Oregon Coast

A trip down Highway 101 on the Oregon coast is sure to be a memorable journey! Our route brought us through quaint historic seaside cities, past beckoning lighthouses to wide sandy beaches strewn with gigantic driftwood and  Agates. We visited farmer’s markets, picked wild blackberries, and shopped seaside towns filled with souvenirs and great art galleries. We drove on high seaside bluffs with fantastic, seemingly endless views, crossed a number of bridges, including draw bridges, and even traveled through a tunnel along the way. I thought this mural in Lincoln City fittingly summed it up as the Magic of Oregon!

Astoria

Leaving the Washington side of the Columbia River we drove over the 4 mile bridge, (the last connector of the US 101 on its route from the Mexico Border into Canada) to enter the town of Astoria.

This city, at the mouth of the Columbia River, reminded us of San Francisco on a smaller scale. Wharfs and docks line the river’s bank while Victorian homes take advantage of views provided by the bluffs. Driving up the steep streets was like riding a roller coaster with no line of sight at the crest of the hills!

We explored the Flavel House set high on a hill  with views of the river.
 As one of the best-preserved examples of Queen Anne architecture in the Northwest, the Flavel House survives today as a landmark of local and national significance. The house was built in 1884-85 for Captain George Flavel and his family. The Captain, who made his fortune from his occupation as a Columbia River bar pilot and through real estate investments, had the house built as his retirement home at the age of sixty-two. The Flavel House has been restored to accurately portray the Victorian period’s elegance and the history of the Flavel family.

Also of interest in this town is the Astoria Column, built in 1926. The brochure calls this monument “an artful summary of the triumphs, conflicts, and turning points of the frontier”. The murals on the facade of the column recount key events from the 1792 arrival of white people on the ship Columbia, the namesake of the River,  to the arrival of the Railroad in the 1880’s. Set on Coxcomb Hill, which is 600 feet high, the monument rises 125 feet. Inside, a circular stairway of 164 steps takes visitors to the viewing platform atop the column, providing views in every direction! 

Of course a central part of the area's history can be explored at Fort Clotsop, the location where Lewis and Clark built a fort to winter over, before their return journey to the East. The Corps of Discovery is illustrated on the column in a prominent position just above the door!

An Unexpected Meetup 

While our travels were bringing us south toward home, our son Chris and daughter in law Briana were traveling northward. They had traveled to San Francisco so Briana could run a half marathon across the Golden Gate Bridge, (woo hoo) and they were now in Oregon. We discovered that we were only a short distance away from them, as they were arriving in Cannon Beach, which we had also planned to visit. 

The four of us, and one of their pups, were able to enjoy a late afternoon walk on this iconic beach to see the 235 foot high Haystack Rock. Our beach walk was followed by a dinner of Pizza and Gelato for dessert in the town of Seaside! What a fun and unexpected meeting!

Oregon Coast Lighthouses 

Heading South we camped for a few nights in Lincoln City. We enjoyed exploring the miles of beaches along the coast here. The location also gave us an opportunity to view and explore a couple of lighthouses and a fantastic bridge in nearby towns.

Most of Oregon’s lighthouses were designed and built by the US Army Corp of Engineers between 1870 and 1896. They are located on prominent headlands or near major estuaries to support commercial fishing and shipping along the Oregon Coast. No longer maintained by lightkeepers the stations were automated in the 1960’s.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse 

First illuminated in 1890, this sentinel rises 93 feet above the 162 foot bluff. Its tower is the tallest on the Oregon Coast!
The lightkeeper's house is no longer standing, but walking down to this remote wind battered bluff overlooking the rocky coast we could get a sense of the difficulties faced by light keepers. They sacrificed a lot to keep sailors safe from the rocks below!

Steve and I enjoyed a picnic lunch overlooking the Yaquina Bay Bridge, which was just across the parking lot from the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. This is the second oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. It operated for just three years from 1871-1874. 

The iconic Heceta Head Lighthouse was first illuminated in 1894. Its 56 foot tower rests 205 feet above sea level.  The strongest light on the Oregon Coast, this tower’s beam shines 21 miles from the land.

I took the picture above from just a few miles south at a view point. The Lighthouse is that tiny white dot on the farthest left bluff!  But below is a close up taken from the base of the structure!

Cape Perpetua Scenic Area

“Where the forest meets the sea!”

And what a great show the sea puts on here! Volcanic rock ledges jut out into the crashing waves. A short hike from the parking lot brought us the ocean. An area called Thor’s Well is a deep hole in the rocky ledge. From below a lava tube allows the well to fill with the sea water rising and falling between sets of  waves. During high tide and strong winds the well is a sight to see! We stood upon the rugged lava rocks about 25 feet from the well watching the rise and fall of the ocean waves. 

