MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Mom says we are going to take the rest of the year off and that apparently includes letting me write you on the blog.

So, please check back with us after the first as we continue our journey down the California coast.

We wish all of our friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Kinsey & Koty

Koty Bear Gets Pre-empted!

Hello Everyone!

Kinsey Barnard here. I've gotten Koty to allow me a little air time as there there was something I wanted to share with you that wouldn't be easy for Koty to talk about since the subjects is cats. Koty sees them as prey objects. I see them as love objects. :)

Back in Montana we have a kitty named Tigger, who came to us from out from out of the forest. I have been able to get Koty to accept Tigger as a member of our pack but she is the ONLY cat Koty would not hunt.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about something I saw whilst we were in Gold Beach. It was one of the neatest things I've ever seen. Would that more communities could and would do something similar.

We were out one morning, in the rain, trying to find something to photograph and while away the time. What we found was across the Rogue River at the north jetty. I noticed what looked like a miniature fishing village. At first thought it was someone trying to sell little village structures but there was no one around. I soon realized what it really was. It was a cat sanctuary! A place where the cats could get food and shelter and where people could come to see about adoptions.

I thought this was such a great project I just wanted to share the idea with you and show a couple of photos of the village/sanctuary.

100 thumbs up to the people of Gold Beach who support this project! May you be forever blessed for your kindness!

© Kinsey Barnard

Eureka!

Well, holy moly, we finally have made it to Eureka and Verizon Broadband! I can't begin to tell you how much this will improve my quality of life! My mom, not known for her patience, finally has access to decent internet speed. She gets sooo cranky she gets without it!

Anyway, to bring you up to date: Our last night in Gold Beach was a humdinger! The wind blew so hard I thought Clementine was going to take flight. Big gusts of wind would hit the side of the RV and would literally sound like someone smacking into it. The racket, unbelieveable.

There were wind warnings all the way down to Eureka but Tuesday mom said "We're going!"But, the day did not begin without it's drama. Mom turned on her hair dryer before turning off the space heater and blew all the circuits. Then she was out in the wind and rain trying to take care of Clementine and hooking up Shadow. That made her real happy too!

But, away we went at the high speed of about thirty five miles per hour. The wind was bouncing us all over the place but after taking about 4 hours to make a 3 hour drive we made it to Eureka and boy were we happy to be here.

It's still raining and the forecast is for more of the same. Darn!

PS: The photographs are the last we took of the Oregon Coast. That one of the rocks is called Turtle Rock. Isn't that a hoot? It really does look like a turtle.

© Kinsey Barnard

It's Raining It's Pouring ....

The old man is snoring! And, it's getting pretty boring!

Not only that but the internet connection here in Gold Beach is the worst yet! Can't hardly wait to get to a location with better speed. Crikey! This is worse than dial up!

Anyway, we have just been going up and down 101 between Gold Beach and Brookings. Not much happening. So, without further adieu here are some photos for you to enjoy. That is if I can get the blasted things to load!

Ok, that's it! I've tried 6 times to load one photo and the transmission has broken every time. I'll have to try again later.

Cape Sebastian to Boardman State Scenic Corridor

Today we went south on 101. Our first stop was at Cape Sebastian. There is a trail there that goes down to the beach and we tried it out. As we went along we encountered more and more fallen trees across the trail until, about 2/3 of the way down we had to thrown in the towel. There were just too many trees down. I reckon it's from that huge storm we had a week or so ago.

From Cape Sebastian we went along 101 stopping at various view spots. The next place of interest was Pistol River. There are some very pristine sand dunes here if you are interested. Mom has been looking for dunes like these since we arrived on the coast. The Oregon Dunes are just too traipsed all over. Unfortunately, we arrived just as the tide was coming in and we couldn't stay long or we would have been trapped until the tide turned. We will certainly plan on going back there.

We continued on south pulling in at every spot but the best of the bunch as far as we were concerned were Lone Ranch Beach and Harris Beach State Park. Both of these places are way cool as they have lots of those rock formations they call stacks. I had a great time sniffing around and mom had a great time looking for subjects.

By the time we got to these places the tide was on its way out and that made things really interesting for exploring.

