Today we started out at our spot at Bastendorff Beach and drove into the adjacent community of North Bend to meet Peggy’s sister, Tony, at the Kozy Kitchen. They had not seen each other in a while so breakfast took about an hour and a half before we took off for a local drive.
We started by heading south on 101 to OR-42 which wanders through the hills ultimately arriving in Roseburg way over on I-5. We only followed 42 to a spot between Coquille, the county seat, and Myrtle Point, affectionately known to most locals as Myrtle Penis.
We turned east on Lee Valley Road which we followed a couple miles to another quarry of the Main family’s. There we found another of Peggy’s sisters, Chrissie, who is the sole person at that location. She hangs out in a dinky little shed there and fills the aggregate needs of folks from that part of the world. After some extended hobnobbing, we headed back north on 42 toward Coos Bay until we turned west on North Bank Road which winds down the north shore of the Coquille River.
The predominant color here is bright green. They have received a lot of rain recently so all the plant life is open for business. About 10 miles down this road we turned off at the Bandon wayside of the Bandon Marsh NWR where we spotted many aquatic birds busily spearing prey in the grassy swamp in front of us. We also spotted an adolescent hawk that we startled and he gave us a great aerobatic display before drifting out of sight.
Shortly thereafter our road terminated at 101 where we turned north about 100 yards before hanging a left out to a state park called Bullard’s Beach. They have a nifty campground here but it has very few spaces big enough for our trailer. There is also a road here that goes beyond the campground for a couple miles before ending at the Coquille River Light where we strolled around and photographed stuff. We noted from our vantage point at the lighthouse that there were some enormous rock formations off the coast on the south side of the river so we went looking for them.
After winding through a bunch of Bandon streets, we found our way out to the coast where we found the rocks are actually part of a reserve called “Oregon Offshore Islands Refuge” or something and that someone had the smarts to set this little stretch of rocks aside for the future. They are impressive ocean rock formations with dramatic wave actions and hordes of sea birds. There must have been something tasty in the water because the seagulls were mobbing a section of the water with very little respect for other members of their flock.
We had pretty much run out of time so we took the long drive from Bandon up to the Main Rock pit north of Coos Bay to dine with Tony again. I probably ate too much. here
A few pix are available if you click the word “here” clumsily placed at the end of the above paragraph.

Another beautiful sunny day greeted us as we woke up this morning. Since we are familiar with this area (I lived here for 10 years and Peggy for 21) we started out the day with breakfast at Kozy Kitchen. They make great breakfasts here but their chicken fried steak and eggs is not as good as Dean’s in Clackamas or Jake’s in Bend. Nevertheless, their food is tip-top and the prices very reasonable.
We then followed up with some tasks we needed to address like purchasing propane, tobacco, getting the mud washed off Charlotte and fueling up her tanks. Then we headed up to Main Rock Products where most of Peggy’s family either works or hangs out. We were careful not to give anybody notice that we had arrived in town until our chores were finished because they sometimes have agendas when we visit and we are woefully ignorant of others’ desires when here. We hung around at the old rock quarry for more than enough time to completely cover our newly washed truck with a substantial layer of rock dust before departing back toward our camp spot.
We took the long way back to our spot, stopping on the way to get Peg some woolly socks because she says her feet are cold sometimes. We took the long way through North Bend past the dinky airport emerging in the Empire district where Peg had me stop at a bakery for some bread and a gooey cinnamon roll. We intentionally missed the road back to Bastendorff Beach and continued down the coast to the Cape Arago lighthouse and on to Cape Arago itself where the road craps out. The ocean and forest views were gorgeous.
We ended up going back to the trailer to do old folks stuff like urinating and reading but along about 7:00 we headed back south on the coast road to an overlook entitled Simpson Reef for the sunset. Although the sunset was gorgeous, we were also treated to views of offshore gray whales along with seals, harbor seals and elephant seals hauled out onto the rocks at the reef. They were frolicking in the water, making noisy barking and growling sounds easily audible from the shore. We also spotted what we think was a night heron perched on one of the rock pinnacles. He was quite handsome. The view in the afternoon from this overlook is magnificent.
Photos are available if you click here

