Newport,Bandon,brookings,pismo,and home

The guys at Elite repair in Junction City did a great job on our coach and we personally want to thank them.We have a new awning,water pump,they repaired our cockpit fans,our sound system,and put in a new satellite radio.and at no charge they fixed our pesky steps that would never go in all the way when we were traveling.I used to have to have Jeni start the engine and I would stand out side the door and manually pussh them in then go around to the drivers door and hoist myself all the way up inside.now they go right in when we start the engine.THANKS GUYS!
we left Junction City headed to Newport on the Oregon coast. Its about 100 miles north of Bandon.We pulled in to South Beach State Park and figured we would stay the rest of the month there so we could check out the area. Just north is Depoe Bay which boosts some of the best whale watching on the Oregon coast. We got into our site and Jeni went up to pay the fee.She had been gone awhile so I got everything hooked up.She finally made it back to the rig and told me she met one of the hosts and he said they could  really use some help with the yurts as not all the scheduled hosts had showed up.The next thing we knew the Head ranger was at our site asking if we would like to help them out till the end of the month.he was even gonna comp our site that we were in and said we could move in a host site right now.Jeni and I looked at each other,(lets see,free site til the end of the month,extra money to go play,meeting new people) where do we sign! It was a great gig.While we were there we checked out the classy city of Newport,checked out Lincoln City.saw some  assume whales at Rodea point near Depoe Bay,ate some amazing seafood in the area,checked out the many museums,and lighthouses,and soaked up the flavor of the area.
We pulled out after a great experience at South Beach on Aug.1st and decided we would spend another month in Bandon.After Bandon we headed south 80 miles to Booking's Oregon to stay the month of September.While there Our Daughter and her family came to visit us.to finish our trip, in October we we headed south into California to Pismo Beach to stay a week and visit with my Brother and wife.and of course more beach time.Then it was a short 180 miles on the 41 back to Park Sierra.

our host site at south beach state park in Newport

Jeni and I visited Depoe Bay north of Newport.I wanted to eat at this place,"Sea Hags

but she had other ideas for lunch,"Chowder Bowl"!

Jeni on the hunt for whales

this was our prime spot where we viewed whales just yards off shore.it was magical

down the road Cape Foul weather which used to be a lighthouse was another great whale watching area.Unfortunately it was very windy which is pretty normal for this place..

this is another prime whale watching area.again too windy

In Newport we went to Yaquina head state park and lighthouse.this is the fabulous visitor center

Hey no wind!

We spent the month of Aug. in Bandon and in Sept we headed down to Brooking for the month.We stayed out on the river at "Rivers Edge RV park great site,great place

Its a beautiful park and only 2 miles from the harbor

we rented this little cabin for our daughter and her family when they visited us.

this is them.we hung out at the beach and enjoyed them for a couple of days

my soninlaw and grandson flew kites

even Jeni got into the act flying the kite while seated.a death defying act

This life isn't for everyone

and the last weekend we were in brookings we went to the"music in the park" concert.

Jeni and I had a great summer.we ate the heck out of seafood especially clam chowder and crab that I netted in Bandon and Brookings.Now I know why our pants don't fit!
We are blessed with the kinda life we live today wandering around the country  and going home to our blue collar country club for fun and games.Close enough to visit our kids when we can.Rolling up when we want heading out for new adventures.If we don't like our neighbors,move the casa somewhere else.Don't like the weather,Adios amigo to a different climate This life isn't for everyone but it suits Jeni and I well.As long as we have our health,the wheels will keep rolling down the highway.
Before we headed home we stopped off in Sacramento to see the kids then headed to Pismo Beach to meet with my Brother and his wife for a week of beach,Mexican food,and Margarita's.We also spent a day at Hearst Castle.before heading home to Park Sierra.Oh by the way,we loved South Beach and Newport so much,we signed on for July 2017 at the park.Jeni and I are so excited! Well summer is over and we are back at the park.But we had a great summer at Newport,Bandon,Brookings,Pismo,and Home.

Bandon Oregon Hosting

Jeni and I headed for Bullards Beach State Park in Oregon for our host job for May and June.After Stage Coach Days at the park we were hoping for some quiet time. We loved our host assignment "yurt host". We cleaned the yurts for about 3 or 4 hours a day  5 days a week and the rest of the time was ours to sight see  and explore
We spent a lot of time at the beach,I learned how to "crab". I bought a crab ring and a licence and spent a lot of time on the dock in Bandon Oregon "crabbing" as they say. Jeni made us crab cakes, crab sandwiches, and crab out of the shell. I caught em and she prepared them. Yum Yum!
After our stay in Bandon we had repairs done in Junction City,Oregon where we left our rig took the car and headed to Sacramento,Ca to see our first Great Granddaughter born. We stayed a couple of weeks visited with our Daughters and Grandsons and of course, held and kissed the newest addition Gracie.
Then it was back to Junction City to get our rig and head for the Oregon coast.

this is our host site at Bullards Beach State Park. Our sign with our name is  there for the campers

Theres nothing more ruggedly beautiful than the Oregon coast.

