Part Nine – Our journey in nature continues
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March 11, 2018 – Sunday – Humbug Mountain State Park, Oregon.
Last night the coastal fog rolled in completely obscuring the ocean and beach with a layer of thick fog. A very fine mist hangs over the campground. I was hoping to keep all the windows uncovered, but everything was getting all wet inside the tent so I closed up the tent, leaving only cracks in the window openings for ventilation.
The night temperature was comfortable.
I had constant thoughts, I would wake up late, where I would not wake up early enough to meet my time schedule to leave this camp, and move onto our next camp. We did get up at 7:30 am, took the boys for a walk and began packing camp up. I began packing up at 9:00 am after having my coffee and making the boys their breakfast. There was still fog hanging along the shoreline.
I was a bit concerned if I would find a campsite at Humbug Mountain State Park. The girls next to me, two sites over from me, told me it was spring break and I envisioned the campgrounds could be packed with partying youth. This campground was nearly full. I had no idea what to expect at Humbug.
It took me 3 hours to pack up, I was hoping for 2-1/2 hours. We departed at 12:15 pm, and figured a drive of an hour to get to our next camp.
It was hard leaving Columbia #10 behind, it was a good tent for 3 months. We will see how Columbia #8 will do. As long as we didn’t any wind, #10 was a breeze putting up and taking down. With all the large windows it had, it gave us a great view of the outside, giving a feeling of being outside, a sense of openness to nature.
Once again, we hit very little traffic along Hwy 101, the Oregon Coast Highway heading north which is always nice. Nice as in no traffic, and enjoying the spectacular beauty of the coastline drive. It was just me and the boys and the endless stretch of the Pacific Ocean and the rugged land mass called Oregon. We encountered a little road work, but it did not slow us up much. I was relaxed, yet I had a little anxiety about finding a campsite at Humbug.
When we arrived at Humbug Mountain State Park, I spotted the Host and told her what we were looking for, and she pointed me in the ask right direction. We circled the short loop not seeing any campsites suitable for us. There was only one camper here, in a trailer. We slowly drove past each campsite, checking if it was doable or not. Most were not. I am finding that many campgrounds are now designed for the RV’er and not for the tent camper. I found a couple sites as possibilities, then the last site we hit at the end of the loop, Site #23, seemed like we found the perfect site.
Close to the campsite, we had water, garbage, and the restrooms. The site gave us a lot of sunlight in the afternoon. It is a small site but enough to get our truck and trailer into, a good spot for the tent, we had a nice cover of trees surrounding three sides of our camp, giving us good privacy, and a small stream next to us where we can enjoy the soothing sounds of the babbling brook. I hear a lot of bird activity here. Although we are very close to the highway, I anticipate very little traffic noise, if any.
It is 5:30 pm now, with only about an hour of daylight left, so I better get a move on in getting the new tent set up. Our new tent #8 went up with no problem, but it is not as nice as #10. It is an 8’ x 10’ vs. a 10’ x 15’ we were used to. It doesn’t seem that it has the quality or the stability #10 had. The window were also smaller. But it will do, and it will be easier finding a site for it. It is a bit faster putting up, about 20 minutes faster.
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The boys seem to be very comfortable with our new site. They seem to be liking this Nomadic life style I have chosen for us.
I am really liking this campsite with lots of trees around us. It has a coziness to it.
It is 6:00 pm and the Sun is going down below the tree line.
The boys where checking the tent out. Nanook really didn’t care. Takota can be a bit more particular to changes in his sleeping quarters. I put the boys beds out in what we had left of the warmth and sunlight to dry out. I was concerned a little of the beds getting mold on them. I will have to watch for that. If they do, they have to be tossed, and replaced, spending more money. The boy’s beds dried out nicely.
After getting the tent up, we went into town for some food. The town was Port Orford to the north of us and only five miles from camp. Port Orford is a small, artistic fishing town. I also checked up on where we can pick up firewood. I asked one of the store employees if she knew where I could get some fire, and she told me, “talk with our butcher, he sell it.” I looked over to the meat counter and this guy was looking at me, I asked the checker, “You mean that guy?” She said, “Yes.” I walked over to the butcher to talk with him, and found he had good prices for firewood. I told him “I will pick some up tomorrow if that is okay?” I picked up a few things for dinner, then headed back to camp.
