Today we had an open agenda so we took a cruise up the Smith and Umpqua Rivers and took a side trip to the Umpqua Lighthouse south of Winchester Bay. The Smith River dumps into the Umpqua near Reedsport, OR. Back in a previous age, I did some logging in the Smith River watershed but it was about a million years ago. The trip up the Smith today was to see if I could recognize some of the sights and roads that seemed so vivid to me but, alas, I could not identify anything. The drive up and back, however, was gorgeous. We spotted a massive bull elk with unwieldy antlers looking up at us from the shoreline. He was magnificent.
After about 20 miles on the Smith, we headed back toward the ocean until we made it to US-101 in Reedsport. About a mile south on 101 and we turned east again, this time up the lower Umpqua River to where we knew the Roosevelt elk from the surrounding timber hang out. No sooner had we spotted the pasture where we sometimes see elk and there they were. It appears there are either two large herds or one really humungous herd that have wandered down into the roadside pasture where they know they won’t be shot by some overzealous hunter or poacher.
The big bulls were dutifully chasing off the young suitors interested in their harems. Much grunting and whistling and chuffing was being used by the big guys trying to keep the youngsters way out at the edge of the cows. They augmented the noises with some road work as they chased the young bulls off into less interesting parts of the pastures. Mating season is next month and I suspect the big bulls will become more feisty with the punks come fun time.
After quite a while, we finally moved off and headed back west toward the coast. We made it to 101 again, turned south and pulled off going west about 5 miles later in Winchester Bay. We took a long drive into the impressive Oregon Dunes which run from North Bend to Florence. They are big dunes – some Sahara-sized specimens were spotted, many of them with fancy dune buggies squirrelling around.
Standing above the dunes at the mouth of the Umpqua is the venerable but still operating Umpqua Lighthouse. It is the last human-manned light on the Oregon coast. It is also unique in that it puts out both white and red light so the beacon at sea looks like it does a couple whites and then a red. The lighthouse looks out over the ocean but it is surrounded on the other three sides by conifer trees. If you stand near the lighthouse in the evening, you can see the slowly rotating lights on the trees and then the beacons blast out to sea. It is a gorgeous old structure allegedly architecturally quite similar to the Heceta Head Lighthouse north of Florence. We will probably return here to see the facility doing its thing at night.
There’s some lighthouse and elk pix you can see if you click here

We had an open agenda for today so we started by taking a cruise east of our current RV park in Lakeside, OR. However, before we even left the park, we noted a kite festival or some type going on in the adjacent city park and the kites were very spiffy. They even had an enormous kite shaped like a whale shark and it looked like it was swimming when it flew.
Since we got out engine replaced back in March, the function it performs called “Cleaning Exhaust Filter” has been weird. Sometimes, at low speed, the truck puts out clouds of gray smoke when it is cleaning the filter, choking anybody foolish enough to tailgate. It quits after a few miles but anyone behind us when it is doing it had best fall back.
After leaving a pall of stinky smoke down the main drags of Lakeside, we turned out toward US-101 where we could punch it and get the engine running a bit harder. Sure enough, after a bit of freeway speed, the smoke quit. We had driven as far as Winchester Bay and we were going to wander out to the Umpqua Lighthouse when we got a call from our daughter. It turned out she was only about 10 miles from our current digs at Osprey View RV Park. We agreed to meet there.
It was a complete surprise to me since the next time I expected to see my daughter was going to be in late 2018. We got to chat a bit with our kiddo before she had to continue her drive back to her soon-to-be former lodgings in Mukilteo, WA.
We hung at the trailer for a bit before getting bored and going out for a walk around the RV park. It is actually quite nice here, other than the puny RV spaces. The weather is being quite cooperative with temps around 72, sunny skies and nice breezes. I was so delighted with where I was that I even agreed to accompany Peggy to the local market for supplies. We are now stocked up, set up in a place we want to be and ready for some more of the ravages of retirement.
We took some pictures and you can see some of today’s sights if you click here

