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!)

Dianne and Poquita on the beach at Nehalem Bay.

Poquita takes a nap after the long walk to Manzanita

Fort Stevens State Park Oregon, Last Beach Day, Fourth of July, and Astoria Redux

   
 Hi all, Dianne here.  We've moved on from Nehalem Bay State Park up the Oregon Coast to Fort Stevens State Park, land of firewood and colorful fishing floats!

First, though, our last day at Nehalem Bay was sunny       and warm, in the 70s.   We took one last scenic walk to the beach with Bandido and Tequila, took our beach chairs and mats and spent the day.

Bandido found a big stick of driftwood, which he tried to bury by digging a big hole.

He and Tequila ran, chased a ball, played tug, and laid in the sun while we read books and watched the waves.  Here they are discussing the big stick:

  The very last thing we did before leaving the   

   Manzanita area is make a return trip to the Big Wave Restaurant on a day when the breakfast special was crab eggs benedict.  Check it out! 

Our friend Jay had raved about it after he and Nancy ate breakfast there one morning before meeting up with us.  Roger just had to try it for himself.  Yum!

After breakfast we packed up and made the short drive to our next destination, Fort Stevens State Park in the far northwest corner of Oregon.  Fort Stevens even has its very own shipwreck, which you can walk around at low tide.  After checking our tide table, we went over to check it out.

  The wreck of the Peter Ireland extends down the beach about half the length of a football field, much of it still buried beneath the sand.

 It's hard to photograph the entire wreck and show the scale.

We could still see one of the masts embedded in    the sand.   Below is a photo that I found on the internet.  It's on the Oregon History Project web site:

1906 -  19 Days after Running Aground - Wreck of the Peter Iredale

 Our new campground is actually closer to Astoria, Oregon than when we visited it with our friends Jay and Nancy during their visit.  One of the things we wanted to do was to revisit Astoria and see a few sites we missed.  

First, though, we made a stop at Bowpicker's for more delicious one-of-a-kind fish and chips.  If you look at the long line that shows up daily for the single-menu item at Bowpicker's, it gives you an idea of just how special they are.  Luckily we were just early enough to avoid being at the back of this line!

From there, we walked over to the small Oregon Film Museum.

You Goonies fans will recognize this as the jail from the opening scene of the movie.  In honor of being in Astoria, Roger bought a $5 copy of the movie and we watched it the night before going back to Astoria.

 Inside the museum, we saw the jail cell where the bad guy faked his own hanging to make his escape.

How many of you remember this prop from the movie??

Roger wanted his photo taken with one of the "stars."

Is this what's called "Young at Heart?"

There were displays about other movies that were filmed in Oregon other than the Goonies.  

We were suprised to learn that many other movies, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Shining, Stand by Me, and Free Willy were also filmed in Oregon, many along the coastal areas we had just visited.   


The poster below caught our eye, as it shows a car careening off the cliff from the scenic lookout off of Hwy 101 near Manzanita Beach.  If you recall, our opening photos from our June 29 "Cannon Beach" blog entry (the one with my bad hair...) were taken from this vantage point.  The poster was from the 1991 movie Shattered. 

Not sure the museum (did I mention it was small?) was worth the $4 adult admission, but we enjoyed checking it out. 

No "Goonie immersion" would be complete without a visit to the house where Goonies was filmed, so before we left Astoria we did just that.  

It is now a private home owned by good sports who permit looky-loos to walk up the hill on their private gravel driveway to take a look and pictures of their house.  If you think Roger and I are the only people weird enough to do such a thing, think again!  Here's a look at the crowd climbing the hill just after we came down:

  If I lived in that house, I'm not sure I'd be such a good sport!

Here is the beautiful view those folks have of the Columbia River and the bridge to Washington from their front porch, if they'd ever be able to actually use it:

Another thing we wanted to do in Astoria was walk along the riverfront area, so we did.

We stopped in a few shops and had a beer at the Wet Dog Cafe & Brewery.  

Interesting sights were all around us!

Placards along the waterfront explained that part of Astoria was built out over the water on pilings before the great fire of 1922.  

We only had one week at Fort Stevens, and during that time we were also preparing for our daughters' upcoming visit when we move on to Portland.  The small town of Warrenton nearby the state park was a good base for hair cuts, laundry, a Costco run, groceries, and best of all a fenced-in dog park with an adjacent trail along the Columbia River.  

 

Fort Stevens State Park has over 500 camp sites (an amazing fact in itself) and it was completely full over the Fourth of July weekend.  No vacancy!

Did I mention they love firewood here?

Now, most of my friends wouldn't be caught dead in a state park campground on a holiday weekend, and I'm talking about my RVing friends.  Who needs a parade and fireworks, though, when you can spend the day watching the parade of kids and adults on bikes...

  Scooters...

and skateboards...

Add in the smell of wood smoke, steaks, burgers and hot dogs cooking on charcoal, the sounds of families gathered around campfires, cookouts, and games of catch and corn hole.  Mix-in a little bit of dogs barking and birds chirping.  Now that's real Americana to me, not contrived or just for show.  I hope I never get too old and grumpy to enjoy watching kids playing and families having fun together.

The rangers make the rounds selling firewood (they burn campfires day and night in the Pacific Northwest because it's never too hot.)

 They even came around with a special guest in the golf cart once.  We think it was a beaver costume.  Whatever it was, it was a big hit with the little ones.  No fireworks were allowed in the state park, so we and our dogs were able to have a restful evening.  That's good, because Bandido is really afraid of gunfire-type noises.

We'll be having some family fun of our own in a few days, when our two daughters and granddaughter fly in from Los Angeles and Fort Myers, Florida to spend time with us in Oregon and Washington.  Before that, though, the dogs have a "spa date" (nails clipped, baths, doggie day care) while Roger and I make a long day trip in our Toyota over to see Mount St. Helens.  Check back soon for that entry!

The pet picture of the day shows Tequila on high alert looking at a squirrel at the local dog park here in Warrenton, Oregon.

Come down and play with me!