Wednesday, December 18. We’ve been here at Kamp Klamath for four days taking a break from traveling and looking at property. In fact, after looking at taxes in California, we’ve decided to take a permanent break from looking at property here! Instead we went for a bike ride from here to the ocean, hiked down a short but steep trail to the beach where we saw eagles and seals in the surf. Today we went for a hike in the old growth redwood forest. How magnificent! Everyone can feel the majesty of the redwoods and the power of the ocean. How could anyone ever cut down a redwood? Yet only 5% of the redwood forests remain.
Klamath River. A seal in the surf. A whole bunch of seals on the beach. Big Tree, Redwood National Forest. Lots of big trees, Redwood National Forest. And more big trees. Truly awesome.
December 13, 2019. We stayed two nights parked under a big Myrtle tree on the Rogue River near Gold Beach, OR. The Myrtle (aka Bay Laurel) is a beautiful evergreen that only grows in a small area on the southern Oregon coast. It’s wood is highly prized for making bowls and platters and such. It has a very tight, twisty grain that will not split but is gorgeous in cross-section. The pungent leaves can be used in soups and stews (I picked some).
The Rogue River is pretty sedate here, not at all roguish. Probably gets that way further upriver.
Harvey and Leroy under the Myrtle tree with Rogue River in background.
Wednesday, December 11. We stayed one night at Bastendorf County Park on the ocean just south of Coos Bay, then headed further south to Boice-Cope County Park in Langlois, OR. Boice-Cope is on Floras Lake which is adjacent to the ocean. Floras Lake is a popular kite surfing spot, though there aren’t any here now. It’s been raining and windy the last few days. This area gets about 11 inches of rain in December and we think it’s true!
Trail to Flores Lake. Flores Lake, Pacific Ocean waves crashing in the gap. This is all one trunk. Outflow from Flores Lake.
We hiked over to the beach and the waves were really crashing.
Monday, December 9 we headed south down Hwy 101 once again and stopped at Tahkenitch Landing. I had to take a photo of the sign so I could spell it! It’s a pretty spot which we had all to ourselves but we only stayed two days. We lost Roger here. He comes and goes along these steep, winding roads.
View from Harvey, sunset. View from Harvey, sunrise. Lake Tahkenitch.
We stayed at Tillicum Beach for a week and really enjoyed sleeping to the sound of surf every night. We drove around between Waldport and Florence looking at property and seeing the sights. Here are some of the things we saw:
Covered bridge on Deadwood Creek Rd. Devil’s Churn. Close up of Devil’s Churn. Cook’s Chasm. Thor’s Well at Cook’s Chasm. Spouting Horn at Cook’s Chasm. The water has undercut the rock forming a cave. In storms and high tide, the waves roll in, hit the cave and water shoots straight up. Grazing elk. Heceta Head lighthouse.
On Monday, December 2, we headed south on Hwy 101 to Tillicum Nat’nl Park, stopping at Yaquina Head Lighthouse en route. Yaquina Head is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon.
Yaquina Head lighthouse, ORYaquina Head lighthouse, OR
Tillicum Nat’nl Park is also right next to the beach which is nice because the crashing waves drown out traffic noise on Hwy 101! It was 60 degrees and sunny here today. We plan to stay here this week and look at property. We may settle here if we find the right place.
View from Harvey, Tillicum Nat’nl Park. Bicycling on the beach. Tillicum Nat’nl Park Sunset at Tillicum Nat’nl Park. Alan at Tillicum Nat’nl Park Beach.
Sunday, December 1, we headed for the coast. We 💗 the Pacific Coast. So powerful and dramatic! Stayed one night here just south of Depoe Bay in what is mostly just a roadside pullout with bathrooms and a short trail. Slept with the sound of waves crashing on the rocks. It’s about 10 degrees warmer here and we appreciate that!
Rocky Creek State Park, Oregon CoastRocky Creek State Park, Oregon CoastRocky Creek State Park, Oregon CoastRocky Creek State Park, Oregon CoastRocky Creek State Park, Oregon CoastRocky Creek State Park, Oregon Coast
Friday, November 29. We left the high desert on Tuesday because a storm was coming in and it was freezing cold. Temps there were supposed to be zero today (and I don’t mean Celsius). Poor ol’ Harvey is not equipped for that. So we beat the feet (wheels) to the other side of the mountains and barely made it over the pass.
Santiam pass. Leroy has 4WD but we had to put chains on Harvey so we could stop when going down hill!
We had planned to check out a few more hot springs, visit Crater Lake and Mt. Shasta before heading over to the coast. The weather got here first, though I’m not sorry to leave the brown hills behind and get back into the green forest again.
We are in a most beautiful forest with many trails, old growth trees and 10 waterfalls! Today we rode our bikes down a mile of trail, hiked another 1/4 mile to South Falls on the South Fork of Silver Creek.
South Falls. South Fork Silver Creek.
Then we hiked back to our bikes for another mile ride (uphill), parked the bikes and walked 2 miles to Winter Falls. This one was on the North Fork of Silver Creek which didn’t have very much water. Long hike for unimpressive falls. We didn’t get a good photo because we would’ve had to hike down to the canyon floor (and back up!) to get a good view of them.
Winter Falls. North Fork Silver Creek.
Turns out that 8 of the ten falls are on the North Fork so tomorrow we’re gonna check out the Lower South Falls on the South Fork. Will update with photo.
Update, Saturday, November 30. We worked hard to get pics of the Lower South Falls, but they were spectacular. Another mile long bike ride, two mile hike down steep, icy trail and back. Took 3 1/2 hours. Whew!
Lower South Falls, South Fork Silver Creek. Lower South Falls, South Fork Silver Creek. Lower South Falls, South Fork Silver Creek. There’s Alan in tan coat.
Sunday, November 24. So, we are trying to hit every hot spring we can find between Idaho and the coast. There are many. This one is sort of a rustic resort with cabins and Harvy hookups. We are taking the opportunity to do some laundry while soaking in the pool. This one is a very large outdoor pool with a fountain and hot water coming in on one side. For cooler water you only have to move to the other side. The bottom is gravel and the water is neck-deep in the middle. Awesome.
Crystal Crane Hot Pool. Duck pond at the back. The water coming out of the tank in the back is VERY hot. The fountain in the foreground is pleasant and gives a nice “massage”. You can rent a room, a small cottage or one of these teepees.
November 23. We spent two days at Horseshoe Bend on the Malheur River near Juntura OR off of Hwy. 20. It’s a serious loop in the river, more than a horseshoe (see satellite pic below). At the middle of the loop the river splits and goes around both sides of a small island. On the island are three hot pools. The road to the island was gnarly and Captain Alan refused to go more than halfway. This left about a quarter mile hike to the island. The river was low enough that we could walk across the rocks without having to get our tootsies in the icy water. The pools were divine! The largest was also the coolest, getting hotter as they got smaller and closer to the river. I hopped in the river once, but Alan was having none of that.
Horseshoe Bend Hot Springs. The large hot pool at Horseshoe Bend. The smallest hot pool at Horseshoe Bend. The middle hot pool. This one was the hottest.
The Great Adventures of Alan and Nancy 