May 7, 2023
5/1- We extended our stay at our campground one more day so Frank could make sure the RV was ready to be moved. He got some screws and black duct tape from the Hardware store then he spent the rest of the day trying to make sure the RV was secure enough to move it on up the road. We are still waiting to hear from our insurance company about repairs but where told by other RVers that Eugene, Oregon had several places that did good work on body damage. So Frank screwed, taped and ratcheted strapped the rear end of our RV together. We hope that when we leave on Wednesday everything will stay where it is supposed to stay.
5/2- Last day in Trinidad, Oregon and we had heard about three great off-road trips that we wanted to fit all of them into our trip. The one closest to where we are staying is Bald Hill Road so despite some rain we headed off to enjoy ourselves. We stopped at Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail. Being from Texas we were surprised to see a trail dedicated to Lady Bird Johnson but we found out because of her love of nature and dedication to conservation, in 1969 President Richard Nixon dedicated this grove to former first lady Lady Bird Johnson. The area at that time was within sight of logging and conservationists had been fighting to save these trees as less than 5% of redwoods have never been logged. This grove is surrounded by second growth trees and we could see the difference almost 55 years had made in an area that had been protected. There is a hiker’s bridge that goes over the road and allowed us to hike the mile and a half trail. https://www.nps.gov/places/lbjtrailhead.htm
After we left the grove we continued up Bald Hill Road which quickly turned into a dirt road. We watched the trees disappear as we traveled out of the fog and into the clouds. The road had a 15% grade before passing through open prairie which the clouds hovered just above. We had found that Redwood trees only grow where fog is prevalent as they draw most of their moisture not up from the ground through their roots but absorb the majority of their moisture from the fog that surrounds them. It was a foggy day and although there was a lookout for the Pacific Ocean just before the prairie but all we could see was the fog below. We followed Bald Hill Road and a few side trails until we reached a dead end, then we turned around and headed back to the campground.
5/3- We had planned to move our RV only about 45 minutes up the road to Klamath, California. Frank drove and I followed in the Jeep so I could keep an eye on the back of the RV and make sure everything stayed tight. We made the trip without any problems and are staying in a campground next to Klamath River. Once we got settled in the campground we headed out for adventures. Just across the road from the campground is one of the last of three drive through Redwood trees. The tree we drove through sits atop a hill near Redwood National Park and Yurok tribal lands along the Klamath River. I guided Frank and he was able to pull our Jeep complete through the narrow opening in the tree without any scraps or scratches. I remember my parents driving through a Redwood tree when I was very young but I don’t believe that tree still stands today. https://www.visitredwoods.com/listing/drive-through-a-redwood/661/
The second off-road trip we had wanted to do on the California coast was very near our campground and is the Coastal Drive Loop. The Coastal Drive Loop is a narrow road with steep grades and is one way most of the way. Along that road there are two “old farm houses”. These were constructed during World War II to hide a radar station and the generator that ran it. These were manned with gun pits to protect the facility throughout the war. After the war, the equipment was hauled away but the buildings still stand. As we were hiking down to the buildings we passed a large matted down area which Frank said looked like an area that an Elk had slept in the previous night. On the way down I slipped and fell and was unable to go the rest of the way down but Frank made it down and got pictures. Also I stood there next to the matted down area I started getting a creepy feeling and decided I was going to climb back up the hill to our Jeep. I was glad when a short time down the road we came across a large black bear. I told Frank I think I know what slept in the matted down area and it wasn’t an elk. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/60151
The road quickly drops down to panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and the Klamath River. We were able to watch the Klamath River dump into the ocean. We decided to hike down a short path to the where the river and ocean meet. As we traveled down the path we came across a sign that said Yurok Ceremonial Grounds please respect. We made sure to stay off the ceremonial grounds but ended up taking picture of the sweat house and other areas where the preform their ceremonies. When we got back to the RV we had to look up the history of the Yurok tribe and it was interesting to learn more about them. https://www.yuroktribe.org/our-history
When we were heading toward the Coastal Trail we had passed what we thought was a viewing area of Klamath River so on our way back to the campground we stopped to walk out on it and look at the river. It turns out it what we had passed was the remains of the Douglas Memorial Bridge which was built in the 1926 and destroyed by a flood in 1964. The flood was so severe it washed the entire bridge away and just this small bit remains as a reminder of what the people of Klamath experienced. The flood washed away the town of Klamath and it was rebuilt at a high level away from the river. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g32564-d4469471-r255341636-Douglas_Memorial_Bridge_Historical_Memorial-Klamath_California.html
5/4- It was time to hit the third dirt road we had heard about in the area. It was Howland Hill Road which drives through Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park. It runs through old growth forest which has not been logged. The dirt is hard packed and it is a popular road with a variety of vehicles. Since the road is so narrow we found ourselves pulling over more than we expected to allow others to pass who were coming from the other direction. The road has several trails and pullouts where people can stop and hike.