On particularly large waves the water would shoot upward out of the well, at one point showering the onlookers with the chilly sea spray! It was so mesmerizing to watch and experience. We highly recommend a stop here if you are in the area at high tide! Here is a short video to entice you to go see this amazing sight!

Before leaving the Oregon Coast our route took us by tall sand dunes and more forests. At Reedsport we started inland to join the 5 Freeway Southbound, heading towards Mount Shasta and Shasta Lake. We are doing our best to stay away from fires and smoke back In California.

Our upcoming planned Adventures on the Road include visiting Shasta Caverns, then staying at Lake Tahoe for a few days as we head toward a visit with our kids and grandkids in Arizona in a couple of weeks!

Psalm 145:3

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised:

And His greatness is unsearchable!

Oregon Coast

Bandon By The Sea

Rocks and spires rising from the shore to reach high over our heads. A receding tide revealing pebbles and stones strewn across the glistening sand. Fog shrouding the sunset. Beachcombers searching for treasures, enjoying the last light of the foggy afternoon. Sounds of the rolling waves breaking on the sand.

All of this is what makes the Oregon Coast so different from our beaches in Southern California. As we walked among the jutting outcroppings of rock towering above us, shrouded in the foggy dusk, we felt we had been transported to another world!

Face Rock from the viewpoint

On a sunnier late afternoon we visited a different part of Bandon beach, that also had great rocky formations rising from the seashore. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beach was littered with logs and driftwood cast high up the sand at the high tide line. Jumbled together they seemed as though a giant had picked them up and tossed them aside. Smooth flat sand stretched before us while gulls flew just above us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bandon Wayside Motel and RV Park

While driving the highways past so many abandoned roadside motels, during our travels, I have often thought that the “motor court concept,” the “motel” needs to be updated to more modern methods of road trips, such as RVs, and we found a business doing just that! It was not like any place we have parked our trailer before! Definitely glamping!

What a cool vibe to this recently refreshed motel just off Highway 101. All the rooms and exterior were redone and refreshed, and the back area has been made into an RV park, with space for 8 RV’s and a couple of tents or pop ups between towering trees. Strings of lights hanging in the trees and potted plants and garden furniture added a cozy feel to this spot that is a great wayside destination for those traveling by auto, tent or RV, located in a small yet vibrant beach side tourist destination.

Washed Ashore

 

Along the southern coast of Oregon we discovered this organization that’s working out a creative way to bring awareness to the problem of ocean pollution in a community involved model. So great to see what they are doing! Here is some info from their website at washedashore.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART TO SAVE THE SEA

Our elaborate sculptures represent the marine life affected by plastic pollution. They are made entirely of debris found washed up on our 

beaches.

 

 

CLEAN OUR OCEANS

Washed Ashore's volunteers have gathered over 60,000 pounds of debris. Beach clean ups and the sculptures created from the debris are designed to inspire change.

 

Shore Acres State Park

 

Formerly the summer home of lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson, Shore Acres is now a public park in Oregon. The home, which is no longer there, originally sat at the edge of the bluffs overlooking the rocky coast. At that viewpoint the cliffs gave way to rocky outcroppings that were so surrealistic. On this very cloudy late afternoon, my photos couldn’t capture the various and diverse shapes and colors of the landscape, as the waves crashed and washed over the rocks. Pelicans lined the ridge of the outcropping, resting between their forays over the ocean in search of food. 

After pausing to enjoy this stunning sight we made our way to the formal garden and rose garden. Flowering shrubs and exotic trees line the symmetrical pathways through this botanical garden on the edge

of Oregon. 

 

 

This state park was a very pleasant place for an afternoon cliff-side and botanical stroll, filled with lots of surprises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redwoods

Leaving Oregon we headed to a short stay in Northern California and a visit to Redwood National and State Parks…yes more big trees and beautiful hiking!

When western expansion met the redwoods in the 1800s, the trees began to fall under saw and axe. The massive redwoods offered early settlers a seemingly inexhaustible lumber supply. However, within a hundred year span the vast forests were reduced to a fraction of their former range. By the early 1900s, it was apparent that the future of the old-growth redwood forest was in doubt.

 

Thanks to the visionary actions of the Save-the-Redwoods League, the redwoods received the protection they needed. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park were created by the State of California in the 1920s to protect some of the finest remaining examples of coast redwoods.

