Oh dear, the rain has finally caught up with us. Friends had
warned us but we have had great weather to date. We arrived in Seattle just
after a storm that marked the end of an unprecedented 80 days without rain. True
to form, when the rain sets in, we revert to the British habit of making the
weather our main topic of conversation. To our surprise the local climate appears to be much the
same as ours with wet summers, wet winters and wet everything else…..
Despite the weather the coast is still stunning
The Oregon coast still stuns us but we have upped our pace
in an attempt to run down the coast to hopefully better weather and California.
Last night’s hotel was surprisingly better than we would
have imagined. First impressions were those of a residential home in Mid Wales
with a clientele to match. On the contrary, the bedrooms were comfortable, the
restaurant was good and our rooms led straight out onto the attractive but wind
blown beach. It all goes to show that either one should not trust first
impressions or we are nearer residential home age than we think.
Yachats is an attractive little town based around a small
river estuary. The Spanish and British including Sir Francis Drake visited this
coast in the 16th Century. Captain Cook sailed here in March 1778 and
saw a massive Headland shrouded in mist and named it Cape Perpetua in honour of
and early Christian saint (St Perpetua). The headland has great views and
trails that allow you to view this part of the Oregon coastline. We were sadly
beaten back by the weather and St Perpetua will have to wait for another time.
Sir Francis Drake
Captain Cook
Further down the coast, we visited the largest sea cave in
the world. This vast cave is a thousand feet in length and is accessed by an
elevator from the roadside. It is renowned for the Sea Lions who live there
most of the year. Unfortunately the little bit of the year that they don’t
inhabit this extraordinary natural cavern coincided with our visit. Our guide
told us the they had simply just “Gone fishing!”
Sea Lion Cave: The largest sea cave in the world. No Sea Lions!
Florence is a rather plain town built on the banks of the
Siuslaw River. We had a snack in Mo’s restaurant overlooking the river and the
Siuslaw Bridge. Better coffee than usual and shrimp, shrimp and more shrimp to
eat. Oregon is known for its many bridges that cross the estuaries and rivers
running into the Ocean. Many of these were designed by Code McCullough who
decorated them with Art Deco and ancient Egyptian motifs. The Florence Bridge
is one of the most attractive.
The Art Deco/Egyptian Bridge over the Siuslaw River at Florence
The beaches south of Florence are known for the vast network
of sand-dunes that carry on for 50 miles. Some of them are the size of small
hills and are covered by beautiful pine forests. These Oregon dunes were the
inspiration for Frank Herbert’s ecological sci-fi saga Dune. We arrived at the
sea’s edge in driving rain in one of the many state parks to find a large empty
car park with a sign telling us that it was heavily congested. We clearly had
missed a sudden exodus or we were just blind to something obvious.
Hooligans in the Dunes
50 miles of dunes
All along the coast we are reminded of the decline in the
logging industry. Coos Bay is such a community. The port, once busy with
logging ships from around the world is now quiet with deserted quays, rundown
shops and the ubiquitous empty motels. This place has the same feel of
industrial, social and personal decay that we see in the old post-industrial
parts of the UK. What do areas such as this do when the only industry
disappears? It must be impossible to stop the downward spiral of despair with
the loss of work, young people and hope for the future.
The rain stops by the time we reach Bandon but the wind
gathers strength. It’s getting more exciting as we skirt the local headland.
Stacks rise majestically from the raging sea to be battered by the endless
ferocious waves. We all feel that the weather now gives the landscape a more
exciting and adventurous spirit. Added to this the periodic mournful sound of
the foghorn competing with the howling scream of the wind. Jacqui who has just
finished reading Daphne du Maurier’s “Birds” points out the menacing image of
large numbers of seagulls gathering around us. I point out to her that they are
just cold and fed up! Liz on the other hand is excited to see Cranberry Bogs
being flooded prior to harvesting.
Windswept beaches at Bandon
Bandon Lighthouse
The gathering birds. Are they a risk?
Big weather!
Bandon's Face Rock
Another stop for a further snack! We must stop this indulgence.
Port Orford is still a working
fishing port and it has a wonderful seafood café amongst the fishing boats
called “Griffs on the Dock”. Great seafood, its hard to avoid temptation when
we should only be having tea. Liz had a chocolate cake as well!
Griff's on the Dock: Best fish and chips
The Three Bridges
Finaly we arrive in California; The Sunshine State”. Yet it
carries on raining.
And yet it still rains!
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