Gold?

This is the first time on this trip that I am posting about a place while we're still here.  We arrived in Gold Beach three days ago and, although we haven't found any gold, we do have a golden place to stay.  Just four miles east of town on Jerry's Flat Rd. is a large gravel area perfect for boondocking.

We're on the south side of the Rogue River and can wave to the jet boats as they pass by.  You probably wouldn't want to park here in the spring when it might be underwater.

Here's our view out the front window.

The Gold Beach harbor and its surroundings have some interesting attractions.  On the north side, there's the cat condos, erected by caring folks to house stray cats.  At least I think it's for cats, but what's with all the dog pictures?  Regardless, we didn't see any cats or dogs, just a gull.

In the harbor we saw sea lions feasting on salmon at the mouth of the Rogue River. Funny thing, when we were here in 2011, the harbor seals were hanging out here.

We were told the fishermen really hate the sea lions taking their catch.  I thought that was understandable, but when they bad-mouthed the osprey, I thought that was going a bit too far.  It was fun to watch them swoop in for a meal.   I even captured one on a video.



We were surprised to see this big ship at the mouth of the harbor.  It seems to belong to the Army Corps of Engineers.  Maybe Paul can tell us its purpose.

Moving to the south side of the harbor, we observed the contrast between the remains of the Mary D. Hume and the southernmost of the gorgeous Oregon bridges.  Built in 1931, the I.L. Patterson Memorial Bridge was the first in the country to be built using pre-stressed concrete.  It's a beauty.

I couldn't help feeling sad about the boat disintegrating into the harbor.  After 97 years of glorious service as schooner, tugboat, cannery tender and whaling vessel, the Mary D was retired to Gold Beach, where she had been built in 1880.  Here is a series of pictures showing the rapid decay since her return in 1978.