Beachside Play Day

It's hard to believe how hot the summer has been in most of the country. We've been lucky this year to have had mild temperatures and little rain here in Oregon.  Today is no exception.

From the campground at Waldport, we're taking a car trip today, back along the route we were on yesterday. 


The bridge over Alsea River at Waldport during low tide.

We want to spend a little time at the beach and see a few sights where we couldn't stop in the coach and tow. First stop is at one of the many Oregon State Parks along the seashore.  This one is called simply, Beachside.


These signs are posted all along the coast. 
Junk is washing ashore from the Tsunami in Japan

 

Unlike Florida, where most beaches are under riparian rights by private landowners, Oregon has secured it's shoreline for the enjoyment of all. That's a good thing. Another good thing is that these beaches are open to dogs. To the best of our knowledge, this will be Ozzie's first visit to the beach. Its will be Lexie's second, although last year, the sand on the beach we visited was too deep for her to walk. This one looks perfect. The beach is wide, smooth, flat and damp. It's about 65 degrees and overcast. We all four are wearing sweatshirts.

Now Pop with the puppies and me with the camera -- off we go to catch the waves.  Like most dogs, Ozzie loved the relative freedom (he was on the leash after all) and ran all over and as far as the leash would allow. I swear, he almost looked like he was laughing.  Lexie merely followed along and seemed happy to be on the cool flat sandy surface.

And when the time comes to pick up sandy footed puppies, Mom takes the call.

After about an hour of romping around in the surf and sand, we left Beachside and continued south on US 101 to Yachats where we snapped these pictures. 

These pictures are taken at another Day Use State Park at Yachats.

From here, Wayne saw a whale blow! 

I missed the whale blow.

The cove at Yachats. Homes on the hillside. Low tide.

Continuing south on US 101 from Yachats, there's plenty of photo-worthy scenery.  I took a few more pictures...



At Cape Perpetua, we stopped to explore Devils Churn. It's a chasm that began as a fracture in the volcanic rock and today displays waves crashing into the ever-expanding gap.  I walked the half-mile trail down to see the waves as they hit.  Wayne stayed topside with Lexie and Ozzie. 

Devils Churn. Too bad it's not high tide.

Another nice view from the walk down to Devils Churn

The pathway down to the chasm.

As lunchtime drew near, we headed back to Yachats to eat at a seafood place we'd spotted earlier.

Luna Sea Fish House looked inviting.
Fresh crab being cooked outside to the left.

Wayne ordered a fried oyster basket

Fried clam strips for me.  Everything was good.

Dungeness crab

Huckleberry ice cream

With full stomachs, we'll now drive north, back through Waldport, to see Newport.

Waldport, Oregon: Crabbers Paradise

We drove only to Waldport the day we left Harrisburg, Oregon.  This was Wayne's first day of driving since his back problem, so we sure didn't want to press our luck. 

Along the way, driving north from Florence on US 101, we passed many beautiful viewpoints and places we want to explore.  Our stop at McKinley's RV Park in Waldport will be close enough to take a day drive back along this road in the car for a closer look tomorrow.  We'll also take a short twenty mile drive north to explore Newport in the car.

McKinley's is situated at the mount of Alsea River on Alsea Bay.
Crabbing is real big here. 

Our coach is facing Alsea Bay -- about half-way along the row (black front).

Our site at McKinley's Marina & RV Park at Waldport, Oregon.
Crab cookings, crab boat rentals and all the equipment available here.
Great places to walk the dogs too.  About a half-mile from the town of Waldport.

Yes, we're in a Tsunami evacuation area... but aren't the hydranga beautiful. And they match the sign color so well.

Still dedicated to my morning walks, I wasn't disappointed here at Waldport.  Each morning was a different route and here's some more of what I saw...

Ready to walk. 

Did I mention that crabbing is real "big" here? 
Stuff like this lying around everywhere.

From the bridge over the bay.

Wildflowers on the roadside.

Just feeling like Daisy Clover for this one.

Moss grows deep onto everything around here.

I don't know what this is but there's lots of it.

A typical home in this area.

From Central Oregon To Points Northwest!

Erik with the prize window awning.

Wayne's back problem lasted only a week this time and that was a good thing since our campsite at River Bend was reserved for the night of July 24th for a week-long rally. 

We were anxious to get going again and itching to see more of Oregon's coast.

A few days prior to our departure, the small kitchen window awning finally came in and was installed. 











Preparing to reinforce the wipe seal.
The slide cover canvas is turned back

The canvas for the awning had to match the existing awnings on the road side of the coach and it was a special order from Carefree of Colorado.  It took over two weeks for it to be shipped and another five days to arrive after shipping.

To cover the small window seemed silly expense but when the westerly sun beats in onto the Corian counter top, the resulting glare is awful and the only other option is to pull the night shade all the way down which darkens the kitchen too much. 


Because Monaco recommends it, we also had the wipe seal on the giant slide out reinforced to avoid any future problems.






We learned that our slide cover was barely being held on and
would have likely fallen off somewhere along the road.

This was warranty work and could save a repair somewhere down the road.












The drive through the Cascade Mountains from Harrisburg to Florence was not a new route as it's the same road we took last summer when we visited Coos Bay.  Leaving the campground, Wayne offered to let me drive the rig for the first time. I had only driven Mona two or three times and have not driven Endie at all till now.  With the scare of his back problem, Wayne has finally come to realize that I need to be able to drive the rig comfortably in the event of an injury or accident. I drove only a short distance from Harrisburg and to Eugene, but it was a start.  I left the narrow, two lane road through Siuslaw National Forest to Wayne. 

At Florence we headed north on US 101 and it wasn't long until we caught a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.