Keeping the ships off the rocks

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

SEASIDE, OR - - Construction on the YHL finished in 1873. It is the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast.  It is now automated (since 1939) although we didn't detect the 2-second flash which should be seen 18 miles out.  The 'signature' of the light is a 2-second / 2-second / 2 second series followed by a 14-second blank.  As with past days on the coast, the coastal layer of fog was swirling about.

Tempting Mother Nature

Read and heed

Apparently, they don't read or pay attention

Fisherman about to pull in a big one

YACHATS, OR - - We always like to see the 'risk takers' or the 'don't know any better' folks and wait for a photo opportunity.  We don't want to see an accident, but the number of folks tempting fate  is quite large. 
     Years ago, while up in Canada, we were riding our bikes on a back road and came upon a dozen or so people and little kids clustered around the base  of a pine tree.  They were pointing at a young bear cub stuck on a limb.  The crowd's first thought should have been "where's mama bear."  instead of hoisting little kids on the adults shoulders so the kids could get a better look.  
     We kept going, knowing the folks didn't want to hear about potential danger.  Fortunately, few minutes later a park warden showed up to end the 'fun.'

A lot of driving to go just up the road

The bridge in Florence slips in and out of the fog

The wind is howling, the sand blowing and the ocean is nearby

Furry trees grow in the forest

YACHATS, OR - - We're in the Green Salmon Coffee Company coffee shop in Yah-Chats.  The sun is out (here), the wind is blowing and the coastal fogs lurks just off-shore.  Yesterday, we drove 60 miles inland to Eugene on an errand.  It was 20-degrees warmer and climbing.  We headed back to the coast and ended up 14 miles from where we originally started that morning.
     We could have gone further, but with most campgrounds showing FULL, we decided to grab one before it too was full.

200,000 (miles) and counting

Ocean-side at 3pm...just a bit of fog

Just outside Florence, OR, the Magic Bus rolled to / and past 200,000 miles

Sunday ramble from Brookings to Bandon

Lunch at Tony's Crab Shack in Bandon

Henry is constructed completely of ocean flotsam/debris/trash

Coco, the tufted puffin, is also a debris sculpture

Oregon humor

Watch for our web-footed friends

On a more serious note...

Go fly a kite!!

My highlight was a flyer portraying Charlie Chaplin's...

...iconic character  "The Little Tramp"

Plenty or color

Kites come in all shapes and sizes

Sweet Thing (tan) and Adorable (dark wool) represented the 'lamb' contingent

BROOKINGS, OR - -The Wonders of the Wind, the 26th annual Southern Oregon Kite Festival 'flew' into Brookings Harbor for the weekend.  "Windy" Oregon didn't disappoint.  There were enough hard core kite pilots to fill six hours of continuous entertainment.
     My favorite was a flyer dressed as the silent film star Charlie Chaplin's iconic character The Little Tramp.  The individual, Amy Doran, had all of Chaplin's moves down pat...including the cane...when a kite wasn't in the air. 
     There were a number of 'teams' who demonstrated synchronized flying.  All the demos were set to the individual's/team's chosen music.  And most of the spectators seemed to be as colorful as the kites.

Mister, can I pet your dog?

BROOKINGS, OR - - Sometimes you don't know what's in a photo until you take a close look.  The coloring of the dog, tethered to a picnic table while the owner got a coffee, caught my eye.  On closer inspection, the expression of the young fellow approaching just seemed to fit. 

Sea stacks and driftwood

Another chapter on how we get photos

Harris Beach SP

BROOKINGS, OR - - Intrepid photographer climbs to a rocky outcrop for a seascape while a couple of gulls watch.  At the right time of year, the beach and sea stacks are a prime bird watching location.  Today, it was shoot seascapes and a few feathered inhabitants before the off shore fog swirled back in.

Brookings harbor life...with sunshine!!

Some of the fishing fleet in dock

The "Magic Bus" and a great viewpoint

The coastal layer (or fog) stayed off shore...for once

The "Cat Lady" and a reluctant feral kitty waits for breakfast

BROOKINGS, OR - - The sun chased away the coastal fog...for a while.  So we headed for the harbor, coffee and photos.  One unexpected surprise was finding the "Cat Lady,"  as her husband calls her, setting out breakfast for her dwindling brood on the harbor jetty.  Most have been abandoned or run away from home.  Dogs, sickness, accidents and old age have thinned the numbers, but they can still count on someone who cares about their welfare. 

It's coffee time

The Bell & Whistle...formerly the Salty Dog

Brookings harbor, about 100' away

BROOKINGS, OR - - We're always looking for coffee shops because most have wi-fi or good pastry or good locations with an interesting crowd.  We hit the jackpot with the Bell & Whistle.  The last time we were here, a few years ago, it was called The Salty Dog.  So when it got a bit cold in the campground and I got coffee-withdrawal, we headed out.  (The coastal fog of CA is just as thick here in Brookings.)
     A coffee shop about 100' from the harbor is about as good a location as you can find... so I'm working on my second cup (of fuel) as I write this.
The costal fog in CA

Sometimes I get to be in the photo

High above Tioga Pass, Yosemite NP

Hiding in plain sight

After spotting six more bull elk, we were reduced to shooting "cute" squirrel pics.

