TSUNAMI ADVISORY: YIKES!

On March 28, 1964, the northern California coastal town of Crescent City was devastated when a tsunami swept in from the Pacific Ocean.  The business district was leveled, and 11 people were killed.  Just a few years ago, on November 15, 2006, an 8.1 magnitude quake in Japan caused 3- to 5-foot surges that did significant damage to Crescent City’s harbor and marina.

You don’t forget this history when you visit Crescent City – placards marking the height of the flooding water have been placed in the downtown area, and signs around town describe the sight of the tsunami surge sweeping into the harbor and the resulting damage.

With that in mind, the tsunami hazard signs posted along Hwy 101 in northern California, Oregon and Washington are thought provoking – especially when parked here at Salmon Harbor in Winchester Bay.  Several hundred RV’s, mostly large, are parked here whenever we visit, with only a narrow, 2-lane road (including a small bridge) leading OUT of the tsunami area. 

Last night, channel surfing through the multitude of local cable TV channels, my heart started pounding when I clicked over to the local weather channel, heard an ominous, beeping alert tone, and and saw a bright read “Tsunami Advisory” scroll across the bottom of the screen.  Tsunami?? Yikes, you can’t be serious!

Earlier in the day, the Samoas had been hit by tsunamis generated by a magnitude 8 undersea earthquake.  The advisory was for the Pacific coastline from San Diego to the Oregon/Washington border, and listed specific times that communities along the coast might experience tsunami surges from the same quake. I jumped up from the bed, tore out to the front room and switched Odel’s TV viewing from satellite TV to the local cable weather channel.  We read the advisory together, realized the time the surge was expected was NOW, and looked at each other with big, big eyes.

Fortunately, the advisory included the web address of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.  We fired up the laptop and internet, and went straight to their website, where we spent 15 minutes educating ourselves about the meaning of an Advisory, and what was likely to happen here: nothing significant.  Whew!  We put our shoes and socks near the door, decided what we would do if the tsunami warning siren sounded, and stayed awake until the alert expired (11 pm).  It was a new experience for us.  :)

Detail oriented readers might be wondering how we happened to have cable TV, since we were dry camping with no hookups at all last time I wrote…

After three days of using our batteries and generator for electric power, we began experiencing problems with our 12v. power system.  Big bummer!  We had lots of help from our friends trying to diagnose the problem and have eliminated a lot of possibilities, but our next step in diagnosis and repair needs to take place at a repair facility in Eugene.  Fortunately for us, our “normal” electrical system, 110v., is working fine.  The solution: move to a site with hookups.   Oh, boo-hoo.  :)

On Monday, we snagged a big, roomy site in Windy Cove Campground (click here to read our review), the nearby county campground (the equivalent of a two block walk from our old site) with wonderful views over to the marina and our group of camping friends.  Full hookups: unlimited water (and the ability to make it hot); sewer; electricity day and night; and cable TV – all of these things gratefully appreciated when the rain moved in Monday night and the temperature plummeted.  We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning to be in Eugene in time for our repair appointment. Good-bye, Oregon coast!

Crabbing in Winchester Bay, Oregon

Each September, if we are anywhere near the Oregon coast, we trek on over to Winchester Bay to join the Roving Rods (many of whom are Boomers, too), a club of RV’ing fisherfolk, for their annual Crab Fest.  Our first visit was in 2003 – our first year on the road.  On our second visit, we joined the Roving Rods – even though we don’t fish or crab – so we could visit during the Crab Fest without feeling like parasites.

This is our 4th Crab Fest.  We arrived on Thursday, in brilliant sunshine and high winds, and that weather pattern has persisted.  We awake to still, silent fog.  The sun rises and burns away the fog by 9 am, and we hurry out to get our walk in before the wind kicks up by noon.  As I write this at 1:30, our slide topper awnings are flapping and squealing, and the pennants and flags I can see out the windows are snapping.

Winchester Bay is a great destination for RV’ers, whether you are interested in fishing and crabbing or not.  Four levels of RV accommodations meet the needs of all levels of the RV lifestyle (though prices have gone up this year).

On the “thrifty” end (where the Roving Rods meet), you find side-by-side parking slots on asphalt with no hookups.  Clean showers and restrooms, a pay phone, a newspaper stand, a dump station and a crabbing dock are included in the rate of $11 per night.

This year, we took the next step in upward mobility, snagging a huge space on the end of a row on Pier C (click here to read our campground review and see more photos).  Three piers stick out into the bay, with RV parking facing the water.  For an extra $3/night, you get a slightly larger space, a picnic table, a grill, and a bit of grass.  Because of the way the spaces are angled, you also have a better view – and the views here are fabulous! 

The next step up is an area of county park-like RV sites with full hookups, with rates around $20/night.  Nothin’ special about ‘em, but you do have a bit more space and hookups.

