Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  Another sunny day!  Sat outside for a while reading and then we decided to go back to the High Tide Café for breakfast.  Ate on their back deck on the South Slough of Coos Bay.  Left there and Mike wanted to go off the beaten path and check out a state park with a couple of water falls.  He found it in the book of things to do on the Oregon coast that Andrea gave us. We have used that a lot.  Thanks, Andrea!  It said in the book that it wasn’t easy to get to these falls but was well worth it.  Okay I said.  We drove down this pretty river valley that narrowed and narrowed.  And then the paved road turned into gravel and got even narrower.  The river was now a stream with lots of flat rocks and rapids.  The locals were out there basking on the flat rocks and splashing around in the stream.  We FINALLY got there and headed out to hike the trail to Silver Falls.  A beautiful trail with huge, old-growth pines.  This trail was first used by the early settlers as a wagon road and then it became a stage road, and then a logging road.  It was used until the late 50s! Must have been scary.  After hiking to Silver Falls we hiked to Gold Falls.  A really beautiful, rugged area.  Drove back which seemed a lot quicker than driving up there.  77 up there by the falls.  70 down here in Coos Bay.  

View from our table at breakfast this morning.

On the trail to Silver Falls.  Beautiful!  This was once a stage road!

Trees covered in moss.  Primeval!

Silver Falls

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  This morning dawned sunny and clear.  A few clouds moved in here and there, but beautiful!  We drove north along the coastal road to the Sea Lion Caves 11 miles north of Florence.  This cave is the largest in the world—about 12 stories high and as wide as a football field.  We had to take an elevator down 20 stories to the cave. Stellar seals hang out in there.  Just down the road from there is the quaint and beautiful Heceta Head Lighthouse.  On the way north we also ventured up this beautiful river (Smith River I think) and viewed a herd of elk along a beautiful marshland.  Then stopped to see the Umpqua Light on the Umpqua River.  It’s also a great area to view whales.  The Pacific was really calm, but we didn’t see any.  Had lunch at Mo’s right on the Siuslaw River in Florence.  I had blackened halibut and chopped cabbage with a garlic ranch dressing topped with tiny shrimp which was really good.  Mike had oysters on the half shell (yuk) and a bowl of chowder topped with tiny shrimp. Then we were really bad and shared a marion berry cobbler ala mode. No dinner tonight.  71 today and sunny.

Umpqua River Lighthouse

Elk viewing

More of the herd.

Beautiful coast north of Florence, OR.

Another coastal view.

Inside the Seal Cave.

Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  We have really lucked out weather-wise.  It rained last night and this morning was cloudy and nasty looking, but pretty warm.  We decided to head south on the 101 and go all the way to Gold Beach which is close to the California line.  And by then the sky had cleared off. We stopped first in Benton, OR, and walked through Old Town Benton, stopping at yet another sweet shop to buy some chocolates and had lunch at a little restaurant there.  The service was lousy and the food wasn’t too great either.  At least mine wasn’t.  Left there and drove along the shore for a while and walked a trail on top of the bluff.  More stunning views.  Spent a lot of time there enjoying the beautiful views and then headed south again on the 101.  You can’t see the Pacific along 101 until you go through the little coastal towns, but it is still a beautiful drive with the coastal range just to the east, forests thick with pines, and pristine streams everywhere.  Our next stop was Cape Blanco and toured the historic Hughes home and the Umpqua Lighthouse nearby.  By the time we finished there it was 4:30 and Gold Beach was still 34 miles south.  So we turned around and drove back to our park.  Made it back by 5:45, had some dinner and relaxed.  Tired.  67 today which is pretty good.

Sculpture made of junk washed up on shore.
Bandon, OR

Coquille River Lighthouse
Bandon, OR

Beach Views--Bandon, OR

Face Rock--Bandon, OR

Historic Hughes House

This house was built in 1898.  The Hughes' emigrated from Ireland and ended up here in Cape Blanco.  They ended  up with 2000 acres and raised dairy cattle.  They had 14 ranch hands to help with the work.  Their 100 dairy cattle had to be milked (by hand) twice a day.  They had 7 children, but two passed away very young.  The house had every convenience for this time--even indoor plumbing and hot water.  But they didn't get electric until 1942.  The property was ceded to the state and is now a state park.

Historic Hughes House

The Sixes River runs through their property.

View from the back of the house--right on the Pacific.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse--one of the Hughes' sons was the lighthouse keeper for many years.

View from the lighthouse grounds.

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  Poured down rain last night.  Even this morning it was raining.  But by the time we finished our morning ablutions it had started to clear.  So off we went to explore Cape Arago which is just a short drive from our park.  Explored all around this beautiful coastal area and stopped for lunch at the High Tide Café which is right on the water.  And they serve breakfast until 2:00.  I had a tuna steak and Mike had breakfast.  Left there and stopped at Walgreens to pick up a few things and then on to the Casino.  I found a lady’s wallet in the parking lot and turned it in to security. Did my good deed for the day.  And I won $140 playing the slots!  YES!  Topped off the tank and then back to our park.  By the way, it is illegal in Oregon to pump your own gas.  You can actually get a fine.  67 today and beautiful!

Stopped at this little cove with a nice beach.

Big rocks out there.

Beautiful, rugged coastline.

