South Beach State Park on the Oregon Coast

Devil’s Lake State Park was all booked up for tonight, so I called South Beach State Park just south of Newport, Oregon.  It’s a big park -- 225 RV spots, plus yurts and a big tent camping area -- and they had some open RV sites this weekend.  So this morning we headed 30 miles south in the rain to another Oregon state park on the ocean.

Just south of Depoe Bay we drove through Cape Foulweather, so named by Captain James Cook on his third voyage around the world in 1778 for obvious reasons.  Cape Foulweather is 500 feet above the beach, which puts it in the clouds when the weather is bad.  It was kind of bad today, so for a couple of miles we only had a few feet of visibility.  But then we drove down hill and it was just rainy.

After we got settled in at South Beach, I called a local Honda dealer to see if we could get the oil changed on our tow car.  We also wanted to have our tail lights checked because the Honda's right turn signal doesn't work when the Honda is hooked up to the rig.  The dealership had time for us today and the turn signal is OK, which means we have a problem with the electric cord that connects the rig and the tow car.  That's a bit more tricky of a fix.  We plan to be back in Salt Lake for a few weeks in October and may be looking for an all-left-turn route.

Cooper and his new Oregon State collar that Jim bought in Lincoln City, Oregon.

Our camping spot at Oregon's South Beach State Park just south of Newport.  We didn't have reservations but got a spot with a primo view of the rest rooms and a propane tank.   More important, we're safe, we're warm and because it's raining we might spend a couple of days reading and watching TV.  When the rain breaks, there are a couple of hiking paths that would be fun.  Plus the beach and the ocean are less than a half mile behind our rig.

What's it all about, algae?

Green scum interfered with yesterday's kayaking plans.

We’d decided to put our boats in at East Devil’s Lake, a day-use area with a marina just a couple of miles from our campground in Lincoln City, Oregon.  Both the campground brochure and the camp hosts here recommended it.

Posted at the marina was some information about e coli testing (the marina had passed the local water improvement district’s e coli requirements 16 our of 17 time this summer, which the sign indicated was a moderate e coli exposure risk) and a sign about blue green algae.  

Blue green algae exists everywhere -- even in Antarctica and in deserts, I read.  But in both fresh water and salt water, and under certain conditions (including lots of light, warm temperatures, nutrients), it can “bloom” and look like scum or even paint.  The sign at the marina said you can’t tell by looking at the bloom if it’s toxic or not.  To know that, the water has to be tested.  And per the sign “blue green algae and their toxins have recently been fond in this section of Devil’s Lake.”  Among suggestions, the sign said to “avoid areas of scum when boating”

The scum was so thick at the shore of East Devil's Lake marina, that we’d be standing right in it if we put in the boats.  So we drove to west side of the lake to Regatta Grounds, which was low risk for e coli but also had the blue alga poster, and a just-as-thick layer of scum.  Then we drove to a marina at the campground which was low-risk for e coli and had a less solid layer of scum.

But the idea of getting that stuff on our boats (and in our boats, because we always take in some water when kayaking), not to mention wading in it for the short amount of time it takes to get in and out of the boats, was not appealing.  

So yesterday was not a kayaking day.  But we learned something, so it wasn’t a total loss.  It was also a beautiful day and we like East Devil's Lake Campground.  And, as we drove around Lincoln City we found the perfect place to kayak for next time:  the Pacific Ocean's Siletz Bay, just south of Lincoln City. 

One of the signs at Devil's Lake.

An unedited photo of the water meeting the shore at Regatta Grounds in Devil's Lake.

And water near the boat slips at the Devil's Lake State Park Campground boating area. Nevertheless, we saw one kayaker in the water and a couple of boats.  And it was probably OK away from the shore.  But near the shore is where I like to kayak plus there's the issue of getting in the water and past the bloom.

The Oregon coast's Siletz Bay just south of Lincoln City, Oregon.  Its estuaries would be especially lovely to kayak. 

Devil's Lake State Park, Lincoln City, Oregon

This morning I called three state parks on the Oregon coast  to see if they might have first-come-first-served spots we could grab for tonight.  All of them said the chances were good, so we decided to stop at the first park we came to:  Devil's Lake State Recreation Area in Lincoln City, Oregon.  The park is tucked between the Pacific Ocean and a three-mile long lake that shares its name.  It's the only coastal Oregon state park in a city.

We drove around the park, found a site we liked and got it for two days -- we think.  The ranger said he'd let us know for sure if it's reserved for tomorrow night and we haven't heard back, so we're hoping no news is good news.  The park has 26 sites with water/electric/sewer hook ups (we got one of those), a couple sites with just electricity, and at least 50 tent sites.

The campground is about a half-mile walk from the ocean.  After we got settled in, we took Cooper to the beach, then brought him back to the rig because a mile-and-a-half is about all our 14-year-old dog wants to do anymore.  Then Jim and I did another three miles along the water. Tomorrow we want to get in some kayaking on Devil's Lake, and explore Lincoln City. 

