Oregon Coast Trip

     Well we finally made our trip to the Oregon coast. Last year I posted about our mishap that ended the original planned trip. You can read about that at:The Road Trip that Wasn't. So with all plans made and reservations secured we set off on our adventure. And it turned into that right off the bat, as we headed over our Big Horn mountains this is what we ran into.

     Once we got over the mountains things started to ease off. We were planning on going through Yellowstone to get to Idaho as this is the shortest and fastest route. But when we got to Cody we found that Yellowstone was closed due to weather and no idea when it might open. So we opted to go around, which of course made it impossible to make it to our first stop at Pocatella, Idaho (cancel reservation). We did get some nice views of the Grand Tetons on our detour.

The next day we drove as far as we could but couldn't make it to our next stop (cancel reservation). The third day we were able to make our planned stop in Fort Klamath, Oregon. We arrived and got set up and settled in. The next day we planned on visiting Crater Lake. But again the weather was against us. When we got to the lake the ranger told us the lake wasn't visible because of low hanging clouds and it was supposed to start snowing. So we went on to our next stop, the Rogue river. It wasn't snowing there but was raining, although off and on. I did manage to get some nice pictures of the area.

  

     We had a nice lunch at Beckie's Cafe in Union Center, they have the best homemade pies. Then headed back to our camp. We saw snow along the highway as we went past the Crater Lake area. The next day we headed on to the coast with rain off and on along the way. We stayed at Bullard's Beach State park in Bandon.  

     It was a nice campground, only about a 3/4 mile walk from the beach.

    

 The next day we took off to explore the area south of Bandon. We made numerous stops along the way. Of course you have to visit a lighthouse when you're on the coast. This was the Port Orford lighthouse.

     We had an interesting and informative tour of the lighthouse. The following photos show the view from the top, the light itself and the stairs looking down.

     Oregon has a rugged and beautiful coast.

One nice thing about Oregon beaches, they are open to everyone including doggies. 

     The following day we headed a little ways north to Shore Acres State Park. At one time it was a private residence. The original house is no longer there but they have an informative visitors center and you can admire the beautiful views.

     But what Shore Acres is best known for is it's botanical gardens. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed wandering around the grounds.

      After this we headed back to the town of Bandon and enjoyed a late lunch and a stroll around Old Town. This fish is made out of trash washed up on shore, mostly plastics.

     Something I didn't know was that cranberries are grown on the Oregon coast. We visited a shop that had cranberry everything, candy, jam, syrup etc. They had lots of samples to try and of course we bought some of the things we sampled. Another shop we visited was Coastal Mist Chocolate, they are known for their chocolate desserts. As the photo below shows we enjoyed ours.

     The next day we moved camp north to Seal Rock. We had a nice spot in our campground with a view of the ocean. 

     Our first day exploring this area we visited Cape Foulweather and the Devils punch bowl. 

     We then visited another lighthouse at Yaquina Head. 

     While here a whale was spotted close to shore. It was hard to catch him with my camera when he surfaced but you can see him a little bit.

     We returned to camp and decided to explore the beach which was only a short two minute walk from our campground. 

After dinner we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

     The next day started out foggy and drizzly. We headed out with our first stop at the Devils Churn turn off. There is a narrow inlet that the ocean comes into making the water churn. I'm not sure why so many things here start with devil. 

Then we moved on to another lighthouse at Heceta Head. It was a 1/2 mile hike up to see it and the views it allowed.

We stopped in the town of Florence to check out their 'Old Town'

And had lunch at a popular seafood restaurant.

       The next day we moved on to the town of Seaside. It rained off and on the whole day. We got a little break in the rain when we got to our campground. We set up as quickly as we could and didn't get too wet. The wind came up and got worse in the evening with gusts up to 40-50 mph. In bed that night we felt like we were on a carnival ride. The wind finally died down around midnight. The next day we woke to rain, we did come prepared with rain ponchos and umbrellas. Even Wally was ready for the weather.

     So we set off for more exploring. We stopped at Cape Meares which has the shortest lighthouse. 

Even with fog and rain there is beauty.

