Weekly seems about as often as I can accumulate enough to post.  I left Garibaldi last Tuesday and moved farther north to Warrenton, OR.  The drive was mostly along more beautiful Oregon coastline.  Y'All may be getting tired of it, but here are a couple more shots:

You may notice that there are few people on the beaches:  It's too darned cold!  I don't think I've seen a bathing suit in Oregon.  About 60*F in these photos -- in mid-July!!!

In seeking a place to stay in N. Oregon, I came across a unique little military post, Camp Rilea (Rye-Lee'-Uh), just south of Warrenton.  It's an Oregon National Guard training facility; VERY neat and clean, and barely populated -- I only saw two soldiers during 4 days there. They're there somewhere though:  Firing on a range close over the hill behind the campsite was almost continuous until well after dark most days.  I did see a lot of high school football players -- maybe 10 teams at a time on several football fields.  Apparently they hold summer camps there when no military exercises are in progress.  The RV park is small: 10 full hookup sites and 6 dry sites (30A only).  I got the last of the dry sites -- for $5 per night!  The inconvenience of dumping as I left was worth the $15 per day I saved vs full hookups. :-)  Here's a view of the campsite from across the base; the buildings are typical of the 50 or so that constitute the entire facility:

During my stay at Rilea, I hit the local sights:  Fort Calstop, Lewis & Clark's winter quarters in 1805 at the western end of their journey.  This link will tell you far more than I can:  http://www.nps.gov/lewi/planyourvisit/fortclatsop.htm but here's a photo of the replica of the fort, which should be pretty accurate, considering the quality of the records they kept:

Fort Stevens State Park was my next stop:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Stevens_(Oregon)  Very slightly established during the War Between the States, Fort Stevens was greatly enlarged during WW I, and further reinforced during WW II.  From Wikipedia:  "On the nights of June 21 and 22, 1942, the Japanese submarine I-25 fired 17 shells at Fort Stevens, making it the only military installation in the continental United States to receive hostile fire during World War II (the oil fields in Santa Barbara, California that were also shelled by the Japanese military, was not considered a military installation)"  

There was no damage from the shelling and no return fire was initiated.  Things are pretty decrepit now, but I was impressed with the WW I construction.  They invested a lot of funds and effort for what I'd considered a minor threat.

On to Astoria, which turned out to be one of my favorite places in Oregon.  The view from the hilltop above Astoria, where Astoria Column is located, is beautiful:

Columbia River to the NW.  Every other direction yields views as pretty.

The Flavel House Museum, was the home of Astoria's first millionaire.  It's typical of the late 1890's, earlly 1900's artifacts which so impressed me.  The downdown area is largely abandoned, as are most across the country.  But this one seems less seedy than most.  There are the usual "artsey" shops, but they seem to be of a higher quality than most, yet not "put-offishly" so.  It's hard to explain, but it was a more comfortable place to be than most I've visited.  On Sunday, as I departed, I stopped back downtown.  Several streets were blocked off and covered with individual vendor's stalls; apparently they do that every Sunday.  Lots of crafts, vegetables, fruits, and pastries for sale.  Yet, somehow, a "hometown" feel to it all.  I wouldn't mind returning there.

This morning, I left Astoria behind, taking Rt. 30 over to I-5 North to the Tacoma area.  USAF and the Army have a "joint" base here:  http://www.oldoregon.com/visitor-info/entry/audio-tours-of-astoria-warrenton/

Residual from their days as separate operations, there is a USAF FamCamp and an Army Campground.  The Army facility is more modern and well maintained and I'd hoped to get a site there to occupy until after HER arrival in Seattle on the 27th.  But, they take reservations 90+ days in advance and had only one site open for only tonight.  So I moved on to the USAF FamCamp, where we stayed when we passed through here on the way to Alaska in 2000.  I arrived after the office closed and found a notice that all hookup sites were filled but that dry or overflow sites were available.  I chose a dry site and was about to register for it when I found a vacant full hookup site.  The only neighbor I could find thought the previous occupant had left this morning, for good.  So, I moved onto that site and registered for it; no one has come to accuse me of stealing their site, so I'm hopeful I can stay here through next weekend.  At $18 per night, it's a real bargain in an area of $30+ per night campgrounds.

I've got some chores to do while waiting here for HER arrival:  My exhaust system is all assembled with bsnd clamps.  Those are nice for assembly and avoiding damage to mufflers and pipes, and they provide some much-needed compliance or flexibility in the system.  But, that flexibility also means that the system is not real dependable:  The joints loosen up under the kind of severe service they've endured in the past 5600 miles:  I've got noisy leaks and the mufflers are sagging uncomfortably close to the ground.  I've got to find a shop that will correct those problems; I'll probably have some of the joints welded.

