Feb. 23, 2013: Propane and cookies

Today we drove in to town to get more propane - it has been very cold and we've been inside more than usual due to the storm, so the propane is down, and they will not be able to refill on Sunday, so we had to go today. Breakfast at Muddy Waters, work session at the library, propane fill, fresh clams for dinner at the seafood stand, grocery run at Fred Meyers, then back to the park for the three yurt cleaning assignment. Next I did a long beach cleanup walk while Mike worked and cooked up the clams. Yummy!

After dinner we made our first batch of chocolate chip cookie dough for bedtime snack. Quite a production in such a small place. First, Mike helped me reduce the Neiman Marcus best ever cookie dough recipe to fit our oven and freezer space,
Then I spread out the ingredients over the available counter space to make the balls, then I cooked one up as four cookies and froze the others for later. Yummy again!

Feb. 22, 2013: Day 53 - High Wind and Rain

Today when Travis came by at 8:30 to give us our assignment - two yurts and the meeting room - he also brought a weather report. There would be gusts up to 50 MPH 2 inches of rain over the passes and 2 feet of snow in the mountains. Good day to be indoors and hunker down. The howling wind was pretty exciting - I went out to look at the ocean at high tide and got this video. ( apparently it won't upload, sorry, but the wind was awesome!)



We did the yurts in the rain but the sun was out by the time we were finished, so we took a beach walk. There were four waterfalls coming down the cape in the distance, ( barely visible in the picture below) but we could not get up close because the stream coming out of the hills through the park to the beah was now an unford-able river.

Feb. 21, 2013: Day 52 - Three cabins

Mike went in to town - his deadline is calling, and I stayed at home to do the park host work in the afternoon. We were assigned three cabins - first time for more than two. Mike drove me there at 10:00 when he left for town, but all the cabins were still occupied since check-out time is 1:00.

To kill some time, we checked the mail - we got our first batch of re-directed mail from our Auburn PO box, so I got our scanner working and processed the mail.

It was windy and a light rain when I left for the 12 minute walk to the cabins at about 12:15. I skipped the outdoor chores since it is silly to sweep in rain. Here are some pictures of the inside of the cabins:




It took me longer to do the three cabins without Mike, and by the time I was finished, it was a hard rain. I walked back to the kiosk where we turn in the keys and paperwok after cleaning, and there was a new guest waiting for the keys and Ranger Dave was checking in with Howard (the on-duty regiration host) to see if everything was OK. They did not see our car and wondered what was going on. Ranger Dave told me I should have let them know I was working by myself and he would have helped - especially since it is a light day and he was not busy. He emphasized that the rangers want to get to know the hosts and this would have been a good opportunity. He said when the park is short a host and the rangers HAVE to do the cleaning, they really appreciate what we hosts do to help. It was all good.

Feb. 20, 2013: Day 51 - Laundry day

We went in to Tillamook library again today, but this time I dropped Mike off, then went to the laundromat. Today I did five loads - first time I really washed a lot with towels and sheets. It was quite pleasant - four different sized machines, a TV on the wall, a coin changer that takes $20 bills ( you need it )a bathroom (where I finished dring my hair from the morning shower) and a seating area while you wait. Today I did not have much time to wait as I was busy processing the loads. Two hours flat with everything clean and dry - Nice!





When I was done, I went to get Mike and we took a short break for a burrito lunch at one of the many food carts that exist in the state of Oregon. Then back to the library for another long session. It started to rain this afternoon. Sounds like a storm is on it's way.

Feb. 19, 2013: Day 50 - TBC work day

Today we went in to Tillamook for a straight work day - Mike is working on the next phase of the project that has kept him busy since we started our travels. We tried out a new restaurant for breakfast, The Fern, and it was good, but not the home cooking we get at Muddy Waters.

We had time to kill before the library opens at 9:00, so we went to Safeway across the street for coffee and a couple supplies, then to a sound-proof room at the library for the morning.

We took a late lunch at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory ( competition for the Tillamook Cheese Factory - both tourist magnets) and returned to the library for another long work session. We had a small dinner of leftovers when we got back, then took a walk out to the ocean ( less than 5 minute walk) - the moon is rising and it was a clear night, so it was beautiful lighting our way and reflecting on the water.

Feb. 18, 2013 - Day 49: First tip

Not too much turn-over today - we were assigned only 2 yurts. Takes less an hour. One yurt was kind enough to leave us a table tip. Mike and I think our assigned work is a fair trade for what we receive, (the right to hang out in this beautiful park for a month) so the tip was appreciated but definitely unnecessary:)

We decided to take a holiday afternoon drive up the coast about 10 miles to the northernmost physical feature of this park's management responsibilities - Cape Mears - where there is an historic lighthouse. It was windy and cold, so we read the sign boards by the parking lot, but did not take the 1/4 mile walk out to the end of the cape to get a closer look of the lighthouse.

Feb 17, 2013 - Day 48: First Japanese artifact

We noticed a lot more noise in the campground last night - many campsites are taken. Up till now, being a cool, damp February, the park has been pretty empty except for the people in the yurts and cabins. Not so this weekend, despite the dampness which comes and goes quickly. Here is a shot of some afternoon sun on our rig coming from the beachside toward our host circle.

Today we cleaned 4 yurts after a beach run and some delicious leftover Jambalaya. Then some more TBC work and a beach cleanup walk - no wind today as all- it was very pleasant. I met a woman from California who was here with her daughter staying in a yurt and interested in the beach cleanup effort. She mentioned the trash pit in the middle of the Pac Ocean that we have been hearing about for several years. Well, some of the stuff washes up on our beach daily, so off I go. Today I found my first identifiable Japanese artifact - not much but still exiting! SOrry about the orientation - it looks fine on my camera:(