Labor Day Weekend in Port Orford

Wednesday, 9:00 AM, Port Orford, Oregon.

The sky is yellow with smoke. Not a good day to go hiking!

We stayed in the Alfa over the Labor Day weekend in order to avoid people from other places who came to the coast for the cool air. In general, the local people seem to be practicing good preventive behaviors by wearing masks and keeping social distancing. You cannot enter a store without a mask.  In many stores, if you do you are given one. There have been no deaths in this county. I wonder why?

On Friday, after a hike in the woods, we drove past Battle Rock Wayside and I notice there were a lot of people there, some without masks. Tourists? Or just people who felt safe outdoors? We always carry masks, but I admit, we only put them on outdoors when other people are near. It is really hard to know what is the best approach.

Our hike was up the Amphitheater trail in Humbug Mountain State Park. It was short, just two miles, but the first 1/2 mile was a pretty steep climb.  We learned that the trees with lots of side branches are Grand Firs.

 

 

One of the little things we have seen on our walks.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was a bit smoky. The sun was a big red disc when it was just over the trees in the morning, but the air did not seem too bad. 

We went over to the Battle Rock Wayside and went for a walk on the beach.  The weekend crowd was gone. The temperature was warm, and best of all there was no wind.

 Not a pretty blue sky, but pretty good ROCKS! We learned that 20,000 years ago the coastline was ten miles further out. The stacks and rocks are the result of erosion leaving harder rocks exposed. Someday they too will be gone. 

It did seem strange that there were very few seagulls on the beach this day. We did see a mob of crows, and two of these red billed Black Oystercatchers. 

 

 

 

We also went to the "port" of Port Orford. 

Unlike many places it did not have a marina full of leisure boats.

The boat storage area was quite high over the water. Two large cranes are used to lift them into the water. There were about 20 fishing boats on the dock. 

We plan to enjoy local fish and chips from the "Crazy Norwegian's" for dinner tonight. We pick them up and bring them back to the Alfa to eat. Just trying to stay safe, and we hope all of our friends and readers are doing the same.

'Til next time ....

First Walks in a LONG Time

Sunday, August 2:

Although we tried to get out from time to time at Jojoba, we really were bad about getting any exercise. So I am determined that we are going to walk every day if possible during our stay in Oregon. No "hot weather" excuses!

I had looked at a map given to us by the park and thought we could just walk to the next road north of us and get to the Beach Loop.

I had suggested we drive it first, but Craig said, no, lets just go.

My mistake, the road we took did not go through. It was a nice gravel road, with a street sign, but it dead ended.

We turned around and went back to the rig the way we had come.

But, one goal was accomplished, we walked two miles.

Tomorrow we will try again.

 

Monday August 3:

The park is 1/2 mile from the beach, if you are a crow. We are not crows and cannot fly, but we did get close to the beach by car. At about 3 miles, it is a bit far for us to walk. 

The small parking area was almost full, but the beach was so vast that it seemed there were very few people around.

The sun was bright, the sky was blue, but it seemed there was a fog bank out to sea. 

The tide was going out so there was good, firm wet sand to walk on.

We walked about a mile down the beach (south), rested and enjoyed the sunshine, then walked back. 

Tomorrow we will head north.  Two miles a day is far enough for the first week.

Life is good!

Zebra Mussels and a Big Bird

On Monday, after getting settled in our spot at Harrington Beach State Park, and taking a few hours to rest and do some internet things, we decide to take a walk. We drove to the Welcome center and then took a trail down to the beach. 

The afternoon was cool and a bit overcast.

I remember taking many walks on the shores of Lake Michigan in years past. The beaches were always either sandy or stoney. Parts of this beach were covered with a thick layer of broken shells where the waves had washed them ashore. 

Millions of little mussel shells. 

The Great Lakes have been invaded by at least two kinds of mussels. The first to arrive were the Zebra mussels. They have done a lot of damage to the ecosystem because they filter out so much of the plankton that is the food of the smaller fish. The larger fish are starving because there are fewer and fewer small fish for them to eat. 

The second and even more damaging mussel species are the Quagga. They can live in colder and deeper waters. 

They both came to the Lakes in the bilge waters of foreign freighters.

There is still talk of closing the Lakes to ocean going ships. 

As we walked down the beach we came to a small point. On one side the sand and rocks were somewhat clear. On the other a lot of algae had washed up and the smell was quite foul. We decided to turn inland along a short side trail. 

Quite near the shore there is an old, abandon limestone quarry that has filled with water to form a small lake.  The map indicated it was about a mile around. Just about right for us on this travel day afternoon.

Parts of the rather level trail were right along the edge of the quarry wall. You could see many small fish in the clear water.

I like to take walks that are not so challenging that all I can do is keep up.  This was that kind of walk. At one stop I noticed this beautiful overlapping pattern of the leaves. The light was just right.

As we came around one bend in the water side trail there was a young couple, with a nice golden retriever, stopped on the path, looking carefully into the trees. "Do you know what kind of bird that is?" they asked. He was quite large, and seemed to be hiding. He knew we were there, but since we didn't make any sudden moves or approach him he stayed put.  From his legs, beak, and size I guessed he was some sort of heron. From his plumage, I thought he was a juvenile. The couple with the dog moved on. I was able to slowly move a bit closer to him and get the picture above.  When we got back to the Alfa I consulted my Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds and concluded he was an immature Black-Crowned Night Heron. We are going to keep our eyes open for his mom or dad.  They are really neat birds.

Speaking of birds, while in the Milwaukee area, I was thrilled to spot three cranes in a field.  We were just driving down a country road in Racine, and there they were, quite close to the shoulder!  We didn't stop, and I didn't get a picture, but I know they were cranes!  Wow!

As a young person in Wisconsin I was always very interested in wildlife. I seem to remember the sad decline in the crane population, and am heartened that they are slowly coming back.

Maybe we can share the planet if we are more careful.

What have you seen recently that was a surprise?