right. It would be almost impossible to take a plunge off that edge. Psychologically, it was quite nerve-racking.

Just before we reached the peak of the climb, Linda stopped in her tracks, looked at me, and shouted something.  I heard her say, "I'm cold!" I looked at her and she had her jacket on so it didn't make sense at this point to stop. I shouted "What?" She replied "Cold!" I stood there confused. Then Linda pointed down and yelled "HOLE! There is a HOLE in front of me!"  

I looked in front of her tire and sure enough, there was a large hole in front of her. An access hole was wide open in front of her! We stood there for a moment looking over the situation. The access hole had two cover doors opened so that we could not step around it, with the bikes, without stepping into the bumper-to-bumper traffic. We were stuck!  

Suddenly a construction worker popped up in the hole, like a gopher! "Oh, sorry about this! I didn't think that through too well!" He closed the covers and vanished. 

We moved on and made the remainder of the walk with no problems.

Looking south over the bridge on my walk.

On the north side of the bridge, we jumped on the bikes and rode to where we caught the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route into the Nye Beach shopping area. We mostly people watched and followed the trail north. We arrived at Agate Beach, we used the restrooms, and made the decision to turn back and retrace our tracks back to South Beach. The ride was very exciting, the bridge walk was a thrill, and the entire day was a great success.

 

The next day we packed up and drove to our next camp spot at Cape Lookout State Park.

View of the mouth of the bay
from the north side of the bridge.

The first thing we noticed at Cape Lookout was the difference in the type of campers using this campground compared to our previous site at South Beach. At South Beach, the park was filled with huge diesel pusher RVs, long 5th wheels, and massive trailers.  Cape Lookout sets closer to the ocean but has very narrow driveways with brushy parking spots, no hookups, and no water. People camping there were more organic with smaller rigs, many tents, lots of kids, and about three dogs per campsite. 

During our stay, we spent our time walking or riding the beach and enjoying the sun.  This was one of our best stops, much of which was due to the sunshine.

Fixin' dinner!

When we left Cape Lookout we drove through Portland and headed north to Tacoma. There we visited some wonderful friends at their home. We met Hal and Jenny, Pete and Rita in Mexico and have kept in touch for several years. We had a delicious dinner while catching up with everyone's COVID lives. The next morning we hit the road and drove the remainder of the way home. We both agreed we had a wonderful getaway.

Crossing day! Note the fog.

Linda starting over the bridge.

A little shopping stop at Nye Beach.

The beach at Cape Lookout State Park.

Biking the beach!

Linda walking as the day slips away.

Jellyfish heart. Even Jellyfish love the beach!

This bunny protected our campsite each evening.