Animals in and around tide pools

While on the Oregon Coast we enjoyed visiting some excellent tide pools at Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Coquille Point - Bandon Beach and Yaquina Head Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area.  Abundant sea life uses these natural areas, both under water, and on the giant rock outcrops off shore (featured in an earlier post). Unfortunately both visits occurred on very overcast days, so the pictures are a little on the dark side.

Cape Blanco, the westernmost point in the lower 48

Visitors along the southern Oregon coast often travel west from Hwy 101 down onto Cape Blanco to see the lighthouse on its’ tip.  And that is an interesting destination.  However, the Cape’s story should include the history of the peoples who settled on, or used the lands of the cape. 

Cape Arago Highway

Since we were staying in Bullard Beach SP in Bandon, we chose to travel north to Coos Bay on the 101 and check out what was along that route.  We then entered the Cape Arago Hwy (Rt 540) at Coos Bay/North Bend and headed back south towards Bandon. In the little fishing village of Charleston, a wonderful seafood (fresh, of course) restaurant beckoned us to stop (which we did and had great views and a wonderful meal).   Leaving Charleston, we were ready for some outdoor exploring.

Bandon Beach, Oregon

I had a wonderful time taking pictures at Bandon Beach.

Traveling Tidbits

There are some short topics that I wanted to share with others – like us -  in the "early learning phase" of RV'ing.

Patrick's Point SP and the CA Coastal Redwoods

We stopped just north of Trinidad, CA, to begin our side trips into this land of the redwoods.

A Relaxing Sunday Drive with Jerry Jeff Walker in my Head

This post is about our drive a few days ago from Kings City to the Sonoma county park, just north of San Francisco.  Outlaw Country fans will understand the reference to Jerry Jeff Walker.   Although this drive was not in Los Angeles, I could not get the song lyrics out of my head. 

Pinnacles National Park, CA

In planning our trip we noticed that a former National Monument had become a National Park.   We decided we would plan a short stop on our way to Oregon.  This was a great stop, however, it was entirely different than we had expected.  For some reason we thought we saw photographs of large rugged rocks sticking out of a barren desert landscape.  It was much different.

Hearst Castle and More!

While in the Paso Robles area, there is more to see than vineyards.  So, we had planned a day to take one of the Hearst Castle tours - or as Gary would say - "another old house tour”!  However, he has admitted that this tour, and "house" was worth the time and effort to get there.

 

Rio Seco Vineyards - Our first Harvest Host experience!

If you are unfamiliar with the Harvest Hosts network, check out their website.  This network enables RV travelers to park and enjoy an overnight at a farm, vineyard or other agri-business location and learn a little while you are visiting.  One detail is that the site is usually “dry” camping  - a first for us, and I was a bit wary about trying no hookups. 

RV Park Review - Orange Grove RV Park, Bakersville, CA

Our one night stop in Bakersfield, CA, was planned to visit a dear 'ole friend.  I based the choice of Orange Grove RV Park on several positive RV review postings, and also a favorable blog posting by Wheelingit.  And, we found the park to be more than adequate, better than average, and just plain great!

High Winds and Burned Bridges

We are early risers, but not usually fast to  " break camp" and hit the road.  Today was an exception.  The local (LA) news last night was focused on the bridge under construction burning with I-15 underneath closed and traffic backed up for hours on this artery from LA to Vegas.  One route we were considering on our next leg would have been right through that mess.

More Rocks, Joshua Trees, and other Pictures

Thought I would share more pictures from our day at Joshua Tree National Park.   Hope you enjoy.

Joshua Tree NP - a Botanical Viewpoint

Living in the Sonoran Desert south of Tucson, AZ, for the past 7 years has provided quite an education to someone who has lived most of her life in the eastern US.  First, I now understand (TOTALLY) that globes portraying brown on the western part of the US and green on the Eastern, are based on reality.  Or, at least, so it would seem to many of us transplants. But, over time you find that vegetation, mostly of the "native plants" variety, can provide beautiful gardens and landscapes wherever you are.  The trick, if there is one, is to "go with the flow" and not try to fool Mother Nature!

Summer 2014 Trip to the Pacific NW and Beyond

 We are not full timers, but we are moving toward longer RV trips - this one planned to be around 3 months. Where we live in Green Valley, AZ, between Tucson and our border with Mexico, we recognize that summer comes early.  Temperatures begin to hover around 100 degrees F during May, so we consider May as summertime, a great time to visit more northern parts of the US.