We enjoyed breakfast with a few of the members of
the caravan. There were 12 of us that met up at the Pancake Mill for breakfast.
It was not totally planned, it just worked out that way and we were able to sit
close and enjoy one last meal together!
We came back to the coaches and did our final
preparations, before we departed Mill Casino in North Bend. Since we had a
short drive, to Gold Beach, we decided to depart at 11am.
Coos Bay is the largest city on the Oregon coast and the
largest deep water port between San Francisco and Seattle. The Coos History
Museum provides information about the cultural history of south-coastal Oregon,
emphasizing area residents' traditional dependence on rivers, sloughs, and the
sea.
There are many historic buildings in Coos Bay. The Tioga
Hotel, located on North Broadway. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Depression and World War II halted completion of this tallest building on
the Oregon Coast. The hotel has been rehabilitated and provides low cost
housing for seniors.
The Egyptian Theatre is an outstanding example of
Egyptian Revival Architecture, made popular by the discovery of King
Tutankhamuʼs tomb. Elaborately decorated theatre remains largely unchanged. Due
to the Theatre’s historical significance, and to the commitment of Helen Doving
to historical research, the Egyptian Theatre was entered into the National
Register of Historic Places on May 24, 2010.
US 101 S also known as the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. The
Oregon Coast is famous for expansive views and a diverse landscape, and this
byway travels along its entire glorious 363-mile stretch, even though we are
not on it for all of those miles. We journeyed past sandy beaches, rocky cliffs,
scenic tide pools, crashing waves and charming towns full of culture and
history.
Our first view of the Pacific Ocean, included the
outlet from the Coquille River, as we crossed the bridge. The Coquille’s three
major tributaries; the North, Middle, and South Forks join the main stem within
a few miles up and down stream of the town of Myrtle Point and flow into the
Pacific Ocean at Bandon.
If you journey further down the Oregon coastline
along Highway 101, the off-the-radar coastal town of Bandon is an unspoiled
jewel worthy of a visit. For those who crave finding a beach that offers a
little bit of everything, like ample tide pools teeming with sea creatures,
hermit crabs and starfish, rocks to climb or perch yourself upon to watch
stunning sunsets, driftwood to discover and explore. The best view beach in Bandon
is located along Beach Loop Drive where the Oregon Islands Wildlife Refuge and
the iconic Face Rock are located just offshore.
Nearer to the small town’s Old Town, the jetty and
the historic lighthouse are across the river. The Old Town section where
visitors will enjoy a variety of shops from candy stores like Cranberry Sweets
to Second Street Gallery, an excellent art gallery featuring local artists’
works. Also located in Old Town are several restaurants offering a variety of
cuisines from Italian, or old-fashioned American diner food, to classic coastal
seafood fare.
The historic Coquille River Lighthouse can be
explored from the outside after just a short road trip north of town and across
the river, as well as numerous state and county parks and lighthouses that dot
the coastline both north and south of Bandon.
We came into Langlois, Oregon. Their welcome sign
says the town is “world famous” … for what or why? How did the actual wording
of the sign evolve? Well, already out on
the web there were references to items within Langlois as “world famous”. They have visitors from multiples places in
the world who come to Langlois for wind surfing at Floras Lake. They have one
of the original buildings that housed the famous Langlois Blue Vein Cheese Factory. Curry County is known world-wide within the
wool industry as having the most dense wool after cleaning, of any in the
world. And, of course, they have the
“world famous” Langlois hotdog with its homemade mustard. Is there a little bit of “tongue in cheek”
going on here? Well, maybe. But, people passing through Langlois will see
the words “World Famous”, wonder about it, just like I did.
The weather here is unique. We are driving along the
beach in the fog and it is cool.
Then we start to travel away from the beach around Humburg
Mountain and there is no fog and it is sunny and warm.
When people hear the word “rainforest” they most
likely think of the lush jungle plants, colorful birds, high humidity, and heavy
rainfall of tropical rainforests. These forests are found in Southeast Asia,
Africa, South America, and Central America. But there is another kind of
rainforest, called the temperate rainforest that exists right in the United
States along the coastline of the Pacific Northwest. Temperate rainforests are
formed in the Pacific Northwest because the coastal mountain ranges in Oregon trap
the air masses full of moisture that rise from the Pacific Ocean. As this
moisture condenses into rain it creates lush rainforests with trees like the
Coastal Redwood in California that grow to enormous sizes.
It was not the best stretch of road to pull off and
grab some pictures of the Pacific, but we had to do it. The fog and overcast skies
gives an eerie feel to the area.
We crossed the Rogue River Bridge into Gold Beach. The
Rogue River Bridge spans the mouth of the Rogue River. Known as the Isaac Lee
Patterson Bridge after the Oregon governor who promoted its construction, the
bridge was completed in 1932. The Rogue River Bridge was the first of the big
six bridges to be built because tidal action on the Rogue made ferry operation
there especially challenging. The 1,898-foot structure consists of a set of
nine 16-foot reinforced-concrete deck girder spans on either end of a series of
seven 230-foot reinforced-concrete ribbed deck arches. In 1982, the American Society
of Civil Engineers designated the Rogue River Bridge a National Historic Civil
Engineering Landmark because of McCullough’s use of Freyssinet’s pre-stressing
technique. In 2005, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Going through Gold Beach, there were these amazing hydrangeas
in front of the court house. I am used to them being a spring and summer
flower, but not an early fall flower. The colors are unique and interesting!
We arrived at Turtle Rock RV Resort, our first stop
on our small caravan of 3 rigs to Redding California. We will be here for one
night, when Rod ran a Northwest Extension caravan, he stayed at this campground.
The three girls made an afternoon trip to Gold
Beach. We can walk from the campground to the beach, there is a low tide and
high tide path. We had to put our feet in the Pacific Ocean!
We were happy, because most of the fog had lifted and
we had some light! We found the “turtle rock” on the beach.
The sand is different than any I have seen before, it
is more like a greyish-black, than the white sand we have on the gulf coast of
Florida.
I guess, this is the rocky Pacific Coast that I have
heard about.
We enjoyed dinner with the gang and then we wanted to
make a sunset trip back to Gold Beach.
The colors were amazing and I am so happy we came
back out …. Even though it was cooling off.
Ohh, one last shot!
Tomorrow is onto our next adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment