Population - Small.....

Our excursion today takes us through the Siskiyou National Forest. We drove up Rte 101 N to Gold Beach which looks like a little beach town in Cape Cod. Gold was found here in the mid-1800's thus giving Gold Beach it's name. The town is located where the Rogue River meets the sea. We had hoped to take a Hydro-Jet Boat tour up the Rogue River, but they don't open until May 1.

At the north end of town we turned onto National Forest Road 33 that rolls along the Rogue River and through several wilderness areas. About 30 miles up the narrow forest road we crossed a stone bridge and continued up the side of a mountain with fantastic river valley views. We came around a bend and there was the sign we'd been looking for - "This is it! Agness. Population - Small!" This was our destination. A little further up the road we came to an intersection with the general store on one corner and post office on the other. We were here! This was a town. As we got out of the car one of the local guys sitting on the porch noticed our NH license plate. "Hey" he says "we've been waiting for you - what took you so long!" We all laughed and talked for a while. We bought a cornbeef sandwich from Annie, the storekeeper, and enjoyed the peacefulness of Agness. Later we walked over to the post office to mail postcards and talked with Sandy the Postmaster. We tried to explore the roads leading out of town, but both were dead ends.

Back down NF33 to our next destination Port Orford on Rte 101. Port Orford is a jewel-like coastal village perched on scenic bluffs. Its the oldest established town site on the Oregon coast. The port of Port Orford is one of only six "dolly docks" in the world. Boats berth on the dock instead of in the water. They use giant cranes to take the boats in and out of the water every day. We tried to get there late afternoon but missed the dockings.

Now it's time for dinner and we planned to eat at the Black Forest Sausage Kitchen at the Honey Bear Campground back in Gold Beach. Driving down Rte 101 S to the campground there was a large turkey vulture in our lane. He decided he wasn't moving and Ken decided to play "chicken?"...at the last minute he took off heading right for the car. We got a good close look at him as he just missed our side mirror! Dinner started at 6pm and was served by Mr. Saks who has been running this family business for 30 years. All of this German fare is homemade and delicious. Tonight they served stuffed cabbage (no rice here!), red cabbage, potato pancakes, and brats. Naturally there was German beir and dessert all for $8.95. Normally there is a German band but this was their first weekend open. We talked with Mr Saks and before leaving we bought red cabbage, pancakes, and pate to take home. As we went out the door Mr Saks says to Ken, "Tomorrow we serve Sauerbraten". If we had been within 50 miles we would have gone back. If you're in the Gold Beach area don't miss this wonderful place!

Now stuffed and happy we drove along the rugged coast back to Brookings. It was a fun day and we visited a really unique place.

Pictures: Agness General Store, Rogue River from National Forest Road 33, Rogue River Valley, Port Orford Dolly Dock

Rained Out

Today was pretty much spent indoors. We had heavy rain all morning. I read all the oregon material and Ken spent the day doing maintenance and bills. We had planned to take a horseback ride on the beach tonight, but I think we are washed out....

We hope the heavy rain stops soon - we don't mind the showers.

Home of the Easter Lilly

Fairly nice day today but it's cold. Brookings is considered the gateway to the Oregon Coast. It is also the center for commercial flower growing. Lily bulb farms, in a twelve mile area between Brookings and the town of Smith River California, produce 100% of the lily bulbs grown in North America. Unfortunately they aren't blooming this time of year.

We ran a few errands and stopped at a "Dutch Bros" Coffee stand. These are little drive up coffee shops. "Dutch Bros" is like the Starbucks of Oregon (only much better, my opinion). We had a coffee drink called the "Annihilator". It was coffee with macadamia nut flavor - yum!

First stop is the new Oregon Visitor Center. we picked up a lot of good brochures that will help us plan our activities along the coast. We found a clock shop and I was able to replace the battery in my watch for $5!