From what we have seen of Oregon, it has the most spectacular coastlines, and beaches.
I forgot to mention, the campground was only $17.00 per night, which was a good price. I paid for 5 days stay.
March 12, 2018 – Monday
Our first night here, I slept okay. I am dealing with being on two different slopes where my bed is. If even with slight slopes, it can effect ones sleeping.
The temperature is 48 deg. and we are beginning to get high cloud cover that is covering what blue sky we had. It is a beautiful morning none the less. I can feel our new tent having much less space, even feeling a bit cramped compared to #10. It feels like I am sleeping in a VW van. It even kinda looks like one without the wheels. The windows on this tent are a lot smaller that are obstructing our view looking outside into nature.
We are getting traffic noise at the campground from the highway. This is where most campgrounds were built unfortunately. For some who like being in a quiet place in nature, to hear, and experience nature, it is an annoyance to say the least. This campground would be even nicer if we did not have this traffic noise.
I took the boys on our morning walk and I thought we would walk to the beach where we have direct access to from the campground. From our campground we went through another camping area that was closed for the winter months, then a trail that took us under the highway bridge, and to the beach on the other side. It was a pleasant walk until Takota began being rambunctious in the sand, making it hard holding on to two dogs, so we turned back. Luckily we did. I heard some noise behind us and looked back and saw two boxers running off leash behind us with no owner in sight. I yelled out to the unseen owner of the dogs to get his dogs on leash! An old chap appeared and got his dogs leashed up. I increase our pace to further our distance from them. Luckily the dogs did not chase after the boys. We could have had a big dog fight taking place with four strong dogs. Now, dogs are suppose to be on leash on the beach, but the Host told me if the beach is empty we can have them unleashed. The beach is part of the state park. And as people will be, some will unleash their dogs anyway, leash law or not. So for us, the beach is now off limits unfortunately.
This was a new camper with the two boxers that arrived last night. Four other campers arrived later that night. One of the campers was a biker from New York on his way back home. He looked young, a school teacher that taught science in middle school. He was a nice friendly guy. I shared with him about my experiences tour biking to Canada.
We were lucky getting to the campground when we did, and finding the site we were in. I am finding, a lot of campers get into the campgrounds late. That makes it good for us.
The campground gave a feel of being in the mountains, yet only about a half mile from the Pacific Ocean. We are in a small valley between two mountains. The mountain on the west side is Humbug Mountain.
This morning I heard the beautiful songs of a lot of birds singing. One was a Steller’s jay, the many others I could not recognized. It is nice to hear the voices, and songs of the birds. I also heard a Western screech owl this morning with it’s fast paced hoots. They are always a welcoming sound in the woods.
On our morning walk, I found two ticks on Takota. Those little critters are never welcomed, but alerts me to keep a careful watch for them. No one cares for these critter, especially me. Once I went on a long days ride with a group of people on our horses. When we got back I found these creepy crawler on me, and a friend began grooming me of these nasty critters. I had about 25 of them on me. All that I know of is that they were around the neck and head. I was even wearing a cowboy hat that did not seem to deter them. But without the head protection, it could have been much worse. I must have brushed along side a shrub with those buggers just waiting to hitch a ride, or them dropping out of trees. We are also having big flies coming to camp for a free meal.
The jays have discovered our camp for a free meal of the boy’s kibble. Eyeing it for any chance to grab some. We have four of them checking things out.
At 11:30 am it is beginning to cloud up pretty good. I think it is time to put up the canopy today.
Evening Entry
Today is a typical day we have been having weather wise. It clouds up looking like a chance of rain, maybe a few drops of rain falling, then the blue sky appears again. Back and forth, off and on, like someone was flicking a light switch back and forth. Just a few minutes ago we got a light rain shower for about 10 minutes, then the sky was a mixture of clouds and blue sky, with the reddish glow in the clouds of the setting Sun. Most of the clouds have that dark look of rain.
My day consisted of putting the canopy up, doing some shopping, dropped by an Art gallery, going to the library for Wi-Fi to check on the weather forecast, and check on Facebook. Met Richard, the butcher to pick up some firewood. I met him at his house and the firewood was laying in his front yard. He said it was a mix of oak and myrtlewood. I got a good price for the wood.
I started a campfire this evening and both woods burned well. The myrtlewood didn’t smell that good. I had a nice fire going with a heap of wood burning.
