You can divide Oregon into three parts – southern, central and northern and find plenty to do in all three locales. Our first landing was in Lakeside, just south of Reedsport and north of Coos Bay and North Bend. We stayed at the Osprey Point RV Park in Lakeside, a very clean, large and well maintained RV park located on a finger of Tenmile Lake and easily accessible to a lot of coastal towns. Easily accessible by air as well…and a great roadside BBQ spot located in a refitted Airstream trailer is nearby to Lakeside.
Starting in Port Orford whose one of two claims to fame is that it is the westernmost town in the continental United States, and secondly is home to the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, one of nine to be found along the Oregon Coast. The day we were there it was misty, sunny, windy all at the same time and the majesty of the cliffs and the power of the ocean was abundant. A beautiful day there.
On our way to the next stop we passed through the town of Langlois, a tiny town famously known for its hotdogs found at the Langlois Market. Stop there if you’re heading either way on the 101 – it’s well worth it.
Next stop was in Bandon where we spent a lot of time in Old Town checking into a lot of the quaint shops and eating at a local joint where Jan had the best clam chowder she’s ever had. There was a small art fair going on along the waterfront and the art deco of the town certainly rendered it a charming little seaside town.
The Coquille River empties into the ocean here and the Coquille River Lighthouse stands a lonely sentinel at the mouth of the river. Just to the south are sandy beaches and awe inspiring sea stacks and gorgeous evening sunsets.
Bandon is home to the world famous Bandon Dunes Golf Course, laid out along the coast with ocean views on almost every hole. In 2011 Golf Digest named it the best golf resort in North America, supplanting Pebble Beach from that lofty perch. We just did a little sight seeing as the prices are rather steep although its appeal to golfers is very evident.
We darted inland to Coquille, following the river through narrow windy roads out to a plain where the town is located. As most other towns in Oregon that are reinventing themselves as art and literary endowed centers, Coquille is plumb in the middle of that revival. A cute, rather deserted town when we were there, Coquille has numerous antique shops, murals on buildings, bookstores, an expansive park and the Coquille River which was once a main waterway to the ocean for the shipping of timber and logs.
Oregon’s Adventure Coast is basically made up of three towns – North Bend, Coos Bay, and Charleston – all located around the harbor of Coos Bay. Coos Bay town is the largest city on the Oregon Coast and serves as a center for commercial and cultural enterprises. It really isn’t that pretty of a town, compared to other jewels along the Oregon coast, nor is North Bend, but Charleston is a devoted commercial fishing village located at the mouth of Coos Bay that also has numerous charter companies, restaurants, and fish for sale enterprises. Pretty neat place.
Driving south from Charleston you get to the Cape Arago State Park and the Cape Arago Lighthouse, inaccessible by foot but still a very pretty sight.
Winchester Bay is the home to the Umpqua River Lighthouse and is a great spot from which to see the twice annual migration of grey wales.
And in Reedsport we saw herds of elk grazing along the road oblivious to the photo snapping tourists that were there, Jan and myself included.
I found the following recipe on the blog http://www.ciaoflorentina.com . Let’s see: scallops, rum, butter and orange. Not too shabby! Enjoy.
the wooden spoon - a travel/photo blog 