Oregon Coast and Woodrat

11-15 August

Paula, C.J.'s best friend since kindergarten, invited us to stop by while she and her family were gathering in Yachats for a week. Accepting that invitation made it possible to also continue on to Woodrat to fly and visit with Barbara Summerhawk, home from Japan for summer break.

11 Aug, Tues. - We took the Trooper so we could carry all of our toys, well, at least the paragliders and inflatable kayak, as well as our camping gear. The route we decided on was down I-5 to Corvallis, then west to the coast where the temperature was considerably cooler. C.J. got to spend time with Paula and I went out for a walk on the rocky shore with Stephen, Courtney, Heather and her boy, Sylvan. After a great organic meal by Heather, we hung out for a while and C.J. got to show a couple of her scrapbooks to Paula. There were lots of beds in "Angels' Rest" (?) and we got to use a futon on the front porch, very comfortable after the hot weather we had been having in North Bend.

12 Aug, Wed - It was foggy and raining in the morning and we did not rush right out the door but when we did head down the road, the skies gradually cleared and we had a pleasant lunch on the jetty at Bandon. At Gold Beach we crossed the mouth of the Rogue and stopped for gas and a DQ Blizzard before heading inland. The route here took us off the beaten track and on to mostly paved Forest Service roads following the Rogue River up and over Bear Camp Summit. We came back out of the forest near Gallice where we had started our float on the Rogue last year. We got to Barbara's cabin and yurt too late to go flying but had a nice visit with her and her neighbors, Teri and Megan.

13 Aug, Thu.- Strangely for August in southern Oregon, it was pretty cold at night and we had piled on the quilt, down comforter and a fleece blanket. Weather looked sort of good for flying so we drove to the top of Woodrat with Barbara and a couple other locals. A group of Californians from the Bay Area were launching and flying but not getting high. C.J. and Barbara launched and flew but I decided it din't look that good so I drove down thus saving us a retrieve. We had lunch along the Applegate at Cantrell Buckley county park then drove out to the boat launch on Applegate reservoir. The inflatable kayak went together pretty quickly and we paddled it across the lake (with the usual difficulty in keeping it going on a straight course), along the far shore, then back to the boat launch. We met Barbara back at the yurt and took her for dinner at the River Ranch Restaurant in Applegate (get the red oak smoked mushrooms for an appetizer, but don't expect fast service). Afterward we drove back into Ruch to attend the Rogue Valley Hang and Para Assoc. meeting at the Fiasco Winery. There was a good turnout and business was efficiently conducted by Paul.

14 Aug Fri - Even though the forecast was for east winds we went back to Woodrat launch. People were taking off from the north launch but it was still pretty east. We stuck around quite a while but eventually gave it up and drove down. Barbara took us to lunch at Eve's Garden, a cafe in Applegate where Teri was working and waited on our table. After a delicious lunch Barbara suggested a hike so we drove to a trailhead on Slagle Creek and climbed steadily to a ridgetop on the Enchanted Forest trail. The slow pace on the return downhill probably accounted for the lack of pain in my knee. We cooked up an omettata to share with Barbara for dinner, then got partly packed up.

15 Aug, Sat.- Headed home via Medford where we stopped for gas at Costco (considerably cheaper than the local stations but quite a bit out of the way). Otherwise, we just slogged along I-5 all the way to the turnoff in south Tacoma. Arriving home we knew it wouldn't be long before we were gone again as we had to catch the flight to Florida late on the 19th.

16 Aug, Sun - Laundry and other clean-up

17 Aug, Mon - More work around the house and garden.

18 Aug, Tues - Took a break and flew Tiger Mtn.

19 Aug, Wed - I had an appointment to have a mechanic look at the trailer electric brake controller in the Outback at Apache Camping, the Everett dealer for Aliner.