In violation of my “no backtracking” rule, we reversed direction from our generally southbound progress and headed north, but not very far. I know I was bad and I gave myself a stern scolding before ignoring the policy. We left Bullard’s Beach State Park, turned north on US-101 and headed back through Coos Bay and North Bend. We continued another 15 miles after crossing the Coos River until we turned east toward the small community of Lakeside.
Despite living about 20 miles away for ten years earlier in life, I had never been to Lakeside. It is sort of a disorderly conglomeration of houses and small businesses, at least at first and only glance. The town is built right along the edge of South Tenmile Lake and I see there is an North Tenmile Lake, at least on the map. We will explore to get more info tomorrow.
In Lakeside, we pulled into the Osprey View RV Park. The park is built on a flat peninsula that is bordered on one side by a canal and on the other by South Tenmile Lake. The spaces are a bit small (we just barely fit in ours with our gigantic trailer and massive pickup truck) and close together. However, the crowd seems to be quite sociable with big chair circles surrounding portable fireplaces in those spaces with any room. There are lots of friendly dogs passing by the trailer and I think that’s always a good thing. There are also lots of ducks, geese, swans, songbirds, a few blue jays and some big cool ravens. The park has full hookups, 50 amp electrical service, paved RV spots, good roads, cable TV (we use our satellite dish because we get more and better channels), wifi, big shower and bath facilities, a store, a laundry, an arcade for kids, a meeting hall, an ATM and, best of all, a pub and pizza joint. It is not rustic.

We have been fooling around in the Pacific Northwest since May. During a substantial part of the time, there has been smoke in our environment sometimes obscuring our views and almost always clogging our lungs. 2017 has been a horrible year for fires in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon and a persistent high pressure weather pattern has kept the smoke marching toward the sea. High heat cowards that we are, we have kept to the west side of the Cascades and, for the most part, have avoided the high temperatures that now plague almost the entire Pacific time zone.
Despite staying in hot scaredy-cat appreciation regions like Puget Sound and the Willamette Valley, we have still encountered stifling high temperatures and gray stinky skies. That may have come to an end today. When we arrived in Bandon the day before yesterday, the temperature was a reasonable mid-70s but smoke still obscured the sun or made it look like a spiffy fuschia orb. Yesterday, the smoke was almost completely cleared by some refreshing onshore breezes but it was still overcast except at the beach, where it was foggy.
Today we awoke to overcast skies, mid-60s temperatures and very light breezes until about noon when there was a sudden and pronounced darkening of the skies. Being a circadian type, I immediately headed for the crapper for some important business. Minutes later, it started to rain torrentially and not two minutes later the entire trailer interior was filled with a dazzling white light instantly followed by a very impressive roar that sent Peggy darting across the trailer. I thought, momentarily, that she was going to join me in our electrical panel-sized toilet enclosure. Peggy is not real skookum on electrical storms.
For the next hour, the storm raged. Brilliant flashes of light illuminated the otherwise dark and dreary skies. Huge blasts of thunder gave the impression that the sky itself was being ripped apart. It was great, from my standpoint. I am a big probability and statistics believer and have always assumed that lightning must strike somewhere but this is a big planet and there are plenty of places I am not where jagged arcs of lightning can go to ground, leaving me unscathed. Peggy has different beliefs. I still love her.
The rain and fog continued for the rest of the afternoon. We left the campground about 2:00 PM and headed to the Bandon Baking Company which is exactly the kind of place we should not visit. Peggy went in and bought some things we shouldn’t eat. From there, we headed down the coast, chewing and checking out all the state and county parks lining the Pacific. The scenery was gorgeous but most of the government parks were pretty full; many folks living in nearby communities have been evacuated due to recent fires and have retreated into the parks. We also checked out some private parks and they are also busy, despite the reduction in occupancy during normal years encountered during the fall. Maybe when we pass through this area in a week or two, space will be available for two ancients with a big trailer. We only went south as far as Port Orford, so we did not check out any Rogue River camping locations. I hope that part of the world has not burned in this year’s horrible fires because the places we have stayed up the Rogue previously were gorgeous.
We got a few pictures along the way. Click here

Last night there were some soft breezes from the west, off the ocean, and they did an admirable job of clearing the noxious smoke from the coastal skies. It was still overcast but it didn’t stink and the sun, when visible, was not orange. We took leisurely showers and then another spin into Bandon in search of food prepared by others. We found the Minute Cafe in the tourist section of town and, surprisingly, the food was great. Peggy did a fish and chips basket and I had the chicken fried steak and we still got away for around $25.
We strolled around the downtown area and Peggy went into some shops, looking for booty. I found much public seating along the pretty main drag and was not required to attend while Peggy shopped. The downtown area is quite pretty, the river is right over there and Peggy found some stuff she wanted. I was even clever enough, in my dotage, to act like I didn’t mind shopping and Peggy was nice enough to acknowledge that my behavior was not naughty.
We also got the oil changed in the truck, ran our beloved Charlotte through the car wash and acquired some tobacco for the one of us who hates shopping. We also made a couple of stops at the Bandon Marsh federal wildlife refuge to spot birds, ogling some hawks, a night heron, some trumpeter swans, a great blue heron, an osprey and a gaggle of swallows busy ridding us humans of the scourge of flying insects. We also made a trip to the north jetty along the Coquille River and took a walk along the beach in the fog. It was a good afternoon.
Check out some pictures by clicking here

