DAY 42 - GOLD BEACH, OREGON & SOUTH

A PRIVATE RANCH ENTRY...AS I WALKED BY, A CAR DROVE UP TO THAT GATE...IT OPENED AUTOMATICALLY...THE CAR DROVE THROUGH, AND THE GATE CLOSED.

NOT SO STRANGE ? LAST THING I EXPECTED TO FIND IN SOUTHWEST OREGON...PRETTY CLASSY

SEASONS ARE ABSOLUTELY CHANGING...THIS IS A CHERRY TREE IN FULL BLOOM...WITH SNOW AND HAIL ON THE GROUND AT ITS FEET.

REALLY LIKE THIS PHOTOGRAPH...SCENE IS SERENE, BUT THE REEDS GIVE IT STRENGTH AND BEAUTY...ALMOST 3-D, HUH, KRAM.

WHY DO I NOT USE SAM? THIS PHOTO GRAPHICALLY SHOWS THAT BOTH SAM AND I WOULD BE QUICKLY DESTROYED ON ROADS SUCH AS THIS...ABSOLUTELY NO PLACE TO WALK...NOTICE THE SPRAY FROM THE TRUCK...RAINING CATS AND DOGS.

ROUNDED A CURVE IN A HEAVY DOWNPOUR TO DISCOVER THIS GEM SNUGGLED INTO IT'S OWN PRIVATE PIECE OF EDEN.

ON US 101 ABOVE THAT HOME IS THIS SCENE...SNOW AND HAIL FULLY COVERED THE ROAD...AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS HILL IS "PREHISTORIC GARDENS". IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO WALK DOWN...THE ENTIRE ROAD WAS SOLID ICE BALLS...SO, AFTER 1 HOURS, TURNED AROUND AND RETURNED TO SPIA WAITING BACK AT OPHIR, OREGON.

ANOTHER VIEW

A TREE. BUT WHY IS IT INCLUDED? IMPRESSIVE BRANCH STRUCTURE...MASSIVE...SOLID...FULLY IN CHARGE OF IT'S SPACE.

THE "HALO" OVER THAT DISTANT SNOW-COVERED HILL DEMANDED TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED AND SHARED WITH YOU.

ON GOLD BEACH, THIS HOME IS FOR SALE AT $499.000.00.

MANY HOMES AND BUSINESSES IN THIS REGION ARE FOR SALE.

BEACH HOMES LINE "OLD OREGON COAST ROAD" IN NORTH GOLD BEACH, OREGON

THE FAMOUS ROGUE RIVER AS IT MEETS THE SEA AT GOLD BEACH, OREGON

HISTORY OF THE MARY D. HUME...CLICK CLICK...A SHIP FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

MORE HISTORY OF THE MARY D. HUME...PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO CLICK CLICK AND READ

AND IN ALL HER PAST GLORY...HERE SHE LIES.

STANDING NEXT TO ME WAS PETER. PETER IS FROM SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA AND HAS SEEN THIS SHIP IN 2001...AGAIN IN 2007...AND TODAY WITH ME. IN 2007, PETER SAYS THE MARY D. HUME WAS STILL IN GREAT CONDITION...PAINT NOT FADED...WOODWORK ALL TOGETHER.

MARY D. HUME CAME TO REST 97 YEARS AFTER SHE WAS BUILT ONLY A FEW YARDS FROM THIS SPOT.

WE SHOULD ALL HAVE SUCH A LIFE.

THE ROUGE RIVER MARINA AT GOLD BEACH. MARY D. HUME LIES AT TOP RIGHT...JUST AROUND THAT CORNER UP THERE.

BRIDGE OVER THE ROGUE RIVER AT GOLD BEACH, OREGON

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE BRIDGE OVER THE ROGUE RIVER

BRIDGE OVER THE ROGUE RIVER SHOWING THE WALKWAY TURRETS...REPEATED AT BOTH ENDS OF THE BRIDGE.

WALKING EARLY THIS MORNING - SEE ABOVE PICS - I HEARD THIS AWFUL RACKET, TURNED TO SEE WHAT IT WAS AND S P L A T...GOT A FACE FULL OF FLYING SNOW AND HAIL AS THIS GUY SCREECHED PAST...LATER CHATTED WHILE THE DRIVER DOWNED HIS SANDWICH...SAID THERE IS A 1,000 FOOT HILL SOUTH OF GOLD BEACH AND MOST LIKELY WILL BE SNOW UP THERE THIS EVENING.

AN HOUR LATER, I WALKED UP THE MOUNTAIN AND NEARLY 2 MILES DOWN THE BACK SIDE.

THE HILL IS A GOOD 3 MILES GOING SOUTH AT ABOUT 7 DEGREE SLOPE. I NEARLY RAN UP IT...AT LEAST 4.5 MILES PER HOUR AND WAS FEELING FANTASTIC...NO SHORTNESS OF BREATH...AFTER ONE HOUR, I GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT THE CLIMB FLATTENED OUT, SO DECIDED TO CONTINUE ON ANOTHER 30 MINUTES.

