The Toledo, Oregon Railroad Museum - what a surprise!

On a misty morning, Rick and Orinda got a large cup of coffee and decided to take a drive along the Yaquia River, which runs about 50 miles to the east of Newport. This was a beautiful drive as we tooled along on the river's bank. After a few miles, we saw the Oregon Oyster Farm, which Rick thought was very cool since he loves oysters!

We could see the workers harvesting the day's crop of oysters, seen here being washed and readied for market. You can see the oyster bins floating in the river, which look much like docks for a marina.

A couple more miles up the river brought this rather strange sight -- hundreds of old pilings standing in the river. We wondered what they were used for. We soon learned that these were from the logging days when huge rafts of logs were floated down the river to the port. 

About 4 miles further upstream, we came to the town of Toledo which used to be a huge logging town. Today, there is still a logging presence, but nothing like it was 40 years as this picture shows. 

We entered the town of Toledo and immediately saw a sign for a railroad museum (Orinda was thrilled to see yet another RR museum!). Rick, of course had to check it out. 

The logging industry created a need for railroads to haul the huge logs out of the woods and into the town. Not surprisingly this effort created a very active rail business in the area. 

 Orinda was pleasantly surprised by the small museum which had a remarkable collection of artifacts, including this antique telephone from the early 20's and still worked today!

 The Museum is run by a great group of volunteers who have restored several cars and related items. One of the most interesting exhibits for us was this Rail Post Office Car which was in perfect condition.

 Imagine sorting mail in this car while underway. We learned that the crew was very efficient and that using this sort of system, mail moved with rapidity that we can only envy today. This glimpse of 1920's high tech was very interesting.

 Another thing we learned was about the dog, Owney, the Railroad Post Office Mascot seen here in about 1894. Apparently, the dog adopted a Post Office rail car crew in Albany, NY and began to hitch rides with various crews across the country. We were amazed to learn that the little dog ended up going all over the country and stopping in several hundred towns over the several years of his travels.

 We also saw this rather interesting sign in the bathroom of the mail car -- don't flush when in the station since it flushes directly onto the track below! No holding tanks for this operation!

 Finally, Rick was able to check out this rail speeder, a restored car powered by a small gas motor. This unit dates from the 1930's era and goes about 20 miles an hour. Looks like a lot of fun to restore and ride.

If you are ever in the Newport, OR area, be sure to travel the 10 miles east to the town of Toledo to catch this small, but excellent museum.

Yaquina Head and the Port of Newport RV Park

We moved from the Pacific Shores Resort to the RV Park and Marina run by the City of Newport. This RV Park is right in the harbor and we enjoyed the view of bridge and marina from our site. 

Our site was very nice with good parking, hookups and nice folks around. We enjoyed our stay and the chance to meet other RVers in the area. In fact, the folks directly in front of us were also fulltimers "from" SD. 

The marina was just a step away and was a great place to walk in the evening. There were all kinds of boats in the harbor as this is a very protected spot within walking distance to town. 

On one of our walks we saw this fellow who seemed to think he owned the fishing dock. We saw all kinds of birds, including gulls, cormorants, and even a couple of eagles. 

Located just north of Newport is the fabulous Yaquina Head lighthouse and wildlife area. The lighthouse was built in 1873 and stands 93' tall and is one of the tallest on the Oregon Coast. Using a first order Fresnel lens which is the most powerful light system, this light marked this particularly treacherous part of the coast. 

The Fresnel lens, invented by Augustin-Jean Fresnel back in 1823. The lens arrangement directs the light into a specific pattern so that it focuses in a direct line, making it ideal for lighthouse operations. 

The Yaquina Head lighthouse also had a light keeper's house as part of the installation. The light keeper job was a tough one and required keeping the light burning regardless of weather. This involved fueling the light (which was a real flame back then), maintaining the station, and much more.

 This is still a major shipping area and the Coast Guard is very active as a result. In fact, while we were exploring the lighthouse area, this Coast Guard chopper flew over returning to base. Doesn't have much to do with the lighthouse, but Rick thought it was cool!

The surf was pounding in, even though it was a very calm day. We learned that in stormy weather, the waves will break completely over this rock, which would be very, very impressive!

Yaquina Head is also home to quite a variety of wildlife. These harbor seals were enjoying the warm (and apparently rare) sunshine as they rested on the rocks just below the lighthouse. 

 The tops of the rocks were covered by birds -- mostly the common murre, which is a diving seabird that is black with a white front. This is a major breeding area and there were thousands of them. We learned from a researcher that eagles dive into the flock to grab a bird, causing the rest to scatter. When the scatter takes place, the seagulls swoop in to steal the murre's eggs from the nests. We thought that was a pretty sneaky technique on the part of the gulls!

On the Way to Newport and Pacific Shores RV Resort

Highway 101 winds its way north around the coast and most of the road is in good shape. However, the road is pretty narrow at points and Rick had to stay focused while driving the coach. Still, it was no problem. 

 There are many great vistas along the road, even in the very common mists that seem to be the normal state of the weather here.

Located just north of Newport is the Pacific Shores Motorcoach Resort, which used to be an Outdoors Resort. The Outdoors Resort component is no longer active, but the lot owners association is now renting lots directly to travelers. 