It has been a beautiful day and evening and with little rain.
If my site is not reserved for the weekend, We may stay until Sunday, or longer, depending on the weather.
While taking the boys out for our evening walk, I have noticed it is starting to get warmer. Nicer weather is always good, but it can also be bad because it will bring more people out to camp.
March 13, 2018 – Tuesday
It rained all night and the wind was blowing. It seems the wind comes through the campground pretty good. Our new tent, #8 was leaking a little, and a new tent shouldn’t be leaking. This has me a bit concerned. It may have been linking due to the wind. I was also hoping the tent would stay up with the wind we were getting. I will see how it does this week. Now I didn’t have the guy lines attached, so that could have been the problem as well. Maybe it was my fault and not the tents. One reason I don’t stake the guy lines is because I always trip over them, or the boys get caught up in them (mostly Takota). But, lesson learned.
We just had a strong gust of wind come through our camp, and always the rain follows. The wind must be funneling through the canyon we are in. My trailer may help a bit as a wind block. Watching the tent with this blast of wind, it didn’t move much. But anchoring the rain fly with the guy lines is a good idea to stabilize the tent, as with helping to keep the rain out.
I talked with the Ranger at their office here at the campground. The ranger gave me a printout of the weather, and some suggestions where to camp. He also told me our campsite is reserved for Monday. So we will leave on Sunday or Monday depending on the weather. I paid for two more days to get us to Sunday. The weather forecast after Sunday is rain, rain, and more rain through March 26th. But that can always change. I will have to plan for our next campground.
Today looks like one of those off and on days of rain.
Evening Entry
The rain never materialized today, but we have had a lot of strong wind. Along the coast, it was high winds. Overall it was a beautiful day.
We went to the grocery store then to the library to check on the weather forecast and it doesn’t look much better, the weather looks good for Sunday and Monday so far. The weather, and having to leave camp at a certain day, can be a bit nerve racking. The last thing I want to do is leave in bad weather, and having to take down camp in rain and setting up camp in rain and wind.
I did see two robins in the campground.
I began planning for our next campground.
March 14, 2018 – Wednesday
We woke up to clear blue skies at 40 deg. I took the boys for their morning walk. When we got back I got a fire roaring, but keeping it small. I got coffee done, and breakfast going for the boys and I. The fire took a little help getting going in these wet conditions, and I did use some white gas as a starter. Usually a No, No, in my book, but on occasion it doesn’t hurt in wet conditions and being respectful, and very careful using this fuel. And to be truthful, I was being lazy. I had enough materials to get a fire going in any condition – it just took more time and effort in the process. I must have been in a hurry, but careful.
I just noticed my chair is ripping, so soon I need to replace it. I can’t have an uncomfortable chair while I write, or in observing nature, or napping.
I slept well last night and me and the boys got up at 8:20 am.
It rained a little last night and the new tent kept us dry, as far as I could see.
I looked out toward the creek next to camp and the myrtel trees that grow along side the creek. Prisms of sparkling light from the droplets on the leaves, being reflected by the morning sunlight, and hanging from the tips of the leaves, they twinkle so brightly like the stars in the night sky. I cannot say I have ever seen such beauty before.
In our camp we also have some fir and Sitka spruce.
Every morning the birds are chirping away, many hidden among the tree branches or in the thick brush. Sometimes I am lucky enough to see them burst into flight. They are so quick, with such grace in flight, and being able to weave through the branches with ease.
The campground was busy last night with new campers in their RV’s, and trailers. Three have left this morning. For many campers in the winter, it is only a stop over to rest, then continue their journey onward. Only to see glimpses of the beauty that is all around them. There are only a few who really see and hear the beauty in nature. We have forgotten how to just stop, look, and listen. The simplest things like the dead leaves on the ground creates such beautiful patterns, or the water droplets hanging on a leaf. We forget how nature can give our senses amazing experiences of awe and wonder.
I feel in nature how wonderful are your sounds, how fragrant are the smells, how sweet the air, and how pleasing are the sights we perceive. What an amazing place to be, bringing me back to the Source of all life.
After breakfast we will run to the grocery store, and library to check weather conditions, then back to camp to charge batteries.
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Afternoon Entry
The weather changed to more of a chance of rain on Sunday, a 60% chance. But that could change as well. The weather is never static. It is always changing. So we may have to leave on Monday. I will have to continue checking on the weather.