We were obliged to leave the Remote Outpost RV Park today since our reservation expired and some other soon-to-be delighted campers can move in. Initially, we were baffled about where to go today. We don’t want to go south yet because it is hotter than hell. Going west will put us in the ocean and that’s bad. Going east will put us directly into the fires currently trying to consume and/or suffocate the entire state. We got here from the north and I don’t like to backtrack, covering the same ground twice. It was perplexing.
We finally settled on going west but not all the way into the Pacific. The roads from Remote heading west are limited to one – OR-42. We turned out of the park, headed through Myrtle Penis and Coquille (the county seat and “seat” is no idle descriptor) before connecting with US-101 near Coos Bay. From there we headed south about 20 miles to Bullard’s Beach State Park located just a few clicks north of the town of Bandon. Bandon is a quaint little assortment of shops and businesses intended to efficiently separate tourists from money. It is also located on the south shore of the Coquille River right where the river empties into the ocean. It is visually quite attractive. At the time of this writing, it also had considerably less smoke in the air; we can’t smell the smoke here but deep breathing can generate terrifying paroxysms of coughing from the elderly.
The park is very nice but there are limited sewer hookups and we didn’t get one. We will be departing, therefore, in four days or less because that’s about the extent of the holding tanks’ capacities. There is no wifi but our satellite antenna can get some satellites in its sights and we have a pretty good assortment of TV channels. The drive over here from Remote was short so we were all set up by about 2:00 PM. We climbed into the trailer and turned on the air conditioning but soon became bored and mutually decided to go into Bandon for some looking around.
While driving down the waterfront, we spotted a place called the Bandon Fish Something and we pulled in for some seafood. The food was very good and they also served Black Butte Porter, our favorite brew. There is outside seating so customers, like us, can have a seat right along the south shore of the Coquille River. Across the river we could see the old Coquille Lighthouse which is…uh…old. And scenic. And white, except for the rusty parts.
After lunch we took a drive through the part of Bandon that faces the Pacific Ocean. There are wide sand beaches, magnificent sea stacks protruding through the surf and ample state-owned access to the beach. A while back we were in Washington and they have a different concept of public access to the state’s beaches – there isn’t any. Here in Oregon, access is not a problem because there are shoreline parks, parking lots, wildlife refuges, restrooms and miles of stunningly beautiful beaches and bluffs easily accessible by both normal people and old farts like me.
We finally got back to the trailer in Bullard’s Beach in time for the evening news where our feelings that the president is insane were reinforced for about the 200th day in a row. I hope this yahoo doesn’t get us all killed because he is thin-skinned.
There’s pix. Click here

The temperature came down today into the high 80s but the smoke remains unabated. The air available for breathing here in Remote is very shaky and we kept ourselves mostly inside the trailer, choosing to waste time indoors in the air conditioned air without the gas chamber-like effects of breathing outdoors. For most of the day, the sun was obscured by the almost-opaque layer of yuck above us. Drawing a voluminous lung full of the outside air results and moderate coughing and a subsequently irritated airway. The Weather Underground app we have indicated the air as “very unhealthy.” We pity the fire fighters. TGFA/C.
Fortunately, Sundance TV had a M*A*S*H marathon for Labor Day and we were witness to many episodes we have seen before, choosing reruns over asphyxiation. I also held my breath and went outside to dump the tanks but I kept it short. We will head for the coast tomorrow so we can maybe go outside and find a suitable environment for humans or a “Class M” planet as they called it on Star Trek. I know I’m old but that doesn’t mean I want to tempt fate by filtering out the sludge in the air for others. I’m greedy that way.

We don’t know if the fires south of where we are currently set up are getting worse or not but the smoke certainly is. We are sort of stalled in our comfortable portable home because the smoke obscures all views here and going to see something that is invisible seems pointless. We chose instead to stay close to home today, enjoying our trailer’s ample air conditioning system and the beautiful park where we are shacked up. It was 90 degrees outside and when we could get a glimpse of the sun, it was dark orange. It is like vacationing in Mordor except there were no orcs.
Remote Outpoat RV Park may be one of my favorite RV parks. It has very pretty landscaping, nicely mowed lawns, ample spaces with full hookups, decent wifi, a river about 30 feet behind our trailer; a community pavilion with wide-screen TV, a stainless fancy barbecue and a full kitchen; there is a big community room, a laundry that costs two bits per dryer increment and 50% great service from the staff. The folks running the place are Edie (spelled Idi) and Rob and they live onsite. I tried to watch the NASCAR race today with Rob and either he doesn’t like me for some reason (can’t fault him there), hates everyone or merely disdains communicating with guests. Idi, on the other hand, is a pretty woman with an outgoing personality who seems to work like a Japanese junior corporate executive. We spotted her numerous times polishing and cleaning and mucking out the small cabins they rent to those without pricey trailers or motor homes. When we need something, we talk to Idi. We seem to be insufficiently redneck to hobnob with Rob.
Peggy utilized the laundry facility and I got the propane tank refilled by Idi’s son. We are soon to wander into unknown destination land because the kids are back in school and finding space to park a 34′ RV with hookups will get substantially easier. To make getting reservations easier for old flatulators like us, kids should be gagged and tied up for the summer so their folks won’t be obliged to listen to their strident bitching and to take them camping to get them to shut up and quit wiggling. I’ll buy the rope and the ball gags and supply them to all that apply.