We rented a lot that gave us a direct view of the Pacific Ocean and we could hear the surf pounding in to the beach below us. Our site was very nice, with great hookups and parking. 

This is the view from our site and the windshield of the coach. Absolutely beautiful and a very unique opportunity for us, which we really enjoyed. 

 This is the shrub at the corner of our site and you can see that the prevailing winds must come from north as we noted from the way the tree grew. We learned that winds of over 100 mph blow in the winter -- and we are glad we will not see that!

 This is a beautiful RV resort, with a very nice clubhouse, manicured grounds and a great location. We really enjoyed our 3 day stay here and would certainly come back if in the area.

Winchester Bay, the Umpqua River and the Oregon Dunes

 Just south of Newport is the town Reedsport on the Winchester Bay where the Umpqua River meets the Pacific. In fact, the Pacific is just a short way from this scenic setting where Orinda was impressed at the lack of wind (a rarity on the Pacific Coast).

 The area was a challenge to shipping and as a result, the Umpqua River Lighthouse shown here was built in 1891. located 165' above sea level, the lighthouse is still in use today and can be seen some 19 miles out to sea.

 The lighthouse station is also nearby and featured this original lifeboat that Rick was very impressed with. Given the large surf in the area, this boat is certainly not large enough to make us feel comfortable about heading out over the bar.

 The famous Oregon Dunes run through this area for some 40 miles and are huge.

 Popular with ATVs, these dunes are hundreds of feet high and seem to run forever along the coast. The day we visited had light wind, but even so, the sand was blowing throughout the area which causes the misty look in the photo.

 We saw lots of off-road vehicles charging around on the dunes. The drivers were pretty well covered up, including face masks to defeat the blowing sand. I will bet the sand is very impressive when there is a stiff wind.

We stopped at a small wayside run by the US Forest Service and lo and behold, who should we run into but Gifford Pinchot, first head of the Forest Service! Born in 1865, he looked really good for 147 years old! Actually, this re-enactment was very interesting as he described the Forest Service efforts in the area. 

 One thing Gifford told us about was the ill-fated effort to introduce European Beach Grass to the dunes area in the 1930's. This grass thrived and rapidly spread across the dunes. In fact, the line of trees in the middle of the photo above, was not there 20 years ago; rather, it was pure sand. The grass, planted by the Forest Service (and others), stabilized the dunes, allowed the growth of trees and may eliminate the famous dunes over time. Gifford made sure we knew he was not in favor of this move!

Stupid Car Battery and Stupid Jumper Cables!

Just because we fulltime in our RV does not mean we don't face those little frustrations that occur from time to time!

We came out from a quick coffee stop and hopped in the car in a light mist. Rick hit the key and --- a sad clicking sound emitted from under the hood. Whoa -- a dead battery??? How could that be as we just drove the car from the coach?  Rats -- but at least we won't be late to work (retirement is great)!

 Fortunately, this gentleman offered to jump us off and Rick had his jumper cables ready to go. So, we connected the cables and with great expectation, Rick hit the starter -- and nothing! Hmmmm.... We tried several more times and wondered if there was some other issue. However, it sure acted like a dead battery. Then, the helper said he had some cables, so we tried those and bingo, the car started. Great -- not only a dead battery, but also dead jumper cables.

 Fortunately, there was a Les Schwab outlet just down the road and they confirmed that the battery was shot. They had the right size in stock and replaced the battery in short order, but Rick was still wondering what happened to the jumper cables. 

 Back at the RV park, Rick took the cables apart to take a look. It looked like they were badly corroded.

Further inspection showed that was the problem, but how could the cable corrode in the trunk of the car? Then, Rick recalled the infamous trunk leak, reported on this blog back in April. Turns out that the jumper cables had been in the bottom of the trunk and really got soaked when the trunk leaked. It never occurred to us to check that after Rick fixed the leak.

 Fortunately, this proved to be a simple repair and Rick was able to use the other leg of the clamps to re-attach the cable to a clean surface. While we hope we don't have another dead battery anytime soon, at least we will have jumper cables that should work now.

A visit to Florence, OR

Florence, Oregon is a few miles north of Coos Bay and was our next stop on our Pacific Highway tour. Florence has a very nice main street with quaint shops and restaurants. 

 The Siuslaw River runs next to town and offers a wonderful area to stroll next to the water. We had a beautiful, clear day and fully enjoyed it. although we found out later that clouds were the more common condition.

 The Art Deco 1936 Siuslaw River Bridge is another beautiful Conde McCullough designed bridge along the Pacific Coast Highway. These arched bridges have performed great work for 75 years. 

 Here is what is left of the dock of the ferry boat that was replaced by the new bridge. 75 years of weathering has reduced this dock to a few pilings, but you could still imagine traffic moving across the river on the ferry.

Some large ships operate in the area and Rick was immediately impressed with this Navy type anchor that was on display next to the restaurant that we ate at.

Orinda noted that this was a BIG anchor! 11,000 pounds of iron should hold most ships that we have seen!

The Florence waterfront was a great place to stroll and explore. We were fortunate to have great weather and a great lunch to boot! Great day all around.