Tuesday July 20, we are just north of Mendocino at Casper Beach. We used to come to Mendocino a lot. And then we just stopped. So it's been the better part of a decade since we've been here. Hasn't really changed much. We're not really beach people but the RV park is right across from a very nice and pretty empty beach. Of course, its summer on the Mendocino coast, which means the weather pretty much sucks. The sun was out when we arrived and we hiked a couple of miles along the bluffs to the lighthouse. Very cool lighthouse. Lovely neighborhood in between us and it as well.
Back in the 1860's an opium runner carrying all sorts of Oriental exotics crashed in the cove over which this lighthouse shines. Salvagers never found the goods but the pomo Indians in the region were seen to be sporting colorful silks and cooking with some intersting spices.
After the hike, we poured ourselves some wine and went out on the beach to watch the sunset |  |
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Over the next two days in Mendocino, we really didn't do much, I'll guarantee that. And not much to write about, sorry. We're tired. We didn't want to plan anything. We hiked. Did quite a bit of walking, actually. Probably 4 miles one day, and the next we went on a really lovely motorcycle ride through the redwoods. Considering how much time we used to spend here, we really never did much sightseing in the netherregions, justed vegged out in Mendo itself.
This time we checked out the Pygmie forest in Van Damme State park. Very cool place. Hundred year old plus trees that are six feet tall and a half inch around. And no, I didn't bring the camera on that trek, thanks for reminding me. Just trust me, it was very cool. Kind of reminded me of Pike's Peak where all the trees are stunted when you get to the top. There its oxygen, here its acidic soil. http://www.mendocino.com/?id=510
We also played tourist and actually paid to drive through the drive through tree near the Avenue of Giants. We'd packed a picnic and thought that would be a great place to have lunch. And it was nice and warm, which was a huge relief from the coastal fog.
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The North Coast has always awed me, it has so much power. Its not a friendly ocean like we see in beach movies.
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We spent an afternoon in Fort Bragg. The "Big City". Mendocino is the tourist trap. Fort Bragg, while it does have attractions, is more like a place where people live. Weird people, I'll give you that. Children of the sixties, and their children and grandchildren stuck in that same time warp. Back when I used to come to this area a lot, I remember a more bustling Fort Bragg, but the economy has really hit the lumber and the fishing industries. The quest for letterboxes brought us to Fort Bragg, and then again, they have the only real grocery store around, so we shopped...woohoo. Then we stopped in the harbor for a cocktail in the late afternoon before heading back to Casper Beach.
 Fort Bragg Harbor | Cocktail time at the stead  |
"Moseying north" has taken on a whole new meaning. We intended to stay a couple of nights in Eureka, which was only a stop because it was halfway between Mendocino and Coos Bay. Wrong. Eureka is far more compelling than it sounds. There is a lot to do here. Oh, OK, there are a ton of letterboxes; they take time. But they also get us to places we would otherwise know nothing about and therefore, not bother to see. Eureka, itself, is a cute little town trying to rediscover itself after over a century of a waning and highly regulated logging and fishing industry. There is a lot of history here, and the box planters are determined that we will find it.
First, there are the lovely Victorians throughout town. Some truely beautiful homes, and a historic society committed to preserving them
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The "Historic Downtown" is filled with boutiques and bistros, most of which won't last too long probably, as those things go. But it brings an ecclectic energy to the town. And there is a lot of construction going on down in the marina to revitalize that area. Very nice boardwalk along the marina being finished up now. There is also at least one murial artist in town... the murials are a lot of fun and there are quite a few of them. One of the artists is a guy named Randy Spicer who is awesome. Adds some spice to the town. Oh, that was bad. There are at least a dozen of them throughout the town, but I'm not going to post them all here; I've chosen my two favorites and here they are:
 Mural on the Center for Performing Arts Bldg |  Mural outside auto parts store in downtown Eureka. I love this one! |
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Steve and Dave's neighborhood bar on Waterfront was just calling out our name as be passed by it
There are two islands off the coast of Eureka connected by a bridge. A letterbox introduced us to Samoa. The far island is split in two: Somoa and Manila, for some reason. They were logging camps. The "town" of Somoa still exists, although no longer a logging camp. Apparently they were trying to make it into a resort town but that failed. But, one of the last logging camp Cookhouses still exists and operates on Samoa. Very cool. And apparently still quite the spot. Not just for historical value, but the food rocks. They serve one thing for each meal. That's it. No menu. This is what we made and this is what you're getting. All you can eat. They just keep bringing food. As a logging cookhouse into the late 1950's, they would serve over 200 loggers breakfast lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Fortunately we missed breakfast which that day consisted of pancakes, eggs, sausage and biskets and gravy. All of it. I tell you though, I had about the best soup I've ever had in a restaurant. http://www.samoacookhouse.net/ The servers aren't just servers, they're docents. And very enthusiastic about the Cookhouse and its history. Its family style seating but we were early and missed the lunch crowd... once again successfully evading the necessity to be social.
