Saturday, March 2, 2013 (Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, Florence, OR)

We had a very lazy morning...we don't usually move too fast in the mornings at the best of times (unless it's a travel day) but today was much lazier.  We didn't sleep in...both of us were up shortly after 6:00 a.m...we just really enjoy our mornings. We watched an old WWII movie...Kelly's Heroes with a very young Clint Eastwood along with a bunch more superstars looking very young.

It was shortly after 11:00 a.m. by the time we were out of the trailer and on our way for a hike around the park.  Rain is forecast for later this afternoon so we wanted to get out before it started.  Of course, I had downloaded geocaches for the area and had my GPS with me and was "on the hunt".

We found a trail to the dunes...


You want to walk across the sand to the other treeline? Sheesh...walking in sand is tough! But we walked over to find that the trail turned into more of a game trail. Steve said we would have to crawl so didn't go any further...

...and back again...good workout for the leg muscles!

There are tons of rhododendrons all over the place...

We went back down to the road and carried on until we found a huge playground and Nature Center.

The Nature Center is closed for the season but we peaked in the window...looks like they have a great setup for kid's programs during the summer.  After we were finished there, we continued down the road passing the campground entrance until we found the Sand Dunes Trail.  This is an interpretive trail that goes to Cleawox Lake.

First, it passes by the small Lily Lake...

After a beautiful walk through the forest, we made it to Cleawox Lake...we had to walk up another sand hill for this view...

We walked back down the hill and caught the trail again that goes around the lake...

We're going to hike the trail around the lake to check out that lodge over there...

Cleawox Lake has a huge day-use area and judging by the facilities, must be a very busy spot in the summertime.

The lodge was built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and has recently been restored.  It currently houses a concession (closed for the season) and rest/change rooms.

Further along the trail, I found a geocache!  It is a micro cache dangling from a branch in this tree about 20 feet from shore...barely visible...and no I didn't go wading for it.

The area has tons of picnic tables all along the lake and this very nice outdoor kitchen...(that's me in the background checking my GPS for another geocache location)...

We walked to the end of the trail and then decided to walk back on the road.  Look at the size of these rhododendrons!  The park is full of them!  The pink Pacific rhododendrons brighten up the park in the late spring...we're just a little too early to see them in full bloom.

This monument is at the entrance to Cleawox Lake day-use area.  "Jessie Honeyman was a tireless advocate for Oregon's natural resources and the scenery along the state's highways.  During the early 1920's and 1930's, she gained the respect of state parks superintendent Samuel Boardman.  Between the two of them, they protected many parcels of scenic land along the coast.  Boardman recognized Honeyman for her efforts on July 12, 1941, when Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park was officially dedicated."

 

Just shy of 2 hours later we were back home.  We had walked 3.78 miles and I had found just one geocache.  There were others in the area but most were not on the route we took...a couple (including the one I found, were only accessible by boat on the lake).  Feeling great after a good hike, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon inside.

A little later, we heard the sound of pitter-patter on the roof as the rain started.  After dinner we settled in to watch the Vancouver Canucks play the LA Kings...yay...Vancouver won 5-2!