Can't wait to leave; can't wait to return...

For the last ten years, we have dreaded the long wet and cool months when storms from the West battered this coastline and kept us indoors for days. Usually, after a storm, the sun will shine and dry up all the rain. It is quite remarkable how with so much rain, the terrain is usually passable and dry after a storm.

After a week indoor, we're all eager to get out and go somewhere. People go clamming, fishing, kayaking, skying, snowboarding, windsurfing, golfing. We, Hubby and I, have never developed many outdoor skills. We attempted to fish the first year or two after we moved here.

Our fresh water lake, however, suffered a few major storms that destroyed the dunes holding the ocean back, and it became brackish, salty, losing a great deal of fish and other sea life. It has recovered somewhat in recent years and it has been stocked with new life from the hatcheries, and people are boating and fishing regularly. My children all caught fish here; and it tasted marvelous!

Hubby and I tend to enjoy the outdoor life vicariously as well. In the picture above, I filmed the couple doing some clamming while we ate clams in Charleston, clams that had grown in the same bay just a few hours earlier. While dining, we kept appreciating the couple's attempt to get enough clams to satisfy their hunger and not break any rules set up to protect the bay.

How often do we leave our Paradise? At least once a week.
At times, for days at a time, down to Southern California to soak up continuous sunshine, to enjoy our children and grandchild, and to stop in and around our old hangouts, Jerry's Famous Deli for a ruben sandwich, California Pizza Kitchen for their pizzas, Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas for their brunch buffet. We can reminisce at each stop and catch up with old friends while we do that.

How long do we stay away? As little as possible.
We miss our greenery; we miss the wild rivers and forested walks. Most of all, we miss the marvelous beach vistas that only Oregon has. Here, we feel at peace, away from the maddening crowds, the traffic, the parking fees, the missed off-ramps, the hours spent on freeways to get anywhere.

Summer days on the Cape

Long walks in the meadows, on the rivers, by the shore.
Parade watching on the Fourth.
Al fresco dining on the deck.

Days are cool compared to other places. Summer temperatures may rise into the 70's and cool down into the 50's. Great weather for walks, berry picking, fishing, crabbing, and visiting outdoors with friends.  Families gather under the stars and count the many constellations they can identify. Lights are off in town, so, after ten or so, the sky is the only light around.

Dogs are everywhere, riding shot-gun, walking alongside, swimming, lounging, constant companions everywhere. Lake Garrison is the optimal place for Butters (my son Brian's dog) to chase balls until he tires. Better yet, until his human tires.

Rides may take more time than usual, because of tourists, because of flaggers, because of vistas that take your breadth away at every corner.
This summer, on the first weekend in August Cape Blanco will host its first Country Music Festival, sponsored by Bi-Mart. Fifteen thousand people are expected to descend on the coast for this occasion. All the local towns within twenty-thirty miles from the Cape are booked solid. This even will showcase the beauty and the tranquil setting of the Cape. With cool temperatures, hanging out at an outdoor event should be grand!

On an early morning hike

Beaches, forests, waterfalls. rugged coastline all in one day.

Life moves slowly here.

Fall, winter, spring are long wet months on the Cape.
So, we cook, we take walks when we can.
We gather with friends and share books, wine, memories of trips...
We make beautiful things in all media.

And we grow seeds of change. Here, "cime di rape", a bitter green that will stand up to my garlic and peperoncino pasta sauce.

Pacific Storms

Water, water, everywhere...
Last night winds were clocked at Cape Blanco at 74miles per hour, a respectable storm for this time of the year. Lake Garrison is filling up, and occasional big wave surges spill ocean water right over that berm in the picture.

We usually get a dozen or more such storms during winter months.
This year, we have had maybe two.

Today, and for the next few days, all river valleys around us are under a flood watch. People who live by the Coquille, Sixes, Elk, Smith, Coos, Chetco...are advised to be alert and avoid low areas.
Roads through canyons that traverse the state of Oregon from the middle of the state to the coast are under watch as well as extra rain may cause road closures due to runoffs or road/bridge collapses.

In 2007 a Pacific storm in early December blew the roof off the high school,shut down the highway for a few days, as debris and broken limbs littered Highway 101 for miles and caused heavy damages on a few bridges south of here. Our neighbors had no electricity for a few days, and everyone tried to stay warm by lighting up their fireplaces. A few lucky souls keep generators ready just for these circumstances.

We took a drive earlier in the week toward Coos Bay by way of Seven Devils Road. The road was named for the difficulty of the terrain, and for the usual encounters of "Devils", misfits and bootleggers vying for the same profits. Liquor running was the way of commerce for many folks, as back roads were not easily penetrated by lawmen. After this storm, I'm sure the road has been closed.

Rubbing Shoulders with Giants

The current exhibit at Coos Art Museum features The Hawthorne Family, as in Chris, Julie, Damian...
We live among so much talent, so much beauty and imagination.
Sometimes, we need to be reminded of all this. 

Lewis and Clark, you missed this One

Calla lillies, about three months ahead of schedule this year! The weather has been unusually warm and dry, as all long time residents agree. By now, like Lewis and Clark on their first foray to the West, we'd be stuck in place, anticipating a clearing period to resume activities like walks on the beach, in the forests, by the rivers and lakes all abundant around here.

There is a place where Lewis and Clark's group landed on the Columbia which they named Foulweather just because the weather, cold, wet, windy and mostly miserable, trapped them for months before the expedition could resume their task of mapping the West.

We arrived to live here eleven years ago, at the beginning of February. That year, for three weeks or so, we marveled at our good fortune, walking the coast trail, sitting on our south facing deck with a glass of wine celebrating our good fortune and tanning away as though we still lived in Southern California, soaking up the sun, the fresh air, the gentle breezes for days on end.

A week later, we had to hustle quickly one early evening when the weather changed and our furniture was flying around and hitting windows and doors in a matter of seconds.

That night,  with winds in the sixty and eighty miles an hour, rain from all angles, branches of trees hitting the roof, a driveway washing off with alacrity, we thought for sure, this was going to be our last day on earth.

Those who have lived here for a while will tell you: don't get used to comfort. This area can be treacherous in winter months. This year, Treacherous Weather seems to have forgotten Cape Blanco for now.