On the way back there was a bit of a sunset. Mom was pooped so we didn't wait for it to blossom. Too bad too because by the time we got back to Clementine we could see it was a great one all in pastels. Another day .....

©Kinsey Barnard Photography

Otter Point/South Oregon Coast

It was a glorious day here on the South Oregon Coast!

Our first stop of the day was at the Gold Beach Visitor Center. A very nice person named Sue help us with information on places to go. There are lots.

We headed north on 101 just looking for whatever we could see. Our main stop was at Otter Point. There are some beautiful views here and you can walk right out on the sand cliffs.

Our next stop was a little further north and I don't really know what the name of it was. It's hard to see the place to pull in when your headed north but worth the trouble to try and find. There is just a little road and no signs but it's a way cool spot. You can walk all the way down to the beach among the cliffs. There is also this cavern/grotto place where you can see the surf come in. It makes a way cool sound when it does. Kind of like a big whamp!

We headed on up the coast. Mom took most of here photographs at no name places. We ended at Humbug Park. On the way back we kinda detoured near Nesika Beach and made an arc back to Gold Beach along the Rogue River.

© Kinsey Barnard Photograhpy

Florence to Gold Beach

We have bid fond farewell to Florence. It was a glorious day. The sun was out and the driving was easy ... or so it seemed to me.

We got into Gold Beach in time to take a walk and catch the sunset. The beaches here are beautiful and the sunset was too. There were lots of fishing boats going out for the evening and in one of these photos you can see a lonely trawler in the sunset.

Really looking forward to exploring a new location!

Ooops! I seem to have loaded the same photo twice and I'm not sure how to get rid of it so pardon me!

© Kinsey Barnard Photography

Turbulent Seas

Yesterday we went out wave watching. The Weather Channel had indicated that the weather would be nice but that certainly wasn't the case. It was cloudy, cold and raining. At the risk of repeating myself, and I know I am, I much prefer my Montana cold. Seriously, 25 degrees in Montana isn't as cold as 40 degrees on the Oregon Coast. Plus, I do not like getting wet!!!

Ok, enough griping. We drove up the coast and there were some pretty good waves. Mom took lotsa pictures but I heard her grousing about the weather too!

If we are "lucky" we will be leaving Florence tomorrow. Luck comes into play because we have a water faucet problem and it needs to be replaced. It was supposed to be here Friday but that didn't happen. If it comes in today we will remain on schedule. If not .....

© Kinsey Barnard Photoraphy

Oregon Dunes, Lake Creek Falls, Fish Ladders

Friday we headed south on 101 to The Oregon Dunes day use place. It's just past mile marker 200 about 15 miles south of Florence. There's a nice overlook there and if you like to walk in the dunes where a lot of other people haven't trekked through them, this is a good place. The only tracks we saw were animals tracks.

If you take the trail south south you will hit Tahkenitch Creek. It's a well marked trail if you keep an eye out for the posts. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rainy and not very good for photography but I had a good time running on the dunes!

Saturday we piled into Marilyn's car and headed for Triangle Lake. To get there we followed 36 out of Mapleton along Lake Creek. Just before you get to Triangle Lake there is this place called Lake Creek Falls where they have ladders for the salmon. I didn't know fish climbed ladders! Anywayz, I bet when the salmon are running this is a good place to go and watch. What I wouldn't give to be able to get out there and catch them. Yum! Salmon sushi. Fat chance though, moms been told raw salmon isn't good for me. :(

We made the loop back to Hwy 126 and that was that.

Mom's getting kinda cranky as she hasn't found much in the way of photo ops lately, what with the rain and all. It was sunny yesterday and it looks like it will be sunny again today so maybe she'll find something good today.

© Kinsey Barnard Photography

Oscar Meyer Wienermobile & Christmas

Well, things haven't improved much weather wise and boredom reigns supreme, as can be surmised by the photos!

Since we are experiencing RV fever mom has started talking about going bigger. So, Wednesday mom, Marilyn and I took a trip to over to Junction City where there is a dealer that sells Forest River, Lexingtons. Mom has narrowed down the field to two. The Forest River Lexington and the Dynamax Isata.

