California to Oregon; Banana Slugs to Mosquitos

 Banana slug at the Emerald Forest of Trinidad

I spent five blissful days at one of my all-time favorite campgrounds, the Emerald Forest of Trinidad.  I'd planned to stay three nights, but I was enjoying myself so much that I extended a couple more.

Each day, I walked into town and had coffee at the Beachcomber, a little natural foods restaurant in town.  Sometimes I visited the local artists' co-op gallery or a gift shop or the grocery store or the beach or the Humboldt University Marine Research Lab.  It was a nice place to take a break from being on the road.

 An eight-pack of fabulous chocolate bars!

 Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse 

(The real lighthouse is still in use, but it was too much of a hike for me.)

 Mermaid and dolphin sculpture in Trinidad

It was hard to leave Trinidad, California.  I just love that place.  All of the best of the northern Cali coast (beach, Redwoods, cool weather, lots of artists, no biting insects, etc.) in one small place.  I could've had a job there and stayed for the summer, but I passed.  However, Steve and I have applied to workcamp at the Emerald Forest of Trinidad next summer.  We shall see.

With mixed feelings, I headed north on Highway 101 again on Friday.  Fifteen miles north of Trinidad, I was in the Redwood National and State Parks.  This involved more beautiful drives through Redwood trees, similar to what I'd seen further south on the Avenue of the 100 Giants, and also some awesome stretches of road where the highway paralleled the shore.  

I'd expected to camp at a California State Park on Friday night, but I happened across a very nice Del Norte County Park instead.  I've been really noticing how impossible it is to fully research my destinations on the Web.  There are many fine places to camp that don't seem to show up in my Internet research--and I used to be a librarian, so I'm pretty darned good at research.  Florence Keller County Park, north of Crescent City, was $15 per night with no hookups, and it had lovely, large, wooded campsites.     

My campsite at the county park

The view out the back picture window

Before leaving Trinidad, I'd gotten my propane tank refilled, and afterwards I was unable to relight my refrigerator.  So I spent a lot of my time at Florence Keller on my belly on the floor of the rig, where I can reach the fridge controls, but to no avail.  So I got some ice and put it in the vegetable tray, and used the fridge as a cooler for several days.

On Saturday, I headed to Oregon.  I had some wonderful moments that day, visiting a few beaches and scenic outlooks on my way out of California.

 My lunch table at Klamath River Overlook, Klamath, CA

 

 The view at Klamath River Overlook

 

One last California beach walk, at Smith River, CA

And then it was on to Oregon, where the beaches are a little bit more wild and rocky.  All along the Oregon Coast, there are State Parks with campgrounds every 30 or 40 miles, sometimes closer.  I looked at most of them on my way north and finally decided on Cape Blanco State Park, in Sixes, Oregon, which is about 70 miles north of California.  It was a great choice.  

Cape Blanco has a wonderful beach and big wooded campsites, and it was very interesting because the Pacific Coast Trail runs right through the park, so I got to see lots of hikers and even horseback riders passing by my site.

 The approach to the beach at Cape Blanco

 Cape Blanco Beach

 
I liked the park so much that I stayed a couple of days.  It was a nice time.  I took a picnic lunch down to the beach, I had a little campfire one night, and I FIXED THE FRIDGE!  A friend suggested that maybe all that was needed was to remove some corrosion from the igniter.  So I used an emery board on all of the surfaces, and the fridge lit on the first attempt!  I felt very empowered.  And I needed it, too.  I was getting a little travel-weary, and the ever-lengthening list of things that need to be fixed was not helping. 

 An evening in my campsite at Cape Blanco

 

 Riders on the Pacific Coast Trail, just below my campsite

This morning I left Cape Blanco, but not before I took a little drive out to see the lighthouse, where I got another great view of the sea.  Between Cape Blanco and Highway 101 (about 5 miles of beautiful rolling hills), I saw sheep and goats.  I'd intended to drive to Bandon, Oregon, for breakfast, but I found a great greasy spoon in the tiny but world-renowned town of Langlois (famous for its blue-veined cheese).  I had pancakes made with local blueberries.     

 Cape Blanco Lighthouse

 

 A misty morning near the lighthouse

  Baaaaaa

 Where I had breakfast

And that's my story for now.  I decided to stop rather early today, mostly because I came across a much cheaper campground than the State Parks.  I'm at the Horsfall National Recreation Area near Coos Bay/North Bend.  I usually avoid these places because they're full of off-road vehicles, but this one happened to have two campgrounds, one for people with toys and the other for people without.  So I'm at the quieter campground and am about to go explore the area on foot.  It seems like a nice quiet place.  There are about a gazillion mosquitoes, but I'm pretty thoroughly sprayed.  I am close to miles of sand dunes and I can hear some seals barking from my campsite.  Pictures of this next time!    

