Dorena Lake and Row River Trail

 Thanks to all of you who responded to my difficulty yesterday.  It was indeed a lack of storage space at Picasa.  Thanks Rick for the heads up.  I was certain I had increased my storage about a month ago so now I will need to go back and check my VISA bill and see what happened.  It's sure nice to have friends like you all who will help and offer ideas when someone gets stuck.  I really appreciate your friendship.

 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

July 5, 2011

About 20 miles south of Eugene on I-5 rests the little town of Cottage Grove, Oregon.  With a population of under 10,000, Cottage Grove is quintessential Small Town America and was selected as an All-America City in 1968 and 2004.  Not sure who does the selecting but it seems to be quite an honor!!

Cottage Grove has two major lakes within close driving distance of the city, Cottage Grove Lake and Dorena Reservoir.  We visited Dorena today with the dogs (of course) and our oldest grandson, Tim, who is spending his vacation here with us.


Following along the north shore of the lake for quite a while is the Row River Trail.  This is not pronounced like “row” your boat but if you can rhyme with “cow” you can say the name of this trail…that is how Oregonians remember how to pronounce it and the river for which it is name.  Seems that the name of the river was the result of an argument between a couple of fellas a long time ago.  You can read about it here.



This trail uses what was once a narrow gauge railway line.  It is all paved and closely follows the lake.  I can remember when the railway line way still in use as a tourist attraction and we took my folks for a ride around the lake.  We all loved it.




There are several access points along the trail and we parked in one of the larger ones.  harms Park has a boat ramp, picnic tables and restrooms.  There was only one other car in the lot when we arrived and it soon left and we had the place all to ourselves.  We pulled out the easy chairs and enjoyed the view.



The lake was a little rough today so Rusty wouldn’t go swimming…but he did have an encounter with a frog in the ditch along the trail.  The frog won!

This bridge is part of the trail on the north end of the lake.




After our short walk we sat and just enjoyed the scenery.  Tim has been working 50 hour weeks lately so he was happy for the break.



And that’s what happens when you are tired and sit in one place too long.  Thanks Grandpa, you’ll get paid back one of these days!!

There is a nice road all around the lake and we set off to see the other side and visit Baker Bay, the more commercialized park on the lake.  Along the way we saw some pastoral country.


If you look closely, you can see the hitch hikers on the back of the brown horse.

At the east end of the lake is the Dorena Covered Bridge constructed in 1949 and no longer in use.  There are six covered bridges in Cottage Grove and people come from miles around just to take a driving tour of all the bridges.


This is the Row River, which is dammed to form Dorena Lake.  The flat rocks make this a popular swimming area.


We got to the south side of the lake where Baker Bay is located and Russ completely missed the turn.  No place to turn around for quite a while so we just came on home.  Need to save something for another day.

July 6, 2011
We took Tim back where we used to take him and his younger brother, Mike, when they were just little shavers….Heceta Head Beach.  Since I have written about that not too long ago I won’t bore you with leftovers!!  It was cold and windy on the beach today but we had a wonderful trip anyway.

Heceta Head–Part 2

We were a little late getting started yesterday.  With two adults, three kids and two dogs, plus food for all, it took us awhile to get it together.



As you saw yesterday, with Rusty’s help, we made it to Heceta Head beach just fine.

It was a bit crowded so we parked in the overflow area – and we were the only ones there.  What I really like about this place is having Cape Creek to play in.


Plus the trees and the grass.


A nice place to park the motorhome.


And just a short walk away and under the historic Cape Creek bridge…


…you are on a great sandy beach.


It’s great fun to play in the creek.



















Or explore the many caves and tide pools.


When it’s time to go, it’s hard to say “good-bye.”



This is one place we will return to again and again.  There is nothing I don’t like about this place.  Many beaches on this central part of the coast are difficult to access because of the huge sand dunes.  There is either a hike over the dunes or a rocky beach.  On this beach, you park, walk over a few feet of grass, and you are on the beach…unless, of course, you have parked in the overflow lot and then you have to walk about a block on a paved sidewalk to get to the beach!!!

I highly recommend this area and this beach.  You can also hike to the light house from here but those days are long over for us old folks…it’s quite a hike…uphill both ways!

There is a day use fee on this beach but there are also flush toilets, picnic tables, water, grass, and good parking.  Well worth the $5 you will pay if you do not have an access pass.  My recommendation – GO---ENJOY!

Heceta Head–part 1 (too tired to finish)

We took three kids and two dogs to the beach at Heceta Head today.  The weather was iffy when we started out but ended up being okay once we got there. 

Since he was a pup, Rusty has always been a bit leery of going under bridges and through tunnels.  He has gotten much better but he still has to stay alert and help Daddy drive whenever we go through a tunnel.

The kid all had a great time and I got some fun pictures of them.  Corbin is just like his dad was at that age and hams it up every time a camera is pointed in his direction.  Keeps life interesting!!