The dealer we visited, Guaranty RV, just had the Lexington. A very nice salesman, Lance, showed us some different models. Pretty darned nice those. Mom was partial to the 28 footer. The only short coming she could find was not much outside storage. I wish she would buy a bigger rig cause I don't have any space in Clementine to call my own. I hang out under the dinette but that's where mom does all her work and I get kicked around all the time. The Lexington has it's own bedroom and I could hang out in there. The big consideration is the engine and mileage. Clementine has a Mercedes diesel and gets 19 mph. The Lexington has a gas engine and gets 10! I'm crossing my paws......

On the way back to Florence we saw the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile. This meant little to nothing to me but mom and Marilyn seemed to think it was a big deal. I gathered it was a childhood thing. Or, you know, "You had to be there!".

A little farther down the road we stopped at this old abandoned house that looked like it could be haunted. Mom had to get out and explore around. It was all grown up with berry bushes. Thank goodness she left me in the car. Being thankful is not my usual reaction to being left in the car but I really was this time. A little ways down the road mom went to scratch something on her leg and let out a yelp. She had pulled off a big old tick! You know how hard it would be to find a tick in my coat? We don't have a problem with ticks and fleas where we live in Montana. Thank goodness mom had presence of mind to get me started on some K9 Advantix. "There may be bugs on some of you mugs but there ain't no bugs on me!!!!!":)

Yesterday we thought the weather was going to break so we headed back to Shore Acres and Sunset Beach, hoping to see some good waves. Well, by the time we got there the rain was back and that was that for the waves.

Driving along 101 we saw lotsa Christmas cheer. Oregonians seem to really fancy these blow up decorations. They are everywhere.

This morning it's raining again. Mom neglected to tell me that November and December are the wettest months in Oregon. Oh, well!

I Love My Mom But .......

This is getting to be too much! I am getting RV fever! It hasn't stopped raining for a second. The rain beating down on Clementine's roof makes it sound like living in a popcorn popper! And, it never stops popping!

Where is my snow?! I miss my snow!!! It's so beautiful and SILENT!

We tried to get some walking in yesterday. We went down to Old Town and walked along the harbor there. I wind gust came up and blew me right off the sidewalk!

The only walking I'm getting now is to take care of business. This is not my idea of fun!

Well, I could complain all day about being trapped in this RV with my mom but that won't help anything so I'll be checking back in here as soon as the weather breaks and that may not b e for another couple of days.

Snow, Lions, Tigers & Pelicans

Well, wow, it was snowing this morning in Florence. Can you imagine that? And, right now it is raining like crazy and Clementine is back to rocking and rolling! We are warm and cozy though as mom finally wised up and got us a little space heater.

Today we took a really long walk down the beach at North Jetty. We went until we came to a creek we couldn't ford without getting real wet. On the way back it started to rain and we got drenched again!

Yesterday we went down to a place called Bandon where there is a petting zoo. Naturally, I wasn't allowed in. I could tell, by my nose, though there were a lot of guys I woulda liked to have mixed it up with in there.

Mom said it was kinda sad to see those beautiful animals in such small enclosures. She said you could see it in their eyes how sad they were. I suppose it beats getting shot by poachers but boy am I glad I can be free.

After the petting zoo we went over to Shore Acres and Sunset Beach. Boy that's a really pretty place. Mom wants to go back there after this storm goes through cuz she thinks the waves there will be fantastic! Also, down there was another lighthouse called Cape Arago Lighthouse.

Until next time ....
LAKOTA SUNRISE

©Kinsey Barnard

Florence Beaches & Rainbows

Yesterday we took a really long walk from the north jetty toward Heceta Head. It was really great except that we got absolutely drenched. The rain really came down. I didn't mind so much because that beach had so much good stuff on it to smell. It was my kind of nose candy! There were also lots of other humans walking on the beach in the rain and they all had dogs! I had a great time meeting them all. This Oregon place is pretty darned dog friendly it seems to me.

After the rain storm passed there was a perfect rainbow. Too bad mom didn't have her wide angle lens so she could have gotten the whole thing. It was something!

Also, while we were out there we were buzzed by a coast guard helicopter. That was kinda cool!