My First 36 Hours As a Full-Time RVer

The Guppy at Pacific Yurts in Cottage Grove, OR

My cat Sonja and I slept in my 1982 Toyota Dolphin for the first time the night before last. We were parked on the street in front of my neighbor Chris' house in Eugene. I couldn't get the pilot light started on the propane heater, but I have a down comforter and I was warm enough. I did get the stove to work, and using that took the chill off the air a little, too.

Yesterday morning, I went back into the house I'd been renting to clean the fridge and bathroom, and had a farewell breakfast with Chris at the Monroe Cafe, and then we were off! Kitty in the cabover, me in the driver's seat.

First stop was my friend Jean's house to return some tapes and leave my mom's costume jewelry with her. (Jean knows jewelry! She's going to remake some of it into brooches for my sister and me, and she says some of it might be salable, too.)

Then we headed down the highway, looking for adventure, and got it, in spades. The next stop was the very first rest stop that we came to on I-5. By that time, a few things had shifted and flown around in the back of the Guppy, so I stopped to survey the situation. No major damage, but Sonja must have been surprised and upset when I started driving, because she had peed the bed. Fortunately, only the top layer, a duvet cover protecting my down comforter, got wet, so I stripped it.

Then Sonja managed to escape the RV--my worst nightmare! My very first rest stop and the cat is gone! However, the rest stop had lots of big trucks and was very scary, so Sonja stayed under my rig and I was able to grab her. She spent the next hour or so caged in her stroller. Later I let her out and she rode in the cabover again.

As I was leaving Eugene, the wind picked up a lot. I felt unsafe on I-5 and used the less busy and less exposed-to-the-wind Highway 99 whenever I could. That's how I happened across Pacific Yurts just south of Cottage Grove, which is a lovely place to stop if you ever happen to be in the neighborhood. They've got several demo yurts set up in a beautiful park-like setting with picnic tables. I wandered through the gorgeous yurts and found myself coveting them, since life in the motorhome was already a little complicated.

The next stop was actually a series of stops at the thrift stores that dot Highway 99 throughout Roseburg, Oregon. I found several scarves and nice pieces of vintage yardage and had coffee at The Daily Grind.

Then we headed to 7 Feathers Casino in Canyonville, where I had reservations at the RV park. It's a lovely place! Right on a creek, which the Tribe has made viable for salmon again. All brand-new facilities, including an indoor pool, hot tub, and gym, and of course the casino with lots of food and entertainment choices. I took myself out for a terrific Valentines Day date--buffet and bingo!

Last night, I posted on FaceBook how completely satisfied I was. Then I went to bed, where I quickly discovered that the top layer of bedding was wet again. Of course, I suspected Sonja first, but the liquid was odorless. I felt the Indian bedspread I had hanging above me like a kid's fort, and it was wet, too. There was a leak associated somehow with the vent that's over the bed. But it was the middle of the night and I didn't feel like investigating it, so I moved my bedding to the spare bed and tarped off my mattress so it wouldn't get wet.

Sleeping on my extra bed is not pleasant. (Any of you who were thinking of coming to visit me along my travels, please take note!) It's basically a small bench with some foam cushions on top. Fine for a nap if you drift off while reading, but not really a place to get a lot of shut-eye, except maybe if you're small and flexible, neither of which describes me. But I did manage to get some sleep, and then woke up to a light dusting of snow on the ground this morning.

Today I looked at weather reports online and talked to some of my neighbors in the RV park, and I decided to alter my itinerary. I had planned to head straight down I-5 towards Sacramento and do a little camping in the Sierra Nevada foothills before heading to the Coast. But there may be a lot more snow in the Siskiyous and up in the Sierra Nevadas, and I'm not on this trip to spend time in the GD snow. So I'm going to take Highway 199 from Grants Pass, Oregon, to Crescent City, California. It will be wet and cold on the northern California coast, but at least it shouldn't be snowy. Highway 199 might be somewhat treacherous (part of it is hairpin turns), so I am staying at least one extra night here at 7 Feathers while I size up the weather situation.

So today I have figured out the cabover leak and done laundry. The leak appeared to come from a screw hole that was missing a screw. I didn't have a screw of the right size, nor was I sure that just replacing it would solve the problem, so I duct-taped the heck out of it. And, just to be certain, I also covered the entire vent with plastic (I'm an artist, so I travel with drop cloths). Have tie-dye duct tape, will travel!

I still cannot get my heater to work and will have this checked out somewhere along the way. Other than that, things are going okay again now. I'm going to use this unexpected down time to get some scarves listed on eBay. The laundry room is warm and has lots of light and an ironing board and a table where I can take photos. I'm also going to take full advantage of the swimming pool and so on. Heck, maybe I'll decide to stay another night! By the time I got my AAA and Players Club discounts, it's pretty inexpensive to stay here. I have reservations for a State Beach in Santa Cruz on the 21st, so there's no hurry.