The "Coquille lighthouse at the mouth of the Coquille river and the Pacific ocean.

"Apprentice Philly" learning to crab in Bandon

Jeni on the wharf at Bandon keeping an eye on "apprentice Philly"

The wharf has various sculptures

The sea lions are keeping an eye on Jeni

There are 3 seafood diners on the wharf and we patronize them all. They have outdoor tables to dine at or you can go inside a nice enclosed dining area overlooking the water

Jeni and I love hiking around the ocean. sun or fog its a little bit heaven.

During our stay in Bandon we frequented the  Mill casino in Coos Bay about 25 miles north.

We loved the dining and views of the bay,and....OK a little "slot action"!

The Casino had a BBQ cook off so we showed up to sample some down home lip smackin northwestern meat

This one was gooood

Oh time out for more beach time

now back for more BBQ this one was gooood too

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But this lil place in the back lot "Pepper Pappys was by far the best!

Jeni loved Pappys ribs

Jeni let this Lil fella sample Pappys ribs and he loved them too a great day at the BBQ Cook off

Back in Bandon we celebrated Memorial Day at the wharf honoring the vets who lost their lives defending our country and also those who lost their lives at sea.

The Coast Guard lays wreaths at the mouth of the Coquille river and the pacific ocean honoring those lost at sea.It was a very moving ceremony

And of course Jen and I are back at the beach doing what we love,just hanging out and watching the sights

We love the "music in the park"concerts duing the summer months where ever we travel ..Jen and I caught a couple in Bandon

We had a hanker in for some authentic German food and heard about the "Blue Heron in Coos Bay so we checked it out.The food and brew was fantastic.If your ever up this way check it out

Well we really enjoyed our two month stay here and loved it so much we signed up for May-June 2017 next year.I'll tell ya we have hosted a lot of places for a lot of different agency's but this has been some of the nicest rangers and staff  we have worked with.
As I said at the start of the blog,we are off to Junction City for some needed repairs on our motor home and heading to Sacramento to see our first Great Granddaughter born.Man,I am  really feeling old!
As we hook up and head northwest we say so long but not good by to Bandon,Oregon.

Stagecoach Days 2016

Stagecoach days 2016 was headed up this year by none other than Jeni.The first thing I said to her when i heard this great news was"ARE YOU CRAZY!!"
 Six months later she pulled off one fantastic event and raised a ton of money for the park.She had a great crew of people helping her and  they all put on 4 days of fun food and entertainment that wowed the masses here.I am very proud of her.
 Day#1 was registration,a craft fair,a bake walk,and at night was a very local band that played some fantastic songs.how local were they,well they are all members of our park.
Day#2 was a carnival with all kinds of booths from a "shootin gallery to a wine toss".We even had a dunk tank with our own members manning the" trap door" seat."NO JEN,I'm not gettin in that tank!
Day#3 was our annual auction where we raised a ton of money.We also had continental breakfasts,hamburger and hot dog lunches both days, and day#4 was our"hitch up breakfast" to end our 4 days of fun.
I think the residents are already working on Jen to do it again next year."PLEASE JEN NOOOOO! Honestly she has my blessing she and her crew did a fantastic job.

my buddy john was first up in the dunk tank with his tutu and head gear.OH! by the was it was 38 degrees this morning!

Jeni at our carnival entrance"come one come all!"

poor John waiting for the first ball to be tossed. the"bite me" sign won't rile anybody up will it? OH,by the way it was a balmy 42 degrees!

The maintenance crew which I'm a part of put on Saturdays Hamburger Hot dog lunch yummy!

The other half of our lunch crew,the servers.We dished up 90 hamburgers,44 hot dogs,50 corn dogs,and a ton of french fries.We were one tired crew!

This was Jeni's signature outfit for the carnival Friday.She was the "belle of the festivities

Jeni's  final nights speech to the crowd of almost 300 .They hung on her every word as she gave them the parks final take from SCD 2016 over 11,000 dollars! She had them eating out of her hand with her composed,relaxed delivery of her speech.It gave this proud husband goosebumps.

