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Bandon Lighthouse

We had a request from one of our loyal followers to post a video of the Bandon (Coquille River) Lighthouse. Today, we were lucky to catch a ride to Bandon with our park host, Ron. He nicely swung out to the point so we could take a few videos.

The first video goes from the sea stacks to the lighthouse (cool orange parked car), including the foghorn in the background.

The second video starts at the lighthouse (cool orange car, again) in towards town.

And the last video is taken from town (specifically, the farmer’s market) starting out at the lighthouse and coming back towards town and the pier where people were crabbing.

Some history of the Coquille River Lighthouse can be found on this website.

A great legend about one of the sea stacks can be founf on this website.

Have a great day!

 

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Not quite a 3 hour tour…a 3 hour tour! (The weather didn’t start getting rough)

It was a quiet day at the park the other day. Ron, our friend and most excellent camp host, came by to see if we wanted to go for a boat ride around Lake Floras. Jeff, another long term camper at the park, had a new inflatable pontoon boat with a propane motor. We had to give it a try.

We had a fun time exploring part of the lake’s fingers and coves. The wooded shoreline reminded us of quiet canoe trips in northern Maine and Canada.

The sun was out, the ducks and geese were in full migration and the lake was quiet. A very nice outing.

Floras Lake website for more information.
Captain Ron readies the boat as I bid farewell. Yes, the ocean is just behind those dunes.
The tour included lake front homes and beautiful woods.
Captain Ron expertly guides us around the lake and safely back to shore in less than 3 hours. Thanks Captain Ron!

 

 

 

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A Saturday

Showers, laundry, a hot mug of tea, journaling and sunshine.

What a nice day.

I hope you are having a nice day, too.

Darrin is getting creative with his new camera.
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Fire in the Sky

Our time here at Boice Cope has often felt a bit like a refuge camp. For us while we wait for our new motor, for others due to the wildfires in the area. Over the past month the wildfires have closed Interstate 5 from California, forced evacuation of Merlin residents where our motor work is being done, and pushed others out from the Mt Shasta region. We have had fire fighters come through here in conveys heading to the fires as relief and others vacationing here during their breaks.

We thought that was all done once a bit of fall rains started, but no. The Klondike Fire, 33 miles inland from us over towards Grants Pass, which started on July 15th from a lightning strike has flared up again. A change of wind brought the smoke and ash west towards the coast for a short time. Last night while cooking dinner, we looked up to see smoke rolling in.  At sunset, we took a couple of pics and a video to share.

Our fingers are crossed with the hope of rain in the areas that have been fighting these fires all summer.

The smoke rolling in as we made supper.
The smoke turned the sun a brilliant orange as it set.
For us the smoke made an amazing bittersweet sunset.

 

 

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Stormy weather…now I have that song stuck in my head

As you could probably tell from our previous blog, we had a bit of a storm here on the Oregon coast. We weathered it quite well in our tent. We lost one pole that was javelined into the ground by the 30 mph winds and we had a bit of minor water seepage (under Darrin’s mattress this time). The pole is back in thanks to the loan of a step ladder from our host and the tent is now dry thanks to our new favorite heater and some sun. Not bad considering some of the RVs were just as damp.

Our little heater drying things out. Check out our home entertainment system turned drying rack!

The rain brought out some new friends. Anyone know their official names?

A wee little one who froze solid for 5 minutes with his back left foot in the air…I think he thought I was a giant coming to get him.
And a bigger guy (about 6 inches long) who didn’t seem to care that I was taking his picture.

The storm also changed the ocean into a whole different beast from the last video.

Okay, no more videos of the ocean…I’ll find something new.

A few showers in the forecast and then back to sunny days! Which reminds me of the tale of The Vampire in the Lazy Daze Trailer…but I’ll save that for another blog.

Happy day everyone!

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Now we are really cookin’ with gas!

As the diesel conversion unfolds we had a moment of….hmmm….how are we going to cook once we switch to diesel? For the past 5 months we have been siphoning regular unleaded gas from the emergency jerry can on the back of the Wee Rover and using it in the old coleman stove. “Old school” was one way it was noted by a fellow camper!

Since we are switching to diesel (including the 2 jerry cans)we decided to check into propane for the stove. A simple propane conversion generator for the coleman was ordered along with (2) 11 pound propane tanks that just happen to fit perfectly in the basement!

So, up till now we had been cookin’ with gas (unleaded), but now we are realllly cookin’ with gas (propane)!!!

“Old school”
Old meets new – a bit of a stand-off… it was touch and go for a minute as to whether there would be a brawl, but the old school admitted she was tired and gracefully retired.
Old basement storage – look at all that wasted space.
New basement storage – any change in our set-up takes a bit getting used to in our small space.
And viola, our new set-up – with the more even burning modern system I no longer have an excuse for burning anything…bummer.  And yes, it is pouring…time for the heater and some Netflix.

 

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Beach Love 2

Another gorgeous day on the beach. We walked part of the Oregon Coastal Trail and miles and miles on the beach (and took a few advil when we got back for the old knees).

Here is my second stab at videos. We actually set-up a YouTube channel, but we need to figure out how to use it and link it with the blog. Any and all advice accepted.

Enjoy our slice of awesome!

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Beach Love

So, we are officially in love with the Oregon coast. We can sit on the beach and watch seals and sea lions or we can walk for miles looking for agates. The weather and the ocean is constantly changing so each day is a new experience, and most days we never see another soul.

Here is my first attempt at posting a video. Let me know how it looks and suggestions to make it better.  Fingers crossed!