July 1-7, 2007 - Leaving California, we drove up the Oregon coast, enchanted by the rugged, craggy cliffs, crashing surf and
noisy seabirds. The coastal road hugs the edge of the cliffs and the stunning views unfold outside the window.
We stopped to take a hike at one of the lookouts along the road.
The hike went deep into the woods on a steep hillside that
dropped hundreds of feet to the raging surf below. We could hear
the waves bashing the rocks below us, but all we could see in
these thick woods were tall pines soaring up from a bed of Boston
Fern. The ferns were so thick Mark dubbed the area the Boston
Garden.
We stopped for a few days in the little coastal town of Bandon.
We struggled throughout our Oregon coast visit to find decent
places to stay. We arrived during the July 4th week and all the
state parks were booked solid. There were four state parks we
wanted to visit, and each one had a "Campground Full" sign when
we arrived. Unfortunately, Oregon and Washington allow all the
campsites in their state parks to be reserved in advance, so there
is no way an impromptu traveler can enjoy those parks during
peak season. So we stayed at Bandon RV Park right in the middle
of town. Later we found other RV parks that were more spread
out on grass rather than being like a parking lot on pavement, that were on the outskirts of town.
We did several bike rides around Bandon, including the Beach
Loop which took us to some beautiful overlook where the huge
boulders thrust upwards through the sand. We spent a lovely
evening strolling through the town. There is a wooden pier
where we watched the seagulls tease the harbor seals, and we
wandered through the gift shops and found a great place for
fish and chips.
Further up the coast we stopped at another charming coastal
town: Florence.
We wandered through the town on foot rather than by bike, but
we did see one froggy cyclist in front of a shop selling
pinwheels.
On up the coast we rounded a bend and saw the most classic
image: Haceta Head Lighthouse. We stopped and took photos.
There were tons of seabirds circling in the air and squawking on
the rocks just below the road. The surf was so fierce that the
spray filled the air.
We drove a little further and saw a sign "Lighthouse" with an arrow pointing to the right. The lighthouse was to the left of the
road, but we assumed the lighthouse road must bear right and then cross under the coastal road to the left. We turned off and
were instantly confrtonted with a fork in the road and no sign. The road to the left looked more promising, so we took that fork.
We drove for about a mile but the road didn't turn left as we expected. Instead it followed a stream and seemed to head back
into the woods. Suddenly the road turned to dirt and the trees closed in on us. The buggy was enveloped in tree branches!!
We couldn't believe our eyes. There was no way to turn around, and the road seemed to get narrower ahead of us. Trees had
fallen across the road and they had been sawed in place just enough to allow a passenger car to slip through. The truck and
trailer almost shaved their sides as they passed these sawed tree trunks. We got out the walkie-talkies and tried to back up, but
after ten minutes we'd backed up only 10 feet. We looked at each other in shock. How had this glorious day of discovering a
beautiful lighthouse suddenly turned so frightening? We nervously joked that we might have to set up camp right in that road --
forever. We got the bikes out of the truck and rode ahead down the road. Miraculously, there was a sweeping left turn in the
road just 1/4 mile ahead, and it was just barely wide enough for use to do a 3-point (10-point) turn and get turned around. As we
snuck back through the sawed tree trunks and out onto the paved open road, we sighed huge sighs of relief. The fridge vent
had been shorn off the roof and there were scrapes and scratches on the side of the trailer -- but we were free again. When we
came to a visitors center a few miles up the road we mentioned the poor signage for the lighthouse. "Oh, yes, we've been
asking for years to have that sign replaced, but no one ever does anything about it." Yikes.
We continued driving north along the coast, savoring the salt
spray and inspiring views. Yaquina Lighthouse watched over
the coast as if in a scene from a lighthouse calendar.
Our spirits soared as we looked up at the gulls in the air, and we
laughed at the antics of the harbor seals in the small city of
Newport.
The views continued to amaze us with every passing mile.
We took a brief detour slightly inland to visit the Tillamook Dairy. They make the most delicious colby cheese and yummy ice
cream. We picked up two half-gallons of ice cream that can only be found at the factory: Wild Blackberry, a sumptuous purple
ice cream filled with blackberries, and Peanut Butter Chocolate, which has thick lumps of peanut butter and chocolate in its
depths. We feasted on these for a week after our visit. The Tillamook area has many farms whose cows contribute to the dairy.
Still struggling to find places to stay, we followed a sign for a campground that did not list the mileage... it turned out to be over
10 miles on a tiny back road to the campground! As we searched for the campground we sat and waited for a herd of cattle to
cross the road. We ended up opting for the local Tillamook RV Park instead. Along with hookups, laundry and free phone, it
came complete with the strongest cow pie smells you can imagine, and they placed our rig directly under a spotlight. As the
months went by we learned that when it comes to campgrounds, the more you pay the less you get.
Once we got to Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River, we
turned inland and followed the river upstream along the northern
portion of Oregon, going backwards along the historical route
traversed by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804-1805.