Oregon Coast

After our fishing trip, it was time to do a bit of serious touristing. John and Karen both made fun of my tourist outfit.

We piled into John's new truck and headed North for a view of the shoreline around Reedsport and Florence.

There are so many beautiful spots, that one could never see them all on any trip. We drove up to the Dean Wildlife area to see the Roosevelt Elk that were out in the field, resting up from the recent breeding season.

The Roosevelt are the biggest species of Elk, weighing in over 1000 lbs for the Bulls.

I kept waiting for that "sneaker wave" that would drench this guy.

 The grain on this stump was really remarkable. I "think" it was a Monterrey Cypress. It was more than 6 feet through at the base.

This area is just below Yachats. You can see the coastal fortifications on the brow of the hill behind John.

 On our way back we stopped in at Winchester to pick up some more Oysters for our evening dinner.

Our next excursion was to Shore Acres, a formal garden that was put in the former estate of the Simpson family. Here is a copy of a description of the estate found on Bing.

" Shore Acres began as a private estate with luxurious gardens featuring trees, shrubs, and flowering plants brought from around the world aboard the sailing ships of pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson.
Simpson developed the summer home into a showplace three-story mansion complete with a heated, indoor swimming pool and a large ballroom. The grounds contained five acres of formal gardens, including a Japanese-style garden built around a 100-foot lily pond.
When fire destroyed the mansion in 1921, Simpson began to build an even larger replacement - two stories high and 224 feet long. However, financial losses in the 1930s caused both house and grounds to fall into disrepair. In 1942, Simpson's beloved Shore Acres was purchased by the state of Oregon for use as a public park."

One of the first places that we went of course was to the bathrooms. Karen found this hat, that had obviously been left behind. I suggested that she wear it, so that if the owner saw it, she would have a chance to reclaim it. Karen refused as she has a problem looking ridiculous. I, of course do not have that problem, so off we went on our tour.

finely back in the part that features only new Roses, was a bench with four women resting there. One, an older lady, perked up and exclaimed  "He has my hat". I of course being of a suspicious nature, made her describe it in detail, as I didn't want to give it to the wrong person. We all had a good visit and laughs.

Yes, I did smell the Roses.

Then it was time to visit the shoreline.

The trees are all very large and interesting.

We had some great weather for our visit. We also went "clamming" on the flats at Charleston. The tides weren't all that low, but we had no problem in gathering our limits. I dug some "Empires" along with the bay clams. Empires are the biggest variety available, some going some 6 or more inches long. They live in the mud about 2 feet under the surface. I found the next day some evidence that I might be getting on in years when my mud fingers were swelled up and sore. Sigh! Oh well, nothing lasts forever.

Finally on Friday the weather changed, and a storm started moving in. There was a storm warning for winds up to 50 MPH sustained, and it began raining. I was sitting there listening to the rain and watching reruns on TV, so we decided that it was time to leave. It was a great trip, and we all enjoyed it a lot. Karen decided that she had eaten enough fish to last her a while. John and I were still eating Oysters and Bass, as well as clams on the half shell.

Charter Boat

I have never felt that I had the extra money that I could waste on a charter boat fishing trip. I will admit to being a bit weird about some things, but it has always been thought of as an extravagance by me. Well all my days and nights in Fire camp convinced me to "live it up" for once.

I did go fishing for bottom fish once before with one of my friends fathers that lived on the Coast. Of course I spent most of the time "chumming" over the side of the boat, and we didn't catch much as I remember. Since I was a bit distracted, I managed to get snagged on a lot of the bottom. I did learn a lot on that trip, and the most important thing was to have something for breakfast that will taste good when it comes back up. Sausage and eggs do not fit that criteria.

This time I was prepared. I had a pair of the bracelets that are reputed to prevent air and boat sickness by putting pressure on the wrists. I made double sure by buying some Dramamine tablets as well.

John and I got to the Charter at the appointed time and as always there were a fair amount of characters present. The always present expert was holding forth about gold mining in California. When he began telling us about a 45 pound nugget, John and I retired to the outside where the air was a bit cleaner.

The Captain was a middle aged woman, and the deck hand was a character who went by the name of Bam Bam. It fit him perfectly.

We went out and the seas were as perfect as anyone, even I, could ask for. The Captain knew what she was doing and had spots that held fish. I had stayed on the back of the boat, primarily to keep as much distance from the Californicator as I could. It was a less than perfect spot and I basically had the last shot at any fish that might have been down there. Sixteen people and their lines had bobbed in front of their lips before I ever got a chance. I didn't mind, it was worth it. I had more room and only one guy to tangle with, and he managed on a regular basis. The railing was also straight up and down, so I had an even place to brace against the rocking of the boat.

