Trip in Review

Our maiden voyage in our Roadtrek Zion produced mixed results.  We enjoyed the cool weather of the coast and the van proved to be a handy vehicle to drive, park and live in for three days and nights.  The electrical system continued to impress us, we were able run the micro-wave, vent fan, lights, furnace, and charge my laptop and our phones, and by the last morning we even discovered we could also run our electric heater, all without being hooked up to electricity.

But we did have a few hiccups. The on-demand water heater did not produce any hot water.  Absence of manuals for not only the water heater, but the TV and DVD player lead to frustration. And then our dog Buster has developed an increasing anxiety while riding in a vehicle.

The bright spot for us was stopping at Waxmyrtle Campground on the Silcoos River to camp with our friend Glenn.  It's always a relaxing experience to spend time on the trails, and enjoy the great variety of wildlife in this bit of paradise in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

 Glenn & Jeanette on the Lagoon Loop Trail

A male Wood Duck objects to our presence 

Saffron-winged Meadowhawk Dragonfly

First Adventure

This is our first night's parking spot at Boiler Bay State Wayside in our new-to-us Roadtrek Zion.  We left yesterday morning to escape the heat of the Willamette Valley for a few days to enjoy some cool temps along the Central Oregon Coast.  A combination of fog and smoke hide our ocean view here, but the cooler temperature makes up for it.

We picked up the Zion from Johnson RV in Sandy on Thursday, trading in our 2014 Leisure Travel Van for this 2017 Roadtrek Zion. There are a myriad of reasons we traded, but one big one that we are really enjoying is complete independence with electricity.  This starts with powerful long lasting 400 amp lithium batteries. The batteries are kept charged by 300 watts of solar panels, or a second engine driven alternator, A 2000 watt inverter changes the direct current of the batteries to alternating current which powers all our electrical needs including micro-wave and air-conditioning. In simple terms we do not have to hook up to what is called shore power to charge our batteries or run our appliances. In other words we do not need a campsite with hook-ups.

We will be meandering along the coast line, birding as we go, parking where we want, enjoying the temperatures and the views, with no dependency on campgrounds or hook-ups.

Oh What A Relief It Is!!!

We finally picked up our RV today, it's been in the body shop in Klamath Falls since our encounter with a deer on Highway 97 on June 28th.  We had no idea how dependent we were on the RV, and addicted we were to the freedom of the RV life style.  We are relieved beyond measure to have it back.

After receiving a call yesterday afternoon at home in Salem to let us know that our RV was finished, we rented a car and drove down to Klamath Falls this morning.  Our eyes we pealed to the side of the road as we drove down Highway 97.  No deer were seen, but there was evidence of at least 3 other impacts that had taken place recently.

We are set up this afternoon in the campground at Collier Memorial State Park,  where we are in site B-29, the only empty site when we got here shortly after lunch time.  With every mile we drive, and every system we use in getting camp set up our confidence continues to build, and the worry and concern fall away layer by layer.

Tomorrow we make a fresh start up the death corridor of Highway 97, and over the Willamette Pass to home.  Stay tuned for our next surprise.

Summer Beauties

Despite this being the dog days of summer and that forest trails are devoid of beautiful blossoming flowers,  there is still color to be found in fruiting berries.  This beautiful red berry is on a Hooker's Fairy Bell plant, one that I noticed this morning during a dog/bird walk at Darrow Bar, a Willamette Green Way Access Point, just a couple of miles north of where we live in Salemtowne. Hooker's Fairy Bell has another close look alike called Smith's Fair Lantern.  They are easy to tell apart when the flowers are in bloom, as the flowers on the Smith have long straight pedals, as opposed to the Hooker's have curved "hooker's hips." With the flowers long gone I was stumped as to which plant I had here and had to do more research. As is turns out, Hooker's has small hairs on the top and edges of the leaf and stem, only noticeable if you get an up close look. The berries of this Hooker's Fairy Bell are considered possibly poisonous, so it's best to just enjoy their beauty.

Discoveries New and Old

We choose to go to the coast on Monday after what I was sure was the mad house of Sunday.  It was a good decision and in part because we were in the car, not the motorhome, we discovered some new birding locations.

