Shelton, WA

September 16 and 17, 2011 Days 253, 254

We left Brookings bright and early (for us!) at 7 AM to make the journey home again. We went the highway route through California to I-5 to avoid construction delays along 101. We made a few stops for food and gas, stopped at a huge quilt shop in Portland, and then reached Glenda’s in Shelton about 6, just in time for dinner. It was raining when we left the coast, so we weren’t too sad to be leaving. (Still, just a bit, the Oregon coast is just so beautiful, even in the rain).


Our sleeping site for the night



Glenda made us a great dinner of salmon, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and beans. All the veggies were from her garden and so tasted so fresh and wonderful. We had some peaches for dessert that we had brought with us from Oregon. We stayed up late talking and visiting….as usual.

Back in the Washington rain!



On Saturday, Harris did a few minor things for Glenda, and we took a morning walk in the pouring rain…first time we’ve done that in a long while. When we remarked on this to Glenda, she asked “How?” and we replied, “Oh, if it’s raining hard, we just wait awhile for it to clear…no hurry, you know!” which just about sums up our retired lives. It was raining most of the way home, and that seemed a fitting end to this little trip. We started out in hot and sunny weather and ended up in the rain. Harris is ready to go out again seeking the sun as soon as the laundry’s done!

Our hot breakfast provided by Glenda



Total miles September 16 = 475 miles
Total miles September 17= 130 miles

Robin Hood

September 14 and 15, 2011 Days 251 and 252

Sliders by Harris, veggies by Helen, peach cobbler by Judy



We spent the last two days being very lazy and enjoying our visit with the Donahues. We’ve taken walks on the beach, watched the waves for hours and talked and laughed and played farkle with our friends.

Stairway to the private beach



Harris made dinner on Wednesday night. We had eaten at Ruth’s Chris Steak House (happy hour) in Seattle a few weeks ago, and loved their tenderloin sliders. Harris looked up the recipe on line and decided to give it a try. Wow! It was a huge hit, a most delicious dinner. We had fresh peaches for dessert. They are so delectable this time of year!

Starfish with a view



The main reason we came down to Brookings was to see Joe in his stage debut. He was in a little theater production of “The Somewhat true tales of Robin Hood”, playing Little John. He did a great job and we really enjoyed seeing the show. Helen treated us to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then the show. Who knew Brookings was such a cultural scene?

Joe Donahue as "Little John"









Tomorrow we plan to get up bright and early and head back north. It’s been a wonderful trip and a restful break!

Total miles driven last 2 days= 0 miles

Brookings, OR

September 12 and 13, 2011 Days 249-250


Our campsite at Honeyman State Park near Florence



We didn’t go as far as Sunset Beach. Next time! On Monday, we just meandered down the coast, stopping at quilt shops and view points along the way. We camped at Jessie Honeymoon State Park, which has the largest coastal sand dunes in North America. We were about 2 miles from the ocean, but right up against humungous sand dunes.

On the trail to the sand dunes



We rode our bikes around the campground, and along one bike path, then came back to Howie to make dinner. While we were finishing, a woman came up to us and asked us questions about Howie. We were glad to show him off. We got to visiting, and found out this woman and her husband were leading biking/hiking tours around the western US.

The high road we'd rather not take



They were currently biking from Astoria down the coast, and then going to Seattle to do a tour in the San Juan Islands. Quite impressive, especially because they both looked older than us, at least their faces and hair did…their bodies were in great shape! After they left, we looked at each other and had to laugh about how we had griped biking up little hills and climbing on the dunes.

Judy, the trail blazer, leading us



Tuesday morning we hiked further up the dunes and across some trails, then headed towards Brookings. We did the usual stops for quilt shops, overlooks and lunch, and pulled in here about 4:30 in the afternoon. We’re visiting our good friends, Joe and Helen Donahue. Joe was just heading out for play practice…which is the reason we came.

On the very cloudy road to Brookings



We’re going to watch his community theater production of “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood” on Thursday night. We can’t wait to see him in tights!

Hearty surfers catching some waves



Helen gave us a great dinner, we visited til late in the night, and went to sleep in their parking lot. Quiet and peaceful!

Our breakfast cook for today



Total miles driven these 2 days= 150 miles

The view from their condo looking northward

Camping at WI-NE-MA

September 10 and 11, 2001 Days 247-248


Our true beachfront campsite



Last October we had at an overlook and spotted an RV campground on the Oregon coast that was right on the beach. Before we left home on this trip, we called them and found out we could stay there on Saturday and Sunday nights, but would have to be out Monday morning because they were expecting a group for the whole week.

Judy walking on the beach



So, we made plans to leave Mt. Rainier, even though the weather was unbelievably beautiful and warm, and head for the Oregon coast so we could stay at Wi-ne-ma camp. It is a Christian camp used mostly in the summertime for kids, and the RV part is not very big. But, as we stated, it is right on the beach. There is just a little bit of beach grass between Howie and the ocean. So we’ve traded the peace and quiet of the mountains for the peace and roaring of the ocean. Both are heavenly when it’s time to sleep.

View looking north



We ate lunch along the way, and arrived here in the late afternoon. We are about 40 miles south of Tillamook and about 16 miles north of Lincoln City. Barefoot and shoeless, we walked on the beach in the dazzling 78 degrees sunlight, enjoying the crash of the waves. While we were sitting on our chairs after dinner, just gazing out at the ocean, we noticed some plumes that seemed to go straight up in the air, not curling over like the waves do.

Howie from the water



Hmmm, we thought, those look familiar, but it seems the wrong time of year for whales. After spotting several more plumes, we knew we were seeing whales! A quick check of the internet confirmed that there are about 40 gray whales that stay around this area year round. Most gray whales migrate through here in the winter and spring. We watched the sun go down over the water and Harris took pictures with the time exposure so he could jump in the frame. How technology has improved! Many years ago, when he’d set the timer, we‘d get pictures of his back as he ran to get into the frame. Now, we never seem to miss!