• history of Redwood National and State Parks from the NPS website

In the midst of our drive day, we left the south bound 101 Interstate, to travel along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Byway, through this towering old-growth temperate rain forests. There are plenty of places to park along the roadside and hike. We chose to traverse a trail that ran alongside a creek and also had a side spur to a viewing of the Corkscrew Tree. That's Steve, above, looking up into this twisting spire of trees!

After being refreshed by our time in the forest, we continued south to our campground. After setting up camp and enjoying a quiet night we headed out the next day to explore the area more.

 

While driving through town we spotted a herd of Roosevelt Elk. We parked where we could overlook the herd that was enjoying the sports field of an elementary school in town. Lots of cows and babies, and a few males, were enjoying a rest before the whole herd slowly started getting up to move on. It was fun to watch the babies staying near their mamas and wanting to nurse before leaving. One by one each elk began to slowly rise and then reluctantly headed after that first elk, moving off to find different plants to graze on.

We packed up our picnic and continued on with our day, heading to the visitor center to get some recommendations on hiking in the southern area of the park.

 

 

Trillium Falls

A half mile hike through beautiful

shady trails lined with Redwood Trees towering above verdant green ferns and moss led us to a small but charming waterfall cascading through fallen logs and over rocks.

A bridge that crossed the stream offered views of the falls and the lush vegetation downstream where the gentle stream was obscured by the overgrowth of plants. Climbing down some rocks at the edge of the bridge we enjoyed close up views of the glade, listening to the sounds of the water and the birds calling from the treetops.

 

Fern Canyon

This is a favorite spot that we discovered when we visited the Redwood NP a few years ago. A couple we met in Oregon, advised us that a day permit is now required for entry to enjoy a hike into Fern Canyon. While most of these permits are obtained online months ahead of time, a block of permits is held to be released online the day before the permitted day. If Steve hadn’t talked to this couple, while I was taking photos at Bandon Beach, we would have missed out on our return visit to Fern Canyon! Steve was able to do his research and got online in time to get a permit. They sold out in minutes! Although permits can be a nuisance to obtain, the benefit of these restrictions is that crowds are smaller and the parking more available at this unique spot. It felt as though we were alone in this half mile canyon, where steep cliffs covered in ferns close you into a world of unique beauty. The only sounds we heard were from the stream tumbling over rocks, and water softly dripping down the cliffs. At least it was quiet until a family group entered the canyon. Their children were quite exuberant in their enjoyment of this canyon as they eagerly splashed their way though the creek! This is a location like no other, filling those who explore it with joy and awe!

 

 

Bakersfield

A final stopover before an evening drive through Los Angeles, gave us a chance to explore Bakersfield. We stayed one night at a very nice family owned resort called A Country RV Park. Shade trees at each pull through, cement paved site were a welcome feature for the very hot weather.

On this final day of our month and a half trip we did some housekeeping, including getting the truck washed. We hooked up the trailer one last time and headed to some local spots to enjoy the day.

Kern County Museum

The history of this Central Valley location on the edge of the Mojave Desert was well represented at this museum. The 16 acre outdoor complex, Pioneer Village, contains more than 50 buildings, including historic structures that represent different aspects of the County’s history, including dust bowl migrant housing, oil well rigging, log cabins, Victorian houses,  a shepherdess “cabin” on wheels, a church, stores, a gas station set amid a neon courtyard with signage from the historic businesses of the area.

While its easy to just think of Bakersfield in terms of agriculture it was interesting to learn about how rich the area is for oil drilling. Kern County produces 75% of California’s oil and 1/10th of America’s oil! An extensive “Black Gold” exhibit led through a simulated underground tunnel where different types of drill bits and pumps were explained.

 

Roots of the Bakersfield Sound

“Country music” means Nashville to

many fans, but the style of music developed all over the United States. California has a rich tradition of country music, and Bakersfield became known for a harder-edged sound rooted in rock 'n' roll, its cousin rockabilly, as well as traditional country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here at the Kern County Museum we enjoyed a restored barn filled with memorabilia, costumes and instruments from country recording artists. The only names familiar to me were Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Although I was never a follower of this “Bakersfield Sound” of country music I enjoyed the great collection of costumes, hats and boots, fiddles and guitars displayed along with record covers and news paper clippings. There was so much to learn about at this museum! 

Headed Home

Our May-June 4,500 miles of Adventures on the Road are too quickly coming to an end. In our six weeks we have crisscrossed the State of California, dipped into Coastal Oregon, and enjoyed a rodeo in Reno Nevada. Finally a couple of long drive days back down the length of California through the Central Valley will bring us back to our home!

 

 

Thanks for your faithful prayers! The Lord has protected us all along the way and we look forward to connecting with neighbors, family and church friends until our Fall Adventures on the Road take us to new territory to explore across the southern United States!