Today we awoke to a beautiful sunny day which was nice because we are moving today. We broke down our camp at Kamp Klamath and headed east to 101 where we turned north headed for Oregon. We really did not have a particular destination in mind for the next few days’ stays but the parks we have been passing for the last two weeks or so have had ample vacancies, probably because the weather has been crummy and intelligent folks do not normally intend to go camping in the rain or snow. Since we enjoy travel and are not intelligent, you can find us throughout the winter occupying RV parks almost by ourselves.
US-101 has not fared well during this winter and many road sections have disobeyed CalTrans by slipping off of their perches and falling into the Pacific far below. We would just about get up to speed only to be stopped by flagpersons lurking about the edges of road repair projects. When we checked the internet, the travel time from Klamath, CA, to Coos Bay, OR was indicated as about 2.3 hours in normal traffic. We kept moving as quickly as possible but with the road work delays, we covered the distance in about 5.4 hours. Fortunately, our long waits for road repairs occurred in absolutely magnificent surroundings. Some of the delays were in spectacular redwood groves and others along sunny sections of splendid coastline. I believe this was the first time I have ever been delighted with road work stoppages.
Between 4:00 and 5:00 this afternoon, we pulled into Bastendorff County Park which overlooks Bastendorff Beach west of Coos Bay. We had our selection of all but 5 sites within the park since some other hearty travelers had gotten there before us. We had camped here before and during that stay we pulled into a spot on a grassy knoll surrounded by spruce, cedar, fir and Monterey cypress trees. We took an adjacent site to the spot selected last time we were here and we have no visible neighbors. It is gorgeous here. It also only costs $20 a night which is dirt cheap for electrical and water hookups, no neighbors and majestic surroundings.
A zillion years ago I used to live here in Coos Bay and, as a matter of fact, I met and married my beloved spouse Peggy in 1979 not too far down the road at Shore Acres State Park. Way back then I used to patronize a restaurant called Luigi’s where they make a very meaty sandwich with the name of “Garbage Grinder.” I noted as we pulled through town on our way to the park that Luigi’s was still there and open for business. After setting up the trailer and paying our fees, we took off for Luigi’s for some heart-clogging food. The sandwiches were good back then and they are still good now. They are probably very unhealthy but I quickly devoured a large Garbage Grinder with olives, leaving just enough room for a 20 ounce root beer. I do not have any remorse about eating this tasty stuff although if I croak my opinion might change.

Ooooo-eeee! Today was a wonderful day filled almost entirely with passages down roads we have never seen or even imagined before. We started this morning with a big egg scramble and fortified coffee and I ate some special chocolate before piling into Charlotte for today’s fun.
We took 101 north up to the area around Crescent City but right before we got into town we turned off on Humboldt Road. Using this one-laner, you can bypass Crescent City and all its squiggly roads and signals. We continued until we reached Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. This park is just off 101 and I have passed through it before on CA-199 but never stopped. Again, I have been stupid. The park and its grove of enormous redwoods is spectacular and I do not have adequate descriptors to truly describe how beautiful this part of the world is. Peg and I wandered down to the Smith River which runs through the park and we were rewarded with views of the turquoise-blue river running through a truly impressive stand of redwood giants. There are trees here with diameters which easily exceed 20 feet, heights in excess of 300 feet and a canopy under the redwoods which blocks almost all sunlight. It is quite shady down were us peons lurk.
On the way out of the park campground, we talked with a ranger who suggested a scenic drive not far from the park entrance. From the campground entrance, we turned north on CA-199 to South Fork Road and almost immediately turned right onto Douglas Park Road. Right about the time the paving ends in favor of a dirt road, the name changes to Howland Hill Road. Howland Hill Road is a mostly gravel but sometimes mud single-lane road that runs for about 6 miles through some of the most dramatic and beautiful territory I have ever seen. Charlotte had no problem other than getting really dirty and passing through some sections where traction was hard to find but while doing this, also passing through a stunning old-growth redwood grove. This drive could probably be considered bucket list quality.
After a couple hours, we passed out the lower end of the road into Crescent City. I have passed through Crescent City many times on 101 but have never turned off any further than the distance to a gas pump. This time, however, we drove across 101 right out to the coast and again were rewarded with some magnificent views of this northernmost section of California coastline. There is a gorgeous lighthouse at Battery Point, a spectacular rocky coastline running up to Castle Rock and a little road that takes you out to Point Saint George which is a point. From the area around Point Saint George, the ocean surrounds you on 3 sides.
We curtailed our sightseeing and turned back into Crescent City where we stopped at the Rumiano Cheese Factory. They have a great selection of cheeses and fresh curds which I have always loved even though the have the texture of biting down on a slug or a pencil eraser. Nevertheless, they are very tasty and the half pound or so that we bought hardly made it back to the trailer.
On the way back to the trailer we took the Alder Camp loop, just like yesterday. It is still spectacular.
I might have screwed up but if I didn’t, you can see photos by clicking here