Part of the pretty drive to Lincoln City, Oregon, from Tualatin, where we've been for a week.  We must have seen signs advertising two dozen nearby wineries, plus fruit and veggie stands.  We also drove by the Evergreen Air and Space Museum in McMinnville, which houses Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose."  Built entirely of wood, at the time it was constructed it was the largest airplane ever built and is still one of the largest.  The Spruce Goose was only flown once:  a one-mile trip just 70 feet in the air.  Jim and I saw it on an Oregon trip several years ago, so we didn't stop at the museum on this trip.

Part  of our 75-mile drive today was on the Van Duzer Forest Scenic Corridor on Oregon's State Route 18.  It was an early wagon route from the Willamette Valley to the coast.

Bev on the beach near Lincoln City.  The Oregon coast can be windy and cold, but it was nice today.  Jim says September and October are the best times to visit.

Mussels stick to the basalt rocks along the shore at Lincoln City.  Out of staters can buy an annual permit for $17 ($7 for Oregon residents) and harvest as many as 72 mussels a day.  All you do is pull them off the rocks, but it's best to wear heavy gloves and take along something to help you pry them off the rocks. 

Jim reminding me that, per the campground brochure, "Play it safe on the beach ... don't turn your back on the ocean." The waves seemed huge to me. 

Driving, cleaning, brew pubbing

Sunday afternoon we did a dry-run drive to Northside Ford in northeast Portland, where we had an appointment Monday morning to get the rig's oil changed and have a safety check done.  Northside Ford is 32 miles north of where we're staying in Tualatin, but the closer Ford places told us they didn't take trucks -- plus the Lady Daze Yahoo site had some decent reviews for Northside.  The shop is right off of Portland's belt route, so we took I-205 instead of I-5.  Plus, who wants to face I-5 in a motor home on Monday-morning-Portland-rush-hour traffic.

Jim, of course, had scoped out potential breweries near Northside Ford, so we had lunch at the Columbia River Brewing company just a couple of miles away.

We also checked out another possible kayaking location:  the confluence of the Tualatin and Willamette Rivers.  There's a nice park there, and it was a great stop and walk, but we decided it was not a place we'd want to put the boats in -- not that we had time to do so anyway.

Monday we drove to the Ford place and sat around while Jim asked this question:  Why did they give us an appointment time of 8 a.m. and then take the rig in the shop at 9:30?  Only thing out of the ordinary was that we needed new wind shield wipers.   Monday evening we went over to Season and Lee's to see them and the boys. 

Today (Tuesday) was cleaning day.  We cleaned the entire rig, including (I'm not kidding) using q-tips on the window tracks.   If only we were that fastidious with the outside of our rig -- the poor girl has a lot of bugs on her.

We also washed the throw rugs, did three laundry loads of clothes, and took Cooper to the dog wash. And after washing Cooper, we needed showers.  Then we had lunch at another Portland brewery, Laurelwood Brewery.

Tomorrow we're headed for Oregon's coast. 

These are "Muscovy" ducks.  From a distance they looked like big, floating chickens, even making that forward thrusting motion with their head and neck like chickens do when they are walking -- although these guys were floating.

After I saw the duck, I turned around to talk with a boy who was at the lake.  Then I realized the ducks had gotten out of the water and walked right up to me. After realizing I didn't have any food, they left.

Jim at the Columbia River Brewing Company on Sunday.  You can see his IPA and my stout sitting on the table.  I have a lot more photos, but neither our router or the RV park's WIFI is working very well tonight (It took 30 minutes to up load the three photos above) so I'll add more photos later.

Lollygagging, family and football in Tualatin/Tigard, Oregon

I think I’m momentarily tired of exploring.  Part of me wants to get my behind out of the rig and go wander Portland.  Some other part just wants to read my Lewis and Clark book.  Maybe reading what those guys (and Sacagawea) did is wearing me out.

Friday we lingered over breakfast, then saw a movie -- the first we’ve seen in ages.  It was “The Butler” starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. Very good.  Then we had dinner with Season, Lee and the kids at PF Changs. Very fun.

Yesterday I stayed in my my jammies until 3 p.m., reading Lewis and Clark while watching college football on TV.  I’m not much of a football fan, but I watch games when I have an investment (i.e., Ohio State) and often take a walk when the wrong team is losing. Jim will watch any team that's playing. While watching a team where he's invested (i.e. Oregon State) he wears appropriate clothing and pounds an orange and black foam bat on the couch to encourage the players.

Last night Oregon State (where Jim, Season and Lee went to school) played the University of Utah (where Ashley and Shad went to school, and the state school where I've lived for 40+ years).  We watched the game at Season and Lee's amid some texting between Oregon and Utah and mixed feelings for me.  But there was no doubt who the gang I was with was rooting for. They liked the outcome:  Oregon State wins in overtime 51-48.  And Ohio State beat PAC 12's Cal 52-34.

A very partial view of Roamers Rest RV Park in Tualatin, OR, where we're staying in our motor home.  It's a well-cared for RV park.

Friday we took a walk and found this "Little Free Library" on a neighborhood corner.

Lee, Owen and Season at the Bridgeport Village (a mall in the Tigard/Tualatin area) at the beginning of  a "1-2-3 swing."

Jim, Season, Connor, Owen and Lee with post-PF Changs gelato. 

This is the crew of fierce Oregon State fans I watched the Oregon State-University of Utah game with.

Meanwhile, back in SLC: congrats to Ash and Shad who completed a half marathon yesterday.