At the grocery store we got some food, and a bundle of firewood for kindling. Coming back to camp, I aired out the trailer and the tent. I wasn’t sure how weather tight the trailer was, and it is doing well. We are suppose to get rain on Thursday so we will make that laundry days. I also got my batteries out on my laptop, and iPad to charge.
It is a beautiful day today with Sunshine, a gentle ocean breeze, and peaceful. I also picked up a movie to watch for this evening.
Evening Entry
We are getting some overcast skies this evening, and it looks like rain might be approaching from the ocean. I will have to button up the tent and cover anything outside needing to be covered with tarps. The rain may come in, in the middle of the night.
March 15, 2018 – Thursday
I slept okay, but had to get up around midnight to close the window covers because of rain. The wind blew some, and it rained lightly off and on through the night.
We got up at 8:45 am, and went for our morning walk through the campground. The air was cold and damp from the rain during the night. The rain refrained on our walk, then started up again once we got back to camp. It was a light, but steady rain. We will see what the weather does. We may do laundry today.
On our morning walk I was watching a large beautiful hawk. Not sure if it was a red-tailed hawk. It doesn’t matter, it was beautiful no matter what it was.
March 16, 2018 – Friday
Since it rained all day yesterday, I didn’t feel like doing laundry. We will do it today.
It rained all night til 8:30 am this morning. There were a lot of birds chattering away at around 7:00 am, where we had a small break in the rain. I wonder if the creatures mind the rain, or they just respond to it as just what is.
I decided not to cook breakfast this morning due to the rain, and it getting late. But a fire sounded good. I wanted to use the wood up or most of it, before we leave for our new camp. The fire was having a difficult time going in the wet environment. It seemed to be going good one minute, then not so good the next. When it seemed to be going out, I gave it some good steady blows, and that did the job. Then it went back to smoldering again. The wood was just to wet. I continue in my persistence, feeding it more kindling, blowing some more, babying it more. I have been using a log base to keep the fire from soaking up the moisture from the wet ground. This is a must do in wet or snowy weather. It is a good trick to get a fire going. But the base logs obviously need to be dry. After the fire got some good coals heated up, the fire was going good.
With all the rain we had, yesterday and last night, the tent seems to be doing pretty well, as far as keeping us dry inside.
The coals are the heat source that makes a good fire. I did a test on that when a friend, me, and Shiloh were camping for a few days. My friend got to camp early, and when I drove up, I asked where the fire was at? He said he couldn’t get one going. I have been there before. But with practice, and knowledge, I had enough confidence in fire starting when everything was wet, and I was able to get a fire going. Most of the weather was off and on rain. We were running out of any type of dry wood, so I gather punk wood and placing it over the hot coals. And soon the wet wood would burst into flame. I then put really wet punk wood on the fire, and it did the same thing, bursting into flame when it got hot enough. Fire starting takes patients in wet conditions, as well as using proper dry materials and techniques.
I forgot to mention, on Wednesday we had a good amount of sunshine, and I was able to get a good charge on my batteries. The solar works great as long as we have the Sun. These panels by Goalzero provides an indicator on what the Sun’s collecting power is on the panels.
Enough said, I think me and the boys will relax. I will enjoy the nice fire, do a bit of reading, and finishing my coffee up, then get going on the laundry. It is really nice being able to have a pleasant fire.
Evening Entry
I got my laundry done, dinner for tonight, a movie, and checked Facebook. Then read a little bit back at camp. Then the boys and I took a walk on the old 101 highway that ran through a part of the park. We checked out the small falls by this once old two lane highway. The road was narrow and over grown with vegetation making it more of a small abandoned single lane country road then a highway. On our walk I thought I spotted a Red shouldered hawk.
During our evening walk I may have seen a king fisher flying about.
It rained and showered off and on throughout the day. From camp I could see blue skies over the ocean with the Sun’s slow decent moving towards the horizon. There was a rain cloud hovering over us at our camp. For most of the afternoon we were experiencing very light rain showers falling on the campground. I was watching it fall against the setting Sun, and barely could feel it where I was next to the fire and under a myrtlewood tree. It was a beautiful experience watching and feeling the gentle tiny droplets falling from the sky, and the fine mist touching the exposed skin of my face. It was so refreshing.
There was a group of Boy Scouts that took up four campsites. I hope they are quiet.