     Also in this area was the Octopus tree. I think you can tell by looking at it how it got it's name. The tree is thought to be 250-300 years old and has no central trunk. They don't really know how it came to grow this way.

     We then decided to try something drier, so we paid a visit to the Tillamook cheese factory. 

They had samples!

     We also had some of their ice cream. They are in the process of building a bigger and better information center which will open next year.  The rain continued for the rest of the day. We checked the forecast and more of the same was expected for the next several days. So we decided to end our trip one day early and headed home. 

     Our trip had a few snags along the way but over all we had a very enjoyable trip. It was great to finally be able to see and explore the Oregon coast. It was definitely worth the trip. 

A thought to ponder: "One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure."                                                                William Feathr

Participating in: Grand Social, Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Seasons

Pop up Camper Makeover

     We went tent camping this summer with our grandson. One thing we learned was that we're too old to be sleeping on the ground. We had tried a regular pull trailer but my husband didn't like pulling something that big. Also he didn't like the fact that he couldn't see out the back window. So we started talking about a pop up camper. I looked over the internet to learn more about them. Of course I checked out Pinterest. And that's when I discovered  The Pop Up Princess. Besides learning useful information, I was also amazed at all the wonderful makeovers. I was hooked. We bought a 2009 Rockwood Freedom.

     Over all it was in pretty good condition. But it was your typical RV interior, all tones of brown. After seeing what could be done, I knew I wanted a brighter more colorful interior.

     So we dug in and went to work. I took all the curtains down and washed them. The mattresses and cushions I sprayed with disinfectant/odor eliminator and set in the sun for several days. I gave the interior a good cleaning. We removed the cabinet doors and the hardware off the doors. The hardware was fine but a shiny brass color. So I spray painted them a dark brass.

     We then went to work on the cabinets, repairing, filling holes and nicks and sanding. Then time to paint, first I did a primer coat. Then I painted with Behr Marquee paint and primer, semi-gloss in 'Spring Frost'. I got good coverage with these two coats.

     I sewed new valances, but reused the Velcro and Glide-tape from the old ones. The black out curtains were in good shape, but we were missing two pair. So I bought two full length (84in) black out panels at Walmart and cut them in half. I then used flat bed sheets to cover all of the panels. I did have to buy drapery Glide-tape for the two new pair. I found it on line at Campingworld. 

     The counter tops were in good shape so we left them as is. I found a cute decal on Amazon for the front of the refrigerator.

     We redid the floor. It is a floating floor, 'Allure' in teak, we bought at Home Depot. Considering neither my husband or I knew what we were doing I think we did OK laying it with a minimal amount of swearing.  Especially since nothing in this camper was square. I have a feeling that might be true in all pop ups.

     I made these cute little candle holders to match the decor. They were originally clear. I used food coloring mixed into white glue. After getting the color I wanted, I used a small brush to paint the holders. They now have the look of sea glass. The candle holders and battery tea lights all from the dollar store.

     Do you see the "chandelier" over the table. I got a little carried away with my decorating. My husband rolled his eyes at this one. But I had fun making it from a dollar store basket and battery candles. The beads I bought at Joann's, with coupons of course. The whole thing cost me about $10.

     Another thing we made, which is a little more practical, was some hanging shelving. I found the idea on Pinterest and bought the supplies at Home Depot in the closet section. The fabric bins are from the dollar store.

     The majority of fabric I bought at fabric.com. I covered the cushions using the folding method and a glue gun. I'm not sure how the glue will hold up in our cold Wyoming winters, we'll see . I might have to rethink it come spring. I made the bed covers because I couldn't find anything ready made that I liked. Some of the throw pillows I bought others I made. I'm very pleased with how everything turned out. Everyone who has seen it can't believe the transformation. Unfortunately we haven't been able to use it yet. You can read that sad tale on my last post, The Road Trip That Wasn't.

     We have winterized the camper and closed it up for the winter. We are looking forward to new adventures come spring.

A thought to ponder: "Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety                                          percent how you respond to it"                 Lou Holt

Participating in:Grand Social, Share the Joy, Share Your Cup, Snickerdoodle Link Party