Report from the southern Oregon Dunes

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Long drive to the dunes as usual, Seattle is repairing I-5 north bound so traffic is a mess there and not much better heading south.

The weather was in the upper mid-70s yesterday and about the same today. Hazy blue sky but still more than warm enough to work. Got the immediate job done but both of us are pooped now so it is just wait to have the well drillers come back and hook things up. The old well was hand dug many years ago and the liner is starting to fail allowing the sand to fil in and raise the bottom up to where the pump is now picking up sand and causing the filter to plug.

This weather pattern is to hold until this weekend then they are expecting rain. Haven't heard any rigs out on the dunes yet but we should expect to here them Thursday afternoon.

Lee

[dustymojave]

Been in the high 80s here, but in the mid 90s up in Ridgecrest a little north of us and the same elevation. Went from winter to summer in a week.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Weird, a heavy fog drifted in last night, still here this AM. The weather forecast for here has changed some: sun through Sat then off and on rain through next Wednesday. Check before you come as we are in a late change to spring time of the year I guess.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The on-shore flow did not lift yesterday even after the ground fog finally went away. We had to go into town (~7 miles) to get some stuff and it was socked-in there also. We saw a touch blue sky in one area but when we came out the store even that had closed up.

I thought I head rain during the night but when I looked out this am the area was dry... until I got to where I could see better and half the yard was wet from rain and the other half was dry. I've only seen that happen a few times in my life.

Currently it is socked-in with a light misty rain and there is literally no wind so check before you decide to come for the weekend (or how ever long you plan on staying (probably inside ). Correction as I write: the overcast suddenly lightened up (like a high cloud moving overhead) and now it looks like a ground fog might be coming in.

Early (late this year) spring is so much fun!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

It must be Thursday as the dunes got noisy. Over cast (onshore flow) and cooler, in the low 50s. Cloudy again tomorrow then sun and rain Saturday then rain through Tuesday.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Left home at 4:50am and got here at noon. Misty rain most of the way down I-5 starting just south of Olympia and ending south of Portland. Got here in a sunny warm sky which is now clouding over.

On the way down we stopped south of Albany to get gas and got talking to a guy in a motorhome towing a enclosed trailer that had a SXS in it. He and a bunch of people were heading down to the southern dune area from Canada. As near as we can tell the group is looking to be close to a dozen or maybe more rigs carrying toys; they were spread out in several 3+ rig different groups that we kept running into all the way down. By-the-way, I spent $40 and he spent $400 and that probably got him to the next gas station . He seemed to be a nice guy and comes down this way a couple times a year!

We also saw several different small groups or single rigs with toys heading down. So far as we could tell many of the camping areas are pretty bare but check before you come down.

I forgot to mention the last time down here that the small towns and HWY 101 had a lot of "troopers" on the roads or sitting along the side of the road. Keep the speeds close to the speed limit and be aware!

The bridges being rebuilt between I-5 and down HWY 101 are still being worked on and the traffic lights are working. The wife also noticed that one of the lights has a button you can push (probably for night time traveling) that will cause the stop lights to change from red to green. One of the bridges has one side completed and now they are working on the other side. One of the bridges is having the concrete being poured on the first half.

There were some areas that were the road itself is being torn up and controlled by flaggers. The are installing larger drain pipe that goes under the road. Some if not all of this is for the fish migration runs. This is new and I even noticed that there were a couple of other sections of road where the asphalt has been cut but not torn up so be alert and prepared. The waits are not long but just as you get up to speed then you have to stop and wait.

Saw one partial heard of Elk sitting and chewing their cut in the protected area by Reedsport. A lot of wood carving in the down town area of old town Reedsport being done.

Lee

[chuckput]

My wife and I are headed to The Dalles to visit friends there and to do some site seeing in July. We will be flying in and out of Portland. Any suggestions as to what we should visit along the coast? Coming out of the low desert I am excited to see some green!!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The whole Oregon coast is beautiful and green.

The Dalles are east of Portland. One thing you could do is to take a drive up either the Oregon or Washington side of the Columbia River. If you are into wine you could end up in some good areas here. You could also take a trip up into the mountains to cool off and see some more green.

