Vacation - Oregon Bound

As we got our propane regulator fixed for the tin can in Eureka, we hit the road and headed further north.  The loose plan was to try to find campsites along the way on the coast.  We got to Patrick's Point and found some nice camp-sites with enough privacy so we could set up camp for the evening.

We backed into the spot, prepped the airstream for the night and promptly took the dogs out for a walk.  We darted around trails but could not gain access to the water so we headed back and settled in for the evening.

The next morning, we woke up and decided to hit the road relatively early so we could make our way along the Redwood Coast into Oregon.  As soon as we hit the Oregon border, we stopped at the welcome center and stretched our legs with the dogs on the beach.  We picked up some fliers at the visitor center and had a loose plan to try to get to Bandon.  The dilemma was that it was Friday and things were hopping along the coast.  Finding an open place to camp was going to be the challenge.

We enjoyed the scenic drive along the southern Oregon coastline and thought there was lots of places to pull over and explore further and some other point in time.  We headed up to Bandon and wanted to get to Sunset Bay to set up camp.  We were lucky enough to find a site but it was far from private.  Everyone was out getting theirs on one of the last weekends forecasted for good weather along the coast.
In comparison to the California campgrounds, Oregon campground were cleaner, cheaper and generally nicer.  I was a little surprised to see such a vast difference in campgrounds but we were more than happy to be back in Oregon.
We unloaded and took the dogs on a nice walk along the beach and then followed a trail that headed up on the bluffs around the bay where we found another little inlet.  We made our way down there and relaxed for a while until we headed back.

It was good not to be driving!

We got back to camp and relaxed for a little while until it was dinner time.  The plan was to hit up Bandon for dinner to fill our bellies with good seafood.
Dinner did not disappoint...we watched the sunset as we ate our dinner and talked about what to do the following day.  All too soon, dinner was over and we were heading back to camp with full bellies and a loose plan for the following day.

ahhh - good to be back in the home-state!

Leaving the Redwoods:

Fixing the tin can:

Patrick's Ppoint

Back in Oregon!!!

Release the hounds!

Sunset Bay

Sunset in Bandon:

Vacation King's Ridge - MTB

After two days of getting lost in the Mendo area, we decided to cut out losses and head north through the Lost Coast.  Destination: King Ridge mountains -specifically, Paradise Royale trail.  We hit the road and had no idea how exciting of a drive was in store for us.  The plan was to catch 101 until we hit the cutoff road over to Shelter Cove.

Soon enough the truck and trailer were heading west and the road started to go up, up, and UP.  Not only did the road get steep but there were plenty of hairpin turns that made pulling the trailer rather stressful.  Fortunately the truck and trailer were up to the task and we made it to our turn-off where a dirt road would take us to our camp-site which is where the trailhead started.  Unlike Mendo, this looked to be rather straightforward as a loop with relatively easy to understand instructions!  Novel Concept!!

We found a nice camp-site but were a little surprised at the change in temps from the cooler temperatures around the Mendo area.  The dirt road provided plenty of more excitement as it was even steeper than the road and was a little rough.  It felt like we were off-roading with the trailer and we kept mentioning how the drive in was hopefully worth all the stress and effort.  I could see the wifer grabbing the door handles tightly as we winded through our off-road course!  She was white knuckled and looking forward to getting to the camp-site.

Eventually, the campsite showed up and we found our new home for the evening.  We settled in, and realized that the 4-wheeling approach must have done something to our propane lines as none of our gas appliances were working.  We started a fire and figured we would cook old school camp style.

The night was somewhat eventful in that one of our camp neighbors decided to crank (and I do mean crank!  the old Spinal Tap dial was on 11) some country tunes so that all the camps could hear him.  After about and hour, he left and the campsites returned to 'normal'.

We walked down to the terrain park and scouted out the goods.  We were amazed to see that much work went into the area.  It took a fair amount of effort to get to the trailhead and it really seemed like a lot of work went into a trail in the middle of nowhere.  Don't get me wrong, it was good!

After a night of trying to sleep through warmer temps, we woke up and rallied for an early ride.  We did the Paradise Royale trail proper.  The trail drops in elevation (if you are doing the loop clockwise) until you bottom out and are in store for a nice long 1,200 ft climb.  Some of the trail pitched up and got steep on the single speed but still all rideable.  We ascended back into the ridge line and got peek a boo sightings of the ocean.  I kept thinking the trail would kick us out to a kick butt vista but it started to descend pretty quickly once we got to the peak.  The riding was very different than Mendo and provided lots of great flow.  Unfortunately the ride was over all too quickly.  It is an 11 mile loop with about 2,100 ft of climbing.
This was the best trail so far on our trip and we especially enjoyed not getting lost!

Once we wrapped up our ride we took our chances on the sketch 4-wheel with trailer to re-trace our steps through Redwood country.  The plan was to get to Eureka so we could get an RV wrench to look at our propane issue.  As it turns out we had to replace the regulator...within an hour, we were back on the road with a fully functioning gas line....next up, where to camp for the night??