Whaler's Rest

Carl took a couple of pictures of our campsite on Wednesday...

If it was warm, we would appreciate the shade...

But, the foliage is quite tight around the rig. We'll need to get some other pictures to show the site more. Our picnic table is on the other side of Gracie, and only one half of it is usable as it is buried in the bushes. Even at that, we have difficulty opening our compartment doors fully because they contact the bench of the picnic table.

On our walk, another beautiful rhododendron outside one of the cabins. 

We're contemplating if we want to move... maybe after the 4th, when there probably will be more sites available.

Walking on Tuesday

When we went out for a walk on Tuesday, we thought we could hear the surf from our campsite, so we headed over to the "Beach Trail" and walked out to the coast...

Wow, so many warnings!

We walked about halfway down the path to the beach and enjoyed watching folks flying kites and picking up things on the beach (shells? we're not sure) and beach walking -- in general risking their lives according to the warning sign!!! It was foggy down toward the south and we could see the fog rolling along the beach just in front of us.

Back in the campground, a selfie near the tennis courts...

... and at the campground sign. Note to self: selfies are a mirror image, so taking a selfie of a sign requires the use of a mirror to read the sign...

We would enjoy slightly warmer weather, but prefer this to 90s and 100s...

Out and about Whalers Rest

The Thousand Trails campground where we are parked is Whalers Rest. It is near Newport, Oregon.

On Monday, we drove into Newport for lunch... we stopped for lunch at Mo's Seafood and Chowder.

Delicious clam chowder...

... and shrimp salad sandwich...

... and tuna melt sandwich! Yum!!!

We had had our mail sent to the Newport Post Office General Delivery, so we picked that up, and also stopped at US Foods ChefStore to see what they had and pick up a few groceries (mainly a large pork shoulder for smoking later this week).

Back at the campground, we decided to go for a walk...

There are beautiful rhododendrons around the campground...

... lovely!

We followed the walking path from the campground to the beach -- there was quite a cloud bank, and it was chilly...

... so we didn't actually walk down to the beach but enjoyed it from above.

It is again cool here, like it was in Florence. It is nowhere near as windy as Coos Bay, so we're thankful for that! Miss Kitty would like a bit more sunshine... but she is surviving with laps, heat vents, and getting under covers!

Driving north on 101 up the Oregon Coast

We left Coos Bay on Sunday morning on our way to Newport, Oregon, Whaler's Rest Thousand Trails. 

Along the way, we had some spectacular views of the Oregon coast:

This is coming up to the tunnel (we didn't get a good picture of the tunnel...). When Dwayne and I drove this route (southbound) in 2017, the Garmin was insistent that we should not go this way, specifically through the tunnel (https://trekincartwrights.blogspot.com/2017/10/anybody-got-blue-bird-sized-shoehorn.htm). On Sunday, the Garmin was happy to route us on 101 the whole way... I was wondering if the size of Miss Doozie as defined to the Garmin was bigger and that was the issue, but when we got to the tunnel, it indicated that the height of the tunnel was 14'5", plenty tall enough for us to fit -- I think that's a change from when we were through in 2017.

There were many areas when we were inland of the ocean, but then there were times we were right along the coast...

... and it was a beautiful crystal blue day!

Sure hope Gracie's steering continues to work around this corner, or we'll make a big splash!

The only difficulty was that this part of the road is also considered the Oregon Coast Bike Trail. We saw several bikers heading south, and thankfully encountered only two heading north, the same way we were... unfortunately, it was right on a curve where I could not see what was coming and it was uphill so they were going very slowly. We stayed behind until I could see far enough to pass and then continued on.

So pretty!

Seal Rocks

We're looking forward to seeing a lot in this area and meeting up with friends who plan to arrive at the same campground July 1!

Last Day NW Area Rally

Saturday was the last day of the FMCA Northwest Area Rally...

After devotions...

...we attended a couple of presentations, including one on FMCAssist...

... if you are an FMCA member - this is the way to get to the policy document - good for you to read so you know exactly what is covered.

A few days ago, we had attended a SkyMed session... we get FMCAssist for free with our FMCA membership, and SkyMed would cost about $3k for 5 years. Some differences as I understand it: SkyMed covers from the incident (which may include cost of ground or helicopter medical transport), FMCA starts after you get to the hospital. SkyMed will take you home if that is what you want, FMCA takes you to the nearest qualified hospital for your needs. It also sounded like you had to be sure to follow the correct procedure with FMCAssist, but the fellow from SkyMed kept on saying, "You just make the one call and it is taken care of from there." I'm sure there are other differences, but those were the big ones from my understanding.

We had lunch at the food truck that was located behind the hotel - yummy bbq beef and ribs!

Evening entertainment was Matt Baker - we only got pictures when he was spinning the Chinese yo-yos...

See that there is one way up in the air and the other on his string - it was pretty impressive!

He also does a stunt where he throws a bowling ball up with his foot and catches it on his head... ouch!

See a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78luX-LFCpw

We had a great time at this conference -- didn't "save" as much money as we did at the Tucson convention (i.e. we didn't have things that needed service that was provided for free), but we enjoyed seminars and entertainment, meeting new friends, and RV camaraderie!