 Connie Hansen Garden Conservancy

I found this new location on eBirds Hot Spots, and it is a real gem, small but compact, and loaded with birds.  Amazingly this is tucked away in busy crowded Lincoln City. This is a must return. Here is our observation list complete with photos. 

 Rocky Creek State Park

Rocky Creek State Park in located on the south-side of Whale Cove.  Just installed this month is a new observation deck looking over Whale Cove.  It was a slow day for ocean birds in the cove, but we will be back.  A scope would be handy here. Be forewarned that this trail lacks signage and takes persistence to find the observation deck at this time.  I'm sure Oregon State Parks will improve the trail and post signs to direct people in the near future.

Depoe Bay City Park

Depoe Bay City Park is not actually new to us, we have been enjoying it for several years.  It too is hidden away and overlooked for the most part.  A wonderful trail follows up along the creek from Depoe Bay into thick coastal forest. The thing we discovered here is that when the afternoon winds pick up on the ocean, this is a great little protected escape. Here is the eBird Hot Spot.

Summer is for the Birds

Finding ourselves with out a motor-home since the 28th of June, and for probably the rest of July, is for the birds.  As Dr. Seuss would say; "We do not like it, not one little bit". We didn't fully appreciate how much we were dependent on using the motor-home to escape from the boredom of home and summer's high temperatures. Continuing oppressive heat, and lack of an RV to escape to the coast for days at a time, is forcing us to change our schedule around. We get out and get our birding done in the cool of the morning before retreating to the air-conditioning of the house. In this sense, we are trying to save our summer by focusing on the birds. This worked out pretty good yesterday, we were down to Wallace Marine Park a few minutes after 7:00am and were rewarded to a good couple of hours of birding.  As we walked across the railroad foot bridge I spotted a Peregrine Falcon atop the bridge, the first of two for the day. The second Peregrine was spotted under the Center Street Bridge.

  

Peregrine Falcon under Center Street Bridge

We continued to see and photograph a good number of birds as we walked through the Salem Riverfront Park.  Our turn around point was the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge.  As we neared the top of the bridge, Jeanette though she recognized a Killdeer calling.  It did not sound exactly right, and then she spotted three Spotted Sandpipers, and adult and two juveniles. 

adult male Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper are members of the plover family, and like the Snowy Plover that we have a good amount of experience with from our volunteer work on the Oregon Coast, it is the male that gets stuck with caring for the juveniles.  In this case we got to watch him as he try to control and direct two juveniles.

juvenile Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpipers. like the rest of the Plover family, which for example includes Killdeer, make their nest right on the ground.  The day the chicks are hatched they are very functional and almost immediately walk out of the nest. Dad then begins the important task of oversight, protection, food, and keeping them hidden. This could be this chick's first day.

In and Around Klamath Falls

Wood River Wetlands Trail

We spent five days and nights living in Klamath Falls after our disastrous deer strike on Thursday July 28th.  We spent our nights in our motor home where it was towed, Excel Auto Body, and our days visiting local parks and birding.   

After picking up our rental car on Friday we went birding at two local e-Bird Hot Spots, Lake Ewauna Nature Trail and Moore Park. You can see the lists and photos by clicking on the high-lighted words.

Clark's Grebe - Ewanuna Nature Trail

Saturday we drove out to Agency Lake and spent some time birding the Wood River Wetlands, visiting and checking out Train Mountain, and cooling off on the banks of Spring Creek at Collier Memorial State Park.

Yellow Warbler - Wood River Wetlands

Sunday we made a return trip to Collier Memorial State Park and hiked the River Loop Trail in the morning and again spent the afternoon on the banks of Spring Creek. Our plan each day was to spend as much time as possible away from the motor home which got very warm in the parking lot on the exposed south side of the body shop.

Great Egret - Spring Creek

Monday we made a trip to Dunsmuir, California and to the Railroad Park Resort to deliver cake and gifts to grandson Bobby for his birthday. We had a nice brunch there and a good hike at the near by Hedge Creek Falls Trail.  Then we returned to Klamath Falls for the night.

Tuesday we packed up our rental car, a Kia Soul, said a sad good-by to Serenity our motor-home, and drove home to Salem where we will wait out the time it takes for repairs to be complete.