It's been cold pretty. Well, not by Montana standards but this marine air is pretty cold even though the temperature isn't that low. We have had frost in the morning.

©Kinsey Barnard

Florence, Loon Lake, Perpetua, Heceta, Yachats .....

Ok, my bad! I haven't been keeping up with






blogging! But, that's what happens when you're having too much fun.

We've done a lot of hiking and you know that makes me very happy. I can never get enough of that!

Sunday afternoon we wandered around the Port of Siuslaw which is in Florence. We also window shopped in "Old Town" which was fun cuz everyone had to make a fuss over me! Dang, if I'm not the handsomest fellow! :)

Since I last checked in we have been to Loon Lake, not very pretty in winter. The Dean Creek elk wildlife viewing place on the road over to Roseburg. I gotta say, the elk over here look like midgets compared to the ones we have in Montana. The funniest thing I saw was a seagull sitting on the sign that said "Watchable Wildlife". :)

Yesterday was the best. We were gone all day. We started out driving up the coast. Made a quick stop at Heceta Head but I wasn't even allowed out of the car so I guess there wasn't anything happening there. We continued on up to Cape Perpetua. Spent practically the whole time there. There are trails everywhere and we tried most of them. There are some really cool ones that go high up the mountain on the east side of 101 and have way good views of the ocean below.

Mom also spent a lot of time trying to photograph waves. Sounds like a stupid thing to do to me but, oh well. She musta taken a gazillion photos trying to get the "perfect" wave. How nutty is that? It must be hard though cuz she kept cussin and snapping! I thought she was going to wear that camera out! Me I was having fun watching those great big waves crash on the rocks and gettin in that foamy stuff they leave on the shore. There was also a blow hole that was really spouting. First time it went off I nearly jumped out of my skin!

From Perpetua we continued on up the coast to Yachats. It's a quaint little coastal town. We wondered around there for awhile and then headed back down the coast. We stopped in again at Heceta Head. Seems like we go in there every time we pass by. I have no idea why. Must be something mom is trying to capture.

Anyway, by the time we got back to Clementine it was nearly dark so we called it a day!

© Kinsey Barnard

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Sea Lions, Beaches & Sunsets

First thing yesterday we took off for Heceta Head. It was a very beautiful morning. We stopped at the big viewing area on 101 for a distant view of Heceta Head Lighthouse. In the rocks below were a bazillion sea lions lazing on the rocks! Oh, boy I wanted to get down there!

We went on over to the lighthouse and walked up to it. Right there at the lighthouse is a trail that takes off up the mountain heading north. It's a really nice trail with some awesome views of the Pacific. We hiked about an hour before heading back down. By this time it was lunch so we headed for Clementine.

After lunch and a siesta we headed back to Heceta Head to see if the beautiful waves that were there the day before were back this afternoon but it was not to be.

We ended up the day at the jetties. And, it was an awesome sunset that we had! There were tons of people there watching it. This must be a very popular spot with the locals because it kinda looked like a sports event with all the people.
©Kinsey Barnard

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Well, we certainly hope you all had as nice a Thanksgiving as we did. We started the day with a visit to the Darlingtonia Botanical Gardens. So small is this garden we went right past it and ended up going the whole length of Sutton Lake. Oregon has this way of placing signs that completely befuddles my mom. Instead of having the signs in front of the turn, like everyone else on the planet, they have there's at the far side of the entrance . The result is mom is forever going past. Hopefully she'll get the hang of it one of these days!

We did finally find it. It's like two feet after you turn off 101. And, it's very, very tiny. The only stata park dedicated to one plant, the Darlingtonia Californica. This plant looks like something from the Day of the Trifids.

After Darlingtonia we stopped in at the Sutton River trail and walked along the river a couple of miles. We ran out of time and had to scamper back to Clementine to get ready for TG dinner.

Dinner was great! I was the center of attention, as usual. And, got spoiled rotten which is only right! Everyone was sneaking turkey to me under the table when mom wasn't looking. She has very strict rules about begging. Nanner! Nanner!

After dinner we all piled into the car and drove up to Heceta Beach. It was gorgeous up there and the perfect ending to the day. We are going back for some serious looking today.