OREGON KING OF THE WOODS

Yesssir, there are some ugly things on this Earth, but the banana slug is, in my opinion, the king of ugly. For those who haven't met one, they are slimier than snot on a door knob, big as torsion bar on a Buick, hornier than a buck in  rut, and uglier than a California Congresswoman.

IF IT'S THE OREGON COAST, IT MUST BE CRAB TIME

These beauties are of the Dungeness variety. They are so tasty with garlic butter and anything else, beer, wine, veggies, whatever. I sautéed one of them with garlic and butter and served it with pasta. Oh yummm, oh yumm. The other we just cracked and ate out of the shell.

GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES FROM FLORENCE, OREGON, JULY 12, 2014

MILES AND MILES OF SAND DUNES

This is the South Jetty. Oregon has about a hundred miles of sand dunes. The place is loaded with quads, motorcycles, dune buggies, sand sleds, side by sides, jeeps and other 4X4s, and dune busses.

THE JETTY AT SOUTH JETTY

There are two Jetties here in Florence, we are camped at the South Jetty where there is a Thousand Trails Preserve, and South Jetty is famous for it's incredible sand dunes. North Jetty is more of a residential than recreational area. Very nice homes.

FIRST STAGE BLACKBERRIES

We usually get to Oregon smack dab in the middle of berry season. We were a little bit early this year. The bushes are healthy, the flowers are blooming, and young berries are starting to turn. Wish they would hurry up.

GOOD TIMES IN FLORENCE

 While in Florence, we hooked up with our young, old friend Barb. We first met her and her husband, Phil, many years ago in Trinidad, California. And met up with them several times in several places later. Phil passed a couple years ago, so we made it a point to meet up with Barb at the Beachcomber Tavern in Old Town, Florence.

GETTIN READY FOR THE EVENING CAMPFIRE

South Jetty preserve is a typical Oregon Coast setting. Most days started with fog and got windy about 2 pm. Ferns, berry bushes, mushrooms, deer, banana slugs, great clam chowder, delicious crabs, and campfires in the evening. That's me whipping up a batch of kindling.

CAR SHOW AT THE FLORENCE AIRPORT

  As a follow up to the Fourth of July ceremonies, 5 car clubs in Oregon hosted a car show. There were many nice entries, hot rods, customs, British cars and military vehicles.

DIANE MEETS THE YACHATS MACAW

We took a side trip to Yachats, about 25 miles North along to coast from Florence. We walked the town, went to the farmers market, and ran across this nice lady with her Macaw, beautiful bird.