We stopped at Stout Grove which is a ½ mile loop along massive trees and near the Smith River. As we wandered around the loop we took a wrong turn (found out later from the Rangers that people like to steal the sign for the Mill Creek Trail we ended up on and so many people miss the loop and ended up on that trail). We hiked along that trail for another mile crossing the river but when we reached steps in the rock going up a cliff we knew we were not on the easy trail we had read about so turned around and headed back and found the rest of our loop. We were glad we had not continued on the Mill creek trail as we were to find out from the Rangers that it was a 3 mile trail that would have ended several miles from where we parked our car. Although we enjoy a good hike our limit is a lot less than what would have been a 5 mile plus hike. http://www.redwoodhikes.com/JedSmith/StoutGrove.html
As we left the road and headed back toward our campground we passed another trail that we decided to stop and hike. It was the Simpson-Reed Grove. We had quite the adventure crossing old bridges and climbing over a fallen tree that blocked the trail. When we got ready to get back in the car and leave we discovered that a banana slug was trying to escape the grove on my coat. We deposited him on a small plant and bid him farewell.
5/5- Happy Birthday to our oldest son who made me a mother for the first time and Happy Cinco De Mayo to others! Our celebration of the day was to continue with another adventure. We drove up to Crescent City to see the Battery Point Lighthouse there. It was built in the 1850’s in a Cape Cod Style. Despite nearly being destroyed by fire and a tsunami the lighthouse still survives. They lighthouse is open for tours when the tide permits. Unfortunately when we arrived the tide was running high and was not predicted to go down low enough to crossover until after closing time for the lighthouse. We did get to watch the ocean waves encircle the lighthouse and slap together. We were able to view it from the beach and an outlook. https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=58
In all our hiking we kept coming across people with Trek Sticks. We both have our big wooden staffs and they have been very helpful in our hiking but after talking to several people we meet who were using Trek Sticks we decided to check them out. Trek Sticks are great for people who deal with hip or knee problems. They give you a full body workout when hiking as you not only use your legs to move down the trail you also use your arms. We stopped by Big 5 Sporting Goods Store and purchased a set each and will give them a try on our next hike.
5/6- We are taking our moves in short trips of less than a couple hours since we are driving a damaged RV. Today we left Klamath Falls and drove 2 hours to just outside of Grant’s Pass where we are staying at a Harvest Host Horse Farm. The family have been breeding Morgan horses for more than fifty years. The farm is on forty-two acres and is absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed meeting our host and visiting with her and her husband and seeing so many of her beautiful horses. She told us of a half mile hike we could take around the farm and we enjoyed the hike. I tried out my trek sticks and they worked great. Even Teddi enjoyed watching the horses out the RV window.
5/7- First true trial of our solar power and it worked great! We could not use the generator at all because of the horses so we had to depend on our batteries for power. It was a very cool night so we were running the heater most of the night but when we awoke this morning our display said we still had a day and 10 hours of battery left. Of course once the sun came out the solar started charging and the battery level started going up. Our host had given us a dozen eggs from her hens and some flowers to enjoy and it was amazing to sit in the RV and eat breakfast while a horse was eating breakfast just outside the window.
We had a short drive today to our next campground in Medford, Oregon so we took our time heading out. We took a quick detour to see the Grant’s Pass Caveman before heading to the KOA that we will be at for the next four days. Teddi keeps looking for more horses but there aren’t any here.
We got into the campground early afternoon and the rest of the day was spent catching up on our laundry. Then it was time to relax for the rest of the day. We have an appointment in Eugene next Friday to get our RV looked and to see how long the repairs will take.
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