Report from the southern Oregon Dunes

[Ol'fogasaurus]

If you learn how to play 'pasture pool' you can stop by Bandon OR and blow your retirement on green fees then head down the coast into the CA whine country and drown your sorrows there. I just heard that the cost of wine is going up.

Lee

[CentralWAbaja]

Hope not...It was hard enough getting the Socal guys to come join us for the Mint as it is

[kopfenjager]

Thanks for the update, I was wondering about bug Germinators, if Mo and Sharleen were going to get it sold or not. We always need something like jets or gaskets. Hope the sun is shining for mountain man this memorial weekend. Can't wait to play in the sand!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I will miss mountain man also; Gene was a nice guy but didn't take any guff either. The one incident between him and the rectum on the quad still cracks me up. They had an 80th birthday party for him a while back so I got to see him that one last time. I met him at Spinreel somewhere between 12 and 15 years ago I think.

I will see (one or both of) them next week. Talking Bob and others may be down there but that group is starting to thin out fast now based on what Shawleen said the last time I saw her. I heard that one or more is not doing well so they had a get together (I think it is now past the date) of the bunch for a group photo. There is one more group down there I am wondering about too.

Lee

[kopfenjager]

Yeah, I remember when a lot of these old guys where my age. It's just not like it used to be anymore. I remember when a lot of people didn't dare go down box car cause it was so hard to get out and it had that wicked shoot up threw some old dead trees. Got some pictures of dad back in the day tearing it up. I remember I would ride with dad and he would lock up the brakes to knock the lip off the top of where they where digging out the sand so we could hopefully get out. Now you can ride a tricycle out of boxcar.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

How long is is since you have been there?

Lee

[RAIL9222]

I actually broke out of hibernation and spent last weekend down at Spinreel campground. It was great weather and my buggy ran great. I hope to go again this summer.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Good to see you had good weather. Is the lake the one behind Spinreel Hill? The rail is looking good... as usual. Have to meet you some time.

Lee

[RAIL9222]

Good to see you had good weather. Is the lake the one behind Spinreel Hill? The rail is looking good... as usual. Have to meet you some time.

Lee

Yeah that's the one. There was quite a bit of water about but we managed to get around it. We did a drive thru of the new Riley Ranch campground. The access road really sucks. Its too narrow for buggies and pretty long (although there are a couple turnouts). The campground itself seems to be nice except there was a bunch of horses staying there. We pulled over in one of the turnouts and shut the cars off to let about 15 horses go by.

Maybe we can meet up some time this summer Lee.

This is only the third time I've had this car out and the more I drive it the more I like it. It's way different than my old car and is a different driving machine.

[CentralWAbaja]

I guess if you can't sell it...Drive it!!!

Glad to see it aint gone yet Dan, Hope you get to play with it some more this summer

We probably wont get down till late July or August with the kids baseball and such but will keep plans posted.

[RAIL9222]

I guess if you can't sell it...Drive it!!!

Glad to see it aint gone yet Dan, Hope you get to play with it some more this summer

We probably wont get down till late July or August with the kids baseball and such but will keep plans posted.

Yeah I guess I wasn't hurting bad enough to take a hit on it.
The car impresses me each time I drive it. I gave a few rides and made a couple grown men squeal like school girls. :lol

I just sold my old place and will be moving the shop within the next month so it will be a while before I get away again.

[kopfenjager]

Last year end of summer was the last time I was over. I camp down with a bunch of friends down at Bobby's.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The Riley Ranch thing is interesting, it is a county camping spot and not part of the fed thing. It is really nice; we have driven though several times and talked to the camp host at least once. There is a lot of potential for camping with toys, with no toys and day use for people with toys. They even have a fed security post there. The sides I felt were generous and over all pretty nice and that was when they were being put in.

The problem is, or seems to be, with the RR tracks. There was supposed to be a dune access bridge or overpass that went over the tracks but there seems to be some hang-up over it; part of it probably is the height of the cars, protection from people standing on a bridge when a train comes through, the width of the bridge or kids/people darting across the tracks themselves. I think I heard that there was an overpass design that had been made but I haven’t heard much since then. The last time we asked about the trail we were told it couldn't be used so it is sounding like there is some movement (temporary?) but the trail is not in the direction that it is supposed to go. I think there is a nearby lake in that area of the dunes that may have the environmentalists using it to slow things down. They are after several of those lakes that they are squawking over from what the locals have been saying. I think they are still trying to shut the dunes down even after losing that long court battle. They don’t give up do they?

There has to be a lot of fixing up of the track as it has been in bad shape for years hence the slow speed of the train along those tracks. I think they have been working at the other end of the tracks and coming down to the dune area. I posted some pictures a while back of the closing of Boxcar by the RR but it looks open now; I will try to get a look at it next week and find out some information then. The bridge across the bay also has to be fixed so there goes some more money the county doesn't have. Right now, the last I heard, that the train is supporting the business that were built out on the point with the promise that the train would be there to support them.

There is a private area next to Horsfall that has been modified to have camping I think. It opens directly to Boxcar hill. I am not really sure just what it is but it is where dune fest or the other one was held a couple of years ago. That really got the ranger’s shorts in a knot on that adventurer. Phone calls were made and the roof fell in on him I understand.

The Riley Ranch is going to be/has the potential to be a lot better than the Houser access but the Hauser access’s redeeming feature is that opens up on the drag strip so to speak and the southern end of the access between the northern and southern parts of the southern dune area. I think the rental place, the Myrtle wood factory parking lot (rents camping spaces) and the KOA also use the Hauser entrance. You have to cross the tracks there too. If I remember correctly, the tracks go over the Spinreel entrance but I don’t remember for sure (we go there but I don’t pay attention to that, I am driving and playing dodge ball with the other people on the road.

More than you wanted to know.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Last year end of summer was the last time I was over. I camp down with a bunch of friends down at Bobby's.

Which "Bobby"? I know several of them; is Philbert in the area where you were at?

Lee

[kopfenjager]

Philbert doesn't sound familiar. It's an old veneers factory down by the railroad track by Houser. Wright is his last name. Been duning with him since I was just a kid and we would camp down in spinreel back in those days.