HELLO, PACIFIC OCEAN.
Day 20 – We got up at 6:50 a.m. It was 48 degrees & clear. Our plan for the day was to take a drive to the coast, and once we got there, scope out campgrounds for the next week or two. The kitties are happy at this campground; it’s quiet and they get lots of sun on the dashboard for napping. We like it here, too. We will definitely come back again if in the area.
We left at 8:50 & travelled southwest on OR-42 to Coquille, a small town on the Coquille River, then south on OR-42S to Bandon. It took us about an hour. Bandon, OR is a decent-sized town on the coast. At first after we left the campground, it was foggy; then the sun came out & there were lovely billowing clouds. The high today was 65 degrees.
The Pacific Ocean is particularly beautiful the farther north you go due to “sea stacks” which are large rocks that dot the coast, making it look more rugged & wild. There are lots of trees & it’s hilly, too, up north. Sea stacks are formed by the erosion of headlands. The sea stacks are comprised of the harder rock that is not easily eroded. Sometimes trees grow on them and they look like small islands.
We stopped at several parks/scenic areas & took hikes to the edge of the hills overlooking the Ocean. We also drove thru Bullards Beach State Park near Bandon. Nice park but the sites were pretty close together, & most sites were occupied. We’d intended to go north to the Coos Bay area; there are several parks there, but Sunset Bay State Park was full, so we decided to head south along the coast. Bandon was a nice town, and we drove thru Bandon-by-the-Sea, also called “Old Town”, which had restaurants, galleries, a museum, & shopping. Near Bandon there’s a National Wildllife Refuge, Bandon Marsh NWR; we drove thru it but the headquarters were closed. We passed by many independent campgrounds, too, but we were looking for something small & quiet where we could stay for a week or more & not break the bank. Most of the independent campgrounds we saw were more like parking lots for big rigs, not offering the privacy we were looking for. Those campgrounds are great for a night or two, though, but we wanted to stay longer & begin our slow journey south along the coast.
We were driving south from Bandon on Highway 101 near the Ocean when we saw a sign for “New River Nature Center”, and we turned off the main road to see what it was. What a great place! We drove on a small road to an Interpretive Center & parking lot, picked up a brochure, and proceeded onward on the gravel road. At the end of the automobile section, there was a boat launch with picnic tables, & we passed many trails for hiking & biking. There was hardly anyone there even on a Saturday. The New River runs diagonal to the Ocean with sand dunes in between the two. With these biking, hiking, & kayaking opportunities, we knew we wanted to camp fairly close by to take advantage of this. Back out to Highway 101, going south, we saw a sign for Boice Cope County Park, a campground that we had not discovered when doing research. We turned off to check it out. We hit the jackpot with this one. Small campground, less than 20 sites, access to the beach, & a boat launch for the New River which leads to Floras Lake nearby. Electric & water at the sites, a dump station, fishing, hiking, birdwatching, kite flying, windsurfing, paddleboarding, & boating. A little gem that apparently very few people know about since only four sites were filled on a Saturday. Also, at $19 per night or $96 for a week, and the price going up to $20 per night on October 1, we really couldn’t beat that.
We were hungry, so we headed south towards Port Orford to find a place for lunch. On the way we stopped to look at two BLM campgrounds that Rob had found when researching. The first was off the road, into the hills about 5 miles – closed for the season. The second one was 6 miles further on a gravel road; we decided not to look at that one since we’d rather not take the RV on a road like that. Onward to lunch. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant, “Redfish”, in Port Orford, about ½ hour below Bandon. The restaurant sits overlooking the Ocean & had both indoor & outdoor dining. We had brunch; the food was excellent. Rob had the Smoked Salmon Hash with 2 eggs & homemade ciabatta bread; I had the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon, Avocado & Tomato, rather than the standard Canadian Bacon version. We asked to see their dinner menu, & we’ll definitely go back for dinner when we are camping nearby.
View from deck at Redfish restaurant, Port Orford, OR
One reason we came down to the Port Orford area was to check out a campground we’d heard was good, Cape Blanco State Park. It was located on OR-250 off Highway 101, on the Ocean in a heavily tree’d area. Since they do not take reservations but are first come, first served, we expected them to be full & we couldn’t check current availability online. It was another gem. We drove thru & marked down many empty sites; they were only about ½ full on a Saturday. Sites big enough to pull all the way in, be surrounded by trees, and completely private. Electric & water, no sewer/no dump station. Wonderful, beautiful campground. So we figured we’d come back tomorrow with the RV when our time was up at the current campground, grab a site at the State Park & stay until the tanks are full & we need to dump. Then move to camp at the County Park we’d discovered where they had a dump station. Between the two, we could stay at least a week, maybe two, until time to move on. YAAAA. We were so happy to find not one, but two great places to stay.
We got back to Remote Outpost campground late afternoon. We had a really good, productive day. We’ll relax tonight and tomorrow morning, then head out to stay at Cape Blanco. There’s no rush to get out early since check-in isn’t until 4 p.m. & we have to wait until other campers have checked out before driving thru and picking our spot. Yawn.