A 130 mile drive from Winchester Bay and we had arrived at Brookings, OR.  We stayed at an Elks there, power and water for $20.

We washed the vehicles at a car wash as they were covered in road grime, and when we returned to the RVs I noticed one of my lynch pins for my tow hitch was missing. 😦  I drove to a local RV store and they actually opened up a tow package kit and sold me one of the pins.  Such nice guys!  Todd and Janet went to the Elks for dinner and had a delicious prime rib. I decided to make a sandwich and side salad for dinner and it filled the void.  😉

Even though it was rainy in Brookings, we did get the dogs a walk in on the beach during a break in the drizzle.  The surf was wild, crashing against the rocks.  I love the beaches around Brookings with the sea stacks out in the surf. Only a couple of other people with their dogs were walking on the beach.

The drive into CA and all the way to Eureka was rain, rain, rain.  We had a small break when we stopped at the Trees of Mystery.  I was really hoping to get out and stand among the giant redwoods but where they were closest to the road, it wasn’t conducive to parking two large RVs.  I’ve traveled by car through the redwoods, but the memories are a bit dim.  I guess that means another trip will be in order, maybe camping close enough to drive around to the different areas.

We’re now staying at another Elks, in Eureka.  This location has full hookups for $25 a night.  We will be here for 3 days, and the weather is supposed to turn nice tomorrow! Whoohooo!!!

If not, I hope you get the chance to find your way there.  It is in a beautiful location, wide expanses of beach, which at this time of year are empty of other people/dogs.   Large sand dunes that are marred by ORV tracks but still spectacular to look at are all along the beach.

Winchester Bay RV Resort has spacious sites for various types and lengths of RVs.  Ours were pull in with extra space for your towed vehicle, full hookups for $30 a night.  There are clean, large bathrooms, and a laundry facility ($1.50 to wash $2.00 to dry).  Waterfront sites are available and super sites that are up to 85 feet long! If you don’t have an RV a couple of rental cabins are an option.

They have fat tire beach bikes for rent for $10 hour/$25 four hours/$40 day. The marina is close for fishing trips, or eating at one of the great little restaurants.  The closest town is Reedsport, where you can find great dining as well as a beautiful Myrtlewood factory with all sizes of treasures you can buy for yourself or a gift for someone special.

Our first day here the weather was beautiful. We had a delicious lunch at Fishpatrick’s Crabby Café.  The fellow running the place did it all, took our order, cooked and served our meals.  He made the clam chowder fresh that morning and the calamari strips came with fresh double fried French fries and cole slaw.  I couldn’t eat it all and had to take some back to the RV for another meal.

After lunch we went to the beach and walked among all the pyrosomes (tropical, tube shaped animals not normally seen in these waters. They can grow to be more than 60 feet, though the ones around here are have been about finger to pickle size)  of different sizes and seafoam was scuttling along in the wind.  The dogs had a great time, racing back and forth and smelling the good smells.

After the dogs had their fill of running around we took a drive up to the Umpqua River Lighthouse. It is the first lighthouse that was built on the Oregon, and you can climb the spiral staircase up the 65 feet to the top.  The light itself is made of beautiful red and white prisms.   We drove back up after dark and it was awe inspiring watching the lights play in the tree branches surrounding the lighthouse.  I hear it’s eerie, and would love to see it when it’s foggy.

Today,  we were able to get a quick trip to the beach in before the rains started. It made for an indoor kind of day to finish off our visit to the area.

Leaving Eugene we braved the rains and wind to head to the coast.  It’s a beautiful drive, past a covered bridge and follows the Siuslaw River out to Florence.

We parked the coaches at the Florence Elks RV park.  The sites here are very nice, spread out with trails around the perimeter. It’s $25 a night with power and water.  There are showers and bathrooms.  They have cable and Wi-Fi.

We drove to the end of South Jetty to access the beach on the first day. It’s a long, bumpy road but a nice beach at the end.  All along the route are staging areas for ORVs.  Walking the dogs we noticed all these spongy looking “fingers” laying in the sand.  Not sure what they were, it took a knowledgeable friend,  Dawn Roll Bailey to identify them.  They are pyrosomes and there were small and large ones, fascinating to pick up and check out.  They aren’t normally around in our waters, here is a news video on the phenomena http://www.kgw.com/news/local/pyrosome-sea-creatures-washing-up-on-oregon-coast/495041584

We met my sister, Cheryl and her husband, Ron for dinner at the Waterfront Depot.  They transplanted here over 18 years ago and love it still.

The menu at the Waterfront Depot had lots of delicious offerings…unfortunately, with my still having the flu, my sense of taste hadn’t returned. I chose to have their hamburger special which was $6. Cheryl and Ron had the same.   Janet had the crab encrusted halibut and Todd had the fish and chips.

