Heceta Head Lighthouse

One of the most beautiful spots on the Oregon Coast is Heceta Head Lighthouse. Just after you drive south past Sea Lion Cave on Highway 101 you come to a turn-out on the west side of the road. You must stop! Get out of the car and walk up to the edge. Across the bay to the south is the Lighthouse sitting out on the edge of the head. To the right, sitting behind a white picket fence is the keeper's house. The head keeper's house was torn down after the light was automated. But luckily, the assistant's house sit remains. It was constructed as a duplex serving the families of the two assistant keepers. The common wall that separated the dining room has been torn down to allow the building to become a bed and breakfast with a most spectacular setting.

Once a year, for the two week ends prior to Christmas, the keeper's residence is decorated and lights are hung and the entire site is open to the public from 4-7 on Saturday and Sunday evenings. In addition to the period style decorations, there is live music provided by local musicians, hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot chocolate) and cookies and bars to enjoy. After enjoying the ambiance of the house, R & I walked to the gift shop to check find many treasures. Then it was stroll up to the tower itself. I had remembered to bring a flashlight so several visitors walked with us in the dark up to the lighthouse. A volunteer greeted us in the work room and told us the story of the light and before taking us up the stairs to see the light itself.

The 56 foot tower was constructed in 1894. The light pattern is a flash every 10 seconds. Because the light is 205 feet above the ocean, the light can be seen 21 miles out to sea, rated as the strongest light on the Oregon Coast.

South Beach State Park

Well we are now at South Beach State Park near Newport, Or. It is a beautiful example of the Oregon State Park system. There are over 250 campsites and yurt sites scattered in several loops. All sites have paved driveways and water and electricity. During the summer over 2000 people a day are in this park, either in the campground, picnic ground, or at the beach. But today there are just a handful. Normally, the weather at the coast is moderated by the proxima... (closeness) of the ocean. It doesn't get really hot and it doesn't get really cold. Well, except for last week. A large cold front stopped by and dropped the temperature into the high 30's in the day and the 20's at night. The park here is not set up for cold weather so several faucets have been replaced this week due to the freezing temperatures.

The weather is beginning to moderate with rain in the forecast. The Willamette Valley is experiencing freezing rain as I write this, because the rain has returned and the ground is still cold.

Yesterday was our day off so went into Newport to look around. We ended up at Yaquina Head Lighthouse which is just north of town. It started construction in 1870 and was completed in 1872. It took so long because the 300,000 plus bricks were brought by ship from San Francisco. Not having a harbor meant that cargo needed to be unloaded unto small boats for the trip to the beach. Also when the lens arrived (via supply ship), it was discovered that parts of the Fresnel lens were missing. So the missing parts had to endure the same long journey that the lens did the first time, which was Paris to New York by ship; New York to Panama by ship; across the Ismus by Train ( that was before the Panama Canal); Panama to San Francisco by ship; and then by lighthouse tender from San Francisco to Yaquina Head.

After spending an hour or so exploring the visitor center, we drove the 1/2 mile out to the point where the lighthouse is perched on the edge of the cliff. We climbed the 110 stairs to the top and had a great visit with Tom, the volunteer who was stationed in the watch room. He had many stories to tell of the lighthouse and the people who manned it. R and I will go back again on another day to check out the tidepools located below it.

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

She knows he wants her so she comes to his place. She arrives in a large red balloon. The balloon distracts the others who have gathered around his place so that she can slip into his place.

When she enters, he initially runs away from her, but then turns to greet her. As they get close, they hear sounds of others approaching. She runs. As she runs around inside the house looking for a way out, she passes a stranger running the opposite direction calling her name.

Finding the door, she runs out. She finds an old Columbia-style bicycle and rides it past the window. As she passes the window she glances in and knowing that they will never be together.

M C

"M C "are letters that you will see on small yellow signs with an arrow on them that are posted around the Burns area. A movie is being filmed in this area and it is an exciting deversion for a small town. Star sitings are being discussed at coffee shops and grocery stores. It does give the locals something to talk about besides the weather and hunting. Featured in the film are Bruce Greenwood, Michelle Williams, and Will Patton. My wife and I had lunch and the local deli and Bruce Greenwood and another cast member sat at the table next to us. If you have seen the new Star Trek movie, he was Captain Pike. His voice gave him away even before I saw him.

The MC signs are posted at road junctions to give directions to the filming locations for the cast and crew. The name of the movie right now is "Meeks Cutoff". It is the story of an 1845 wagon train of 200 wagons led by Stephen Meeks, who tried to find a short cut that deviated from the well used Oregon Trail, traveling through central Oregon, over the Cascades and into the Williamette Valley. The route turned out to be a long and dry route that did not live up to Meeks promises. The result was many days of being lost with little food or water and many fatalities tallied along the way. http://www.historicoregoncity.org/HOC/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=123&Itemid=75option=com_content&view=article&id=123&Itemid=75option=com_content&view=article&id=123&Itemid=75

Several scenes for the movie were filmed on the refuge and many more in the surrounding areas. The film crew has been exposed to warm days and cool nights early in the filming and now that fall is here, cool days and cold nights are the order of the day. The flora, fuana, and dust have not changed much since 1845 as it is still a harsh and unforgiving place.

My wife and I received the opportunity to visit the site of the filming for an night-time shoot. We followed the "MC" signs to the remote location which required 5 miles of gravel washboard road. It was just getting dark but the "day" was just starting for the movie people. Workers with tools and equipment were scrambling here and there The catering truck had breakfast items ( eggs, potatoes, cereals, fruit available for them as well as torillas and the walk-up window for special requests such as ham and cheese sandwiches.

