[A/S] Gold Beach - August 31, 2000

[hhamp5246@xxxxxxx]

Hi Gang,

First thing the dogs and I went to the beach.... in Gold Beach.  It was 
cloudy, foggy and dark.. the wind was whipping, the waves crashing...it was 
low tide.  I wanted to see Sea Lions... not a one in sight.  There were 
plenty of birds, mostly cormorants... 

Then we took a drive through the Siskiyou National Forest to Agness.
The drive follows the Rogue River, the one from below Crater Lake into the 
Pacific at Gold Beach.  Great drive.  Stopped many times to check out the 
wide rocky river banks and eat blackberries.  There are boat rides up to 
Agness, but having the dogs prevented me from doing that.  They take the US 
Mail upriver everyday except in the winter.  The drive is slow and windy.... 
plenty of time to take in the scenic beauty.

Had a sandwich at the Cougar Lake Lodge.  They let the dogs sit on the deck 
with me while I ate. (c:

We meandered back, crossing the river and following it down the North side.  
Saw plenty of RVs camped at the river's edge.  Just boondocking, not 
campgrounds.

When we got back to Gold Beach I again went looking for Sea Lions, or an 
otter...something!  There's a place where the public can clean fish... went 
there.  A bazillion seagulls... no mammals.   I did a little shopping in 
town, wandering through gift shops and antique shops.  One thing struck me 
about the local women...they have the worst haircuts and hairdos that I've 
ever seen anywhere... they must all go to the Helen Keller Salon of 
Beauty....  :p

I did buy a tacky Christmas star, with lights, for the trailer..... $2.00 
well spent (c:

The town isn't as "yuppie" as I expected.... No cute little sushi bars.... 
the biggest shop in town is the fishing gear store... this town is the *real 
deal*.

I started to cross the bridge and remembered I needed milk and cereal.... I 
turned in a grass empty lot... when I pulled in I saw movement... on closer 
inspection two little black tailed deer were looking at me about 15 feet from 
the truck...  they blended into the dry grass perfectly.  

Still determined to see Sea Lions I went out on the South Jetty.... I drove 
down the little road, taking the low road toward the beach because I couldn't 
have turned Bruiser around on the narrow jetty.  The going got slower and 
slower and stopped.  oops.... so glad I have 4WD as I was stuck deep in the 
soft sand.  Hit the dash switch and we started moving again (c:  We, the dogs 
and I, went out on the jetty.... saw more cormorants, one dove and all of a 
sudden a fish came flying out of the water... a shimmering silver body came 
up two feet and "flew" about 5 feet before it dove back into the water.  I 
couldn't believe my eyes.... I've never seen a fish jump that far.... talk 
about great escapes!  No Sea Lions.... so back in the truck, across the Art 
Deco bridge over the Rogue and on to the North Jetty.  BTW, the bridge was 
built in 1930, it was the first of its kind built in the US... a French 
design.

By now it was really cold, the wind was whipping, I had on a hooded 
sweatshirt and pulled my hood up.  We walked out on the rocks almost to the 
end of the jetty.  It's high tide, the waves were crashing... it was almost 
scary.  I have always been a bit afraid of the power of the ocean.  I called 
the dogs back and they leapt past me to the truck door.  

As I was heading out if the parking lot I again noticed some funny little 
buildings on the edge of the jetty lot.  I had seen them earlier and thought 
they were big birdhouses for sale.  Only there were trays of food, cat food 
and the seagulls were eating them.  I stopped, got out and went in for a 
closer look.  Then I saw them... cats.
First one or two, then more and more.... gnarly looking cats, some missing 
tails.  Duh, it all registered.  There were little cathouses.... I took 
photos.  Too cute.  It was a little town.  A mission, a "cathouse" an and 
various other little town buildings.  Eleven in all, Victorian style houses.  
One has a sign, and a locked box for donations, about helping to feed or spay 
and neuter the "Jetty Cats".  Apparently people come feed them daily.  How 
cute is that? (c:  I shooed away the seagulls and put the food in one of the 
houses, a few more cats appeared.  They are wild, you can't touch them.... 
they went in to eat without the hassle of the gulls. 

The dogs and I came home to the trailer.  We are all fed and content to 
settle in for the evening. Tomorrow morning there's a flea market in town... 
will hit it early then get on the road.... next stop... California.

Hunter