Follow S.E. Schlosser's trip to Oregon in search of ghost stories, supernatural tales, and of course, Bigfoot! The author takes you day by day through a typical research trip as she discovers the supernatural side of Oregon, in preparation for the writing and publication of the 15th book in the Spooky Series: Spooky Oregon, coming in September 2009.

Day Twelve Heceta Head lighthouse. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. We took another drive down the coast, heading for Gold Beach and the Rogue River. First stop was Cape Perpetua and the Devil's Churn - a thin spit of lava rock between two hills with a long, narrow gap through which ocean water would spray up like a geyser during high tide. Tide was low while we were there, but I did walk down to the rocks along the shore and took pictures of the tide pools. Then we were off again, to the Heceta Head Lighthouse. It was perhaps the most beautiful place on the coast to me. A perfect inlet with free-standing monolith stones, a brook flowing into the sea, crossed by a picturesque bridge, a lovely, lovely lighthouse, and the haunted keepers house at the top of the hill! Perfection! Next stop were the Sea Lion Caves - the largest sea caves in the world. A sea cave at Heceta Head. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. I was so proud of Mom on this trip. She has some trouble walking, but today she walked down 37 steps, down a broad incline on the side of a grassy cliff that stretched down and down to the sea, and finally took a 20 story elevator down into the caverns! There were only 3 sea lions in the caves themselves, the rest were sunning themselves on a large ledge outside. But it was amazing to see the inside of those caverns. After lunch at a fun road-side diner that featured classic cars of the 50s (including two inside that had booths in them!!), we meandered our way to Gold Beach, where we checked into a little beach house with two bedrooms, a living room with gas fire, and a deck overlooking the ocean. I ran down to the beach and got fantastic sunset pictures! Then an early night - because tomorrow we were heading to the jet boat trip on the Rogue! Day Thirteen Jet boat on the Rogue River. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. We were up and breakfasted early, and then drove a few miles down the road to the Rogue River and the Jerry's Rogue Jets. A lovely spot right at the mouth of the river where it meets the sea. We were warmly welcomed by the staff, and loaned thick warm jackets. By the time Mom got on everything she thought necessary to the boat trip, only her chin was showing!! Three jackets, a life jacket, a baseball hat, a hood over the hat, and her very thick very large dark glasses completed the picture. She looked ready for the Antartic, not the Rogue!! There was a lot of wind at the river mouth. Our captain was Captain Tim with his golden retriever who was called puppy. Captain Tim was reputed to tell the best stories on the Rogue, and he lived up to his reputation: Golden tongued, with a wry sense of humor and the best tall tales I ever heard! Wonderful. The River itself was wonderful too - wide and welcoming with a swift current, lovely hills all around, and wildlife galore! We saw seals, pelicans, bald eagles, osprey catching fish, cormorants, deer. And of courses many anglers trying to catch Chinook Salmon. Puppy sneaks a ride upfront. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. It was cool on the boat trip upriver, so everyone huddled under blankets and jackets and gaped at the scenery. Captain Tim, stopping occasionally to show us the sights, point out wildlife, and tell us tall tales. About the teepee we passed (white buffalo on the sides indicates a time of good fortune for the native peoples - the coming of many casinos!) About the tree with bark peeling off (rare species of Madrone monkey living only in the deepest Amazon and the southern Rogue River). And of course to solicit sales of the souvenir photographs taken by Penny the tour group photographer. (To quote Captain Tim, "Let me tell you about Penny. Penny only makes her living off the photos she sells. If you don't buy them, she'll starve to death this winter. Really. Won't accept a dime of aid. Runs a free senior citizen's home in her spare time, out of the goodness of her heart, cause that's the kind of girl she is. Adopted one of those weiner dogs from the shelter when she learned he was blind and deaf and only spoke German. That's the kind of girl she is. Was a good bargain too, cause that dog saved the life of a grandma and her three kiddies when a fire broke out at the senior citizen's home. Dragged them out of the fire. Dragged everyone else out too, including Penny. Only one that died was the cat, because he hated the cat. Anyway, poor Penny will be forced to eat the dog this winter if we don't buy her photos, so try to help her out folks. Unless of course that doesn't leave you any money for my tip. In that case, I'm sure Penny will be fine!") The scenic Rogue River. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. We had lunch at a little restaurant with great food further up the river, and had a whole hour afterward to relax in the shade and listen to the river burbling below us and watch the fishermen, campers, and wildlife. Very nice. The road up to the restaurant was so steep they sent a car down to bring Mom and Dad up. I went along for the ride, but accidentally left my brand new hat in the car. Rats!! Hope one of the restaurant folks is enjoying it. After lunch, we made the return trip down the Rogue with more stories, and Captain Tim spinning that fast jet boat around and around and splashing all of us. The sun had warmed us all up, and it felt good to be splashed - at least some of the time!! We said farewell to the Rogue around 2 p.m., and then went south to California, since Mom wanted to see the Redwood trees. We stopped at a place called Trees of Mystery with giant, two-story tall statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. The 'statue' of Paul Bunyan talked to people as they entered the building to pay for tickets. Peoples' reactions were hilarious when they were first addressed by the huge statue! I even saw it wink at one lady with two kids! The drive-through sequoia tree. Photo credit: S.E. Schlosser, copyright 2008. We took a gondola ride up over the forest to the top of the hill, then I did the advanced hike down the hill while Mom and Dad explored the top and took the gondola down. Some places on that path were so steep I needed both walking stick and the ropes they'd put along side the trail!! My knees hurt going down!! But it was fun to walk close-up among those huge trees, alone with nature. I met up with one squirrel-a funny brown thing that squealed at me in indignation for invading his territory! Cute. I met Dad at the base of the trail, and we wandered through the trees of mystery, comparing impressions. We also explored the outdoor "gallery" full of redwood carvings of Tall Tale characters from Paul Bunyan and other tales. I loved the ten-foot long squirrel (Sourdough Sam the cook raised him) who was pictured coming down a giant redwood tree! Fantastic. After we left Trees of Mystery, we wandered a bit further south to a giant sequoia that you could drive right through. It was a tight squeeze in the RAV4, but we made it. Pretty neat! Then we drove to the hotel in Brookings, had dinner and a quick swim, and bed. Spooky Oregon Travelogue: Days 1-3 | Days 4-5 | Days 6-8 | Days 9-11 | Days 12-13 | Days 14-16 About the Author   |   Awards   |    Sources   |   Spooky Books   |   Stories A to Z   |   Reprints/Permissions Comments? Email us at webmaster@americanfolklore.net © S.E. Schlosser 1997 - 2008. This site is best viewed while eating marshmallows around a campfire under a starry sky.