With that taken care of, I've got another problem to address:  Yesterday morning I found a wet area in the "middle of the floor".  It's a peculiar shape and location, but I've figured out that it's coming, I think, from the fresh water tank.  A plug at the bottom front of the tank appears to be rubbing on a wooden stringer and to be leaking slightly.  I'm going to have to remove the tank from beneath the right side bed and try to correct that situation, otherwise, we'll have to give up carrying water with us -- a serious problem for some of the places I expect us to visit.

It's bedtime.

Ken

Well, I've procrastinated for a full week this time!

Here are some camera photos I failed to post last week; they're from the large burl wood shop right across from Jerry & Sharon Work's place in Kerby, OR.  Its a fantasmagorical place of furniture and decorations made from mostly redwood roots and burls:

kenndennis.blogspot.com

As planned, Jim & Judy Hupy arrived on Monday with the trolley for engine removal.  Jerry and I had most of the disconnecting finished, so we did only a little more work that day.  On Tuesday, we pulled the engine; here's Jerry doing the "dirty deed":

After Jim completed the TDA (Tear Down & Analysis) of the failed engine, Sharon took this of Jim, Jerry, Judy and me:

The TDA showed that the engine, which Jerry had been assured was a near-perfect example with original bores, forged pistons, and all premium quality was, in fact, a poorly executed "refresh" of a previously bored engine.  At least two cylinders were badly scored, probably by improperly installed piston rings.  The bearings, which from Jerry's description of the noise we expected to be bad, were not.  The "beach sand" in the crankcase was from the scored cylinders.  SAD!

Reluctantly, after the great hospitality afforded by Jerry and Sharon, I departed on Wednesday to continue my journey NORTH.

I wound up in Eugene, OR, to visit my old, never-before-met, friend, Kelvin Dietz.  He and his wife were in the midst of preparations for a trip themselves, so our visit was short, but I did enjoy dinner with them on Wednesday evening.  The next morning, they came by my camping spot at Valley River Center:

If you're ever in Eugene, but sure to visit that location.  The Willamette River flows through Eugene; its banks, for 12 miles, are lined with beautiful parks, with bike/jogging/skateboarding paths, and other amenities, all of which seem well-enjoyed by the public.  At the Valley River Center mall, the huge parking lot is shared with those river facilities.  Overnight RV parking is permitted (2 nights per 30 day period), with permits issued by the mall security.  With a lot of room and security patrols in the area, one could hardly ask for a nicer place to park.

From Eugene, I moved on to Salem, to visit with Jim & Judy Hupy.  Parking in their backyard, beside Jim's shop, I felt right at home.  I'm afraid Jim didn't get much work out of me, but he still fed me good (in addition to his renowned mechanical expertise, he's also an excellent cook and prepares most of their meals).

On Saturday, Jim and I went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, OR  <http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/the-museum/>.  My particular interest in the visit was to see the "Spruce Goose", Howard Hughes' (in)famous wooden seaplane, largest wing-span aircraft ever built.  That was just as impressive as I'd expected.  But I was not expecting the facility in which it's located:  The Evergreen Museum is a fantastically wonderful private undertaking.  There are 3 main buildings:  

A water park, which has on its roof, reportedly as the starting point for a water slide, a Boeing 747 -- we didn't visit there.  

The second building, contains the Spruce Goose and MANY other notable aircraft from a replica of the Wright Flyer to an SR-71.  All in immaculate condition and exhibited in spotless surroundings with excellent descriptive posters.  

It's really not possible to do the aircraft justice in a photograph, especially when its confined to a building into which it will barely fit.

Visiting the cockpit is an extra-charge tour which we didn't spring for, so these fuzzy photos were made of a video screen

 The third building, which I originally suggested we skip since I'd "seen it all", is the Space Museum.  That was the biggest surprise of the day.  Not only did they have replicas of many of the most significant of our US space achievements, but also of those from Russia.  There were MANY items which I had NOT seen -- many, not even known about.

DO NOT fail to visit that museum if you're anywhere nearby.  It's the equal in quality of any, including the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB or the USN Aviation Museum at Pensacola.

