Quiet Day

Saturday, June 16, 2012

We are still in the Rock Creek Campground in the Siuslaw National Forest, and will spend tonight here also. The camp hosts are a very nice couple and the campground is quiet and clean, especially the restrooms.

Wilma walked out to 101 early this morning and enjoyed the view of the ocean. There isn’t a quick way to get down to it from there, so without announcing plans to be gone for a while, she just stayed beside the highway for a while to soak in the view. There was fog going through very quickly, and traffic was almost non existent on the normally heavily traveled road. Very peaceful. There is an elk crossing at that point also, but no elk to be seen.

We didn’t get up and around until about 10 am. Betty and Barney had just clambered out of bed when Fred knocked to ask if we were ready to eat. For breakfast Wilma put together omelets and scones, which were delicious.

We hung around the campground then about 2 pm Fred and Barney built a camp fire and Wilma threw a bunch of potatoes and a big onion wrapped in foil into the fire pit. Fred and Barney sat around and played in the fire, moving wood to keep lunch cooking. Betty fixed a big salad and at about 3 pm we sat down to baked potatoes and salad. It was delicious.  Campsite Inn wins again.

Once the dishes were cleaned up and the fire put out we piled into the rolling caves and took a little drive around the area to spend some time on the beach. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the wind was not blowing too hard. We stopped at several parking places and walked on the beach, or just looked at the ocean. The tide was pretty much out so lots of beach and rocks were exposed. We saw a few seals and lots of birds, but no whales.

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We were close, so we stopped at the Cape Perpetua VC in the Siuslaw National Forest near Yachats, OR. They just happened to have a stamp for the passport books so naturally we took advantage of that and did some stamping. The tide was out so the Devils Churn was not churning. This is a spot where the waves roll in and explode around and through the rocks but unless the waves are really coming in it is not too spectacular. We’ll try to time it so the tide is in when we go by tomorrow.

We are back in the campground. We had another campfire and Betty broke out the marshmallows to roast. After stuffing a number of marshmallows, Fred and Barney looked at a little problem on the Flintstone-mobile and replaced a couple of blown fuses.

Betty and Barney walked out to the road to see the sunset, but this was the view.

We are settled in for the night. It was a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable day.

Sand Dunes and Laundry

Friday June 15, 2012

We awoke this morning at Tahkenitch Campground in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, just south of Florence, OR. Although you could throw a rock across route 101 from the campsites we were in, the highway noise was not bad and at least one of us slept like a baby. We celebrated the good night’s rest with a breakfast of biscuits, gravy, sauerkraut, and eggs. (Another tough start to the day)

Once in the rolling caves we drove the short distance into Florence, OR and made a quick stop at the C of C to get directions to a local, friendly, neighborhood laundromat. While Wilma and Betty took care of the laundry chores Fred and Barney set out in search of fuel for the rolling caves and to enjoy some shopping at the local Safeway. With the larder restocked and the laundry done we again headed north on route 101.

We found the Rock Creek Campground in the Siuslaw National Forest about 15 miles north of Florence where we located adjacent camp sites and paid for a couple of days. After a lunch of French dip sandwiches we climbed into the Rubble-mobile and went back to the Heceta Head Lighthouse. It is a ½ mile hike from the parking lot to the lighthouse, which is currently closed for restoration. We hiked up to the gift shop to check on a stamp, however the gift shop was closed and we had about a half hour wait. Fred and Barney decided to go on up to the lighthouse a few hundred yards around the hill. The lighthouse was shrouded in what looked like a monster black trash bag. The shroud was for sandblasting prior to repainting the structure. The entire lighthouse and keeper’s house were fenced off to keep people out of the construction zone, however, there was a small building, the size of a guard shack that was open and volunteers were answering questions and showing a video of the restoration. Construction started in February 2012 and was expected to continue through 2013 but according to the volunteers, work is far enough ahead of schedule that it may finish in 2012. The light is a first order Fresnel lens and we think the signature is 10 seconds on 10 seconds off. Wilma and Betty had taken care of getting the lighthouse passports stamped by the time Fred and Barney returned so we headed back up toward the campground.

We drove past the campground entrance about ¼ mile to a beach access and went down to walk around on the beach.  The wind was not blowing as bad as it had been for the last few days however it was still a little cool. It was enjoyable to be out on the beach to just poke around for a while with the surf rolling in softly.

We were sufficiently cooled off and sanded so we headed back to the campground and settled in for the evening.

Good night (in Norwegian)

Lighthouse Way

Thursday June 14, 2012

Today was kind of like house-day. We were up and about in time to enjoy a brunch of salmon patty sandwiches and fresh apricots. Everyone was able to shower before brunch. The showers were push-button operated, plenty of hot water and most important, free. Sort of helped offset the cost of the campground.

The reason for today’s slow start was that our first stop was the Blanco Point Lighthouse about a mile from the campground, and the tours didn’t start till 10 am. We were there shortly after 10 and checked in at the VC for the tour of the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1870 and operated by a lighthouse keeper till it was electrified in 1936. The original light was fired using rendered lard as a fuel. It is now fully automated and volunteers conduct tours and operate the VC from April to October. The light utilizes a Second Order Fresnel (pronounced Fren-el’) Bulls-eye Lens and the light is visible up to 26 miles at sea. Each light has a signature. We think this was 2 seconds on 28 seconds off. The light bulb never goes out, but the speed at which the light and lens rotate reveals a focused beam for 2 seconds, then it takes 28 seconds for the light to be focused on the same point again. The prisms that make up each of the 4 lens panels only allow the light to be focused at one point in the panel and the light is not seen at any other point in the panel. The panel is about 2’ X 2’ square with a supplemental panel above that makes the entire lens assembly into a dome shape. (You really had to be there} It was a very good tour and we were able to go up into the glass part of the lighthouse which houses the light. The climb up the stairs was quite a trip!

Our next stop was the Hughes House which was built in 1898 and is also part of Blanco State Park. It is a very nice old house of about 3000 square feet that cost around $3900 to build. The house has a number of pieces of original furniture. There is an indoor bathroom on the ground floor and a Catholic Chapel on the second floor. The Hughes family was Irish Catholic and settled on 80 acres operating a dairy farm.

We continued north on 101 to the town of Bandon, OR where the Coquille River flows into the Pacific Ocean. On the river’s north jetty stands the Coquille Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built around 1870 and was de-commissioned in 1939. At that time it was abandoned by the Coast Guard and fell into disrepair. It was a river lighthouse, meaning it helped mariners find their way into the mouth of the river at the port of Bandon. Bandon exported timber, coal and the product of a salmon cannery. The lighthouse was replaced by an electrified and automated light on the rivers south jetty. The state has taken over the property and is in the process of restoring the lighthouse. The lens disappeared at some point in time and there is no record of what happened to it. The lighthouse also had a fog horn that utilized compressed air supplied by two steam powered air compressors. None of that equipment remains, only copies of the original drawings.

Our next stop was at Sunset Bay State Park Headquarters where we got a stamp for the Cape Arago Lighthouse. We couldn’t visit this lighthouse because it is located on a sea stack off shore. The lighthouse is visible from shore, but a pretty long swim.

We continued north on 101 to Winchester Bay where the Umpqua River Lighthouse is located. We got there too late to take a tour of the lighthouse, but the VC was still open so we were able to get our book stamped.  

We pulled into a small Forest Service Campground in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area where we are settled in for the night. It is full of mosquitoes, but the campground hosts like it so well here that they have been here a year and a half. They must go through a lot of Off!

We still can’t say goodnight in Norwegian.