Friday at the Northwest Area Rally

We have started each morning at the Northwest Area Rally with new friends at Morning Devotions with the Oregon/Washington Coaches for Christ Chapter. One of the members shared with us that they had had a hard time finding someone to provide a devotion for the meeting and finding someone to lead music... they had had different folks arranged to participate but each had to back out for various reasons - including one having to back out at the last minute as he tested positive for COVID. But, they called on a youth pastor from a church about 1/2 hour away, Josh Woodruff, and he has been great! 

He led devotions Thursday: Had you ever considered that, a couple of chapters preceding the David and Goliath story, it was noted in I Samuel 13, that there wasn't a blacksmith anywhere in Israel - "Lest those Hebrews start making swords and spears."? So, when you read in chapter 17 that the Philistines and Israelites were drawn up in battle array, that only Saul and Jonathan of the troops of Israel had swords and shields? Not only did David not have battle gear, neither did anyone else in the Israelite army!

When one of the ladies said that they were hoping they could find someone who could lead worship, Josh indicated that he could play the guitar, so on Friday morning, he both taught the devotion and led in worship!

Josh leading in worship

Our group for devotions on Friday morning...

... the other half of the room.

Then we attended an RV educational session... When we went to the FMCA Convention in Tucson, I had attended a session that I thought was going to be on Proteng (https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2022/03/friday-at-fmca-rally.html) -- it ended up not really being so. Carl and I both went to a presentation on Friday at this rally that did end up addressing Proteng, and we were both impressed with the information. They offered to examine our coach and give us an estimate of the cost to install, so we decided to get the estimate done...

A really nice young man, Cordova, came out to our coach and told us what would be recommended for our coach.

Proteng is a fire suppression system designed to give you more time to get out of the coach in case of a fire. (https://proteng.com/about-us)

We decided to go ahead and get it installed while here at the show -- there is a show discount, and Oregon has no state sales tax, so that provided a better overall price...

... so Cordova came back out Friday afternoon to perform the installation.

He installed devices in the places where fires would be most likely to start: generator, fuse panel/relay panel, battery bay, inverter/Oasis diesel heating system/automatic transfer switch bays, engine compartment, and circuit breaker panel.

Example of one of the devices installed in the top of the bay with the fuse panel/relay panel.

Hopefully these will never be used, but they give us a layer of protection that we feel more comfortable living with!

Wednesday afternoon and Thursday at the Northwest Area Rally

After we got back to Gracie on Wednesday, we noticed guys working at the back of the rigs next to us...

It was the RoadMaster folks inspecting and cleaning tow bars.

Since we had just had ours maintained while at the FMCA Convention in Tucson in March, we figured it was in good shape, but were glad to get it inspected again, and also cleaned, since we've been in some pretty dusty areas!

One of the products that the fellow was using while cleaning...

... he said that they were debating who was going to have to do ours since the bikes were in the way, but he seemed to be able to get to it and do the cleaning and inspection with no problem. It passed - no additional maintenance needed at this time.

Carl and I are thinking that the Jeep is going to need painting at some point (clear coat is bubbling up) - we think that purple color would be nice! Next trip to Mexico!!!

Early fog over Coos Bay...

... so pretty and calm. The winds had died down in the morning (though they picked back up for the daytime hours).

Opening session - pledge of allegiance and American and Canadian National Anthems.

One of the sessions we attended - on Fantasy RV Tours trips to Alaska.

The evening meal featured salmon cooked in a traditional Coquille (or Ko-Kwel) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coquille_people) Native American tribe method.

It was staked over wood fire and basted with a fruit sauce...

Chief Yonkers gave us information about some of the tribe's history and customs.

Buffet tables for the dinner that followed...

We had a choice of chicken or salmon, so we got one of each and then shared. The large flat fried item was frybread that was served with a huckleberry butter. Yum!

The evening wrapped up with entertainment by Timberwolf, playing a blend of classic Rock, oldies, and country.

We've enjoyed our first full day at the rally!

Visiting around Coos Bay

One of the "challenges" that we have been given by the rally is to go to several local businesses or museums and get a stamp on our "Poker Card" to participate in a "poker tournament" (they deal out the cards and your hand is a winner or loser) on Saturday. It is a good way to get the rally participants out and about in the community, so we set about to work on getting our stamps on Wednesday.

We also wanted to go to a grocery store in town, so, after stopping there, we headed to the Coos Bay History Museum.

From outside the museum

We found a number of outdoor exhibits / informational signs around the museum building.

The first one had to do with the bridge that we crossed on Tuesday (https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2022/06/tuesday-to-coos-bay.html). It is called the McCullough Bridge.

Conde McCullough was also the builder of the bridge that we crossed over the Siuslaw River in Florence (https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-few-hours-of-blue-sky-and-sun.html, https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2022/06/florence-art.html)

We also saw the remains of "Central Dock",

"They had to work quickly and efficiently as it cost over $30,000 a day to fill a ship at berth."

Then we learned about "The Mosquito Fleet":

"The Welcome carries 10-gallon milk cans from docks along the Coos River to the creameries in Marshfield. Passengers chose seating in the enclosed tower deck or open-air top deck."

"The image... shows The Welcome operating on the Umpqua River in the 1950s."

Steam Spool Logging Donkey

The "New Carissa" - the ship that would not die:

This was propeller was not identified, but it was right next to the exhibit on the "New Carissa - The Ship that would not die".