On Sunday, I bid adieu to Jim & Judy and headed back to the Pacific coast, at Otis.  I had no particular destination in mind and visited several of the county and state parks along the coast before stopping for the night in Garibaldi, OR at the Old Mill RV park.  Here are a few pictures of the coast to illustrate the beauty of the area:

Garibaldi, population 775, is very much a seaport/fishing village

Right beside the RV park where I'm located is the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad

<http://www.ocsr.net/>

which I almost took a ride on, just for Fred Veenschoten -- but I wouldn't have been able to adequately describe it to him, so this will have to do:

Until the next time,

Ken H.

Visiting the Works

8 July 2013:  Today's a BIG day!  This day 54 years ago was the best day of my life:  SHE married me!  Can you believe that?  And SHE's put up with me for all these years -- Amazing.  And taken great care of me.  And given me wonderful children!  What more could one ask of life?  IIRC, this is the second anniversary we've missed being together, the other being during my Vietnam tour.  Hope there's never another one.

Well, the 4th of July did happen again this year.  Here's the beautiful picnic area at the Curtis' with the crowd of friends, neighbors, and relatives.  I really enjoyed being with them.

Departing the morning of the 5th, I moved up the coast past some of the most spectacular scenery of the trip:

Crescent City Harbor, CA

Turning inland with US-101, the Redwood Highway, brought me into more spectacular scenery; here's one of MANY views of the Smith River:

Jerry had informed me that the nicest/newest campground in their area was at O/Brien, about 10 miles south of them, so I stopped there on Friday night, 5 July.  Very nice, well designed and maintained campground only 5 years old:

"Tweety Bird" in Lone Mountain RV Park, O'Brien, OR

I visited with Jerry and Sharon for a while on Friday afternoon and evening.  Quite a place they've got, in a pleasant living area without much remaining industry other than tourism.  Jerry's web site is an exceptionally good one:  http://jerrywork.com/

On Saturday, I visited the Great Cats World Park in Cave Junction, OR, 2 miles south of the Works':

www.greatcatsworldpark.com  They are very dedicated to the preservation of the remaining wild cat species of the world.  While all of their cats are human-acclimated (to a certain extent), they try to provide them with habitat similar to their natural surroundings, to the extend cages allow.  The tour guide was exceptionally knowledgeable and dedicated to her work.  I encourage anyone passing this way to stop:

The size of a domesticated cat, this wild cat is vicious.  The speed of its reactions is phenomenal -- you can't see its claw reach out to grab an offered morsel of meat!

Wouldn't want to meet him -- anywhere!

She had to persuade him to do that and the accompanying roar -- he wasn't enthusiastic about the idea.  He'd rather get back to his nap (male lions sleep 22 out of every 24 hours).

A pleasant evening visit and supper with Jerry & Sharon brought the day to a close.

Yesterday (Sunday, 7 July) was a busy day:  I got up early to have breakfast at a local restaurant (BIG pancake with strawberrys and whipped cream, sided with an egg and bacon) before the 45 minute drive up to Oregon Cave National Monument.  The largest known cave in Oregon, this marble cave was discovered in 1870 by a hunter whose dog chased a bear inside.  After having recently visite Carlsbad Cavern, it was not real impressive, but it is well maintained and the young female guide was very professional.  At my age, it was a little strenuous, with 500+ steps, mostly up, during the 1.5 mile tour.  Sure was glad I read the literature beforehand and brought my jacket into the 44*F environment!

Nothing to compare with Carlsbad, but interesting.

The lodge, built in the early 20th century, was almost as impressive as the cave:

From the cave, I returned just south of Cave Junction to the Siskiyou Smokejumber Base Museum.  www.siskiyousmokejumpermuseum.org will tell you more about the fascinating story of how the smoke jumpers were first assigned in 1943 to combat the Japanese-launched pyrotechnic balloons, designed to torch our forests.  But you won't have the great experience I had:  The ex-Hot Shot in attendance began a long career of fire-fighting and aviation there in 1958, as a jumper.  He later became a pilot for the fire-fighting tankers, as well as continuing to jump.  His tales of fires, jumpers, and aviation were amazing.  And all, including the horrifying and the amusing incidents, were presented as a conversation between new friends, not as a lecture.  His later years were of particular interest to me:  He spent 14 years flying for Air America (the CIA air service), primarily in Laos, Cambodia, and Costa Rica, where he still has a home.  After Air America was shut down, he and a partner formed a replacement to take over the AA contracts.  They continue today.  In fact, he said his partner currently "full of himself" because he was the first to spot one of the semi-submersible vessels currently so popular for drug smuggling.  And has spotted several since, including some still under construction.  Making that kind of contribution to the drug war, he deserves to be "full of himself", IMHO. :-)

In the afternoon, Jerry and I did a little work toward getting ready for the removal of the engine from their original coach.  Jim & Judy Hupy are planning to arrive on Monday afternoon with the engine removal trolley we'll use.  With everything possible disconnected, it shouldn't take long to remove the old engine and, hopefully install the replacement.