AT THE END OF 1.5 HOURS, I STOPPED TO WALK BACK DOWN...TO MY ABSOLUTE SHOCK, I HAD BEEN DESCENDING WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING IT...I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT...I HAD THE DISTINCT AWARENESS THAT I WAS STILL CLIMBING.

IN ACTUAL FACT, I HAD WALKED "DOWN" NEARLY 2 MILES.

I HAVE RELATED MY PSYCHOLOGY FOR WALKING UP HILLS. I LOOK OUT ABOUT 20 - 30 FEET AND TELL MY BRAIN...SEE THERE BRAIN...AT 30 FEET OUR EYES ARE ABOVE THE SLOPE..WE ARE REALLY WALKING "DOWN" (KNOWING ALL THE WHILE THAT WE ARE CLIMBING).

WELL, TODAY, MY BRAIN GOT EVEN...IT MADE ME FEEL AS THOUGH I WAS CLIMBING FOR 1.5 HOURS, WHEN ACTUALLY, I WAS GOING "DOWN" FOR 30 MINUTES.

I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND STARTED TO SING OUT LOUD:

OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING...OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY...I HAVE A WONDERFUL FEELING EVERYTHING IS GOING MY WAY...

AT THAT MOMENT, A SMALL BLUE CAR THAT ZIPPED PAST ME JUST MOMENTS BEFORE CAME BACK THE OTHER WAY; DID A "U" RIGHT INTO ME AND OPENED THE BACK DOOR. CONNIE AND SHAWYNA, CAME BACK FOR ME

I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THAT IT HAD STARTED SNOWING.

MUST HAVE BEEN IN SOME OTHER REALITY, BECAUSE I SURE WAS NOT IN THE HERE AND NOW.

THANK YOU, LADIES FOR THE RIDE AND A MEMORY TO LAST MY LIFETIME.

THE SNOWPLOW DRIVER TOLD ME THOSE WEE HOUSES WERE CAT HOUSES...

NO KIDDING. CLICK CLICK AND READ THE SIGN.

CREATED A NEW PROBLEM, HOWEVER, ATTRACTED SKUNKS FROM THE HILL BEHIND THE CAMERA. EVERY DAY, THE DRIVER SAYS HE HAS TO REMOVE A RUN-OVER SKUNK ON IT'S WAY TO KITTY DIN DIN.

THIS IS THE SOUTH JETTY FOR THE ROGUE RIVER AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN...A TREACHEROUS ENTRANCE BECAUSE OF THE CONSTANT SHIFTING SAND BARS.

BEACH LOOKING NORTH FROM THE NORTH JETTY OF THE ROGUE RIVER ENTRANCE

CLICK CLICK CLICK...THAT TINY DOT IN THE WATER IS A SEA LION...THERE WERE FOUR OF THEM CASUALLY DIVING FOR DINNER...TAKING A LOOK AT ME AS THEY SURFACED AND DOWN THEY WOULD GO AGAIN.

THESE SEA BIRDS CAME FLYING RIGHT AT ME IN PERFECT DIAMOND FORMATION, FLARED OUT AND LANDED JUST BELOW WHERE I WAS STANDING ON THE NORTH JETTY...

CLICK CLICK FOR A GREAT LOOK AT SOME HANDSOME BIRDS.

OK...NOW HOW OLD IS THIS TREE.

OK...NOW WHICH WAY WAS THIS TREE FACING - RELATIVE TO THE OCEAN.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THIS IS "MOSS" OR "MOLD" GROWING ON A ROCK AT EYE LEVEL ABOVE US 101.

YOU JUST GOTTA CLICK CLICK THIS PHOTOGRAPH.

OK, KRAM...DOES THIS GET CLOSER TO 3-D?

HONEST TO GOSH...THIS IS PURE "COAL". A 200 FOOT WIDE SEAM OF PURE COAL LINES US 101 JUST BEFORE THE NORTH END OF THE BRIDGE.

I PICKED UP A SMALL PIECE...IT REALLY IS COAL.

A TREE OVER THE ROGUE.

COULD NOT RESIST SHARING IT WITH THE WORLD.

BEACH NORTH OF GOLD BEACH, OREGON

KISSING ROCK...

CLICK CLICK...SPIA IS DOWN THERE...WHERE SHE SITS AS I PREPARE THIS BLOG...

IT IS STARTING TO BLOW PRETTY HARD AT 7:24 PM...STARTED THIS BLOG AT 3:30.

HAVE TRIED TO POSITION SPIA TO AVOID THE MOST SEVERE WIND BY HIDING BEHIND THE KISSING ROCK.

ANOTHERVIEW OF THE KISSING ROCK.

DAILY UPDATE: Walked 3 times 8 miles today, not counting the Ladies ride = 24 miles...count only 12 miles.

SEE YOUR IMPACT.ORG: Credit 12 miles @ $0.02 = $0.24 for the day.

Must add up the $$ I owe See Your Impact.Org and send it off to Shari. Some pour Student is waiting for her new School Dress...or maybe a faucet for the new water well...or

In the morning, will drive over the imaginary UP mountain, park and continue walking South on US 101 towards BROOKINGS, OREGON, about 15 miles...

From Brookings, it is only 5 miles to the California Border...can it be possible?