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)