Pretty wildflowers everywhere.

Beautiful!

Cape Arago Lighthouse

In 1906, businessman Louis J. Simpson bought 134 acres on Cape Arago.  He and his wife built a huge mansion right on this stunning coast.  They also had beautiful, formal gardens on their property and a gardener who lived on the property.  What an amazing place!  They eventually ceded it to the state who created Shore Acres State Park.

One of the views the Simpson's enjoyed from their home.

Another stunning view.

The formal gardens.

The only structure left of the original estate--the gardener's house.

A huge seal colony on Simpson's reef.

Cecil B. de Michael

Big Pine RV Resort, Crescent, Or, To Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  Left this morning at 9:00.  Thought this was going to be an easy, short drive—only 194 miles.  But it took us 5 hours—without stopping for food.  But what a beautiful drive!  Going over the Cascade Range was amazing.  The road was good, but really twisty which kept the speed down considerably.  Long pulls up and then long coasts down.  One beautiful lake after another and sparkling streams everywhere.  Some of the mountains were shrouded in fog/clouds which gave it an aura of a primeval forest.  We figured the dinosaurs would come crashing through this huge pine forest at any moment.  When we got to Eugene we were supposed to take I162 west but got all bollixed up and we ended up at a dead end in a residential area.  I thought, time for Mike to take over.  Fortunately, we were able to back it up and turn around.  Well, Mike was able to back it up and turn around.  We stopped at a Shell station and asked a State Trooper how to get to I162.  We finally got on the right track and continued west.  The road deteriorated somewhat but when we started going over the mountains again it got much better.  We got over the coastal range and we’re now heading south on 101 (Pacific Coast Highway).  In this part of coastal Oregon there are huge sand dunes.  We never did see the Pacific Ocean.  And more mountains!  The mountains go right down to the sea.  How beautiful though with wild flowers everywhere!  We finally made it to our RV park—Midway RV Park in Coos Bay.  And what a beautiful park this is!  Most of the sites are back-ins which doesn’t allow for you to put out your awning or chairs because that’s the only place you can park your vehicle.  Fortunately, we’re in a pull-through site where we have room to park the truck and put out our awning. There are 8-foot hedges on one side and fir trees on the other.  Lots of privacy.  And the price for 7 days is $173.  Do the math. Really reasonable.  And we have full cable and wi-fi.  We’re here for 7 days.  After we got set up we went looking for a restaurant.  Went to a seafood place on Coos Bay.  I had grilled salmon and Mike had clam chowder and a salad.  Tasted so good!  Went exploring around a little and then back to our site.  The highest temps we saw were 71.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep...

One of the many pristine lakes in the Cascades.

Construction site in Rt. 58.  We were escorted by this "follow me" truck.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic behind us that had to put up with our low speed.

Sand dunes on the Oregon coast.

These yellow wild flowers everywhere along the 101.

Had to go over this way high bridge just before Coos Bay.

Our really nice site at the Midway RV Park in Coos Bay.

All the sites had these like 8 foot hedges which provide a lot of privacy.

Big Pine RV Resort, Crescent, OR:  Another beautiful morning.  I decided to put clean sheets on the bed and took the dirty ones over to the laundry and washed them.  Meeting Rick and Andrea at their home in La Pine and stopped at the grocery store in La Pine and picked up a few things before going over there.  Rick’s directions were really good and we found their place with no problem.  They have a really nice home in the pines with a huge cedar deck on the back that Rick and some friends built.  Sat on the deck and enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and then headed to Sun River which is an upscale resort community not far from their house.  Andrea wanted to stop at her knitting store to get some help with a pair of socks she’s knitting.  She only started knitting a couple of years ago and has knitted some amazing stuff.  Had an early dinner at the Brew Haus there which was really good and then headed back.  Said our good-byes and then back to our park.  Mike put the outside stuff away since we leave tomorrow for the Oregon coast.

Cute little barn on the way to La Pine.

Rick and Andrea enjoying the last rays of the sun.
Sun River, OR

Big Pine RV Resort, Crescent, Or:  This morning dawned sunny and nice.  Didn’t get quite as cold last night either.  Did the laundry this morning.  They have a nice laundry here in the park.  It’s situated right on I97 and is open to the public as well.  Put the laundry in and then walked back to our site. Sat outside reading for a while and then walked back and put the stuff in the dryer.  Walked back again and continued with my book.  After we finished the laundry we drove to Bend.  Went through La Pine where Rick and Andrea live.  Cute little town.  We parked in old town Bend and walked around this tony little downtown. Lunched al fresco at the Pine Tavern right on the Deschutes River.  Very pretty. After lunch we walked around some more and stopped at a sweet shop and bought some chocolates and a couple of gelatos to go. Sat outside and scarfed those down and then walked back to the truck and drove back to our park.  Definitely no dinner tonight. 81 today.

Our site at The Pines RV Park.  Smells wonderful!

Beautiful drive to Bend.  Snow-capped mountains all around.

Dining al fresco in Bend on the Deschutes River.  Bend (pop. 80,000) is pretty pricey I think.  I'd much rather live in La Pine (pop. 1500).

Enjoying a glass of wine while waiting for lunch.

Cute little restaurant on Wall Street in Bend.  A lot different from Wall Street in NYC.