Coos History Museum

 Downtown Coos Bay is a treasure we discovered on our day off week.  The building is brand new in among retail stores that are built on an area that once was an enormous pile of wood chips.  Chip trucks would back up to the pile and the trailer would be lifted and tilted to pour out the ground-up wood waste of lumber mills.  A huge bulldozer would move the pile further up the pile to give room for the next rig.  Enormous ships would moor in the adjacent Coos River for the transfer and out to sea they would go heading west.   It is odd to see retail there now.  Time moves on.

   Back to the museum.  Nicely done.  Emphasis on the bay area history divided into sections like lumber, commerce, Native Americans, early white settlers, environment.   The highlight for us was the Fresnel Lens that once protected the Cape Arrago area of the coast.  About 35 years ago we rented a beach house on the road to Sunset Bay.  From the kitchen window the Arrago light was visible.  At dark the light would wash the house at a prescribed interval/  The memory makes me smile.  

   I have downloaded a photo of the view we had from the house.  The walkway had been dismantled. The light decommissioned and the lens removed.  Usually that means it gets lost in some warehouse somewhere.   Not this time!  It is proudly displayed in the Coos History Museum. 

This is a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens.  It's about 40 inches tall. 

 It is truly a piece of art

 

Mushrooms in the woods

                 A morning walk in the woods around here gives you plenty to enjoy.  

Trees

 The Woods here is awesome.  The state park has a variety of areas, some grass, lots of brush, Salal, Huckleberry, and others. Then there are lots of trees.  Not many, if any, hardwoods.  

 Happily I haven't seen any Gorse in my walks.  It is an invasive weed that is quite a problem in the Bandon area because was brought to the US by Lord Bennett in 1873s from his native Ireland.  He planted what he called Furze to remind him of home and it has spread like a weed choking out native plants and trees and is an extreme fire hazard when it dries out in the summer.  The town of Bandon burned twice because of it's flammability.  

   Anyway, back to the trees.  I'm not sure what they are but they are magnificent.

Don't you think they would be fun to climb?

Bandon Beach views

My favorite beach is in Bandon.

 

Around the Campground

 There are about 50 sites in Cape Blanco State Park.  Two host sites, four lighthouse host sites ( next year it will be three LH sites and one site for a maintenance volunteer).  My walks with the boys is sometimes in the woods, sometimes the beach, and many times around the campground road.  I did the same at KC.

   I enjoy checking out the various camping apparatus at each site.  Some huge and expensive.  Some very basic and often almost non-existent. 

  Then there is neat sites and there are the not quite as neat ones.

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An Interesting Day Yesterday

   Sunday was the last day of July.  Our first month is over.  One month to go. We enjoy what we do here and the other places we have volunteered.  We really like meeting the talking with our visitors, customers, guests, fellow volunteers.  We have a very large pool of memories and friends because of our adventures.

    However,  yesterday had some interesting challenges.  There were three guys with fishing gear heading down over the edge of the peninsula that is normally off limits.  Then the flying of the drone from the area near the tower.  ( Also not ok)  Both not a big deal.  The third incident was more challenging.  

   As I was in the tower telling a young couple about the Funk lantern, I was interrupted by a fellow who burst into the tower.  When I asked for his Ticket ( the tour ticket is required to get to come in and learn about the life of a lighthouse keeper and his family.)  He nearly exploded with profanity in stating his unhappiness with the total system.  Having to pay money to come inside the lighthouse. Not being able to go up into the tower. Having to walk over from the parking lot.  Not happy that there was a truck, (my truck) here and he had to walk.  " If I had a knife, I would puncture those tires"  Then he took my picture with his phone and walked out.

  He proceeded to walk down the greeter, Dennis, and fill his ears with his diatribe before heading back to the parking lot and his vehicle.  I continued my tour with the couple, but Randa and I were stunned.  What should we have done?  We have been told not to push the issue.  Not to antagonize of inflate the event.   We didn't.   But what should we do now?  Who should we now call to let them know what happened?  It was an awakening for all of us volunteers.  We need to be aware of "emergency" procedures.  We need to "Be Prepared".

  

    

Hunter's Progress

This is a photo of the big guy showing part of his shaved area.  Tomorrow he gets the drain removed.  That has to be a welcome time as it probably is not comfortable right now.

His stitches come out on the 11th.