Feel like the high life?  Move on up to a site at the Winchester Bay RV Resort, one of the most beautiful RV parks we’ve seen, on a little peninsula sticking out into the bay.  Lots of manicured grass, extra large sites situated to take advantage of the views, full hookups, patios… the royal treatment, for $36/night. 

Maybe we’ll do that one day, but for now, we incorporate it into our daily walk – yes, that’s right, even those of us cheapskates from the “wrong side of the bay” can walk the sidewalk that runs along the edge of resort’s peninsula, steps from the rigs arrayed to take in the views.   Sweet.  :)

After we snoop our way along the resort walkway, we head out to the long crabbing pier to check out the action (alas, not much this year).  This is what it is all about for the Roving Rods.  They come equipped with crab pots, traps and rings; with freezers stuffed full of chicken necks, backs and wings (for bait); and with all the necessities for measuring, handling, and securing the crabs – plus a $17 license.

You can handle the traps in two ways: toss them in from a crabbing dock (easy, but limiting), or take them out in a boat to your own special, super-secret crab hole.  Usually, dropping your traps from a boat – with more choice of placement – yields superior results, but beware: a crabber went out of the bay into the ocean a few days ago and set his traps.  Since then, a small-craft advisory and the conditions beyond the mouth of the bay have kept him from getting back out to his traps – no doubt crowded with crabs!  :)

So far this year, the Roving Rods aren’t having much luck; plenty of crabs are trapped, but most are too small to keep.  Dan had a keeper yesterday, and we saw him pull in another one this morning (photo above).  Looks like Dan and Jenny are among the few dining on crab this year.

One last story from Winchester Bay: in 2003, when we began full timing, we met a couple at the SKP park in Pecos, Texas, who were full timing in a small Casita trailer. WOW!  They planned to sell the Casita in a few months and head to New Zealand for extended travel, then return to the US and purchase a different (larger) rig.  We’ve thought about them several times a year, usually whenever we see a Casita, and wondered if they were still full time RV’ers, and in what rig. 

Sitting around at happy hour yesterday, the woman next to Odel began asking him questions, finally his name.  When he said “Odel”, she said “I owe you a quarter!”.  It was Linda, with her husband Mike, the full timers from the Pecos park.  Odel had loaned them a quarter at the ice cream social to buy ice cream – and they paid it back with 6 cents interest.  Ha, ha!  They now have a Lazy Daze, and split their time between the US and New Zealand – as Mike said, “We’ve had 11 summers in the last five and a half years.”  It was great to see them again, and so totally unexpected.  Mike and Linda, we wish you the best!

Exploring the Area Around Florence, OR

Florence is an excellent base for sightseeing, located at the mouth of the Suislaw River along a dazzling stretch of Highway 101, with forests, bluffs, headlands and sweeping vistas in both directions.  Though there may be sand dunes elsewhere along the Oregon coast, those in the vicinity of Florence (stretching from Florence south to Winchester Bay) must be the most well-known, most visited, and most impressive. 

This year, we explored the dunes on foot, at Sutton Creek Recreation Area, just across Hwy 101 from our RV park.  A campground, a day use area, a large lake, and several looping trails through heavy forest and open dunes comprise the area, a quiet (in mid-September, anyway) place to explore and relax.

Two years ago, we explored the dunes south of Florence in a totally different way, speeding over and around them in an eight person “sand rail”.  It was an unforgettable ride, and one I thoroughly enjoyed – though I’m pretty certain not all riders felt that way!  Click here to read all about it if you are interested – the blog post has some fun pictures.  :)

Another day, we took a trip north on Highway 101 to explore the small coastal town of Yachats.  No, not Ya-chats… YAW-hots, emphasis on YAW.  Jeez, these Oregon names are difficult!

I think it was my friend Becky who first mentioned Yachats to me… and it seemed to come up often when folks mentioned lovely and interesting Oregon coastal towns.  Since it is only 25 miles north of Florence, we wandered on up there one day.

Lovely indeed.  Even better, we arrived on market day, with a small, but bustling, farmer’s market arranged along the highway in front of City Hall.  Fresh produce and baked goods, a potter, a jeweler, tie-dyed clothing, cheese… and an eye-popping selection of locally harvested mushrooms!  I usually find it very difficult to leave a farmer’s market without both hands full, but I limited myself to a couple jars of hot pepper jam and one new soup bowl – maybe because I still have fresh produce left over from our haul in Coos Bay!

Yachats is small enough that strolling through town takes only a short while.  We took in the sights (including the goats in the back of the pick-up truck), then visited a couple shops for picnic provisions.  Laden with smoked salmon, a sourdough baguette, grapes, rosemary flavored cheese and red wine, we traveled a couple miles down the road to a sunny picnic table overlooking the surf… what more can I tell ya’?