Oregon Coast Trip

     Well we finally made our trip to the Oregon coast. Last year I posted about our mishap that ended the original planned trip. You can read about that at:The Road Trip that Wasn't. So with all plans made and reservations secured we set off on our adventure. And it turned into that right off the bat, as we headed over our Big Horn mountains this is what we ran into.

     Once we got over the mountains things started to ease off. We were planning on going through Yellowstone to get to Idaho as this is the shortest and fastest route. But when we got to Cody we found that Yellowstone was closed due to weather and no idea when it might open. So we opted to go around, which of course made it impossible to make it to our first stop at Pocatella, Idaho (cancel reservation). We did get some nice views of the Grand Tetons on our detour.

The next day we drove as far as we could but couldn't make it to our next stop (cancel reservation). The third day we were able to make our planned stop in Fort Klamath, Oregon. We arrived and got set up and settled in. The next day we planned on visiting Crater Lake. But again the weather was against us. When we got to the lake the ranger told us the lake wasn't visible because of low hanging clouds and it was supposed to start snowing. So we went on to our next stop, the Rogue river. It wasn't snowing there but was raining, although off and on. I did manage to get some nice pictures of the area.

  

     We had a nice lunch at Beckie's Cafe in Union Center, they have the best homemade pies. Then headed back to our camp. We saw snow along the highway as we went past the Crater Lake area. The next day we headed on to the coast with rain off and on along the way. We stayed at Bullard's Beach State park in Bandon.  

     It was a nice campground, only about a 3/4 mile walk from the beach.

    

 The next day we took off to explore the area south of Bandon. We made numerous stops along the way. Of course you have to visit a lighthouse when you're on the coast. This was the Port Orford lighthouse.

     We had an interesting and informative tour of the lighthouse. The following photos show the view from the top, the light itself and the stairs looking down.

     Oregon has a rugged and beautiful coast.

One nice thing about Oregon beaches, they are open to everyone including doggies. 

     The following day we headed a little ways north to Shore Acres State Park. At one time it was a private residence. The original house is no longer there but they have an informative visitors center and you can admire the beautiful views.

     But what Shore Acres is best known for is it's botanical gardens. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed wandering around the grounds.

      After this we headed back to the town of Bandon and enjoyed a late lunch and a stroll around Old Town. This fish is made out of trash washed up on shore, mostly plastics.

     Something I didn't know was that cranberries are grown on the Oregon coast. We visited a shop that had cranberry everything, candy, jam, syrup etc. They had lots of samples to try and of course we bought some of the things we sampled. Another shop we visited was Coastal Mist Chocolate, they are known for their chocolate desserts. As the photo below shows we enjoyed ours.

     The next day we moved camp north to Seal Rock. We had a nice spot in our campground with a view of the ocean. 

     Our first day exploring this area we visited Cape Foulweather and the Devils punch bowl. 

     We then visited another lighthouse at Yaquina Head. 

     While here a whale was spotted close to shore. It was hard to catch him with my camera when he surfaced but you can see him a little bit.

     We returned to camp and decided to explore the beach which was only a short two minute walk from our campground. 

After dinner we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

     The next day started out foggy and drizzly. We headed out with our first stop at the Devils Churn turn off. There is a narrow inlet that the ocean comes into making the water churn. I'm not sure why so many things here start with devil. 

Then we moved on to another lighthouse at Heceta Head. It was a 1/2 mile hike up to see it and the views it allowed.

We stopped in the town of Florence to check out their 'Old Town'

And had lunch at a popular seafood restaurant.

       The next day we moved on to the town of Seaside. It rained off and on the whole day. We got a little break in the rain when we got to our campground. We set up as quickly as we could and didn't get too wet. The wind came up and got worse in the evening with gusts up to 40-50 mph. In bed that night we felt like we were on a carnival ride. The wind finally died down around midnight. The next day we woke to rain, we did come prepared with rain ponchos and umbrellas. Even Wally was ready for the weather.

     So we set off for more exploring. We stopped at Cape Meares which has the shortest lighthouse. 

Even with fog and rain there is beauty.

     Also in this area was the Octopus tree. I think you can tell by looking at it how it got it's name. The tree is thought to be 250-300 years old and has no central trunk. They don't really know how it came to grow this way.

     We then decided to try something drier, so we paid a visit to the Tillamook cheese factory. 

They had samples!

     We also had some of their ice cream. They are in the process of building a bigger and better information center which will open next year.  The rain continued for the rest of the day. We checked the forecast and more of the same was expected for the next several days. So we decided to end our trip one day early and headed home. 

     Our trip had a few snags along the way but over all we had a very enjoyable trip. It was great to finally be able to see and explore the Oregon coast. It was definitely worth the trip. 

A thought to ponder: "One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure."                                                                William Feathr

Participating in: Grand Social, Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Seasons

Medicine Wheel

     We finally got everything together and took a trip in our popup camper.  You can read more about the makeover and problems we had at my previous posts: The Road Trip that wasn't and Popup Camper Makeover. We camped at Sibley Lake which is an hour drive up into the Big Horn mountains from our house.

     We went up on a Sunday afternoon and came back on Wednesday. The weather was good other then Tuesday was cloudy with rain in the afternoon. The temps at home were in the nineties while on the mountain it was in the seventies.  So a good time to be there. We had a nice camping spot.

     It took us several hours to set up. Not so much the camper itself but rather the awning. We had not done the awning before so we fumbled around trying to figure it out. But we finally got everything in order. 

     It was a good idea to take a short local trip before we take a longer one.  It gave us a chance to work out some of the bugs. To see what works for us and what doesn't. Over all things went well.

Here's our dog Wally, keeping an eye on us while we eat dinner. You never know when a morsel might come your way.

     It was fun and peaceful hiking around the area and I took lots of photos.

     One of the places we visited while on the mountain is somewhere we hadn't been in over twenty years, and that is the Medicine Wheel. It was about a twenty-eight mile drive from our camp site. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel is considered the most important of several medicine wheels in the American West. It is thought to be about 700 years old. It is a sacred place for Native Americans and is used by them for fasting and vision quests. 

     Native Americans continue to come here for prayer ceremonies and to leave offerings.

     There is a well marked sign where you turn off the highway on to a dirt road. You drive up to a parking area with a small ranger's station. From there it is about a mile and half walk up hill to the site which sits at almost 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Because of the elevation the area is inaccessible much of the year because of snow pack. If you are unable to walk up hill that distance they do have limited parking at the top. But note it is a steep and narrow road.

     If you ever happen to be in Wyoming it is worth stopping to visit this sacred spot, it is interesting and you can definitely feel that it is a special place. If you are interested in learning more just Google Bighorn Medicine Wheel, Wyoming. 

A Rock chuck (Yellow-bellied marmont)

A thought to ponder: "Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."                                   Chief Seattle

Participating in: Grand Social, Share Your Cup, Outdoor Wednesday, Through My Lens