We took off on a journey of exploration today by driving south on 101 from our spot on the Klamath River with our first pull off just a couple miles south where we took the ramp that leads to the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Newton must have had some problems because it was closed. We knew the Parkway had a southern component so we hopped back on 101 south down to Prairie Creek Redwoods SP where we should have been able to get at the southern portion of this scenic road. It was closed.
In Prairie Creek we did run across a pretty good size elk herd with a couple 4-point bulls, some forked horns and some spikes along with about 30 cows. They were calmly browsing around in the field adjacent to the highway. We also spotted a few deer lurking in the same area.
After lingering at Prairie Creek for a while we got back on 101 south and went down to the Lagoons a bit south of Ophir. The Lagoons are big freshwater ponds trapped behind sand bars with the furious Pacific on the other side. We spotted some birds and some big waves here but not much else. We headed back north to the Klamath River where we took Klamath Beach Road back toward our camp spot but we ended up hooking a left onto Alder Camp Road. This road takes you on a stunning drive through a stand of coastal redwoods and some magnificent but terribly steep canyons before turning north onto a one-way gravel road that runs from Alder Camp initially to the High Bluff Overlook which, strangely, is an overlook where you can spot a high bluff of rock that drops a long way directly into the waves. We got out of Charlotte and did a little hiking here to check out the coastal views and we were rewarded with some amazing views of the tortured Pacific trying to erode the land. It looks like the Pacific will ultimately win.
Leaving the overlook, we again headed north down the one-lane road to a gravel turnout on the side of the road where the coastline north of the Klamath River, the River and the headlands south of the River are all visible and they make for a stunning view. After getting out the binoculars we were able to spot a road running alongside the north bank of the Klamath so we went on a hunt for it. We got on 101 north across the Klamath River, past the Indian…uuuhh, scratch that…Native American casino and kept going until we turned west on Requa Road. We followed Requa until we emerged high above the beach and River looking south down the spectacular coastline. I’m not a good surf height estimator but I would surmise the waves breaking along both sides of the outlet of the Klamath were around 25 feet. This part of the world is full of absolutely magnificent scenery. During the last 40 years or so I have driven through this area maybe 40 times but I never had the time to pull off and enjoy the scenery on the side roads. I was stupid.
We got some pix today which you can see if you click here

We left the huge homeless encampment called Eureka, CA, today and headed north. I seem to have also picked up a very slow leak in one of our trailer tires so we stopped at a local 76 station before getting onto US-101 northbound. We initially thought we were going to have pretty good driving conditions but before we made it to Arcata the skies opened up and let us have it. I think it was raining about an inch an hour or more as we crept along during the hour and a half drive from Eureka to Klamath. Normally this drive would take someone in a good passenger car about 50 minutes but in our truck pulling a 12,000 pound trailer up and down steep hills pasted on a very squiggly road the going was slower.
After passing a wreck on 101 that looked like the car had been used as a bomb we finally pulled off at the south bank of the Klamath River and drove a couple miles to the Kamp Klamath RV Park where we pulled into space 13. The rain had dwindled to a drizzle as we pulled in but as soon as I started to set up the Invader the skies opened up again and I was soaked before I could run around the trailer and climb in the door. The inside of the trailer stayed remarkably dry during today’s passage. I was expecting a lot more water inside since we were driving underwater but I was pleasantly surprised to find about the only water inside came off me.

Today the weather was miserable with periods of light rain mixed with long periods of hard rain and wind. The trailer developed some small leaks last night during the line squalls that continued all night but Peggy had them cleaned up in record time.
We stayed pretty close to the trailer today. We made one trip out into town to go to the local Scab-Mart to stock up on important stuff like RV toilet paper, tank deodorant and birdseed. We covered most of the store and we now know where Eureka’s homeless do their shopping. After about half an hour in this place, I felt trim, nice smelling, attractive and downright wonderful after looking at our fellow shoppers. The truth of the matter is that I am not really any of those things but shopping here would be an ego booster for the Elephant Man.

