Travel With Whippets: Coastal Stops Along Highway 101

Twilight from our RV park in Coos Bay, Oregon

Roger here... Most of our travels since leaving the Redwood forests in California were along highway 101. The beaches along the coasts of Oregon and Washington were magnificent. This post highlights three stops along the way:

COOS BAY...

Our first Oregon stop was just outside of Coos Bay. We stayed at the Oceanside RV Resort. It was a nice RV park with all the amenities. The biggest amenity for us was its location on a gorgeous beach.

We only spent two nights there, but could easily have spent much more time. Our frequent walks on the beach with the dogs were both interesting and so relaxing.

(Poquita keeps looking back to make sure I'm coming....she's a mommy's girl!) -- D.

Note the lighthouse in the center of the photo.

Dianne thought this large beetle was interesting. One of our neighbors (who she consults for butterfly and insect identifications) said that it was a 10-lined June beetle (scarab beetle). It is found in the western US and Canada. It was on the pathway to the beach. As expected, Dianne relocated it to a safer place.

One side of the beach was bordered by coastal cliffs and interesting rock formations with tidal pools.

We think the picture below is evidence of a spring leaching from the side of the cliff. The green at the bottom definitely indicates water. Could the bright orange color be evidence of iron? Algae?

Twilight added special features to the beach. We loved the outline of mature trees at the top of the cliff.

We were aware of three state parks with amazing scenery nearby on the Cape Arago Highway; however, finding a grocery store and buying food took precedence.

The images from the next leg of our trip were as beautiful as their reputation.

The views from the car helped offset the very long drive (very long for us) and the constant attention to the traffic, driving in towns, and occasional winding roads. We were on our way to Nehalem Bay State Park, a place we had visited years ago.

NEHALEM BAY STATE PARK...

We were able to secure this camping site for four nights. I began the persistent search for a park reservation in January. This popular park is amazing. Our site was adjacent to the strenuous path over the sand dunes to the beach. We had three days of 7+ mile beach hikes with the dogs with good (depending on your perspective) workouts along the sand dune pathway.

Our view of the ocean from the top of the sand dune

The beaches in this area are gigantic, both in length and width. It takes some effort to progress all the way to the breaking waves.

The Walk to Manzanita...

One day we walked 3.5 miles along the beach to the small tourist town of Manzanita. Dianne wanted fresh fish for dinner (as did I). I also wanted ice cream.

As we neared the town, the views of the ocean cliffs were prominent.

I was fairly confident that I would know where to exit the beach. I was very wrong. We walked up the sand dunes too early, or maybe too late. We were forced to walk a narrow path to an unknown street. The path disappeared and I was barefoot. It was not pleasant. We were lost and Dianne needed the "facilities." Dianne made a bee-line for a port-a-potty she spotted in a neighborhood at a construction site. Then we began searching for the town. Two summer residents helped us find our way. Whew!

We have no pictures of the town because, well, it was a pretty ordinary town, but it did have interesting shops, ice cream, and a touristy grocery with fresh fish.

I took the photo below as we exited the town. I am still not sure how we missed this entrance earlier.

I took the picture below along the way back to the campground. The tide had recently receded and left behind these interesting pools of water. They would eventually dry up before the tide filled them again. It is one of my favorite pictures here.

We had delicious fresh salmon for dinner that night. Dianne is an amazing cook!

Other Nehalem Bay fun...

Though we weren't participants, it was fun to watch the other activities happening on the beach. We watched wind surfers in extreme winds launching their kites.

Dianne here: This particular beach day was SO windy that after taking this video we made a hasty retreat back to our campsite before the blowing sand shown in the video caught up to us.

On another, calmer, day we saw several horseback riders. A portion of the state park offers equestrian camping.

Dianne recorded a video of this scene that can be seen below

Dianne here: Once we made sure the horses were out of range and no other dogs or people nearby, we let Bandido and Poquita off leash to have a romp on the beach. They sure made the most of it! As you can see in the video below, Bandido still retains some of his cattle dog herding instincts as he "headed Poquita off at the pass" and turned her around to run back to us. What fun they had!

Our last view of Nehalem Bay highlights the angry surf during a very low tide. The beach was different every single day we were there.

HOQUIAM...

Continuing north, we crossed the Columbia River at Astoria and passed into Washington. Our gps, "Carmen San Diego," took us on a circuitous route to our next stop at the old logging town of Hoquiam. We spent two nights at the Hoquiam River RV Park, a place I would recommend. As the name indicates, it was on the Hoquiam River.

We only spent two nights here, so there was little time to explore the town or the nearby coast; however, the campground itself was a gem.

It sat on nine wooded acres that included walking trails through the forest. The dogs loved it. So did Dianne and I. A major portion of the trail was riverside. We did this walk several times.

The river was filled with pylons.

We eventually figured why. We knew this was a logging area. We surmised that the pylons had something to do with the logging industry. Perhaps the cut logs were floated down the river?

These remnants of a dock added to our curiosity. What was their purpose?

Further down the trail we discovered an abandoned railway track. So, the logs were either transported to the docks by rail to be loaded on vessels to travel on the ocean, or the logs were floated down the river to be loaded on trains for transport. When I have some time, I need to find out the answer. Any ideas?

Dianne took the photo below of a tiny tree growing out of one of the pylons.

As Jeff Goldbloom said in Jurassic Park, "nature always finds a way"

Another of the river's assets that we loved during our time there was the continual antics of the river otters:

As with the Oceanside RV Resort in Coos Bay, we did not spend enough time here and were forced to depart a day early by circumstances beyond our control.

CHANGE IN ITINERARY...

Eight days before our scheduled arrival at the Evergreen Coho ESCAPEE Park (Olympic Peninsula) for the entire month of August, we received a call from that park. We were told that our confirmed reservations for a full-hook-up site (we have the confirmation on paper from January) would not be honored because the owner of the lot decided at the last minute to occupy the space we had reserved. We were never notified of that possibility. I had planned our entire four-month trip based upon that reservation.

We had to find alternative plans quickly. After several phone calls (which took up an entire day and kept us inside, away from the beach at Coos Bay), we determined that we would find nothing on the Olympic Peninsula. I was able to find a spot for most of the month near Anacortes, so we jumped on that opportunity.

We changed our route. Canceled one night at Hoquiam as well as three nights at Forks, and found three weekend nights that we could stay at the Burlington KOA. Then we looked forward to driving through Seattle.

As a little time has passed, we have decided that a visit to Anacortes, a place we have never been, might be a blessing. We will get to explore and get to know a new area that we have heard wonderful things about. Other than the bitterness of a broken promise, we are putting this behind us and looking forward to a better August. Tomorrow, in real time, we will be in Anacortes. Yay!

THE DRIVE TO BURLINGTON WA...

Our morning drive through Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle was delayed for a bit due to morning fog (not unusual) in Hoquiam.

The drive was thankfully uneventful other than the expected slow-downs through the cities. Our RV Park in Burlington is very nice. Tomorrow, the new adventures begin.

PET PICTURES OF THE DAY...

Bandido on the beach in Coos Bay

Poquita on the beach at Nehalem Bay - note the squinty eyes due to the blowing sand

(Dianne here: After I saw how Poquita was eye-level with the blowing sand, from that point on each day I carried her until we reached the wet sand. It was a good workout trudging through the soft, deep sand carrying a 13-pound doggie. What we do for love!)