July 21, 2016 – It’s a 10! Jessie Honeyman State Park

Denis and I hope to retire some day to the Oregon coast. We have our eye on Brookings and looked at a lot while we were passing through. Once Denis is through with this extended paid vacation we are hoping for just one more good gig to see us through to retirement time. Maybe we should get our own RV campground.

We had never been to Jessie Honeyman State Park before, just outside of Florence, Oregon, but I bet we will be there many more times. Rarely do you find a state park that has RV hook-ups , but this park did and the campsites are phenomenal. Privacy abounds even though they have 300+ sites. Angel helped Denis to repair our worn and dragged bikes so they could ride around the campground. Laine and I hiked up sand dunes that made our butts burn.  And we were able to kayak in a beautiful little lake. This spot is a 10!

July 20, 2016 – Thank You Forest Keepers

Laine’s second request for our Northcoast trip was a hike through Fern Canyon. The first time Denis and I hiked this canyon some 37 years ago we were chased by elk across the sand dunes. We were sad not to see any elk on the dunes this trip, but it saved me from showing how slow I’ve become. Fern Canyon was just as beautiful and amazing as the first time I saw it. It makes me truly thankful for our National Park Service and other stewards of our natural wonders that work hard to maintain these beauties for future generations. As we travel the country in Scoop and Molly we plan to hit every National Park we can.

We also walked through Lady Bird Johnson Grove. How small and humble you feel amid the giant trees. Laine won the Banana Slug Spotting contest by being the first to spy the slimy creature. Her reward? A banana slug magnet for the fridge. Then it was off to Arcata to see if our old haunts were still there. Many had changed names but the familiar scent of Humboldt Homegrown still wafted across the square.

Lucky day for Laine. Besides finding the first Banana Slug, she found a four-leaf clover.

July 22, 2016 – Boondocking at Jubitz

In a short day we went from a picturesque 10+ campsite to the Jubitz Truck Stop in Portland complete with showers, movie theater and an inviting hooker. This was the end of our journey with Laine and Angel, we were handing the girls over to their Alaska hockey buddy, Daddy Caz. He found us Jubitz, not far from his house.  This was our first experience in boondocking. Boondocking is the RVer term for parking overnight without hook-ups, usually not in a campground and usually free. Popular boondocking locations are Walmarts, truck stops, rest areas and the curb in front of your relative’s house.

That's Scoop and Molly in the middle!

As Denis swiftly backed Scoop between two semis, our trucker neighbor emerged from his cab to assess our arrival. He had obviously had a few too many and looked like he did it regularly. He walked up to Angel’s window in Molly, looked in at Fu and said, “What kind of f*&$ing dog is that? That is the most beautiful f*&$ing dog I’ve ever seen.” He wasn’t done there.

He had advice and comments for all. He asked Denis, “How old do you think I am?” Denis, looking at the bedraggled aged man and guessed, “72.”

“F*&$ you,” said the trucker. “I’m only 68.  How old are you?”

Denis replies, “56.”

“You look like you’re 62,” spouts the trucker.

By this time Daddy Caz has arrived and we are all amusedly watching this exchange. The trucker then asks Denis, “Y’all wanna see my bamboo?” and points toward the back of his truck. Hum, where is this going?

Denis, always game for amusement says, “sure.” And follows the staggering man to the back of his semi. The rest of us, rather fearful for Denis’ safety timidly edge to the back of the truck as well. The trucker opens his back doors to reveal…drum roll … Bamboo. It’s really a truck full of 10’ bamboo plants in five-gallon pots.

“Ma’am would you like a sprout?” he asks me. I politely decline and he says, “Those f*&^ers in Salt Lake pay top dollar for these things. Grows like weeds here.” We escaped to dinner with Daddy Caz.

After dinner Caz and the girls drove us back to Jubitz. We pulled in quietly hoping our trucker buddy was sleeping it off. We tip-toed into Scoop and fell asleep to the purr of generators.

July 19, 2016 – The Maiden Voyage

Today the plan was to drive the two hours straight from Myers Flat to Trinidad, put Scoop in his resting spot and take the kayaks out for their maiden voyage and afterward head back to Arcata for dinner. The plan worked for the most part. Our RV spot in the Emerald Forest Campground

was a tight fit, but the redwoods towered around us. We even had our own stinky slinky hole: all fluids flowed freely.

After lunch we headed to Big Lagoon to enjoy a magnificently sunny day in our new kayaks. Laine and Angel are pros at kayaking from their days in Juneau and were helpful in giving us tips for unloading, loading, boarding and disembarking from the kayaks. In fact, they were both telling me how to get in the kayak at the same time. My right leg listened to Laine and went one way and my left leg listened to Angel and went the other. Result was my knees in the water, no part of me in the boat. Now that I don’t listen to anyone, I always end up in the boat.

It was just too darn beautiful on the water and in Trinidad, we never made it to Arcata, we enjoyed a fish BBQ in our campsite in our Emerald forest.

July 18, 2016 - Memories We Could Remember

Even before they were old enough to remember we started taking our kids to the California Northcoast. Denis and I met in college at Humboldt and married in Arcata. It is another home for us. We love that Laine treasures the Northcoast as much as us and wanted to bring Angel to meet the trees too. At times it was a nail-biter driving Molly and Scoop up Highway 1, but it was well worth it. Denis and I tried to identify the spot where 35 years ago he proposed to me in Fort Bragg. We remember it as a cliff edge overlooking the ocean. We think it’s a Motel 6 now. 

Laine requested a stop at Glass Beach. Who would have thought that what was once a dumping spot would turn into a tourist destination for those seeking tumbled glass. I came away with a few prized pieces to put somewhere in Scoop.

Tonight we stayed in a pull-thru site at the Giant Redwoods RV & Camp in Myers Flat. The giant trees were all around the edges of the park, it was pretty barren at our centralized pull-thru site that put us five feet from our neighbor’s campfire. Fortunately Scoop and Molly time was pretty slow on the windy costal highway and we didn’t arrive until almost 8pm. But hey, that is 2 hours earlier than the day before.