Winchester Bay

We arrived in Winchester Bay on the Oregon coast yesterday afternoon.  This area has a lot of sand dunes and lighthouses every few miles.  The RV park we are in is on the Umpqua River, about a mile from where it meets the Pacific Ocean.  We headed down to the ocean this afternoon and saw our first surfer.  We're heading down to Brookings tomorrow, which is not far from the California border and about 3 1/2 hours from here.

We have been meeting lots of people who come over and want to know about Nachelnik.  The repeated comments about him always include the word "magnificent."  We did come across one guy who knew about the breed, though.  He came over when we were walking the dogs at a truck stop.  It was after dark and he stopped about 50 feet away, smoking and looking at him.

Then he yelled with a thick accent:  "Is that a sheepdog?"

I replied, "Yes, it's a sheepdog."

"Ovcharka, from Russia," he said.

"Yes -- how do you know?  Where are YOU from?"

"From Russia!" he proclaimed, as if I should have known that.