This is their off season (they refer to it as the Discovery Season) so prices are down a ways and we only paid $12/night for water and electricity. We often tell people that sometimes we extend our stay because the park we are at is just a nice place to be and this was one of those times. It was raining up and down the coast so there wasn't much reason to move a few miles and re-establish camp. The dump site is closed indefinitely - don't know why.
We had neighbors when we arrived but they left and nobody else took a site on either side of us. Very quiet. Oh, the wind does blow here a lot and we were surprised when we would go out in the evening to photograph the lighthouse and the wind nearly blew us off of the bluff. The trees serve as a great wind break; we just were not aware of the wind.
On two different days, we had deer visit our campsite giving us an opportunity to watch them graze on the grass and the tender new leaves of the bushes. They were watchful but couldn't see us through our windows and seemed very comfortable.
The day before this gal visited us, we had two does escorting a fawn that wasn't very old but ol' fumble fingers couldn't get to this camera to take that photo. This one is kind of nice.
We could not believe how close these deer came to our trailer. This was the last day that we saw them but what a thrill.
This photo is my National Geographic Moment. Other people get photos of bears catching fish, lions making a kill, cute cheetah cubs romping with their mother, polar bears being, well, polar bears, wolf cubs nursing or big horn sheep battling for mating rights but not me, the best I can do is a photo of deer peeing in the woods. It could have been worse.
A short drive down a one lane road through the trees took us to the beach but we still had a long walk down to the beach and then back up to the truck. On the return trip, I twice had to back down the road to a wide spot that would allow the cars get by us.Way off in the distance is a rock grouping and the big one looks like a whale floating on top of the water which they only do in cartoons.
This rock actually has a hole in it that makes it intersting.
The Cape Blanco Lighthouse is on the top of that distant bluff. We wondered where this big old log came from and how long it had been on this beach watching the tides ebb and flow.
Six percent of the nation's cranberries are grown in this region and right now, they are not their prettiest and of course, we missed the bloom and have never seen the flooded bogs. Most the berries are harvested and turned into juice.
This rock actually has a hole in it that makes it intersting.
The Cape Blanco Lighthouse is on the top of that distant bluff. We wondered where this big old log came from and how long it had been on this beach watching the tides ebb and flow.
Six percent of the nation's cranberries are grown in this region and right now, they are not their prettiest and of course, we missed the bloom and have never seen the flooded bogs. Most the berries are harvested and turned into juice.I must mention the Crazy Norwegian restaurant in Port Orford. Sharon says they serve up the best fish and chips that she has eaten - to date. We first had dinner there with our friends, Pete Lorain and his wife, Jan, who stopped in town while on their road trip to visit with us. It was so good, Sharon and I returned for lunch a couple days later.
One day of exploring took us north to Bandon. After traveling about 20 miles north on US-101 we turned off onto Beach Loop Road which presented some nice view to us including the big surprise, Face Rock State Scenic View Point. It has a bunch of huge rocks and big waves and typical Oregon Coast stuff. We were glad we stumbled onto this gem.
Face Rock is the big rock in the middle of the photo. The head is laying back and the face is pointed towards the sky and to the right.
There is a rule that when you are at the beach, you must take one photo of a sea gull. Photographing the bird perched on an old piece of drift wood will get you bonus points.
Coquille River Lighthouse is on the north bank of the Coquille River and was commissioned in 1896 to guide mariners across a dangerous bar. Decommissioned in 1939 following improvements to river channel and other navigational aides. Restored in 1979 as an interpretive center, the "fog room" contains historical displays and a small gift shop that supports renovation efforts. We didn't get to spend any money because it was closed the day we visited.
This is a vew up the Coquille River towards Old Town Bandon. We plan to explore this little village on another trip north.
Our friendly mapping software suggested the Seven Devils Road as an alternate to using US-101 to get to Charleston and that’s what we did – nearly. We picked up the road just a few miles north of Bandon and basically, it is a nice two lane road out through the hills with lots of curves. We stumbled onto the Seven Devils State Recreation Site that is a Day Use area and apparently offers – according to the official Web site:
So back we went and turned onto Whiskey Run Rd that took us to West Beaver Hill Rd that eventually took us back to Seven Devils Rd just beyond the icky part. We had one other surprise before getting to Charleston and that was the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve that has nice trails down to the slough and a good visitors center and a short 10-minute hike (we did it in 7 minutes) that is like walking through a green tunnel.
We didn’t think Charleston was very big but all we had seen was the old town and wharf area. Later, we drove all the way through town and it isn’t that big but interesting.
This is a view of the Charleston Marina. There is an RV park near the marina.
We turned back south onto the Cape Arago Road and checked out the Basterndorff Beach County Park (won’t stay there) and the Ocean View RV Park (private but not too bad during the off season and we would stay here) and finally Sunset Beach State Park. Way too crowded for us and too far from the beach.
