Sunset

So one evening about 8:45, we decided to take a walk and view the sunset.

We went down to the cliff, then headed north toward a picnic table in the woods.

Alas, when we arrived, the table was occupied.....so we had to walk even deeper into the woods.

Before long, we came to an open area, complete with concrete bench for our sunset viewing pleasure.

Of course, our primary focus was the lighthouse.

It did not disappoint.

Life on the Oregon coast is very special.

Walking around the Cape

For the last several days, we haven't done much other than our required duties.  Both Jim and I have had bad colds, so we have stayed pretty quiet.  We did get one day when we had enough energy to go down to the south beach.  I love looking at all the wood that has collected and bleached in the sun.  I will begin with the times we sit out on the cliffs just down from our parking space.

We like sitting here and enjoying the view.

But then sometimes, we make it down to the beach.

At low tide, the beaches are huge.
Hobbes loves the smells.

Some of the tree parts are huge.

There are always things of interest and beauty on the beach.

On this particular ramble, we visited with horseback riders.  There is a horse camp here at the state park.

We noted cormorants nesting on the rock,

then walked on to the end of this beach to the hole in the rock.

Back past the lovely tree parts,

then back up the hill

to home, sweet home.

It was a good day.

Lighthouse Duty

Today was our first full day of light house duty.  We managed to get tradeoffs on Thursdays so that we could attend the Port Orford Rotary Club.  This is a great group of Rotarians who are very active.  We enjoyed them last year and hope to attend all the June meetings this year.

Back to today.  On full days, we begin at the gate.

We let the greeters and staff through the gate before 10 a.m. then open it wide for all the folks waiting at the upper parking lot at 10.  

We lead the parade down the hill and up again to the lighthouse, which today is shrouded in fog.

We leave Hobbes in the truck--on guard.

We head up the hill to the lighthouse.  I am on duty in the work/oil room.

Jim climbs the tower to the lantern room.

And there he is, king of his hill.

I explain things in the work/oil room,

then send folks up the 64 steps of the tower where Jim is waiting.

The climb is not too bad.

Most folks make it just fine.

After 2 1/2 hours of this drill, we are relieved for a quick lunch.

We bring a sandwich and use this 1/2 hour to eat and walk the dog.

Hobbes likes this idea.

After lunch, we are on duty at the Greeting Station.  I usually stay outside and greet folks as they arrive.

We let them know that tours are available. 

Jim begins the story at this point.

A day like today is interesting due to the changing nature of the fog and light.

Down times are spent looking at the sea

and the local fauna.

It is tough, but hey--someone needs to do it, and we think it suits us very well.

It is not all work here on the coast.  More of the beauty that surrounds us in a later post.  Life is good!

Klamath, CA to Port Orford, OR

From the redwoods, we made our way to Klamath, CA.  We enjoyed the drive up the CA coast with its variety of scenery.

The cloud patterns were interesting, and the water fascinating as usual.

When we got to Klamath, we parked right at the river in the Golden Bear RV park.

and enjoyed this view from our front window...

Our first afternoon was quite glorious;

the next a bit soggier.

Our drive into Oregon was uneventful and soon we were spotting bits of coastline that seemed familiar.

There's Humbug mountain with a hat of fog,
our first view of Port Orford,

and the beautiful Scottish broom.

Soon enough, we were parked and set in our lighthouse host site with a lovely view our the kitchen window.

We arrived May 28 and worked the 29th in the afternoon filling in for another volunteer.  We attended Rotary on Thursday, then had some time to settle in before our official orientation on June 1.

In my next post, I plan to include more of the beauty that surrounds us here and additional information about our responsibilities.  Our trip this spring has been smooth and enjoyable, unlike last year's stress prone journey.  As Jim is fond of saying, "it doesn't all have to be bad news!"  We have had a wonderful trip and look forward to our time here at Cape Blanco State Park.

Golden Gate to the Redwoods

Following the advice of our friends, we headed straight through San Francisco on Hwy 1 and across the Golden Gate Bridge--Airstream and all!

Soon we were on the route to the giant redwoods.

We headed toward Samuel P. Taylor State Park.  We enjoyed many lovely redwoods along the way.
                           
It was definitely "hug a tree" time.

The park had a space for us, but it was parallel parking on an asphalt pad.  We hung over our site onto the next one. 

The loop road getting out in the 
morning was also a challenge--very tight. By the time we completed our drive up to Humboldt State Park, we decided that a commercial establishment with hook-ups was better for us.  Good decision.  Next day we drove into the edge of the Humboldt park.  It would have been a tight squeeze for a pick up to get around; forget a 34 ft. Airstream in tow.
We did enjoy the visitor center at the Redwood National and State Parks.
There we saw this precursor of the Airstream.

Nifty, huh?

The redwoods are pretty amazing,

but difficult to capture in terms of size and grandeur whether they are in the air or on the ground.

Just thinking about how long some of these trees have been around is mind boggling.

We drove the

then went over to Ferndale, a quaint Victorian town.
We enjoyed seeing the buildings, 

shopping a bit, 

(Jim even enjoyed looking at the wares in the blacksmith shop.)
then partaking of the goods at the 

We ended our excursion at the Eternal Treehouse across the road from our Red Crest RV park.

The eternal claim comes from the fact that trees have sprouted from the roots of this tree that now reach 40 feet in height.  At any rate, it is a curiosity.  There are plenty of "gimmicks" along this roadway.