Jeni calling table numbers for dinner.She is a natural at this public speaking business

 J

On the last night after her speech,she was given a bouquet of roses and a standing ovation.What a night!With the current political climate the way it is with no clear cut candidate coming forward,I think ill have her run for president.......STOP HITTING ME WITH YOUR ROSES!......OK i was kidding.

What a fantastic 4 days! Today Jen and I are laying low and resting up for our summer travels in a couple of weeks. We will be hosting at Bullards Beach State park in Bandon Oregon for May and June.Then we head to Sacramento for the birth of our first Great Grand Daughter in early July. We will head back to Oregon for some needed repairs on the RV and finish off our summer in Brookings Oregon and Crescent City Ca.
Of coarse with the RV lifestyle our plans are always set in JELLO as they say.
People always ask us when we will give up this lifestyle and settle down,well our health is still good and we have a lot of our members here in the park over70 and they are still going strong out there on the road.I guess our answer is "until its no fun anymore" but for us we still get what us RVers call' HItch Itch" and we still get it so we will keep rolling those miles to new and exciting places.
We will be back to the park sometime in October ready to get back to the Park Sierra lifestyle and Stagecoach Days2017.See ya on the road this summer.

HUMBOLDT REDWOODS AND THE NORTHERN CAL. COAST

After a not so great winter at Park Of The Sierras where medical  issues kept us pretty much grounded,it was nice to get cleared so we could volunteer this summer at Humboldt Redwoods State Park.Jeni and I worked in the visitors center 3 days a week from 9am til 1pm. This gave us lots of time to explore the area.I was kinda the info guy for the park,"where is the drive thru tree","where is the biggest tree in the park","are there any bears","where is the closest gas station"."where is a good place to eat",well you get the idea.The one question that was hardest to answer was about the parks hiking trails.I knew i had to get some help so our friends Gary and Kathy who got us this gig and have been working here going on three years now came to my rescue.Kathy has hiked most of them here and she is the trail guide guru of the redwoods.She took me under wing as we hiked many of the trails in the redwoods.On our days off we would hit the beach which could be Shelter cove,Samoa Dunes in Eureka, Trinidad cove,or Ferndale beach. we did get a lot of beach time and great seafood.After our time was done at Humboldt{after Labor day} we hung out in Crescent City,and Brookings,Oregon.

our first day at the visitors center

the biggest tree in the park

the size of the biggest tree in the park

Jeni inside a redwood hallow on the nature trail

Jeni inside what the locals call"goose pens"

these are burls on the trunk of a redwood tree. these burls hold thousands of seeds in case the tree goes into trauma

Jeni relaxing next to the eel river

Jeni doing the limbo under a redwood on the Mather trail Add caption

Jeni in another goose pen on the river trail

Ferndale ca. located between Fortuna and Eureka is a charming little community that has a great collection of beautiful old Victorian homes

Jeni among the younger stand of coastal redwoods on the river trail

more Victorian in Ferndale

more Victorians

more Victorians

and more Victorians

a nice hike through the redwoods on the "Addie Johnson trail ended at her grave site.she was one of the first pioneers in the area

Jeni relaxing by the eel river

A very nice garden at the Loleta cheese factory in Loleta ca.

Jeni forging ahead on the bull creek south trail

Jeni enjoying the ocean at Shelter Cove Ca.

Jeni in awe of the splendid foliage at the Loleta cheese factory

River otters on the eel river

the relocated cape Mendocino light house at Shelter Cove

The restored foot bridge on the river trail

big  owl overseeing the redwoods and the hikers

bald eagle resting in a redwood tree

Jen and I enjoying the Klamath river

Jeni on the overlook near Eureka Ca.

Salmon fishing on the Klamath

These little farm houses were actually WWII gunnery bunkers protecting the northern ca. coast from Japanese attack

Ole Philly on the Klamath river

Jeni enjoying Harris beach state park in Bookings Oregon

Well it was a heck of a summer for us as we head back to Park Sierra for the fall and winter.After our stint at Humboldt we moved north and stayed in Crescent City for a month enjoying the area and the ocean.In hindsight we probably won't return to the visitor center next summer.Although we loved the people and the park for me working inside just wasn't for me.But there are always new horizons to explore and maybe we will find another place to volunteer and enjoy.
Doctor apps are on the agenda for fall and making sure our bodies are in better shape than last fall.One thing for sure I feel 100% better than last fall.
We would like to thank our good friends Gary and Kathy for bringing us along this summer as we really enjoyed our time with them.They drove us around to the sites on our days off.We felt like tourists and they were our tour guides.Thanks a million guys!