Another great meal and visit was supposed to precede a dip in the hot tub, but after dozing off while watching a video Jerry wanted me to see, I decided I'd better beg off and return to Tweety Bird and bed.  Thus ended day (something like) 68 of my Round Robin.

Ken H.

On to Bert & Faye's

Good morning,

It's 0800 here in N. CA.  I've been up since 0600, enjoying my coffee & breakfast before everyone else around here gets moving.

As I reported yesterday, I had an appointment, at my campsite, with the carpet cleaner at 0700 (not 0800 as I misstated).  Louis showed up on time with his steam cleaner equipped van and got right to work.  Since I didn't have enough cash to pay his fee in less than a $100 bill, I had to find an ATM.  The adjacent OK QuikStop's ATM was out of service, so I had to find another, a couple of miles away.  Elaine's Nexus 10, combined with the Verizon MiFi, has really been helpful in situations like this:  Just select one of several navigation APPs, do a search for "ATM Eureka", and request directions to the selected one -- Eureka!, There's a map with a blue line to follow!

By the time I got back to the coach, Louis was just about finished making the polypropylene berber carpet look like new.  He thanked me for having used such easily cleaned carpet and informed me that I can even clean it with bleach without hurting it.  Good to know, since the lacquer thinner I have sometimes used is so flammable. :-)  He assured me that the odor from the spilled water would go away eventually -- and it has, after 4 days.

With about 8 hours to kill before Bert & Faye are reputed to begun stirring, I moved to downtown Eureka for sightseeing.  While Eureka is a costal city, it's not right on the coast.  Rather it's separated from the Pacific by Samoa Peninsula, visited yesterday.  The old town lies right by the water with a nicely restored/modernized "riverwalk".  Most of the buildings in the area are in good condition, having obviously been refurbished as part of a major tourist attracting effort.  There's a LOT of vacant real estate, and most of the shops are tourist oriented; lots of artsy stuff, from crafts, to paintings, to pure junk.

 Just across from the Eureka "riverwalk" is the Shelter Island Marina:

 There's been a lot of money spent refurbishing:

Read this plaque carefully for a reminder that this was once the "wild west" (Not from the building above):

Eureka is becoming a gathering place for artists of all sorts; this and other facilities reflects that new "industry":

And, there's a certain "uninhibited" atmosphere to the place; this is not an unusual sight::

It's an enchanting place, with a lot of vitality despite the obviously depressed economy.  Perhaps most disturbing to me was that I saw more homeless, or apparently so, people than even in San Francisco.  Discussions with locals reveal that the government is receptive to them, providing unusually generous support for them.  In my campground there were temporarily parked 2 large motor homes marked something like "Mobile Street Outreach".  Public health facilities were prominent, and in the heart of the refurbished old town area was a homeless shelter.  Someone I talked to said many of the "homeless" are really "houseless" -- implying a voluntary rather than unavoidable situation.

After a disappointing lunch (I forgot that here "barbecue" is synonymous with "beef", not "pork"), I headed out to Kneeland, CA to visit Bert & Faye Curtis.  I'd been warned that they live on a hill.  What no one told me that it's a HILL, and that the road is NARROW, and STEEP, and CROOKED.  For about 10 miles!  Nevertheless, the ol' Cad500 leveled the hills pretty well (though sometimes in 1st gear) and I only went past their gate twice before entering the driveway (with the toad disconnected to make the turn).  I then entered the wonderland of Curtis Chaos:

The entry road leads into the woods.

Then the workshop magically appears

There are a couple of BMW Isetta's in there somewhere!

Bert's got a LOT of exotic old cars!

And Faye's got a LOT of molds for bodies for exotic cars!

I'd sure like to have a car with that body.

Or maybe I'd rather have a hard top?

Here's my assigned campsite -- just beyond the picnic site for the 4th of July.

 Faye was already busy at work on their latest project when I arrived.  Bert appeared a little later.  That project is a replica Lola race car chassis (built by Bert) and body (built by Faye) to be shipped to Belgium.  We spent the rest of Monday loading that onto their flatbed Isuzu cab-over truck to move it to a photogenic site for "here's what you're buying" photos for their customer.  That pretty well wore me down and I retired to the coach at about 1800 -- probably 6 hours before they quit.

