Bandon, Charleston and heading home

Well gang, We're on the way home from Bandon by the sea. Sorta sad to be heading home but back to the real world as they say.

We spent the last week in Bandon, Oregon at Bullards Beach State Park. It's a wonderful park with lots of things to do in the area.

The Coquille River Lighthouse sits at the entrance to the Bandon harbor and the mouth of the Coquille River. It's part of the state park now and has been restored to perfect condition. It's three miles from the campground and I ran to the lighthouse and back every morning. It's kinda of a "head thing" to run on the beach and arrive at this lighthouse. There are three geocaches (for those of you who know about that stuff) within a half mile of the lighthouse and we found them all.

We visited a wild animal park on Friday and got up close and personal with the cats. Here Kitty Kitty Kitty! What about that, Ella

But...... the best part was getting to play with a

9 week old lioness cub. Look closely and you will see her sitting between us. She was really a sweet cub and at 20 pounds she was only 4 pounds heavier than our kitty, Patches.

Did I fail to mention we have a new "grandbaby"? Here's Sharleen holding the "little darlin". I'm sure you can tell she takes after her grandmother.

On Saturday we drove up to Charleston which is near Coos Bay to attend the seafood festival and visit some of the other state parks in the area.We found a botanical garden with lots of flowers. I'm told we will visit again in the spring for the rhodendon bloom. Oh well, just another trip I guess.

One last look at the magnificent Oregon coast and back to camp to spend Sunday getting ready to head home. The trip has been a great one filled with a variety of fun things from great scenery to visits with loved ones and a number of special experiences. This is the last post for this trip. I don't know if I'll do one for the next trip or not... depends if you all like the blog. Home tomorrow.

Woodburn, Oregon

Greetings from Woodburn, Oregon. It's Sunday morning and I have a little time so thought I'd update you on our happenings.

We drove down to Woodburn on Friday.... a 200 hundred mile trip. Woodburn is about 30 miles south of Portland on I-5. Sharleen's sisters and families live here so we get to spend the weekend with some really great folks.

Yesterday, while the girls went shopping(surprise!) the guys headed to the beach with the quads for a little "playing in the big sandbox" time. We drove about two hours from Woodburn to Sand lake. There is a recreation area at Sand Lake that is about 1500 acres of sand dunes, wooded trails and beach that is open to off road vehicles of all shapes and sizes. All you need is a permit, a flag for the vehicle and the nerve to "hit the sand".

We pulled out on the beach, got stuck, offloaded the quads, parked the trailer and we were off.

We rode the beach for a while just so I could get the feel of the quad and then we "headed for the dunes". The guys took it easy on me and we had fun going up and down the sand.

Tony showed me how to climb a dune in reverse..... show off!! I think he just wanted to spray some sand.

We rode for about 4 hours resting when the view was great and watching the riders do crazy things with their bikes. It was a special day for me since I got to do something I never would have done on my own and doing it with some great guys made it all the better. Many thanks to Jerry, Tony and Ray for letting me "tag along" on the trip to the dunes.

Tomorrow we head for Bandon, Oregon and Bullards Beach state park. It's the final week of our month roaming the Pacific Northwest. There's no WiFi at the state park so this will be my last post till we get home on August 20.

Grayland Beach

Greetings again... we're back to civilization.... Parked near the outlet mall in Woodburn, Oregon.

I have to admit I'm thrilled to be this close to the mall. Can't wait to go over and start the shopping!

We spent the last three days in Grayland, Washington at one of the many the state parks there.

The little fishing village of Westport is about 5 miles from Greyland and as a working harbor where you can buy fresh(as in caught that day)fish,crabs and shellfish. We walked the marina area and had lunch at a small cafe.

We visited the maritime museum on the waterfront. It's housed in a former Coast Guard facility and contains history some of the area focusing on the fishing and whaling that went on in the last

century.

The highlight of our visit to Westport was the Gray's Harbor light house. It's the tallest lighthouse in Washington and is still in use today. The light and rotating lens have been replaced with modern technology but it still is a active part of ship navigation. We had a personalized tour with a docent that cares for the lighthouse. The three of us went to the top (only 135 stairs) and looked at the lens and rotating mechanism that was used over the last 100 years.

We found a Oyster farm and bought a dozen medium sized oysters for dinner on Wednesday. We have never had better oysters so.... back to the oyster farm for another dozen for dinner on Thursday. What a treat! Fresh Oysters on the BBQ is a gourmet delight. The weather was cloudy which is typical for the beach in summer. Overcast but pleasant.

We will return to Grayland to spend more time there. I even saw a bald eagle sitting on a tree stump that had washed ashore. I was out running on the beach early Friday morning and got within about 15 feet of the eagle. It just sat there and looked at me as I ran by. What a treat! Running on the beach in the morning is one of my "things" and it's simply great in the morning. There's no one around and I can get lost in my thoughts.

Well, so much for Grayland. We're here in Woodburn for the weekend and then off to Bullards Beach in Bandon, Oregon for the last week of our trip. I assume we will not have WiFi there so this may be the last post for about ten days.

Point Defiance

We spent the last two days touring the Gig Harbor/ Tacoma area and yesterday we went to Pt Defiance park. It's a large park on the North side of Tacoma with a Zoo, Aquarium and lovely gardens. Kris joined us for the weekend with her camera and she took lots of photos. The flowers were beautiful and the park was great.

The flowers brought beautiful colors to the park

A five mile drive within the park provided spectacular views of lower Puget Sound and Vashon Island

One last stop at Gig Harbor before we went back to the RV Park and put our feet up.

This morning Mt. Rainier showed its majestic form east of Gig Harbor. If you look closely you can see it's snow covered peak rising above the hills in the middle of the picture.

Tomorrow it's off to Grayland state beach on the Washington coast.

Gig Harbor

We drove from George, Washington to Gig Harbor just 10 miles north of Tacoma on Thursday afternoon. The 180 mile trip was uneventful and we arrived to find a quaint little fishing village with lots of boats and shops for the visiting folks. The town is a eclectic collection of local home grown folks and transplants from across the country. Kristie joined us with two friends for dinner Friday evening and she is camping with us for the weekend. It's only a hour from her house to here so it's sort of "backyard" camping for her.

The view from the hill just west of the harbor is truly spectacular. We walked the town and had lunch at a casual restaurant.

While walking in a residential area I came across a doe and two fawns helping themselves to apples from someones tree. It's great to see nature live in close proximity to people. I suspect that the apple tree owners don't share my view.