Enjoying the sunset



Let’s see…Judy beat Harris at cards on our second night out, so we had to play again for the championship game. It was close, but Harris won. The Mariners didn’t.

Group of fishers along the river



On Sunday, we went into Lincoln City for some geocaching and looking around. The shops weren’t anything special, but we found 11s caches, and ran into another couple from Portland when we were trying to find the cache at Catherine’s Garden. They were celebrating their 36th anniversary (same as ours) and It was fun to talk “geospeak” with them and compare notes. They use their I-phone to find the caches. Harris listened to the Mariners lose again while Judy looked around the shops.

Wasted view from L.C. Safeway's loading dock in back of store



Back to camp for another walk on the beach before dinner. The wind has picked up and since the temperature was at least 15 degrees cooler than yesterday, we had to put our windbreakers (aka rain coats) on. It was still sunny, although we see some clouds rolling in. No whales today! We had a great steak and salad supper.

Clever cache hide in 30 by 30 foot neighborhood cemetary in Lincoln City



Tomorrow we think we’ll head for Sunset Beach State Park, further south along the coast. We will miss being this close to the ocean. Harris will miss the showers here (they had fantastic water pressure especially after showering in Howie at Mt. Rainier).

A cache site where we had lunch



Total miles driven last two days = 295

A seagull's lunch which Harris would have enjoyed sharing

Off to Mt. Rainier

September 8 and 9, 2001 Days 245-246


Tasha got married on September 3rd, and it was a glorious affair. We spent most of the summer preparing for it, and poor Howie only got out of the driveway once, over the fourth of July. We had prayed and prayed for good weather for Tasha’s wedding, and were rewarded with almost a month of sunshine.

So, after all of our friends left, we just had to get into Howie and take off. Judy usually likes to go to Mt. Rainier in August, but we were busy then and there was too much snow on the trails anyway. But this glorious September weather was just made for a trip to the mountains and the ocean, and that’s where we headed.

One of 2 caching sites we stopped at but didn't find



Thursday morning we headed out. We stopped for gas and a quick fix to the passenger seat…it wouldn’t latch in place and stay that way! Harris rigged something that would work until we return home. He’s so good at that! We headed south into the sunshine and up to the mountain. We originally wanted to go to Sunrise for a day, then head down to Paradise, but the road in between them is closed for some work. Fortunately we knew that before we left, so we just went to Paradise, and camped at Cougar Rock. It wasn’t too full on Thursday, but Friday night was a different story!

A great wood carving at cache site



We brought our bikes on this trip, and biked around the various loops in the campground to get the kinks out, picking out good campsites for future visits. Then Harris cooked a great steak dinner with rolls and green beans from Marilyn’s garden. Perfect. After dinner we strolled around some, then when it got dark returned to Howie for the night. We wanted to take showers, and for a while it seemed we weren’t going to be able to, because we couldn’t get the gas heater going. Harris fussed around a bit, looked at the book, went back and forth inside and out, then finally figured out he had to reset it because it had previously been run by electricity when we plugged in. Eureka! Hot water and showers! Then he trounced Judy at cards, yet again, while listening to the Mariners beat the KC Royals. He was a happy camper tonight!

Our campsite at Mt. Rainier



It was a glorious night. We had to take another stroll before bed. The moon was shining so brightly that we watched our shadows move before us on the road. The trees were silver tipped with the light. There are no streetlights here, and the only sound is the Nisqually River In the distance, roaring away. Such peace! That’s why we love it here.

Lupines



On Friday we went up to Paradise to see the new visitor center and hike a bit. We went up to Myrtle Falls and a ways further along the Skyline Trail, probably about 3 miles in all. It was hot! The wildflowers were beautiful and abundant, particularly the lupines, which filled the meadows with a sweet, almost grape-like smell. We hiked until we found a small patch of snow, then turned around to head back for some lunch. We made sandwiches and ate them on a bench which faced Mt. Rainier. Could you ask for a better view? Don’t think so!

Steak, toasted rolls, Olson's beans



After we lingered there for a while we came back to camp and sat outside to enjoy the peace and quiet. Perhaps it was too quiet…Judy started to nod off, and Harris said, “We have to do something!” So we went for another short bike ride, and discovered that the bottom 2 loops of the campground had been opened up for the weekend. Hmmmm…..maybe there’s a better site than ours! We thought we found one, and Harris went back to get Howie. Alas, when he came back, we discovered the beautiful site was quite uneven, and not really worth the move. So, back to loop B again, which really was fine to begin with. Harris thought we should be getting hungry, it must be time for dinner, but it was only 4:30!What to do? I know, let’s walk down to Longmire and the lodge there, just to go somewhere.

Our lunchtime view from the new lodge



It’s a mile and a half from the campground to the lodge if you take the trail through the woods. The trail parallels the Nisqually River and the road, and is a great walk….almost all downhill. We were not looking forward to the return trip! We got to the lodge, looked around, and debated the merits of hitch hiking a ride back up the hill to the campground. Would anyone stop if we stuck out our thumbs? We didn’t want to chance it, but did decide to walk along the road, even though it added a half mile to the return trip. It was a steady uphill climb, but gentler than the trail. So up and up we plodded along, not daring to stop because a pesky fly was just waiting for us every time we did.

A snow boarder in Mid-September!



Harris made a great dinner tonight. He pounded some chicken breasts with the hatchet, dipped them in egg and breadcrumbs, then grilled them along with some beans. Who cooks like this on a camping trip? (Besides Marilyn!) Good thing we walked so much today!

Howie posing...



Total miles driven these 2 days= 160