Blogs from Florence, Oregon, United States, North America - page 2

July 6, 2013 Florence where we are staying is quite a place for those that love the outdoors, it has everything you could ever dream of including 17 fresh water lakes, rivers, miles of sand dunes, beach access, hiking and biking trails, horseback riding, crabbing, fishing, sandboarding and of course the Pacific. What a beautiful day here inOregon. This morning we headed out to the dunes and walked up one really large one and down the other side to the ocean. Had a nice walk by the ocean – but so windy and chilly. Checked out some of the lakes in the area too - beautiful. Back to the trailer to grill some hamburgers for lunch and then we took off again for FUN! Up and down the dunes, along the beach, a little scary at ... read more

A sunny, warm morning at 78 degrees, we leave the Valley of the Rogues SP at 9:15. Heading to Florence,OR today and Honeyman SP. And the Pacific Ocean, yay! We see signs along the road that just say “ELK” but none seen. We stopped at an Elk Viewing area but only saw a red winged blackbird. Our drive was beautiful today, so many lovely pine trees lined the highway and up the slopes and hills. Pass by theUmpquaRiver, a river we stopped at for lunch with our grandson in 2010. Temperature 65 degrees at12:30, with strong wind – yep, that works! Love the cooler temps. Arrive the park at 12:45; check in is at4 pm, but our site is vacant so we may register and go set up. It’s nice to get here early and have ... read more

Traveling through the mountains in the summertime is completely different than travel in the winter. Going over Ochoco pass was old hat; I have made that trek several times over the last decade and half. Going over Santiam Pass is not something I have ever done in the winter time. You forget your are so high up in the mountains when there is no snow level marking the way. The lava beds, usually dry and shades of red and brown, were covered with snow and barely recognizable. I wanted to stop and take some photos of the stunning scenery but was afraid to lose my place in line up to the summit. Last night's snowfall left two inches of powder sitting atop branches of trees normally green with leaves and moss. Once over the pass and ... read more

We were leaving California behind and heading into Oregon. As soon as we hit the Beaver State, we stopped off at Ecola State Park, with this one being a beach. It was pretty immense with all the massive rocks just off shore and the driftwood lying on the completely flat beach. The tide was out, so the sand reached out for a while, up to the rocks, a good 300 feet from the top of the beach. Whilst on the beach we discovered a crab with all its legs snapped off, and Jess ran and ran forever along the beach. I almost thought about joining her on her second run, but didn’t. After leaving the beach, we had another shop for dinner tonight, and lunch at another beach, eating the two chickens we bought at the ... read more

Yesterday we left Portland for Eugene. Had to get a couple of vent cover replacements for the coach. It was gloomy and chilly when we left Portland, but sunny by the time we arrived in Eugene. We got the parts and headed for the coast!! Arrived in Florence around 6pm. Tried to find the "beach", but only found the jetty...starving, so tried a little place in the historic district on the Syusila (sp??) River called the "Bay Street Grille"...YIKES!! Do NOT try this on your travels...the service was HORRIBLE!!! Food was good, but jeez...a smile or asking if we needed anything would have been nice...especially since we were sitting at the bar!! OK, enough of my rant...we stayed the night in the 3 Rivers Casino parking lot...we're getting pretty good (read: lucky) at scouting out free ... read more