Click on a photo to enlarge it.
Beaver Creek State Natural Area was first opened in October 2010 so it was brand new. A small visitor centre was very informative and
there was even a web cam showing a sparrows nest with 7 eggs laid so far. We also saw ospreys.
We picked up a map and went off to do a 3 mile walk along some of the trails which are so new they are not easy to follow. They are
not yet well trodden paths! Plus it was very wet from all the rain. But we certainly enjoyed getting away from all the crowds on the
Bank Holiday and we just made it back to Winnie as it started raining again.
On the final drive to Newport we stopped for a shower at one of the State Parks and then found a spot for the night.
The next day we went into a Napa garage for a check on Winnie. One of the valves is not working and the best case scenario is that
they will have to take off the cylinder head and send it to Waldport to grind the valves and replace them. This will cost us $1085!!!!
But that is only if the valves can be done to get the compression back up. They may find something else when they take it apart.
It seems to be a different problem to 2007 when the head was warped and coolant was leaking into the engine. There is no indication
of that yet. Driving with it won't make it worse but our mileage will continue to be low and therefore cost us far more in petrol and
the chances of us passing a smog test in November are zero!
We had to decide what to do and whether Winnie was worth paying all that money for when there is a possibility that the problem could
be worse and cost us even more. In the end there wasn't really any choice. So we went into Newport town and looked at the cheapest
motels as we would have to spend a night without Winnie.
We booked the following night at the Moneysaver Motel where the lady sympathised with our plight and allowed us to have the room from
7-30 am until 11 am the following morning so we could get Winnie into the garage.
At least we got the chance to use the internet in the room and watch TV. The room also had a microwave and fridge so Kirsten made pasta
with tomato sauce whilst we still had Winnie that we could warm up and we'd also been shopping for supplies so we certainly didn't go
hungry.
The sun came out again in the evening so we went for a stroll along the Bay Front for a few hours to see all the murals.
The news was that Winnie would need 4 new valves. One had burned out but all of them had been drilled in too far in 2007 so the man
doing the head work was really surprised that only one burned out! At least the cost would remain the same though and they said we
could stay in Winnie for the night as the head wouldn't be finished and returned until the afternoon and there wouldn't be enough
time to put it back in.
So we packed up and moved out of the motel and got picked up by Napa and taken over to the garage. They pushed Winnie out of the
workshop at 5-30 pm and we moved back in. Winnie was pushed back in at 8am the following morning and it took 2.5 hours to finish
the work. We were assured that the valves had been done properly this time so we paid the bill and drove to our next highlight which
was just around the corner.
The Hatfield Marine Science Centre is free to visit and is a fascinating way to see and learn about the underwater world of the
Oregon coast. A Must See!!! We spent almost 2 hours in there looking at the tanks and touch pools with wonderful star fish and
anemones. There was also an octopus and numerous screens with information about marine life. Fascinating.
Hatfield Marine Science Center
We drove along the scenic route inland to Toledo as a test drive but our mileage was still too low so we went back to Napa and had
our timing adjusted. We will have to get it readjusted in Mexico though because otherwise the engine will start pinging.
We stopped at Ona Beach State Park in the late afternoon to see the steep cliffs and round sandstone formations on the beach.
Ona Beach State Park - 360° Panorama(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
Afterwards we went to Seal Rock State Park for sunset.
Banana slug
The next morning was another low tide so we wandered around the tide pools and found some really good clusters of star fish, sea
anemones and crabs. We even saw that star fish actually crush mussels and eat them. Their mouths are in the centre of their bodies.
Along the coast, the bigger the mussels are, the bigger the star fish are.
Further along the beach we watched seals trying to stay dry on the rocks when the waves came along. It looked like they were trying
to fly. (See video).
Seals at Seal Rock State Park.