Arriving by bike at the Samoa Cookhouse  | Family style seating and eating inside  |
Between Somoa and the mainland is Woodly Island. Another place we wouldn't have visited if not for the plethora of letterboxes planted there. This is the actual harbor for Eureka with kayak rental places, commercial fishering, and the Coast guard. Oh, and a lighthouse.
Monument to fallen men of the sea  |  Table Bluff Lighthouse |
There are also some really spectacular motorcycle roads around here. Very glad we kept the BMW .... although Lance has had a workout as well. I took him grocery shopping and on a little sightseeing excoursion. He's been quite a hit in the RV park we're in. Several other motorcyclists and scooters here, and people came over to see my little guy. I guess the only thing more bonding than being an RV'er is being an RV'er with a motorcycle. And one of these biker dudes took up a whole lot more real estate than we do. I was concerned about being 40 ft with a 12 ft trailer. This guy is 38 ft with a 22 ft trailer. HOLY MOLEY! And the other guy was carrying a harley and towing a big ole truck on a 40 footer. OK, we're not so big now.
Anyway, Mark and I took Lance out together, two up, for a little tour of Eureka, and the little guy held up quite well under the weight. For some reason Mark felt a bit emasculated. |  |
Sequoia Park. A fabulous city park in the north of Eureka, full of huge redwoods and sequoias. I wouldn't call it a hiking park because the elevations just aren't there. like I'm used to, but it was a lovely amble. Maybe a couple miles roundtrip, but through some really fabulous old growth. There is a zoo in the park as well, but nothing compelling to see. Really looked more like a petting zoo than a real zoo.
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So, today, July 27, we were supposed to be leaving Eureka and heading to Coos Bay. Mark has decided he wants to spend one more day here. There are some historic areas we haven't seen and there are just some housekeeping we need to do to the Beast. Neighbors have come and gone. Right now, we're pretty much alone here. Yippee.
Fort Humbolt State Park. Fort Humbolt was opened to provide security and mediation between the Native Americans and the settlers to the region. Ulysses S. Grant was stationed here for a few years and served as quartermaster. Eureka makes quite a to-do about that fact. Apparently he wasn't very successful early in his career. In the late 1800's the base became a logging camp. So the Fort has artifacts from both iterations. The very cool machines invented here by local logging legends are fascinating.
 Log trolley |  Steam powered logging "donkey" |
Jedediah Smith State Park, and Smith River, are named after a trapper from St. Louis who was the first white American who crossed the frontier into Spanish California. He and his partners trapped and traded all up the California Coast, forging routes back and forth across the west. He died at 32, so he accomplished a lot in his short life...not to mention getting a really beautiful piece of real estate named after you.
We stayed in Hiouchi, across the street from the entrance to the park. Hiouchi is about 3 buildings big, one of them being the ranger station. It is a beautiful park though. It was full. Very few hook-ups, mostly tent camping. But absolutely beautiful. Al lot of huge trees and the Smith River is quite the recreation area. We hiked about 4 miles, starting in the fog and ending with a lovely sunny day. The park rangers were very helpful with trails and good hiking.
 The Smith River |  Giant redwoods in Smith Park. And no, that isn't me. She just wouldn't move |
The Hiouchi RV park was an interesting set up. Nice lawns for each, and set up so we were all pretty private from each other. We sat out by our little campfire both nights and 'qued us up some good grub. And saw nary another soul. Really. We were pretty much the only people sitting outside; it was weird. Isn't that part of camping I mean NO-ONE was sitting outside. Or cooking outside. And there were some really nice (read: expensive) rigs in that park. But you campers, or smaller RVers would love the actual park campground.. Lovely sites, although no full hook-ups and very few partial. But there were some sites right on the river. If I were ever through this area again, I would have no problem staying in Hiouchi. But, We've been here, so onward.
Wow, we finally crossed the California/Oregon border. Wow. The coast of northern California and Oregon is very interesting. Different. Unfriendly. Mark keeps saying no ocean is really friendly, but this is just more rugged and maybe a little angry. One thing I noticed a lot are the huge rocks well out in the ocean jutting out of the water. Lots of them, all along the coast. Some of them must be incredibly big, to loom over the surface like that. Another curious differnce on this coast is that the trees grow right down to the ocean. It makes for some nice photographs. Oh, and the other item worth noting is that all up the coast, pretty much from Fort Bragg up, are all these little roadside "attractions". There are mystery trees, prehistoric gardens (with a really pathetic dinasaur out front), burl carvers, the world famous one log house, you name it and its all "world famous", all along the bumps in the road called towns vying for attention and cash. Maybe, if we had kids traveling with us who get bored and need to stop, or maybe if we didn't have an on-board bathroom and fridge ... nah, I still wouldn't stop. But people do, some of them have tons of cars and RVs parked along the road. But they're fun to look at as we drive north. And no, I didn't take pictures of them either. Maybe the next one.
