Since my last post, I've traveled from Cave Junction, Oregon, back down into California to see the Lava Beds National Monument, back into Oregon to see Crater Lake, back to the Oregon coast staying in Coos Bay, and am now in Tillamook, Oregon, about 80 miles to the Washington border. Now for the details:
First, I traveled back into California a hundred miles or so from the coast to Lava Beds National Monument. They had about 2 dozen caves there (lava tubes, actually), formed when a massive volcano erupted many years ago. They actually let you borrow these big flashlights so you can go explore them on your own. On average, they are about 1500 ft long and around 40-50 ft. deep. I went into a few of them and let me tell you...they are scary! I was down there all alone in a VERY dark, cold, cave. There was even one cave I went into that was formed into a figure 8 deep into the bowels of the thing...they advised that you made note of where you entered the figure 8, so you could find your way out again! Needless to say, I only checked out a few of them and decided that I'd had enough. Pictures don't come out that great underground, so I've posted only a few here:
Stayin in Lava Beds two nights and then headed off to Crater Lake, Oregon. I drove all the way up to the Lake, having little fuel in the tank when I arrived. I was going to camp up there by the lake, but there was so much snow, the campground was closed! So, off I went in search of diesel. I made it just in the nick of time, fueled up, and found a campground about 20 miles from the Lake. The campground was very heavily wooded, with the Rogue River running about 20 ft. from my RV.
The next day, I went to see the Lake and surrounding area. This place was beautiful! Not only the lake, but the surrounding area as well. I even found an awesome waterfall, rivaling any in Hawaii. Here are the pics:
After Crater Lake, I travelled to the Oregon coast, to Coos Bay. I stayed in an RV park inside Sunset Bay State Park. The coast was georgeous! Some of the best scenery I've seen on the trip:
Tom becomes a father
After shooting these photos, I went to bed around midnight. Started hearing a weird, soft noise, like an “eep!” “eep!”. It would come and go, so I got dressed, got my flashlight and went outside to check. Couldn’t find anything. And, of course, the noise stopped once I got outside. Went back in, got undressed, then the noises started again! Couldn’t tell if was a bird, a child making noises, whether it was close or far away. So, got dressed again, got the flashlight, and started opening my underneath bins. I got to the heater section and lifted the hatch. There inside was a momma cat, who was in the process of giving birth. I couldn’t see the kittens that were just born, so I got some food for momma, but I scared her off with it. She jumped up into the bowels of the RV, through wiring, hoses, etc. As she did this, two little babies fell down to where she was sitting in the compartment. I got a towel and wrapped them up. They were crying for their momma, but she didn’t return. I waited about 45 minutes, but it was getting cold. So I took them into the RV and cupped them in my hands and breathed my hot breath on them. They were so cold. I called Greg, as it was only 9:45 pm his time to see what to do. The cell coverage was terrible, and I lost him. But he called back and told me to keep them warm and feed them 5% sugar water. So, I stayed up all night with these two little guys, feeding them about every 45 minutes. In the morning, I went to the rangers to have them call around to a shelter. I was getting nowhere, with all the shelters closed, answering machines, etc. Then, the ranger was on the phone with a girl at the vet, who suggested I find a cat that just had kittens and try to introduce them into the litter. I took the phone from the ranger and explained that these guys needed some food right now. She told me to come down to the vet if I would pay for their services. Of course, I agreed. I took them over to the vet, and the same girl told me that her boyfriend’s mom had a cat who just had two kittens. She took my guys over there, and momma cat started licking them right away. At lunchtime, she went back, and all 4 kittens were nursing!
I stayed another night at the campsite, and about 7pm, I heard the now familiar cry of a newborn kitty. I looked under the coach, and saw a different momma cat up in the front of the RV. I couldn’t see the baby. I went to the ranger station, and they told me that they had found a momma the day before with 4 babies, and had captured all of them, but momma ran in and snagged a baby and ran away. This was that cat underneath my RV. The ranges said that they’d go get a trap, and I waited about an hour for them to return. They came back and said they couldn’t find one. By this time, momma had taken off with the baby and I never saw her again.
In the morning, I left the campground for Silver and Gold falls, a 25 mile diversion. I drove to the falls, but the last 5 miles was a rough, gravel road. Just before I got to the parking lot, I took a corner too close and ruptured the right rear tire. I saw the falls, then drove back to Coos Bay to have the tire repaired. Turns out that the tire was OK, but the rim had to be replaced. They had one that fit (sort of), and I was on my way in about an hour and a half.
The drive north along the coast was very nice. One of the best sights was the Heceta Head lighthouse:
Don't forget to check out all of my photos at:
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