Week ending Nov 27, 2014 Bandon

Thursday after posting the blog at the Bandon library we went back to the trailer. By the time we arrived back in early afternoon our rainy day had become a beautiful sunny day. We decided to walk out to the lighthouse. Joan thought the walk was about 3 miles round trip, but as it turned out it was 6 miles. By the time we got back to the trailer it was getting dark. Next time we will check the distance of our walks more carefully.

Friday was our 44 wedding anniversary. We decided to celebrate by going to the Mill Casino in Coos Bay. John had read about Charleston, a port west of Coos Bay, and the Seven Devils Road, a scenic drive back toward Bandon.  Looking at the maps, we needed to find Beach Road (we think), which connects highway 101 to Seven Devils Road.    However, as we headed up toward Coos Bay, we saw Seven Devils Road first, so figured we didn't need to go to Beach Road.   We found out why the south end of  Seven Devils Roads wasn't the preferred route.  It is an unpaved road that wanders up and down hills toward the ocean, with very sharp turns, and a section that was barely wide enough for two vehicles.  We encountered a truck at one point, and he put his tires in the ditch on the uphill side of the road to make sure we had enough room to get by.  We couldn't believe that people built several really nice houses along this road. We eventually got to Seven Devils State Wayside for some views of  the surf.  Then we continued on the good section of the road to Sunset Beach, a nice park just west of Charleston.  There is both a day use area and a campground there.  While enjoying the view of sunset beach we saw a couple just floating with a surfboard in a sheltered area, which seemed a bit odd.  Then we noticed the heads of some seals swimming near them, the first wild life we have seen in the ocean this trip.

We then headed back through Charleston to Mill Casino in Coos Bay.  Thanks to Oregon state law, they have a non-smoking room with slots, a real treat. After lunch (not a place we would recommend highly but okay), Joan took $10 and promptly lost it. John's $5 resulted in about $12 in the same time. Some people are just lucky.

We thought it was odd that Coos Bay, at about 16,000 people, is the largest place on the Oregon Coast. Although Portland is a port, it is about 100 miles from the coast up the Columbia River.

Saturday morning after watching some curling we headed into Bandon to walk through Old Town.  After browsing through a number of shops we followed the signs to the Farmers Market.  One fellow makes all sorts of salt free dip and salsa mixes. We picked up some red salsa mix and a green onion dip mix. There are some nice murals on buildings around town. As we headed back to the truck Joan went into a fish restaurant and got some clam chowder to take home for lunch. John waited outside, which was a good choice as the smell of fish inside the restaurant would have overpowered him.  We then headed back to the trailer to enjoy the rest of the sunny day and watch a bit more curling.

Sunday was football day, with both eastern and western finals.  Fortunately there was also some curling on for Joan.

Monday was a perfect day to hike, warm and sunny. We headed out to Floras Lake State Natural area to hike to Blacklock Point, which was marked on a guide as one of the two main picturesque areas south of Bandon. The trail started out nice and wide, but shortly we came to an area that was covered in water.  There was a side trail that we took to bypass the water, but after a while we started having to push through thorny bushes several times, and decided that this side trail wasn't just a bypass to get around the marsh, so we retraced our steps (hopefully) and found our way back to the main trail.  We were able to walk along the edge of the marshy area and continue along the proper trail.  Eventually we arrived at Blacklock Point. (6 mile round trip) What a spectacular area. We were really happy that we had stayed the course.

On the way back to the trailer we made a quick stop at one of the many Myrtlewood Factory stores. We were curious as to what exactly myrtle is.  It is a hardwood deciduous tree that only grows between northern California and mid-Oregon, and in Israel.

We decided that there was enough to do in the area to stay longer, so after paying for another week of campground fees we were off to Floras Lake trail.  On the way to the lake we stopped at Coquille Point Park in Bandon, the other place marked as picturesque in this area.  There is a very nice interpretive trail on the point above the beach.

 then to  Face Rock State Park, then Devils Kitchen and before going back to the highway to go to Boice Cope County Park. We did a walk past Floras Lake to the beach. This was a different type of beach, as there wasn't the offshore rocks that we have seen in most of the ther areas, and quite a coarser type of sand that didn't pack down along the shore as much as most places. Perhaps because of this, the beach was steeper and not as wide as most places we have seen, so the surf crashed harder
onto the shore.

  
We walked down the beach for a a short distance before meeting some people who had turned around ahead of us.  They told us that the tide was coming in and the area ahead had steep walls that would prevent us from getting up above the tide, so we headed back.   On the way back to the trailer we stopped at Misty Meadows for some blueberry spread, which is a jam of without added sugar, and some apricot bbq sauce.

Wednesday we drove down to Cape Blanco Lighthouse, the longest continuously operating lighthouse on the Oregon coast. The view from the parking lot across from the lighthouse was really picturesque, but the wind was blowing so hard we could hardly open the truck door, so we didn't tarry very long. 

We carried on to Port Orford to check it out, and stopped at another Mrytlewood factory.

Thursday was a rainy day.  We tried to get internet access using our phone at the park, but, perhaps because of the rain, the signal wasn't strong enough to do anything on the internet (we can usually do a bit, slowly).  We drove into town, and fortunately the wi-fi in the library is on even though the library is closed for Thanksgiving Day, so we were able to post the blog and check out a few things.