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On the way to Coos Bay is Bandon. This is the typical tourist trap and we just passed through it, first in the Beast, and then on the BMW. Its cute, but I didn't feel compelled to take any pix. Coos Bay is the Big City in these parts. The woman running the RV park, right on the water of Coos Bay, said there is nothing to do in town. Well, we didn't come here to do anything in town. Thanks to the local letterboxing community, we saw some fabulous sights on the southern Oregon coast.
Minutes outside town...say 15 miles ... are the "Oregon State Beaches". Bastendorf, Sunset and Arago Point State Parks/beaches. And there is no frikkin' charge to enjoy them. The day started out foggy and a bit chilly, but by the time we left Bastendorf, the sun was trying to emerge through the fog. By the time we left Sunset Beach, it was darn warm. All these beaches are surrounded by thick woods and some respectable hiking trails. We really walked our butts off today.
 Bastendorf Beach. The trees are right up against the sand |  The jetty outside Sunset Beach with the lighthouse. The beach is quite calm but I like this picture better |
Between Sunset and Arago is Shore Acres Botanical Gardens. This is a piece of property that was given to the state by some family (I'm sure I made notes but who really cares?). There are some really good hiking trails and in the middle are these beautiful gardens, including a nice little Japanese friendship garden. As nice as this is, the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose is much bigger, more elaborate but not as well kept, at least when we were there. There was a wedding going on in the main garden. I was pretty amazed that there were two respectable rose gardens in the park... considering the climate here, I expect to see wild fuschias, ferns and hydrangias.... but roses? And looking good. OK, they needed pruning, but you know me.
 Sight from the cliffs at Shore Acres |  One of the two rose gardens at Shore Acres |
August 1. I'll include today in July because we're still in Coos Bay. Today we went to Bandon because they had two letterboxes at the Fish Hatchery (we'd hoped to be first finder on one, but it was found yesterday. Darn!). Neat place, at which I took no photos, for no reason in particular. Its really a lovely park like facility dedicated to hatching trout. Saw, and got to feed, some pretty good sized "trophy quality" rainbow trout. Mark wished he'd brought his fishing gear. Somehow, I don't think they'd let him do that. We also visited yet another state beach, with a lighthouse, two letterboxes and no charge. This free stuff is pretty cool. Free is my favorite word, after all. I guess we were fortunate because both days in this area were sunny and fairly warm ... mid 60's. Mid 60's in Oregon means bathing suit weather.
There are also some really nice motorcycle roads around here. Which may account for the number of motorcyclists and the Harley dealership in town. Lots of bikers. Pretty much everywhere we stopped, there were bikes. There's a dive bar in town, and no we didn't go there, that had a dozen or more bikes parked outside it this morning when we headed south ... at 10:30. I don't think they serve food. No, the dive bar we found was Walt's Pourhouse. Great little place. Pretty good food and a decent wine list. Oh, and beer. They are a pour house afterall. A lot of locals and regulars, and people who think we look friendly.
So we rode around a lot today.
 Coquille River Lighthouse. Who knew they had lighthouses on rivers? I guess in this fog you'd have to. | I took this picture for Marilyn in response to the quip she made on Mark's facebook page. You know which one, Mare. Following a day on the bike, we stopped in for dinner at Walt's Pourhouse  |
Today, we also planted a letterbox in downtown Coos Bay. You boxers: www.atlasquest.com.
There really isn't much to downtown Coos Bay - the lady at the RV park is right. But There is a lovely wine store, a couple of nice antique stores, a nice little harbor, and patriotic Americans. The whole boardwalk area is lined with American flags, and there is a wood carving dedicated to our armed forces.
 |  Above, The view of Coos Bay, and the harbor, from our motorhome Left, patriotic carving on the Boardwalk |
Tomorrow we set off toward Tillimook, Oregon. Yum. Just the name gets my tastebuds going. Although, after watching them make cheese at the Sonoma Cheese Company years ago, I was off cheese for years. Hopefully, I've matured. After Tillimook, we're headed to either Tumwater or Olympia. Don't know yet. But we plan to spend a few days riding around up there. We've been through the area twice on motorcycles, but never spent any real time. I want to see Olympia National Park.