I took a Dramamine tab at 7 AM, and managed to escape getting sick most of the trip by looking up at the coast line as much as I could. I was burping a lot however and around 12 PM I decided that if thing continued on the course that my stomach seemed to be taking, I was going to get sick. I took another one. I now believe that was a mistake. I did eliminate a bit of bile, but after that I had no more problem.

The trip was supposed to be only 5 hours, but the Captain wasn't going in until everyone had a limit of fish. Since it was only 7 each, that wasn't too bad. We went down about 10 or more miles, hitting a spot, catching a few fish, moving and doing it again, until all 17 people had a limit of fish. Most were Black Bass, Blue Bass. I caught the only Tiger, John caught a Copper, and a few Ling Cod were caught.

Karen was waiting on us at the dock and took a picture of us docking.

John and I carried our fish up to the dock to wait for a guy to fillet them for us.

All in all, I discovered that I had not missed much. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it about 4. It was actually more work than fun. Most of the fish were about 140 feet or more down, and the only way that you could tell that you had a fish on was that the line was heavier. I once caught two at a time and I did see the line move, but I wasn't sure that I felt anything. The fish was definitely fresh however.

What with the medication and 8 hours of constant movement of the boat, I was hammered. 

That is one that I will never have to repeat again.

Finally- Vacation, Part one, Crater Lake

Well, summer is over, and fall is here. It has been a bit of a long ride. A bit more heat, a lot less rain. My work days screwed up almost all the summer as far as fishing and trips. However they also paid for a lot of things that I wanted to do. We had all the glass in the house windows changed. We wanted to replace the entire windows, but unfortunately the ladies that built this house built the house around the windows. The best we could do was to replace the glass. All the existing glass was leaking, fogged and some cracked, so it was worth the cost and effort. I also had an exhaust brake put on my truck, so that pulling the fifth wheel would be a lot safer. It also paid for the first vacation for Karen since retiring.

Now personally, being retired, I have not felt the need to take a vacation. This area was where I went on vacation when I was working. I still haven't exhausted all the possibilities here, but that is only one out of two. Karen only went along for the ride to humor me apparently, and still needs to take vacations. I have to admit that reason did finally creep into my awareness this year, and that was why I decided to get the Fifth wheel. After all our ability to travel will be limited by our age, so I have come around to the idea that we should take an occasional vacation.

We both missed the occasional trip to the coast, and the seafood. John Hauck brings his Fifth Wheel out each summer, and has never made it to the coast  on this side of the continent, so I broached the idea to him this spring. The idea appealed to him, so I made the reservations early for September. September is a popular time on the Oregon coast, as it is when they get the best weather of the entire year. He had also never gotten to see Crater Lake. I had never felt that I had enough money to waste on a Charter boat fishing trip, so I booked that as well.

I took the truck in for the "Jake brake" to be installed the week before our trip, and got it back the week of our departure. Our plan was to spend a couple of days in an RV park near Crater Lake, then travel to the Coast on the fifteenth of Sept.

Our trip to Crater Lake was uneventful and our campground spot was pretty nice.

There could be no better send off than the Rainbow that showed up for our departure. The truck preformed flawlessly, and a Jake Brake was just what it needed.

We had only one close neighbor, but they made up for it with their "cum by ah shit" singing. The guy whipped out a guitar in the evening and strummed it relentlessly while his lady sang off key. In their defense they did keep it pretty quiet, but with a voice that could cut glass, it really didn't matter. I finally settled the matter by putting on a new album from Govi playing flamenco music.

Our friend Roger, from Grants Pass came up to spend the night with us. The Chipmunks seemed to like him.

This little guy ate all that he could hold, then started stuffing his cheeks with "take outs", for later.

Mt Theilsen in the background

The next morning we made our way up to Crater Lake. Unfortunately the winds were from the West and the Forest Circus decided to do a little clean up on the recent fire in the Grants Pass area. Of course the smoke blew right into us and visibility was not all that good. The skies were pretty hazy, and the normally crystal clear air was missing. It is still pretty awesome.

 Mt Theilsen in the background.

The Alpine meadows make quite a pretty picture.

 The water was crystal clear. The Lake is over 1700 feet deep.

 Wizard Island

We spent two days at the campground and we had quite a ways to go to get to the Coast. John and I are both early risers especially when there is something to do. We were ready to depart the campground before 7 AM. We apparently got our revenge on the song bird, as she informed John that he was rude to be banging around so early in the morning. It didn't seem to concern her that I went to sleep hearing them laughing and talking. Oh well just think, she was probably seeing her first sunrise.