Next door to the restaurant were lights decorating a small park.  It was beautiful to behold, with the bridge over the Siuslaw River as a back drop.

Next day rained all day, so Janet and I perused a few antique shops.  I found a beautiful lithograph of a Borzoi and let a Borzoi friend and fancier, Marian Broadhurst, know about it.  She ended up buying it and will have it shipped to her home.  Another treasure I found was a tile from Portugal.  Even though I believe it is a GSD it looks close enough for a Belgian to me. 🙂

Janet and I then met with my sister and her husband for lunch at Rosa’s, a Mexican restaurant in town.  It is family run and was delicious.

From there we all went back to the Elks RV park and I got to show my sister and her husband my RV and.  We then went to Janet and Todd’s coach and chatted awhile, before they headed home.

With dwindling daylight and the skies clear we loaded up and went for a quick tour around Darlingtonia State Natural Site, an 18 acre botanical park that is home to a special plant.  Here you follow a short boardwalk to a fen filled with  Darlingtonia californica, also known as the cobra lily.  It is a very unique looking carnivorous plant, and the only relative of the pitcher plant found in Oregon.

http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=81

We quickly returned back to Driftwood Shores and Heceta Beach.  The surf was still wild from the earlier storm, waves crashing and spray curling above the waves.  The dogs were able to get a good run in before the sun started to set, finishing a great visit to this area of Oregon.  Tomorrow we head to Winchester Bay, OR.

My old SAR jeep has been recommissioned as my towed (toad) vehicle.  I used to name my vehicles when I was younger, but got away from that the more vehicles I’ve owned.

Now that I have started up some old childish habits by naming my RV Towanda, I think it’s only natural to name the Jeep as well. 🙂

Any ideas?

Korda (Korda de la Rouquine) will be 4 years old in March. With the help of Kate Hogan, I was put in touch with Jeannette Bout in the Netherlands, a breeder of outstanding working Tervuren.  I wanted another working bred dog I could do IPO and/or Mondio with, and she chose Korda for me.  I couldn’t have asked for a better pup. 🙂

Korda is the daughter of Impact de la Rouquine IPO 1, IPO 2, deelcertificaat IPO 3, B/C Avelance certificat A

and Apache van Metcol’s Home PH-1 CL (433) Object CL (397) and PH-2 CL (425) and participant NK KNPV Eindehoven 2015 PH-2

We have trained in IPO and Nosework. We’ve also played with Barnhunt and Lure Coursing.  Korda also enjoys swimming, though maybe not quite as much as Kylie.  When we return to WA we will start competing in some different sports as well as start training for AKC tracking.

Korda is a very serious girl when it comes to interaction with strangers, tending to be civil (natural defensiveness against a perceived threat and would engage someone without equipment).  Though when she gets to know you she lets down her guard and can be very sweet.   To me she can be the funniest dog, she has a sense of humor and enjoys acting goofy. 🙂

My girls are the reason I feel safe traveling alone.  They are alert to  things going on around me, even when I’m not.  I think my decal on the door of Towanda says it all… 😉

I thought I would give a little write up on my traveling companions.  Kylie (Sprite’s Great Adventure) CGC NW1 L1C L1I, will be 11 years old in March.  She was my first working bred Belgian Tervuren and the one who got me hooked.

I got Kylie as a puppy from Denise Fenzi.  She is out of her OTCH Sprite’s Eureka SchH2 TD UDX “Raika”

and Brydon Christensen’s Gator de la Rouquine CDX RN “Gator”.

She was originally intended for SAR (which I had been participating with mounted and K9 for years) but before I could get her started I decided my aging body was holding back some of the young members on searches and I decided to resign.  I miss it often.

I am more of a person that loves the dog training, more than the competition.  So I trained Kylie in Schutzhund/IPO for a couple of years and never competed.  She loved the bitework and really had what it took to be an exceptional sport dog. I sometimes feel I let her and her breeder down in that aspect. This pic was just for fun a year ago, she really misses doing the bitework I think! 🙂

Kylie is the kind of dog that I think you could do any sport with and she would excel.  We did Nosework (and hope to take it back up when we return home in the spring). She got her NW1 first try as well as L1C and L1I.  I’d also like to do some AKC tracking with her in the spring.

She loves barnhunt and lure coursing (and would have no trouble titling).  Probably her most favorite thing, though, is swimming.

Kylie has a sense of humor, smiles (especially when she thinks she’s in trouble) and talks back to you. She also likes squealing on Korda.

   She has been a great traveling dog, nothing seems to faze her.  She acquires fans wherever she goes.  She is a heart dog and I hope for many more years together!