On Tuesday, I stayed in the coach until near noon, when Faye came to get me for a trip to town for crate materials for the Lola.  She gave me cab-over driving lessons (thought she was in a Lotus again) back down and up their hill.  The single building supply/hardware in Eureka would be very impressive for any city, much less one of 28,000 population -- something's thriving there.  Back "home", we got the Lola chassis fastened down to the base of the 6'x12' pallet on which it will be shipped.  Again, I knocked off several hours before they did.

Wednesday, Bert & Faye tied the body shell down over the chassis by the time Doug & Shirley Norton drove up in their GMC.  The familiar sound of GMC exhaust brought me out -- I'd been inside past noon, working on labeling 193 photos and creating yesterday's blog.  We all then worked on the crate.  By my 1830 quitting time, the crate was complete.  I don't think they've received the final shipping instructions from the customer, but the Lola's load and ready.

Today's the 4th of July picnic.  No one knows how many to expect -- "maybe 40" is as close an estimate as I've been able to get out of them.  Since I hear stirrings outside, I'd better join them.

Everyone have a great 4th!

Ken H.

On to Eureka

Hi Y'All,

Time for another update on my progress:

Reluctantly, I left this scene last Sunday, heading N (and E) on US-1:

The terrain immediately N of there was too rugged, nearly impassable, for them to continue US-1 along the coast, so it turns E, through valleys, around, and over mountains, and along the Eel River bed to Leggett, GA, where it rejoins US-101.  It's an "entertaining" drive.

Right after Leggett, the old 2-lane US-101 has been replaced by a nearly-parallel freeway and renamed "The Avenue of the Giants".  It passes through the world's largest remaining pristine redwood forest.  Here are some scenes from that drive:

There are tourist attractions along the way:

And some "authentic" sights to see:

Even some disturbing ones:

The Avenue of the Giants took me within a few miles of Eureka, where I settled into a nice RV park for the night.  When I left Americus, the GMC's carpet was pretty dirty but I never got around to cleaning it.  The trip across country, and especially my carelessly darting in & out of the coach without always removing my shoes after leaving Manny's shop didn't improve its state.  Then, on Sunday, I forgot 1/2 a cup of coffee setting on the kitchen counter.  Needn't tell you when that wound up.  Later, somewhere along the "Avenue...", it sounded as if I'd trapped a bird in the rear of the coach & he was squawking like crazy, so I stopped to let him out.  The bird was the gurgling of the water & air coming from the kitchen faucet -- over the full sink, which had already overflowed probably 10 gallons into the kitchen drawers, under the cabinet, and onto the hall floor. :-( :-(  That settled it:  In Eureka, I tried a couple of Yellow Page numbers for carpet cleaners before I contacted a work-from-home individual who agreed to come to the RV park at 0800 on Monday to steam clean the carpet.

Sunday evening, after making the cleaning arrangement and doing my weekly laundry, I found an interesting place for dinner:

That's an old lumber company cookhouse dating from the 1890's.  Here's their web site:
http://www.samoacookhouse.net/  They still serve "family style" meals there throughout the week.  The dining room I sat in had 11 table for 10 people each.  They sat me at the end of one of those alone and after they served me a big basket of bread and a huge bowl of soup, I though I was going to eat there alone.  But shortly a family of 8 from Redding, CA joined me and we had a very pleasant meal together -- family style.  The first fried chicken I had since GA (but no dark meat!).  Very pleasant experience -- but expensive.

Then I toured the rest of Samoa (which I'd always thought was 'way out in the Pacific Ocean).  That was disheartening.  With the almost complete demise of the forest industry in this area, the once-thriving community is now almost a ghost town -- population 270, with most buildings in decrepit condition whether completely abandoned or not:

That must have been for the president of the company.  Even it's pretty run down now.  All-in-all a sad situation.

There is one industrial operation still on the pennisula of Samoa:  A wood chip plant.  At noon on Sunday I'd shared a dining table with a life-long logger (as had been his father and grandfather), who told me the state of things now.  His 10-employee company now does essentially no logging.  What they do is chip stumps and downed wood from both old-growth and, primarily, clear-cut areas.  Wood chips are now the big forest product exported from this area.  Here's the plant on Samoa (sorry 'bout the fog, but that's typical):

The pile of chips at the right extends about 3 times that far back down the road to the mill which converts the logs in the left pile into those chips.  The log pile is probably 50' x 100 yards x 25' high.  It's still a big business!

That's enough for today.  I'll continue soon with the story of my Sunday in Eureka and arrival at Bert & Faye's.

Ken H.