This morning it was raining early but around 10:00 AM the weather changed to just overcast skies and some scattered drizzle. We seized the opportunity to take a spin to Ferndale and on to the coast south of Eureka Bay.
We started out the tour by checking out some of the Victorian buildings in downtown Eureka where an abundance of them exist but none equaling the beautiful Carson Mansion. This gorgeous harborside confection has unfortunately been turned into a private club where mere mortals are unwelcome. The clubbies have renamed it into something called Ingomar which means nothing in any language. The have substantial fences. Nevertheless, this absolutely magnificent structure is quite breathtaking from the outside.
From the Carson Mansion we headed through down US-101 through Old Town, past numerous homeless individuals and out of town headed for Ferndale. This is a little bitty town about 15 or 20 miles southwest of Eureka and here we found more really stunning Victorian buildings, most of them on the main street. Some of the old houses near here were unable to be saved and it is kind of bitter to see these grand structures falling down from neglect.
After covering all 4 of the streets passing through Ferndale we decided to go on to the section of California called “The Lost Coast,” maybe because there are almost no roads or people on the coast between Fort Bragg in Mendocino County all the way to Eureka. Unfortunately, it was Peggy’s turn to drive today and almost as soon as we left Ferndale the road turned to doo-doo and Peg started to get uncomfortable about continuing. Accordingly, we chickened out after about 5 miles and headed back to Eureka. It started to rain.
We made a short side trip to Humboldt Bay National Wildlife refuge and spotted lots of birds of lots of species, some deer, sheep, cows, dogs and even some pot-bellied pigs. When we passed a guy near the pigs he somehow felt compelled to holler ‘they aren’t mine” as we drove by in Charlotte. Strange.
We culminated our trip with a shopping excursion to Costco where we stocked up on some food and a whole lot of liquor because we will soon be in Oregon where getting liquor at most times is problematic and always expensive. After we got back to Redwood Acres RV the rain really ramped up and drummed on our little fiberglass house all night.
We got some pix which you can see by clicking here

Today is my birthday and I am now so old that paleontologists are starting to get interested in what will certainly soon be my remains. I think back to my youth on this date, back when I used to wrestle saber-toothed tigers with phalanxes of my spear-wielding buddies. So to celebrate, I drove Charlotte, my tenacious spouse and the Barbarian Invader from Myers Flat to Eureka and pulled in at Redwood Acres RV Park, a parking lot alongside the fair grounds downtown. We were lucky and had a short lull in the crummy weather and got to make the entire passage without rain. It was great. It took about an hour.
Eureka has apparently changed from being a nice college town with some gorgeous Victorian residences to a Mecca for the homeless. We spotted quite a few malingering on street corners and strolling around in their socks. There is a quantity of homeless advocates living around here and they have now been blessed with the results of their actions; plenty of filthy panhandlers hanging out in indoor malls ducking the cops and crapping into corners, Humboldt Bay and the Eel River. Walkers anyplace other than the main drag are cautioned to watch their step.
This evening it started to rain again and it is not fooling around. I’m glad Peg and I no longer camp in a tent.

The weather this morning was sort of lousy with rain and wind outside. We took ample time to make a big breakfast and wasted some additional time watching the boob tube. Then I realized I may not have internet wi-fi access after today so I got to work posting my backlog of blog materials to the site. I also caught up on the blog pix so on some entries you can select a link to show my faithful readers, if any, pictures taken on certain exploration days.
I finally finished up by mid-afternoon and Peggy and I hopped into Charlotte for a short spin. We started by driving about 10 miles south on 101 to Miranda where we filled up the diesel tank. Then we were fortunate enough to be able to use beautiful Avenue of the Giants to get back to our camping spot in Myers Flat. However, once we got back near our RV park, we decided to continue up the same gorgeous road to a spot above Weott where we entered Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The road is terrible but the groves of coastal redwoods on both sides of the road are magnificent.
We moseyed along for quite a while before giving up due to the miserable road conditions. The potholes and abrupt pavement edges are actually pretty easy to miss since the vistas along the road are awe-inspiring and throttle attenuating. Enormous trees situated on fairly clear flat ground with numerous waterfalls and creeks just don’t lend themselves to driving fast.
We gave up at about 5:00 PM and headed for the barn. Tomorrow we are scheduled to move to the Eureka area.
For pix of today’s drive, click here