From the Portland airport there is easy access to I-5 which goes from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. There is a small coastal mountain range you can drive across that joins Interstate 5 to Highway 101 and is very green. Highway 101 is a fairly old highway that runs along the coast through Oregon, Washington and California and it is a long curvy road.

Tillamook Oregon is to the west of Portland and is on 101; it has a very big dairy but has a nummy Cheese factory and ICE CREAM with Sand Lake being close by. Sand Lake is not a sight seeing place but more of a "using" place so I don't recommend it.

The "Board Walk" is in Seaside and is a bit unusual and has a lot of visitors. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bo ... 7E5F80403B

Just south of Florence there are places were you can rent sand toys ($$$ maybe) or ride out on the sand in converted vehicles' (did that but it isn't quite the same as doing the driving yourself). It is pretty much the same way on the southern OR down by Coos Bay and Reedsport as there are also dune rental places.

Depoe Bay is a great visual spot especially if the Coast Guard is running training sessions there. The boats go out in the big waves and, with the guys strapped in place, do some nasty stuff. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=de ... &FORM=VDRE

Cannon Beach has Haystack Rock which is a neat site.

Here are some pix of the coast. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vi ... &FORM=IGRE

I think I would look at the Oregon tourism web side and see what they say so you can make some good tours on your own and not waste time running around wasting time and fuel. It is easy to do but I would suspect your friends are going to know everything including the best places to go.

Lee

[chuckput]

Thanks Lee for your input. We booked a place in Astoria on the recommendation of our friends and we plan to use that as our base of operations while on the north coast. I had already thought about the Tillamook factory tour. We are looking forward to the trip. July in the Imperial Valley can be no bueno.

[dustymojave]

What...You don't like daytime temps in the 120s???

About 20 years ago, I had a crew working in Palm Springs (Same big desert valley bu north of the Salton Sea) laying new water mains. The contract specified it had to be finished by a certain date. That was in the summer. Then they added that the work could not start before 8AM, and it had to be all picked up and the trenches backfilled and paved over or covered with trench plates by 5PM. Then a heat wave started. I tried to get the City to let them work at night with lights. It was in a commercial zone, not near homes. The City refused. So my crew was on the front page of the newspaper working in the sun with no shade, with a reporter holding a thermometer showing 127°. There were some ambulance calls to the job site. The Inspector objected to a couple of sprinklers set up over the trench hooked to the water truck and the "waste" of water. The foreman handed him a shovel and told him to PROVE the water was being wasted.

Summer in the California Low Desert is no joke.

[chuckput]

Richard, I am so glad that I do not have a job that requires me to work outdoors during our summer months (and being a school teacher I have the summer off so I can travel and get away). Don't get me wrong, I love living here and there is something badass about surviving the heat. I have been truly blessed because I chose to live here. I love the culture,the beauty of the desert, and the people who also call this home. And don't get me started with the food! Absolutely the best!!! Our winters are great too.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Overcast with some sun breaks. A lot of noise out on the dunes so someone is having a good time.

Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be not rainy.

[cbeck]

Chuckput, as the child of a deceased educator and father of 3, I want to thank you for your service.

The summer vacations. Load up the 197? ford woody wagon [think family truckster] and 1970 starcraft popup and taking off for a month at a time. Been to more places than I can remember. From a rv park in san fran near fishermans wharf, the kid with a broken ankle who slipped and broke both wrists at calamity janes hide out, to the er in myrtle beach with a eye infection.

I traded in the 70 starcraft about 6 years ago for a nice highwall popup. It was time to upgrade deer camp.

[chuckput]

cbeck, thank you!
At first I resisted, but I finally gave in and joined the family "business." Both parents were teachers, my sister recently retired from teaching, I married a teacher, and our daughter has followed suit. I can echo your summer travel experiences. Our truckster was a 1966 Mercury Colony Park Wagon. Instead of the pop up trailer we pulled an 18-foot Glaspar boat that served as our cargo hauler as we toured all western states and Canadian provinces (occaisionally the boat even got into the water). My cousins travelled with us and the stories we tell at family reunions keep us rolling on the floor laughing.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

A cool breeze has come up and it sounds like everyone has gone home.