Just when you least expect it...

With a rack like this, all the ladies love me

Personally, I like to add a bit of color to my attire

TRINIDAD, CA - - After leaving a campground experience to forget (noisy, loud and still going a 4am), we set out through a mountainous section as the route veers away from the coast.   Expecting nothing but very twisty, narrow road for 22 miles, we weren't disappointed.  But about  7am and 10 miles in, we got a bonanza surprise, 4 bull elk were grazing very close to the road.
     After about 10 weeks of encountering little larger than a squirrel and a couple of wild burros we had to think about what to do...for about 10 seconds.  By sheer chance, this quartet were right near a pull-out.  We parked, got out the cameras and long lens...and waited for the guys to scatter.  They posed.  I moved quite close.  They kept munching.  Looking at the antlers, it appeared that two were very mature with two up-and-coming young adults completing the group.
     Click on the link to Lydia's blog to learn/see more on the campground group from hell.

Welcome to California, part 2

It was 44-degrees when we left Yosemite.  It had risen to 102-degrees when we got close to Sutter Creek.  We had stayed in a Days Inn in that town three years ago...almost to the day.  So rather than look for a campground, we opted for air conditioning.  Sorry, no pics of the ac unit.

Welcome to California

Not the highest price we've seen.....so far.

Lydia, a small dot (center right) is hiking around the lake. I'm hanging out

SONORA, CA.  After 3 days of no wi-fi or cell phone signal we're back in civilization.  Tuolumne Meadows is a great place to camp.  It's in the high sierra portion of Yosemite NP.  Spectacular scenery, greaty hiking and dusty (the campground) as hell.  We left this morning headed for the Pacific coast of California and the north.  Travel in CA isn't very easy as the majority of roads run north/south while we want to go west so we meander.
     The second photo is of Gaylor Lake, a place where we've hiked before.  Hiking east toward the mountain range brings you to Upper Gaylor Lake and continuing on you'll get to abandoned mines and structures from 100 or so years ago.  The steep trail down was more than I wanted to tackle so Lydia went on and circled the lake.  A connecting trail had her heading back up to where I was before heading down another steep trail to the trail-head.

Burro challenges photographer

GOLDFIELD, NV - - This afternoon's quiet was disturbed by the loud braying of a young burro in search of the rest of the gang. Intrepid photographer was quickly up, shoes on, camera in hand and out the door.  I followed.  Per usual with these burros they stop and nibble...creeping a bit farther away each time.  Not to be outdone, intrepid photographer quietly quick-walked to keep up until the burro ambled down into a neaby gully.

Morning jaunt in Goldfield

"Don't come any closer or I'll run"

Home for sale

Remnants of one of the 'boom times'

Baking in the sun

GOLDFIELD, NV - - We used to hear coyote yips in the early morning.  Now it's the braying of wild burros.  Sometimes, we're told, three or four burros look for breakfast right across the street.  Not while we're here.  One finally showed up nearby so we followed it hoping to get a couple of good pictures.  The burro didn't romp away, but it didn't let us get very close either.  There's always tomorrow morning before we set out for Yosemite NP.

The Fourth of July in Goldfield, NV

Old age or target practice?

The recreation complex getting ready for the cook out

Closed and weather beaten

Some folks decorate their old vehicles

Some folks like to add a sign or two to their building

Welcome to Goldfield

GOLDFIELD, NV - - The Fourth of July means that we are in Goldfield, NV for our annual relative (Lydia's) visit.  As always, the Goldfield Volunteer Fire Department hosts a cook out and everyone else brings a dish (lunch or desert) to be shared. And a good time and good food was had by all.
     Earlier in  the day, Lydia and I did our usual wander-around and discovered some things new and lots of things from years past.  Folks here like to decorate things...mainly buildings and  vehicles.
     Of major interest was the recently opened (April) Goldfield Visitor Center.  For a location of about 300 hardy souls, this is a shining example of trying to bring more interest and visitors to town.
     Goldfield, which started life as a tent city of miners called Gran Pah, quickly became Goldfield in 1903 with the discovery of the shiny yellow metal.  In 1907 it was the largest city in Nevada (20,000) with 49 saloons and two undertakers.  At one time, five railroads were operating to/from Goldfield to locations as far away as Las Vegas and Ludlow, CA
     The town was back to nearly no one when the gold (and silver) fizzled out and Mother Nature threw a flood and major fire into the mix.  Still, by today's measure metals worth $2 billion were mined in the area from 1901-40.