Heading up Rte 101 N we turned onto Carpenterville Rd which wound it's way through the lush coastal forest to our destination, Brandy Peak Distillery. This family-owned "micro-distillery" is one of but a handful of such distilleries in the U.S.. We were greeted at the door by Max a friendly blonde lab who escorted us to the front door. The Nowlin family uses only the best pears, blackberries, and grapes available. The fruits are carefully fermented and slowly distilled in wood fired pot stills to capture all the natural flavors and aromas. No colorings or flavorings are added. This produces 100% pure spirits that are smooth and aromatic. It was an interesting tour. After a tour of the distilling area we were ready to try the product. We tried several and learned you really need to develop a taste for pure brandy... very harsh. We did like the Blackberry Liquor.

With a bottle of Blackberry Liquor in our back pocket, we drove to Harris Beach State Park. This park has everything that makes a great Pacific Northwestern beach. The phenominal rocky coastline is dotted by monolithic sea stacks and framed by gorgeous fir, pine, and spruce trees. The view are dramatic and we looked for whales with our new binnoclars (can't find the ones we packed away last winter....). Didn't see any. Off shore is Bird Island. This is the largest island off the Oregon coast and is a National Wildlife Sanctuary providing a breeding site for rare birds including the tufted puffin. After walking the path along the cliff above the beach we decided to head out.

It's getting cloudy, windy, and raw. We can see the rain heading our way. Later we went to the Smugglers Italian Bistro. Eggplant Parmesean was our choice and it was really good - we brought half of it home.

Even though the weather wasn't the best today we enjoyed seeing the sights.

Pictures: Harris Beach State Park (2), Bird Island at Harris Beach State Park

Battery Point Light

Everything is covered with dew and the sun makes everything look silvery as we meander up Rte 101 to Oregon listening to the music of Yanni. As we roll down a steep grade we see the Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains to our right. The stands of Aspen trees are budding now and give a reddish hue amongst the green forest. We crossed the Klamath River on the Gold Bear Bridge with it's gold bear statues glimmering in the sunlight. Coming outof Klamath we came around a turn to see a fantastic ocean view with huge sea stacks in the mist along the coastline. We arrived in Crescent City and stopped for breakfast at Fishermans Cafe. This is definitely a fishing town... omelets filled with crab or shrimp..not sure this is a breakfast thing...

Next to the cafe we found a car wash so we gave the vehicles a bath. They've needed it since the Salton Sea! The place also did oil changes so we left the vehicles and went for a walk around the harbor. We watched a crew unload a giant refridgerator unit that would go onto a ship. Looking over the wharf rail we saw our first harbor seals swimming and sunning themselves. We stopped for lunch on the wharf at the Chart Room and had "ok" NE Clam Chowder and crab sandwiches (good).

Crescent City has a great little lighthouse called Battery Point which has an intersting history. San Francisco was rapidly growing in the 1850's and lumber was being harvested in Northern California to supply the construction. Many ships were being loaded with precious lumber in Crescent City and the dangerous rocky coast was a great concern. Theophilus Magruder, first official keeper, arrived at Battery Point on December 25, 1856. Today the lighthouse's local name is "the Christmas light".

In 1874 Captain John Jeffrey and his wife Nellie movedinto the station. They stayed for 39 years. This was a trial for the Jeffreys family. Sometimes Captain John had to take the boat and row the children to shore so they could go to school. You can only walk to the light during low tide. However, the family's difficulties didn't end there. In 1879, a hug wave knocked downt he kitchen wall, knocked over a lighted stove and the house would have burned down if a second wave hadn't put the fire out.

More troubles in 1964 when the Alaskan earthquake sent a tidal wave toward the Battery Point Light and threatend to destroy it, but the light and its keepers were spared when the wave struck at such an extreme angle that protected the structure. Unfortunately all 29 city blocks of Crescent City was destroyed.
The locals tell us there is a resident ghost, seen by at least six different people, who have heard its sea-booted feet slowly climbing the tower steps during storms.

Leaving the ghost behind (I hope) we got the car back and continued up Rte 101 into Oregon. The coast drive is beautiful and we're told by everyone that it gets better as you go north. Portside RV in Brookings-Harbor was our stop for the next 4 nights. We have a fair view of the ocean from our site. Tonight we'll plan the activities for the next few days.

We enjoyed California but we're excited about seeing Oregon! Hope the weather holds - today was beautiful.

Pictures: Rte 101 coastline to Oregon (2), Battery Point Light across the harbor, Battery Point Light