We are all happy but tired and I have a headache, mainly from too much glare.  That'll do it every time.  So I am going to play it smart and quit staying on the computer for hours and go get rid of my headache before it spins off into a full blown migraine.  I’ll finish this tomorrow.

Have a good evening everyone and see you back here tomorrow, same time, same station!!

KOA??? Yup, they have Internet!

June 6, 2011

We left our campsite at Washburne on Sunday morning, just as it was starting to spit rain.  Our destination was South Beach State Park just two miles south of Newport, OR.  The state camp ground guide boasted that this campground had Wi-Fi!!!  When we got to the camp ground, the welcome booth has a small sign which read, “Wi-Fi for this camp ground has been discontinued”.  WELL!!

We drove through and considered staying anyway, but since they don’t have full hook-ups there, we really had no reason to stay.  It looked like a nice campground with lots of grass and large sites, but it was still a half mile hike to the beach so no advantage to staying there.

We decided to head on north for a bit and see what we could find.  I looked at the GPS and it showed a KOA just three miles east of Lincoln City near Devil’s Lake.  INTERNET- I MUST HAVE INTERNET!!  So we took the Devil’s Lake road just like the GPS said and headed for the KOA.

Now there are many stories and legends surrounding Devil’s Lake.  I think they are mostly made-up but then you just never know.  The road is narrow and winding and really quite picturesque.  BUT…as we were going past the local cemetery, the GPS suddenly flashed a big arrow and said “MAKE A U-TURN”.  Now, why would it do that, unless it knows something we don’t?  Hmmmm…I told Russ we were probably just in a dead zone.  As soon as we were past the cemetery, the GPS went back to normal and we found the KOA without any problem.

For a KOA it’s a nice park.  Not very busy and fairly quiet.  Don’t know how it is in the busy season.  Russ finally got a chance to put out the awning and use his noodles on the arms.  He was happy!



I grilled some steaks for dinner on our little portable grill and they were sure good.  Used the steak rub I bought in Lone Pine in April.  I also did something I swore I would never do…I served instant mashed potatoes.  Hey, I was tired and I forgot to start the bakers on time so got my emergency supply of dry foods and there were some garlic mashed taters!  You know what??  They were actually very good!  I also swore I would never use instant rice, but I do it all the time now.  The older I get the more I like “easy!”

We have forest on one side of this camp ground and on the other side is a pasture with horses…all very green and scenic.



Of course all the grassy areas have “No Dogs” signs and you are not allowed to leave your dogs in your MH unattended so how are you supposed to get out and enjoy the area?  Dogs are pretty much welcome in a designated forested area and that’s about it.  Oh well, that’s KOA. 

I must say the people are friendly here and they have a nice little store.  The sites are pretty level and it was very quiet last night.  We decided to stay another night so we have some time to explore Lincoln City a little bit.  The only thing that drives me nuts is the “bell” in the office.   It is one of those electronic ding-dongs and you can hear it all over the park.  It’s a busy little office/store so the bell is going off all day from 8am to 8pm!  Small price to pay for having the rest of the amenities.

On Saturday we took the dogs to their favorite beach at Heceta Head.  This is a day use only park and has a day use fee.  However, in Oregon, if you are camped at any state park, that fee also covers any day use area as well.  We also purchased an Interagency Pass this year for only $30.  It is an add on to the senior national parks pass and it is good for any day use park in Oregon and some in Washington as well.  It’s a really good deal and we have used it several times already this year.

Heceta Head day use area has always been a favorite of ours.  You can hike to the lighthouse (which we have done in the past but I think we’re done with that).  The beach is small but so interesting with lots of caves and tide pools to explore.


 
That is sand, not water in the cave.  When I first looked at this photo it looked like foamy sea water…it was just the sun shining on the sand.



Our kids used to explore these caves, and when our oldest grandsons were little boys, they did the same.  Haven’t had any of the younger grandkids here but I think we will have to fix that!





The trees are very tenacious and will find a foot hold even if it means going over the side of the cliff.  I imagine there was more soil there when the tree began and erosion has taken away some of the cliff side.  Imagine what would happen to that cliff were it not for the roots helping to stabilize the soil.
 
There is also a small river that flows into the sea at this park and I don’t know why I didn’t get a picture of it.  The river is large enough for fishing upstream but as it nears the beach it becomes small and shallow and very placid.  It’s a great place to kids to play as it has a sandy bottom (rather than rocky) and the sandy shore is perfect for building sand castles.  Of course the dogs went wading but with all the other people and dogs around, they had to stay on leash so didn’t do any swimming.  They were happy anyway.  Poppy wore her pink polka dot dress to protect her skin and to keep people from running away when they saw her haircut!  Her skin in healing quite nicely by the way, so we are happy with the results, if not the look, of the haircut.

Well, we should have some photos of Lincoln City to share this evening .  You all have a good day.