One day of exploring took us north to Bandon. After traveling about 20 miles north on US-101 we turned off onto Beach Loop Road which presented some nice view to us including the big surprise, Face Rock State Scenic View Point. It has a bunch of huge rocks and big waves and typical Oregon Coast stuff. We were glad we stumbled onto this gem.
Face Rock is the big rock in the middle of the photo. The head is laying back and the face is pointed towards the sky and to the right.
There is a rule that when you are at the beach, you must take one photo of a sea gull. Photographing the bird perched on an old piece of drift wood will get you bonus points.
Coquille River Lighthouse is on the north bank of the Coquille River and was commissioned in 1896 to guide mariners across a dangerous bar. Decommissioned in 1939 following improvements to river channel and other navigational aides. Restored in 1979 as an interpretive center, the "fog room" contains historical displays and a small gift shop that supports renovation efforts. We didn't get to spend any money because it was closed the day we visited.
This is a vew up the Coquille River towards Old Town Bandon. We plan to explore this little village on another trip north.Our friendly mapping software suggested the Seven Devils Road as an alternate to using US-101 to get to Charleston and that’s what we did – nearly. We picked up the road just a few miles north of Bandon and basically, it is a nice two lane road out through the hills with lots of curves. We stumbled onto the Seven Devils State Recreation Site that is a Day Use area and apparently offers – according to the official Web site:
“Seven Devils Wayside is the jumping-off point for sandy beach adventure. At
this access point, you can travel several miles up and down the open beach.
Agates are often the beachcombing goal of visitors to this out-of-the-way
spot.”
When we turned left out of this area, we noticed a sign that said the Old Seven Devils Road “is not recommended for RVs or trailers.” We wondered what this was all about because at one time we considered driving with our trailer up this road so nothing to do but drive it and see what is was all about. Well, a couple miles later was another warning, “3.5 Miles One-Lane Road” and the surface from what we could see was dirt/mud. That was enough for us and we turned the truck around in an area that didn’t allow room to turn the trailer around. This would not have been good. We need to tell ALK Technologies (makers of CoPilot) about this development.
So back we went and turned onto Whiskey Run Rd that took us to West Beaver Hill Rd that eventually took us back to Seven Devils Rd just beyond the icky part. We had one other surprise before getting to Charleston and that was the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve that has nice trails down to the slough and a good visitors center and a short 10-minute hike (we did it in 7 minutes) that is like walking through a green tunnel.
We didn’t think Charleston was very big but all we had seen was the old town and wharf area. Later, we drove all the way through town and it isn’t that big but interesting.This is a view of the Charleston Marina. There is an RV park near the marina.
We turned back south onto the Cape Arago Road and checked out the Basterndorff Beach County Park (won’t stay there) and the Ocean View RV Park (private but not too bad during the off season and we would stay here) and finally Sunset Beach State Park. Way too crowded for us and too far from the beach.This photo of the Cape Arago Lighthouse was taken from a distant viewpoint.
Another view of the lighthouse from the same location. It is an intersting section of coastline with lots of rocks for the waves to crash against.
This is the third lighthouse that we visited while here at Cape Blanco and it is the Cape Blanco Lighthouse which visitors can climb to the top of the tower and get up close to the lens and other stuff. We had done this at the Heceta Head and didn't this time.
A view of the coast line looking north from the lighhouse.
This is the Historic Hughes house and worth a visit.
Cape Blanco - a great place to explore and we will visit again.
The lighthouse stands 100 feet above the ocean just off Gregory Point. The light is atop 44-foot high tower illuminated in 1934. Although newest in
terms of service, earlier structures were built on the site in 1866 and 1908,
both succumbing to weather and erosion.
Another view of the lighthouse from the same location. It is an intersting section of coastline with lots of rocks for the waves to crash against.
This is the third lighthouse that we visited while here at Cape Blanco and it is the Cape Blanco Lighthouse which visitors can climb to the top of the tower and get up close to the lens and other stuff. We had done this at the Heceta Head and didn't this time.
Towering above the westernmost point in Oregon, 9-miles north of Port Orford on
US-101. Oldest standing lighthouse on Oregon coast; commissioned in 1870
to aid shipping generated by gold mining and lumber industry. Clifftop
location is 245 feet above ocean; conical tower rises 59 feet. Automated
equipment installed by U.S. Coast Guard in 1980. Stands above high rated
wildlife viewing area. This isolated lighthouse hold at least four Oregon records; it is the oldest continuously operating light, the most westerly in Oregon, the highest above the sea (245 feet) and Oregon's first woman keeper, Mabel E. Bretherton, signed on in 1903.
A view of the coast line looking north from the lighhouse.
This is the Historic Hughes house and worth a visit.
Cape Blanco - a great place to explore and we will visit again.
No comments:
Post a Comment