The good, the bad and the ugly….

On our days off we are happy that we have SO many trails to hike and
less traveled areas because of the difficulty level of getting there.
That doesn’t bother the two mountain goats I live with named Michelle and Calle.
They thrive on trails and exploration! Calle always has to be the lead dog!

Today’s post will only be the good, the bad and the ugly we have encountered
since being here. Whether it’s bad, good or ugly, it is in the eye of the beholder.
These are but a small portion of the things we have found!

The Good!!!!!!!!

Ugly Mushroom

Negative Tide

Elevation (ft): -16

A Day Trip To Sisters Rocks/Frankport Harbor

During the week we were lucky enough to meet some people who
came into the Lifeboat Station Museum who told us about a
little known, rarely visited beach/port from the 1800’s. Our
first thought “sure, just another story”‘… but today we
decided, on our day off, to go there and see for ourselves.

Well the gentlemen was correct. It was amazing and FAR
exceeded the description he gave us. If you blink your eye
just for a second you will miss the turnoff to this most
wonderful beach!

Practically no wind and a balmy 70 degree
day, bordering on too hot. On one side, you have where
Frankport was established, and on the other side a crater
that leads to really large sea caves with crashing waves
inside.

An added plus of this trip was our rather aggressive pup
Calle. She was able to run free and have a total blast
chasing the ball that I threw, using the chuck-it ball
thrower.

There were by far many rusted beach relics where
the town used to be. The beach on the Frankport side of
Sisters Rocks are full of beautiful green rocks of all
shapes and sizes, quartz with every color imaginable. My
backpack was full by the time we left.

When you move over to the north side of Sisters Rocks
and climb over the rather large rock field, you emerge to the
largest sea caves I have seen since sea lion cave. We are
going to return in a couple of weeks on a negative tide,
and it should be even more interesting.

Surf rumbles through sea caves in the three monumental
Sisters Rocks, the largest of a cluster of islands between
two scenic, rarely visited beaches.

This new state park on the Southern Oregon coast between
Port Orford and Gold Beach was funded by Oregon Lottery
money.

Years ago, Oregon voters passed an initiative to dedicate a
portion of lottery funds to salmon and parks. At first,
legislators undercut that measure by reducing the state park
budget to match the new lottery income. More recently, however,
funds have been flowing for state parks after all.

If you drive Highway 101 past Sisters Rocks, you probably
won’t notice this park. There is a small state park sign,
but it doesn’t mention a name. The park itself is undeveloped.

Still, this part of the coast has a long history.
Sisters Rocks served as a natural breakwater for the city of
Frankport, founded on the beach here in the 1850s, when gold
miners from California discovered gold flakes in the black
sands of Southern Oregon beaches.

Sailing ships anchored off the shore here to shuttle small
boats through the surf to Frankport Beach. Miners built a
small city here to service their gold mining operations.
Today, rusting metal at Frankport Beach is the only memory
of the pioneer seaport.

Inside the Lifeboat Station Museum

I have posted a few pictures of interest from the outside of the museum,
so I thought it would be a good idea to include a few of the highlights
from inside the museum for you to enjoy.

The tour is self-guided and the flow of information is setup well for an
individual to do at their own pace. We have had many comments that people
like the way this works. Michelle and I are there to answer questions and
add nuggets of information.

Each day brings new people through the museum. Some are long-time locals,
and others on vacation from as far away as Italy. Everyday is an adventure
for us as well. We see and learn something new all the time. An example
from today was a picture, out in the bay, of John Wayne’s boat taking cover
from the wind (which is very common here, the wind, not John Wayne!).

Hope you enjoy the photos, with descriptions, and maybe raise interest in
places less traveled. You will learn new and very interesting things too….

The Lyle gun, imagine having drill practice with this?

A Day Off and a Day Ride

South to Brookings on the 101…

North side of the Rogue Jetty in Gold Beach

then onto Brookings and Fish & Chips at the Hungry Clam….

BUT shhhhh…. don’t tell Michelle!

Lifeboat Station Museum

“You have to go out….you don’t have to come back.” Surfman’s motto

If we have learned anything from hosting the Lifeboat Station Museum,
it’s “they don’t make them like they use to”. Except for firefighters
such as the ones that lost their lives in Arizona fighting wildfires.
I also put the people in the military, putting their lives on the line
for people they don’t even know in that brave category.

There is a lot of interesting history in this area and it makes us want
to look deeper into what has happened here; it is very interesting to
say the least. Our first week as hosts at the Lifeboat Museum, starting
the 4th of July, has been very rewarding in more ways than one, and to
top it off, we had a very wonderful visit from our Daughter and Son-in-Law
from Salt Lake!

We have met some interesting characters at the museum and we have enjoyed
all of them!

Here are some pictures from the last week and some narratives.
It’s just a small sampling of the history.

The museum below, in its time was the station for the crew

The caissons and breakwater for the boathouse that was destroyed by fire in 1970

As it was before 1970

The 36′ self-righting lifeboat 36498

Nellies Cove where the lifeboats left to rescue ships in distress. Notice the overgrown
steps the surfmen used to haul two 5 gallon cans of diesel down 532 steps.

All that is left

Electric motor probably used to pull the lifeboats back into the boathouse.

The rails that fell in the water after the fire burned the boathouse in 1970

Calle on the breakwater for the boathouse

Where the ramp from the boathouse sloped down to the water

The details of the self righting lifeboat…

John and Jen

Michelle’s love for the beach

I cannot say enough about how much I love being
at the beach. It is the best place for me and I
will enjoy every minute of July and August.

Sunday was a fun-filled day; we started with a
three hour walk on the beach at Cape Blanco State Park.

After lunch at Huey we took a bicycle ride on the roads
around us and toured the Cape Blanco Pioneer Cemetery.

We topped the day off with a kayak adventure up the
Sixes River. We put in just below the historic Hughes
House, also on the park grounds.

Our new kayaks were fantastic, worked great for Calle,
more room for her than the old ones.
It was a wonderful day.

Monday was our training day for our summer hosting
positions with the State Parks Department. That went
very well. After classroom instruction we met Pete,
a volunteer at the Lifeboat Museum, and he showed us
the ropes. We’re on our own starting thursday morning.

Today Mike and I met two special people, David and Naomi,
who are riding their bicycles from Portland to San Francisco.
It was a pleasure to meet them and we wish them well on the
rest of their journey.