We left our amazing campsite on the bluff of the Umpqua River Lighthouse last week and spent a day and a night in Coos Bay to take care of some things on the RV before heading south. While the RV was at the shop, Mabel got her toenails clipped, Marika and I got haircuts, we stocked up on groceries and dog food, and enjoyed the water views.
We spent New Year’s Eve at Harris Beach State Park where our Cape Blanco co-host friends Paul and Jayne are now working as yurt hosts. We had reservations for 2 nights, intending to begin our journey south on Monday morning. But as we were walking with the dogs around the campground on New Year’s Day, it was such a beautiful day, and the beach was right there, and Marika said, “I wonder what we would need to do to stay another night.”
Wow! It hadn’t occurred to me but, yes, I loved the idea. We didn’t have to be anywhere until Morro Bay on the 8th, and I had added extra days into the trip to get there. I immediately felt my shoulders drop, and my heart open up to feeling very happy. And so we picked up a registration envelope on our way home and agreed to leave on Tuesday instead.
On Monday it hailed, slushed, and there was rare snow on the 101! We were so glad we had already decided not to travel. Conditions were expected to be the same until Thursday, so we decided we would stay until it was better traveling weather.
And again, I was so grateful that we have the flexibility to stay longer for safety.
And then Jayne mentioned that the couple that was supposed to work at the day use area down the road had to go home for a funeral, and that the position might be open.
So we drove down to check it out. The host spots are situated behind a bluff, quiet and isolated, with a short easy path to the beach. There are trails along the nearby river, and also down to the visitor’s center. We talked to the other couple we’d be working with and asked about the job.
Our work would include opening and closing the gates at three locations, raising and lowering the flags, cleaning the hardly used bathrooms and my favorite, litter picking. And we’d have the use of a State Parks pickup truck during the working day. We’ll talk to the ranger tomorrow to get more information and make our decision. Right now we are playing the “what if we did it” game…..
And I see so clearly that this is exactly what I asked for when I stood on the bluff at our Umpqua River Lighthouse host campsite a few days ago. I was watching the waves crash over the jetties at the opening of the harbor, and counting the shades of blues and grays from the water out to the horizon, and I was thinking about the coming year and what I wanted. And I said, “More. More of this.”
And so, as you read this, we are deciding whether we’ll stick to the original plan of heading south to Morro Bay for a week, and then spending a month at the Salton Sea, or if we will stay on the Oregon Coast for another month, to do this new job.
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