"No one wants advice, only corroboration." - John Steinbeck

I forgot some pics in the last post. Before leaving Silver Falls St. Pk. we went for another hike to another of the 10 waterfalls in that large park. This was almost as challenging as the first, with lots of elevation change, but again the payoff was well worth it. And again, this large falls had a trail that went behind it. Really is breathtaking!

We're now at Sunset Bay St. Park, just south of Coos Bay. By the time we got here and set up it was dinnertime. After that a camp fire and bed. Yeah, a campfire. The temps here on the coast get up into the high 60's during the day - maybe - and it's damp. A big contrast from the Willamette Valley where we were upper 80's and 50's at night. But as you can see from pics we took this morning the scenery makes up for it.

First we went down to the bay itself. It was about two hours after low tide so we could explore tide pools to see anemone (is that the singular or plural?) and hermit crabs, or if we looked up, the beautiful cliffs. Later we took a hike on the "Bluff Trail" to see bays otherwise inaccessible.

The teardrop continues to draw lots of curious visitors and all seem to like it. Doesn't mean they'd want to live in it, but they seem impressed. And it's the total antithesis to a park filled with monstrous 5th-wheel trailers with pop-outs on all sides pulled by behemoth pickup trucks.

One couple who stopped in has their own homemade teardrop at the other end of the park which we went to visit. This guy built his w/o plans; made it up as he went along. His is big enough to hold a queen size mattress in the cabin (5' wide) and has a much larger galley. He says it weighs 1800 pounds, more than twice ours. Some serious skills, including both woodworking and welding. But I like the size and simplicity of ours.

The showers in the A Loop of this campground are not for the faint of heart. And it helps if you're 4' tall. Of course then you can't reach the one shelf in each shower unit that is 6'4" off the floor.

Turns out pancakes done in bacon grease are gooood. Who would have guessed? And coffee tastes especially good when you're cold and slightly damp.

Today is a big one in our family. It's my dad's birthday and he turns 92! It's Michelle's birthday, too. She's not that old. And Josh & Aubri were married on this day....lots of years ago. (oops) Family is the center, and words don't exist to express how we feel about ours. "Blessed" is inadequate.

This coffee shop closes at 4 p.m., so we'll roam the boardwalk and its tourist shops (OK, Pam will go in the shops and I'll wait patiently outside) and then we'll grab some supper at a good seafood joint we know from previous years. Then back to our campsite 40 minutes north for another fire. Between now and then a few tasks to get done while I can be online. More anon.