A little preview of Harris Beach State Park, OR

I was packed up and on the road shortly before 8:00 yesterday morning, and headed south from Bandon to Brookings along scenic US 101.  At least I’ve been told it’s scenic.  There are enough curves and ups and downs that I could hardly enjoy the scenery.  I just had to pay attention to the driving.  I plan to do a portion of the drive again, but only in my car so I can easily visit all of the pull offs.

A little after 10:00, I pulled into Harris Beach State Park and had to figure out where my site was.  The check in station was closed.  I knew I was assigned B4 as a site, but had no idea where that might be.  There are four different loops, and they all intersect with each other with several one way sections.  I finally just stopped dead in the middle of the road when I saw a man outside his rig.  Luckily, he had a map to show me where to go.  As it turned out, I ran into Angela, one of the state park rangers, and she led me around to my site.

The site is paved, but is certainly not level for a rig my size.  As you can see, we’re surrounded by huge trees, so my DISH on top of the rig has no chance of finding a signal.    The site does have a very private patio area which is good for Emma. 

Dawn, the volunteer coordinator for all six of the refuges in the complex, met me there just as I was backing into my site.  All I did was hook up the electric for the fridge, and then headed off for two hours of orientation about the park and my duties.

After looking at the two possible locations for my outdoor station, I chose this one.  With the strong winds that can occur next to the ocean, this site is a little more protected than the other one.  I’ll be setting up a scope down near the picnic table and focus it on Bird/Goat Island that is across the bay.  That island is the largest one off of the Oregon coast and lots of sea birds nest on it. 

Today was spent orienting myself to the community of Brookings.  I drove down to Smith River in California to put in a wine order.  Prices for wine and other alcohol in California are almost half of what they are in Oregon, and it was only a drive of 11 miles.  I also got the toad washed.  It was a mess after being towed behind the rig’s exhaust pipes for a thousand miles.  Fred Myers is the grocery store in this neck of the woods, and I figured out where that is as well.

On the way back from town, I stopped to get a few pics from the overlook I’ll be manning.  This is looking south.  It was hard to believe that people were out in the water swimming.  The wind was howling and I was chilly in my hoody and jeans.

This is the view to the north.  A couple was out on the beach flying a kite.  I had heard that lots of folks come here to fly kites.  The winds were strong enough to lift the lady of the couple right up off of the ground.  She let out quite a shout as she became airborne for a moment.  It was fun to watch. 

I’ll be working both days of the weekend at the overlook.  My head is crammed with information about all the birds nesting on the island.  I have been warned though, that most folks stop here in hopes of seeing whales.  That’s okay.  I want to see whales too, and maybe I can introduce them to my avian friends. 

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

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