Sad News

We had some very sad news last night when we received a phone call that my oldest brother, Paul, had passed away, unexpectedly, at his home in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In the next few days we will be towing the Airstream closer to Sacramento and on Tuesday we are flying out of the Sacramento Airport to be with family during this sad time.

The blog will be down for the rest of the week while we are together with our loved ones remembering my extraordinary Big Brother.

Paul Francis Bartz

February 17, 1940 - October 29, 2016

Not what we planned

We had gotten all hitched up this morning when we noticed something amiss with the hitch. After consultation with Andy Thomson at Can-Am, our Airstream dealer in London, Ontario, who found a welder in the town of Bandon, next to Bullards Beach State Park, we took our hitch to his shop. Mike spent a couple of hours working his magic and telling us about raising mustang horses and we now have a repaired hitch that is even better than new!

We are staying an extra day in Oregon, but tomorrow we leave for California.

Mike working on the Hensley.

Mike the Welder - good guy!

Oregon Coast Trail in Humbug Mountain State Park

Sunshine!!! Blue Sky!!! Perfect day for a hike, so we drove 35 miles south to Humbug Mountain State Park at the base of Humbug Mountain, one of the Oregon coast's highest headlands.

(Please click on the pictures to enlarge them for more detail.)

Near the entrance to Humbug Mountain State Park there was a roadside overlook. This is looking back north.

This was the view to the south. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we would be hiking north on a trail that paralleled Highway #101, and these rocks, known as the Redfish Rocks, would be our lunch view.

And here we are, eating lunch halfway through the hike! The bay with the red rocks in the first picture is just beyond Frederick"s right shoulder.

Our lunch view south along the coast. 

And here is our view straight ahead - the Redfish Rocks. We had a special bonus for lunch because we could...

watch whales spouting in the water between the shore and the Redfish Rocks.

There were three or four whales in the water and here are the flukes of one diving after spouting. It's hard to tear your eyes away from watching the whales!

A waterfall along the trail with bigleaf maples turning their fall colors.

The short section of the hike, near the trailhead, is known as the Fern Trail. Someone has gone to a lot of work to identify 9 different varieties of ferns and placing labeled rocks by the different ferns.

Deer Fern

Western Maidenhair Fern

Leather Fern - this one was on a tree.

Sword Fern - perhaps the most abundant variety that we see blanketing the forest floor.

Coastal Wood Fern

Giant Chain Fern

Lady Fern - a little past its prime.

Bracken Fern - also past its prime.

Goldenback Fern - Thank you, Frederick, for showing us the back of the fern.

Today's hike:

Length - 5.35 miles

Duration - 2 hours, 19 minutes

Elevation gain - 610 feet (61 floors on the Fitbit)

Haul-out at Simpson Reef

After spending the entire day, yesterday, in the Airstream listening to the pouring rain we decided to suit up in our rain gear and head out.

First stop was the Yaquina Head Lighthouse just down the road from Beverly Beach State Park.

There were lots of driftwood logs at the base of the Lighthouse.

The jetty that extends from the Lighthouse at Yaquina Head.

We then headed back up north where Sunset Bay is one of three adjacent state parks overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You can drive from one to the next, but we chose to hike a section of the Oregon Coast Trail that connects the second park, Shore Acres State Park, with the third park, Cape Arago. 

Passing through lush coastal forest, the narrow trail winds atop sandstone bluffs and occasionally dips down to the shore. This is the protected beach at Shore Acres State Park with some fine examples of up-thrusted sedimentary rocks.

Continuing on the trail to Cape Arago, we had dramatic bluff views at Simpson Reef and Shell Island. From this high perch we could watch sea lions, harbor seals and whales spouting just beyond the reef.

Harbor seals in the foreground with the larger sea lions above.  Together, Simpson Reef and Shell Island are one of the few places on the entire Oregon Coast where pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) haul out of the water to bask on the beach or adjacent rocks. They were making a cacophony of barking sounds that we could hear a mile away.

Back at Shore Acres State Park we visited the former estate of pioneer shipbuilder and lumberman, Louis J. Simpson, which was gifted to the State of Oregon along with its luxurious gardens. 

The last rose of summer?

The grounds are five acres of formal gardens including...

a Japanese-style garden built around a 100-foot lily pond. (Be sure to click on the picture to enlarge it to see the decorative cranes.)

The garden is being prepared for its annual "Holiday Lights at Shore Acres" event that runs from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve.

Like the pelicans!

We could also see lots of lights on the shrubs and trees.

One last view of the lily pond with rain drops.

Today's hike:

Length - 4.85 miles

Duration - 3 hours, 22 minutes (including lunch)

Elevation gain - 440 feet (45 floors on the Fitbit)

Seven Devils and Bullards Beach

It appears that we are out of the Rain Forest, at least of the big Sitka Spruce, but the coastline remains dramatic and part of today's drive took us right to the edge.

Along our 130-mile drive there were several viewpoints.

At this one we could see the waves crashing on the rocks below.

Along the hillside of this little bay was the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Dramatic coastline.

I grew up in Indiana not far from the Indiana Dunes. The Oregon Dunes just go on and on.

Near our destination we crossed Coos Bay on...

a stunning bridge.

For the next few days we are at the Seven Devils State Recreation Site and Bullards Beach State Park. 

We hiked the 2+ miles to the ocean along the trail that you see on the left side of the picture. The campground is in the trees that you see along the horizon.

The beach was completely empty of people but had several of these huge tree root systems.

Today's hike:

Length - 2.31 miles

Duration - 1 hour

Elevation gain - 110 feet (11 floors on the Fitbit)

Devil's Punchbowl

After a very rainy morning, the sky cleared somewhat, there were actually some periods when the sun was out and there was blue sky - but not for very long. We walked north on Beverly Beach to the Devil's Punchbowl.

Nice stand of trees on an interesting cliff.

On one side of the Devil's Punchbowl.

Inside the Devil's Punchbowl.

We saw one lone surfer.

Nice sedimentary layers in the Punchbowl.

Back up Beverly Beach.

Today's Hike:

Length - 5.12 miles

Duration - 2 hours, 8 minutes

Elevation gain - 70 feet (0 floors on the Fitbit)