We awoke today to very dreary rust-red skies. There are fires south of our camping spot and the smoke from those toasty get-togethers are turning our resort into a big gas chamber. The sun is not visible through the dreck during daylight hours.
In an effort to find some air suitable for respiration, we decided to go west, toward the ocean. About 20 miles later we got diverted and headed south to Powers, a town with no viable industry, a meager population and four residential lots we purchased there back in the Clinton administration. Recently we convinced the city to send their possibly sole worker, Jim, out to our lots to run a camera in the sewer to ascertain the presence of any sewer lateral connections to the city’s system. Jim felt that, in order to steer the camera and mark where the laterals may or may not be, he had to use a city mower to clear off a large portion of our holdings.
Busybody neighbors almost immediately complained when they saw Jim mowing our lots and he got in trouble with his superiors. Fortunately, Jim also found a municipal water system leak now visible in the mown grass that the city had been hunting for a considerable time. Jim went from being chewed out to being praised and congratulated for finding the mystery leak and I guess the management just ignored the mowing complaints from the busybodies.
While driving through Powers, we spotted a city truck and followed it to the wastewater plant. There I hailed the driver and found out it was indeed Jim. We had a long conversation about sewer and water for our property and have now developed a strategy to bring up the utilities so we can park our RV on our own property when visiting this area in the future. Hubba-hubba.
After our conference with Jim, we left Powers and returned down the twisting road along the south fork of the Coquille River to the main highway in Myrtle Penis. We were ready to continue our trek to breathable air on the coast. We turned west along the south shore of the Coquille until we emerged after about 20 miles of gorgeous scenery in Bandon.
In Bandon, we carefully turned away from town and headed north a few miles up 101 to Bullard’s Beach, a state park located at the mouth of the Coquille River at the Pacific. There we cruised through the park where we will head Tuesday, after the holiday. We also drove out to the river mouth and checked out the Coquille lighthouse, a venerable structure built on the north river jetty. There were gray whales fooling around very close to the beach.
The air did not reek of smoke in Bandon but high clouds of smoke gave us a bleary fuschia-colored sun. It was a gorgeous color but we would have preferred that the smoke just bugger off. We returned home along the north shore of the Coquille River. We determined that, when we leave Remote and head to Bullard’s Beach, we will go the long way around because the roads down both sides of the river are scary for cowardly RVers with an overall length of 50 feet.
We were delighted to find so much gorgeous scenery and so many wild animals along today’s route. We saw, in addition to the whales, a falcon, a big hawk, deer, a couple flocks of wild turkeys (our favorites), ducks, Canada geese and a tremendous variety of songbirds. It is gorgeous here. I just wish the smoke would get lost.
We took a few smoke-filled landscape photos and you can see the indistinct images of some of the sights if you click here

Today was a travel day so we packed all our stuff and pulled out of the South Shores TT. We turned south on US-101 and cruised alongside the Oregon Dunes all the way to North Bend. We continued through North Bend and Coos Bay, where both my spouse and I lived for a long time, and followed 101 for about 5 more miles until we turned southeast on OR-42. We continued through North Bend and Myrtle Point (called Myrtle Penis by numerous indigenous personnel) before entering the serpentine Coquille River Valley. Maybe 20 miles later we turned into the Remote Outpost RV Park near Remote, OR. We know why it is called Remote; there is little other than stunning scenery here.
The Remote Outpost is run by a nice couple and they do a superb job keeping their park up to snuff. The full hookups are identical in each space, there is a pavilion that has a massive flatscreen TV along with full cooking equipment and comfy seating, the wifi works well and the Coquille River runs right behind our RV.
The only drawback is that there is a massive fire south of us and it is pretty smoky here at the park. The breeze is trying to make it tolerable but the temperature is around 90 and the air quality is shit.