2016 Coast Tour - Part 3
Well, we're off to see the lizard, in this case not quite, but we did capture a sounding yard art and some roadside attractions on our way back up 101. There were places we didn't stop and want to capture them on the way back. We'll be stopping in Brookings, Reedsport and Tillamook on the way back.
In northern CA there's the long-time tourist trap, Trees of Mystery. It's been there for decades. Cathy recalls stopping there over 50 years ago and her parents stopped there on a trip in their motor home with Rachel over 20 years ago. We've avoided it for several trips through the redwood forest until now. We had to stop and let Bozo get in on the act. At least Paul and Babe are out in the parking lot and free. We couldn't see paying for a walk through the trees.
Passing through Bandon we stopped for coffee, which required getting off the highway into the center of the town. Next door to the coffee shop was a wonderful whimsical piece of folk art, Henry the Fish. He's created from beach trash. If you look real closely at the photos you can see what and how he was created. Things like this make getting off I-5 even more enjoyable.
That night we stayed in Brookings for the first time. We picked the Spindrift Motel on the north end of the town for our stay. It's a small locally owned place with a dedicated ex-Army owner. Clean, and fairly quiet, except for the fact that it's one of the few places w/ space for large tractor-trailer rigs in town. There were reviews in Booking.com that complained about trucks running in the early AM but we didn't experience any problem. Dining opportunities seemed limited. We ate right across the highway and O'Holleran's, a local long-time establishment. The dinner was acceptable, not bad, not great, but worth the ducats. In the morning we headed to the south end of town, it doesn't take too long, for breakfast at Mattie's Pancake and Omelette house. Definitely a local favorite, judging from the other customers. Well worth the short back-tracking. Great food at a reasonable price. We highly recommend stopping here if you're in the area.
As we headed north we stopped to check out the Cape Arago lighthouse. Unfortunately this is not an accessible site. You have to see it from the highway and the best places are south of the cape, alongside 101. Be sharp looking for it because the "window of opportunity" is pretty narrow. We had to turn around and go back to get these photos. I captured a video of the rip tide on the Umpqua from the lighthouse but need to edit it before sharing. I need to shorten it and am not sure I have an app to do that. All the ones I have on this box now will only delete it. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
Our next stop was the Umpqua lighthouse, just south of Reedsport, where we were staying the second night. We picked the Fir Grove Motel for our night. Here's a tip. Check for availability and then call the motel. The owner, James Taylor, will take requests for a room back off the highway. We had a nice room w/ 2 queen beds but it was right on the end next to 101. Traffic noise was a problem till about 10 PM and started up about 7 AM. It's a nice, clean, comfortable place to stay and James is great host. He recommended that we head back to Winchester Bay, just south of the bridge over the Umpqua for dinner. There are a couple good seafood restaurants down by the marinas. We picked Griff's for dinner. A funky old place but the fish was fresh and properly prepared.
Interesting view that night. A harbor seal had washed up on the rocky shore of the marina and the local buzzard's were having a feast. Whenever someone walked by on the roadway sidewalk they'd scatter away from the carcass and then return. They had till the next high tide to get their fill.
After dinner we did some exploring. It was starting to get dusky and we headed down the Salmon Bay Drive, alongside the river and then the coast. There's a large ATV, ORV park out there. It's part of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. You can drive a few miles out but watch for off-road vehicles. As it got dark there were still a few out there running around on the dunes. You can catch nice shots of the Umpqua lighthouse from the drive. That evening there wasn't a lot of fog or the beams of the lighthouse would have shown up a lot better. You can see the "hot" spots of the alternating red and white lights on the trees behind the lighthouse as it rotates.
Winchester Bay dunes from the end of Salmon Bay Drive. The dunes extend a couple more miles to the south from here but the road ends.
This will have to cover today. I've got other things to do. We have to set up our airplane flights to Sicily today and reserve a rental car. I'll finish off our 2016 Coast Tour with photos of Cape Perpetua tomorrow, maybe.....
Ciao for now.