Sat. July 6, 2013 - On Duty

The ambiance of our new local coffee shop, Siuslaw River Coffee Roasters, is terrific.

 

It is right beside the Siuslaw River in Old Town Florence, underneath the picturesque and historic Siuslaw River bridge.

We can drive there in just a few minutes from Honeyman, so we go in the AM, for a work session before heading back to the park for yurt cleaning. 

Today we had three  - then we sat in our site and fielded an occasional questions from passers-by.   Where can I buy firewood?  What is the quickest way to the sand dunes?  etc.  Tough work:)

Fri. July 5, 2013 - Intro to the dunes

We were assigned three yurts today, starting at 1:00 check-out time.  Then did some more exploring to discover where all the pedestrians have been walking.....    

looking up

looking down toward Cleawox Lake.

This is where the pedestrian parade is walking every day - there is a smallish lake at the base of the dune which is popular with the sand boarding people.  We took it easy on a blanket and enjoyed the sun for a while.

Thurs. July 4, 2013 - Happy July 4th

Today was an unusual and  beautiful 4th of July.  ,

We attended the park host-sponsored bike parade for the kids,

 

 

                had a hot dog with the other volunteers and families in the amphitheatre area,

started to explore the park as we began our task of keeping an eye on the bath house in the E-loop, did our yurt cleaning ( two yurts today) and enjoyed our sunny campsite for a while in the afternoon as we watched the pedestrian parade go by.  We had ribs, sweet corn and salad for an early dinner at home, then went in to Florence ( a 4 mile drive)

 to set up in goods seats along the riverfront boardwalk to watch the fireworks.

Wed. July 3, 2013 - On duty

Today was our first official work day.  We got trained by Ed and Jean, from Yucaipa, CA, who are here for the 4th year as relief Yurt hosts. We did one Yurt with them, and one by ourselves.  There are 10 Yurts total in the park, and we are assigned to the five located in the H loop - it is about a 1/4  to 1/3 mile walk from our site with lots of campers to observe along the way.

After work we went in to town for groceries and took a short detour to get a glimpse of the sand dunes between the ocean and the town of Florence, which is at the mouth of the Suislaw River. Beautiful!

Tues. July 2, 2013 - getting settled in A10

Today we got our permanent camping assignment in the A loop - site A10.  It is along the main road where there is lots of foot and vehicle traffic - people coming and going from campsites further down the main park road. 

We are assigned off days on Monday and Tuesday, and we are still getting our bearings, so our Camp Host sign says OFF DUTY for now, but I bet we will get some business at our site being so close to the foot traffic along the road when we are ready.

Mon. July 1, 2013 - Honeyman State Park volunteer orientation

We joined the other volunteers for an orientation meeting today at 2:00.

There are 38 volunteers for the month of July, and most were on hand for the meeting.  About 14 of us were incoming in July, the rest are continuing on from June.   It was interesting to learn the others' home towns ( several commented on being here from Texas, Arizona and California to beat the heat) and job descriptions. We are Yurt hosts again since that is what we are familiar with, but learned there are many different jobs to be had in this park during the summer.

Tonight was our 2nd night in our temporary site - the one we were assigned is busy and there seems to be some issue with it, so we are checking out the C loop with only electricity for hookups for now.

Tonight, after dinner, we took a walk to explore the park - it is big - over 400 sites.  This is a picture of Woahink Lake where there is group camping and the day use area.

The park is quite forested, and the trees are really tall - the tops blow in the wind from the ocean which is about 2 miles away beyond the sand dunes, but we are cozy at ground level.

Sun. June 30, 2013 - too hot to stay inland

We know it is even hotter back in the Sacramento area, because it got cooler as we got farther north, 

 

but it's still HOT so we decided to drive all the way through to our destination at the Oregon coast instead of staying in Eugene tonight.  We called our contact, Ranger Sarah and made arrangements for an early arrival and pulled in to Honeyman State Park about 8:00. We got settled in our temporary spot and made a quick but delicious pesto pasta dinner then opened the windows and let the cool air blow in for a comfortable night sleep.