We had the opportunity to meet the location manager and received an incite into the happenings going on around us. We were welcome to be there and observe the filming, but to be aware enoiugh to stay out of the way and to remain quiet during the actual filming. As for the filming, it was nearly completed. All that remained was several nights of shooting get done.

The oxen had been shipped back to where ever they came from and the only animals remaining were a donkey and a mule. There was still and representative from the ASPCA on site to keep watch. There is a rep there whenever animals are present so that the certification, " no animal has been harmed in the filming.........." can be displayed during the movie credits.

So after and hour of conversation, we walked over to the filming site. It was the last night for Bruce Greenwood as he has another film commitment beginning in a few days. The scene we observed was Stphen Meeks ( Bruce Greenwood) lying on the ground, musing about the meaning of life or something like that. There was no dialogue, no motion. It had all the excitement and drama of watching paint dry. But they all can't be fight scenes, I guess. It was fun and interesting just being there. A little bit of Hollywood in Harney County.

John Day Fossil Beds

Drive west of John Day on Highway 26 about 30 miles through Mount Vernon and Dayville and north 2 miles on Highway 19 puts you at the Visitors Center for the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. There are three units of the monument separated by many miles that the VC represents. Each unit is unique in it's topography, geology, and fossil remains, but the total is amazing. An hour spent at the center is almost overwhelming with the all the displays showing the varied flora and fuana that lived in the area over the eons. I recommend a visit to the area and to the visitor center.

Just 1/4 mile down the road, is the James Cant Ranch which has a large beautiful home built in 1917 by James Cant who was a Scottish sheep rancher. The home has about ten bedrooms because it was a gathering place for travelers in the early 1900s. It was also a social site as the Cants hosted "skip to my Lou" parties in the big white house, which was recently converted into a museum packed with various artifacts: Mother Cant’s recipe for macaroon cake, a beaver trap, a sack of oily sheep’s wool and other historic artifacts and pictures are displayed in part of the house.

An old haystacker hulks in the orchard of heirloom fruit trees, near the wonderful barn that was designed specifically for sheep with many shearing and lambing stalls scattered about. In the hills and flatlands where catlike nimravids and terminator pigs once stalked their prey, you can wander the Cant Ranch and explore the rest of the John Day Basin in search of a glimpse of the past and a restful escape with picnic tables available.

Steens Mountain Revisited

Steens Mountain Revisited

It’s always nice when friends stop by. When you are out here in the boon docks, it’s even nicer. Old friends B & B, who we have known since my time at General Cable in Lindsay, Ca. in early 70’s, spent a few days parked next to us here at the refuge. The refuge is very gracious about allowing friends to pay visits and enjoy the hospitality of the facility. We had several meals cooked in our rigs but eaten together in the guest house and hours of great conversation.

So yesterday it was time to take them to the mountain. We started by 9:00 am, drove through Frenchglen, and started up the south end of the 60 mile Steens Mountain Loop. The weather cooperated giving us lots of sunshine and little wind. Light jackets in the morning, t shirts in the afternoon. The south route is quite a bit more challenging due to the steepness, ruts, and rocks, but it is a blast to negotiate. The condition of the road is actually a bit better that last year because many of the holes have been filled in with gravel. Even then the top speed in the section called the Cock’s Comb is a blistering 10-15 mph. The elevation gain, is about 2000 feet in about three miles and the scenery is amazing so everyone in the car is busy looking around.

We made the summit about 2:00pm and spent a couple of hours above 9700 feet with binoculars and cameras being well used. This spot is the highest place in Oregon that you can drive to. Then it was time to continue on around the loop and descent using the north route which is a wide relatively smooth, gravel road. We saw wild horses, deer, but no bighorns. Heading back home on Highway 205 south of Frenchglen we saw a sight that caused us to turn around and go back to see if we had imagined it. But there they were, about a dozen pheasants were perched in a juniper tree, checking things out. ( You can click on this picture or any of them and zoom in for a better look.) It surely was an interesting sight.

We arrived home about 6:30pm tired, dusty, and happy.

Bike Herding

Here we were riding our bikes as we do several times a week our here in eastern Oregon. We had been using the paved road (Sod House Lane) because it’s flat and has little road traffic. Two weeks ago we changed our starting location because one of the ranches had sheep grazing in their pasture and, as we rode by, a grey dog that looked a lot like a sheep, came through the wire fence and out on the road to bark at us and let us know that he did not want us near his sheep. We rode past quickly and went down the road. Looking back I watched the dog standing on the side of the road waiting to see if we returned. So when we did turn around and ride back to the truck he was there. As a precaution I had picked up a stick which I intended to use to discourage him should he decide to attack us. Well, he didn’t do more than growl and posture which I was thankful for. But as a precaution, the decision was made to start our future rides further down Sod House Lane, past the sheep pastures.

And so we come to last evening. R and I have parked the truck at our new starting spot and are heading west. Who should we encounter but two cows and their calves walking along Sod House Lane. These bovines are not as tame as the ones at the ranch so when they see us they start trotting away from us. So here are four cows trotting and two bike riders peddling west on Sodhouse Lane in the late afternoon. It was a interesting site and we got a kick out of our herding abilities. After about a mile, one pair veered off to the left, through a gate and into a pasture. The other pair went a short distance further, veered to the right, jumped a fence and kept on going. R and I kept pedaling until we got to our turn-around spot and reversed our direction. Cows aren’t the most intelligent four legged creatures on the planet.