Wednesday, February 27, 2013 (Cape Blanco State Park, Port Orford, OR)

Three years ago today we moved into our new home "on wheels"...no, we hadn't retired yet...it was just one step closer in our plan. We wanted to move in, get organized and get used to it before we hit the road in our new lifestyle.  We still had 4 months to go before we retired...I can still remember our first day going to work from our fifth-wheel...there was something inherently wrong with going to work from your RV!

With a forecast of rain and wind coming in later this afternoon and tomorrow, we wanted to get out for a hike and explore the area. So at about 10:00 we headed out. We took the road towards the beach and then caught the Coastal Trail that went towards the Lighthouse. Holy cats! Is it ever cold in the wind! Today's high of 47F/8C felt more like 27F/3C and of course we aren't used to the high humidity that chills you to the bone.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse, towering above the westernmost point in Oregon, is the oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon coast.  It's clifftop location is 245 feet above the ocean.  It was commissioned in 1870 to aid shipping generated by the gold mining and the lumber industry.

Stunning views along the way...

Views from the lighthouse...

Time to head back down the hill from the lighthouse and find the continuation of the coastal trail.





Yup, it's windy out!

The trailed followed the coastline...Steve took more awesome pictures...

The trail then went inland a bit into the forest with lookouts along the way...aah...no wind and much warmer.

I found a geocache!

The trail went down...down...towards the Sixes River...

We were looking for the Historic Hughes House...and we think we were heading in the right direction but with the threat of rain we decided to take another trail that led back up the hillside.  If we get a chance, we'll have to drive to Hughes House, a home constructed in 1898 for the pioneer dairy farmer.

This is the mouth of the Sixes River...

It ended up not really being a trail and we found ourselves walking through a gated pasture.  We found the road though, after climbing over a locked gate, we found ourselves at the entrance to the cemetery...

I tracked down another geocache as Steve wandered around the graveyard looking at the headstones.

By this time, the clouds were getting much thicker and darker, so we figured we'd better hi-tail it back to the fifth-wheel. We walked back along the road and then took the gravel road through the horse-camp that led to the campground.  As we neared the campground, we saw four deer in a field...

Three hours, 5.35 miles/8.5 km and 3 geocaches later we were back home...another great hike! It wasn't long before we started hearing the pitter-patter of rain on the roof...good timing! So we hunkered down inside while the rain increased along with the wind...it was pretty blustery out there.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 (Travel to Cape Blanco State Park, Port Orford, OR)

This morning it started out clear and sunny when we got up but quickly started to cloud over...actually I think for the most part it was fog or sea mist.  We were packed up and on the road shortly after 9:30.

We have seen a lot of pampas grass along our route through northern California...

This herd of elk relaxing in this field took us by surprise (there were 3 dozen of them)...

Again highway 101 goes from narrow windy road to wide freeway...

Some important road work here...the highway is collapsing down the hillside...

Look at the size of that tree!

Klamath River...

We went through many small coastal communities...

Lots of oceanfront homes...great views but I don't think I would want the maintenance from the sea mist...

We're looking for a place to pull over for lunch...a spot on the ocean would be nice...

And we found it!  I nice large pullout area right on the oceanfront.  Steve took these awesome pictures with his camera...

Gold Beach...a good sized community right on the ocean...

Bridge over the Rogue River...

An RV park down below on the river (maybe just a tad bit too close to the highway)...








Mouth of the Rogue River...

More spectacular coastline...

We pulled over at another viewpoint and Steve took these pictures (with his camera)...

A few miles past Port Orford, OR we turned off the highway towards Cape Blanco State Park, a 5 mile drive west.  It was around 2:00 when we arrived at the campground which was basically empty except for the camp-host and one or two other campers (although a few more came in later on in the early evening). It is set amid a fairly dense forest...good thing they have electrical hookups and we aren't relying on solar! We picked a site opposite the road that goes down to the beach...handy for backing the rig in but also it seemed like the only spot in which we just might be able to get a satellite signal.

Once backed in, we found that the trailer was level...bonus!  We unhitched and got all set up...it took a little longer due to that darned illusive satellite signal.  It was very finicky but after moving the dish to another spot, Steve managed to lock onto a fairly decent signal...whew!

While Steve finished up outside, I walked down to the kiosk by the camp-host and paid for 3 nights...$16/night (off season rate) for 50 amp electrical and water hook-ups is pretty darned good! Once I got back, we decided to go for a walk down to see the ocean...brrr...I had 4 layers on and the wind chilled me right through...guess I'm not used to the high humidity either.

Thinking there would likely be a beautiful sunset, Steve went back down to the waterfront in the hopes of capturing some great pictures...he didn't have any luck though.

We are looking forward to exploring some hiking trails tomorrow...