Monday and Tuesday, July 19-20, 1971

[written by Jean]

Monday July 19, 1971

Reedsport, Ore.

Dear Muriel, Palma & Sylvia

This was the day of our trip up the Rogue River on the “Official Mail Boat.” There’s also the “Original Mail Boat.” We had our second breakfast of Virginia Bakery sweet rolls. This time with orange just as there were no quarts of milk in the store last night. Daddy’s coffee dealy is working out very well. Then packed up & off to the mail boat.

They left pretty much on time. We were the 2nd of at least 3 leaving at 8:30. It’s a beautiful river with a very wide flood plain. As you get up a few bends the trees don’t have so many snags among them and it’s better forest. There are several places where the channel must be deepened or they couldn’t run the boats all summer. There are 2 places to eat and they ask you where you’re going before you leave and evidently phone the orders up. We made the last stop at Singing Springs. It’s efficiently run and you’re assigned a table as you arrive and tell them your order — chicken or roast beef. We arrived shortly after 10:30; lunch at 11;30 — leave at 1. We chose to walk to “town.” There is a Forest station and one store in Agness. 2 room school house and high school is an hour away. It was quite warm and we just sat under the trees after lunch until time to leave. As we were leaving Carl noticed a busboy we were talking to was from Iowa. I noticed it was Des Moines and asked if he’d gone to East High. Sure enough he knew Clarice.

I found the trip back less enjoyable as going downstream we had a stronger wind but it was only 1½ hours (about 30 miles) back so that helped. The day dawned clear and it was still clear at 2:30 when we returned. Since then we have driven to Reedsport where we got out first motel with a pool. Laurel is swimming now behind me — I was in earlier about ½ hour. We don’t plan [on] going out to dinner tonight after a good lunch and expensive dinners the last 2 nights.

We’ll call you at 9.

July 20, 1971 Tue

The fog came in so it was foggy when we looked out at Reedsport. So we are seeing the Oregon Coast in sun and fog. As we came north we found there were so many interesting things to see we decided we didn’t care whether we got to Astoria or not.

1st was a little place where an insectivorous [plant] grows profusely. 

The sea lions were hiding in the fog.

2nd Cape Perpetua; first the short Indian shell mounds and then an interesting Forest Service Visitors Center, and and fog.

At Newport there was a bakery, county museum, old lighthouse and right up the highway an agate beach. At Cape Foulweather there is a beautiful view — the one on the Sunset Oregon book — with sea otters out on the rocks. Finally we headed to Tillamook and I couldn’t get Carl to either stop or take a byway again.

Love,

JRS