March 17, 2018 – Saturday
It looks like we may have a full house this weekend at Humbug campground.
During the night I had thoughts of doubt about what we would be enduring in the Alaska’s long harsh winters that took up most of the year. In dealing with a place to stay in a tent, with the cost of food, and being able to get around in a two wheel drive truck. The whole romance living in nature in wild Alaska thing was always a distance dream of mine, but is it possible at my age, and doing it in a tent? In having really no idea what I was really getting myself into? The planning it would take for survival in the winters. I am sure people in Alaska would think this hombre was off his rocker, a little loose in the head.
My early morning closed with a nice dream that I cannot share here.
We got up around 8:30 am, took a walk, then back at camp to get a fire going, coffee brewing, and breakfast for me and the boys. I saw a lot of blue sky with scattered clouds. The temperature was cool. But soon began to cloud up again. It is time to take a nice warm shower today.
Today we will go into town to check on weather and pick up something for dinner.
For all the campers here and with the boy scouts, it was pretty quiet surprisingly. People don’t know what they are missing, when they learn to be silent, and listen to the sounds of nature. We are a very noisy culture in the US. I remember in my early days, as soon as I got home, I would turn on the TV to fill the silence with noise.
The movie I watched last night was the making of the movie, “Winnie The Pooh.” I don’t have any idea why I got that movie, but I really enjoyed it. I did not realize the impact the book had in the world. The impact it had on children.
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March 18, 2018 – Sunday
It was a chilly 39 deg. this morning with clear blue skies.
I had the window flaps open, something I hadn’t done for a while due to the rain. And again, it was nice looking out into the beauty of nature being so near to us. Looking out and seeing the trees was an uplifting experience for me, a spiritual experience, always giving me a sense of calm within.
We took our morning walk and it seemed even the plants and trees felt the warming sunlight.
We usually take our walks through the closed portion of the campground. It is peaceful there when no one is around, but us. This morning, even the traffic noise from the highway was quiet at times. This stillness was very welcoming. It was nice experiencing silence on this peaceful morn.
The birds are squawking away, and the boy scouts packing up to leave their short experience in nature. The Humbug campground will soon be almost empty again of campers.
I hear the song “North to Alaska,” playing in my head, and seeing the movie in my mind that I have seen many times. It was one of my favorite movies, as with Hatari, another John Wayne movie.
Last night on our evening walk to the close portion of the campground, I spotted something in a grassy area. I couldn’t tell if it was an animal or something left by a human. The light was quickly dimming from the absence of sunlight. We got closer and I thought it might be that hawk we have been seeing, but it was not feeding on anything I could see. It was just laying there. I thought maybe it was injured. Still getting closer for a better look, it rose to it’s feet, and flew off to a nearby tree branch. It was a hawk, but the species unknown. I did notice it had a white chest.
The plans I had during this journey were always hampered by the bad weather, so I would spend my time reading.
My hair and beard was getting longer and much shaggier, fitting the look of a mountain man, or a homeless person. With my hair and beard both gray, I looked like an old elder of sorts.
I had enough firewood for this evening, but I will pick up two bundles at the store, and two bundles of kindling. I will begin to pack up today, and getting the boys beds aired out and drying outside. We should have a good day as far as weather for our move on Monday. Although this place was nice, I am looking forward to moving on. It will be about a 3 hour drive to arrive at South Beach State Park, Newport, Oregon. It is 151.5 miles to South Beach State Park from Humbug State Park. I want to try and leave by 10:30 am tomorrow.
Afternoon Entry
It is 4:18 pm, and it is pretty much overcast. Tomorrow we are suppose to get nice weather here, and lots of rain forecast for where we are going. I would usually hold off leaving here, but I want to get going, and hopefully we will get good weather to set up camp when we arrive at South Beach S.P.
March 19, 2018 – Monday
Our day started out well with clear skies, at 38 deg.
The boys and I went for our morning walk. Back at camp I fed the boys, and I began packing things up, while the boys rested for the long drive. For me, I try to keep my driving time to about three to three and a half hours, keeping in mind once I find a campsite I have to set up camp again, and if shopping is near, I will go to the store to pick up some dinner. Breaking camp, driving time, then setting up our new camp. I am usually pretty tired. So I want to give myself enough time to get the things done that I need to get done before dark at our next camp. We departed Humbug S.P. at 10:30 am.