October 17 – 18, 2022 Dunes and Future

October 17, 2022  Part 2

After we left the lighthouse, we followed one of the back roads and ended up in the dunes area.  They are huge and beautiful and amazing.

We watched a few ATVers go up and around.  OMG, one of them was a little girl on her own little ATV.  She looked like she was 5. And she was having fun!

The road between the sets of dunes:

We stopped at one pullout that said “Beach Access” and followed the path:

These beaches are just beautiful:

I could just listen to those waves forever:

Beautiful!

My Andy watching for ships or whales – I am not sure:

I don’t know this person, just thought it was a cool picture:

The dunes at the beach:

Near each of the paths is a number that helps us remember where we parked the car.  You can easily get lost..

Lots and lots of driftwood:

Beautiful!

As we made our way back to the highway, we stopped for lunch at a little corner restaurant in Reedsport.  Great chowder!

The area where we saw the elk was only 5 miles away so off we went to see if they were there.  Bummer, no luck.

Heading back home, we checked out a couple of Days End sites and then relaxed at home.

What a great day! 

October 18, 2022

We had to take care of a few things this morning and make a few phone calls. 

As many of you know, I strongly DISLIKE making reservations far out cause then I feel that I lose the spontaneity of travel. But knowing today’s environment, I am now trying to set up a schedule on where we are going to be for the next week or so.

We only have one more reservation scheduled so this afternoon we figured which direction we are going and where to stay next (at least for the next two weeks).  We are also watching the weather to decided how we will be going south.

We finished the day having dinner at the Elks Lodge – Yum!

Tomorrow we are heading further south so stay tuned and enjoy today!

 

 

October 11, 2022 Road Trip Along the Coast

This morning we headed to the local RV supply place to order a new outside cover for our water heater.  Ours flew off while doing 70 mph on I-5.  No..these RV’s do not have the quality they use to.  So hopefully we can get one close to the color of the graphics. 

After that we were off..  First place was the South Jetty area of the Oregon Dunes.

“The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is a special place. One of the largest expanses of temperate coastal sand dunes in the world, the stark, mist-shrouded views of dunes, forests, and ocean in such close proximity to one another are rare and hauntingly beautiful. Many plants and animals, including some found in few other places, call this area home. In 1972, Congress designated this 31,500-acre portion of the Siuslaw National Forest as a National Recreation Area in recognition of its unique values.”

The dunes stretch for 40 miles with the northern end starting in Florence.  More info here:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/siuslaw/recreation/recarea/?recid=42465

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/siuslaw/learning/nature-science/?cid=fsbdev7_007155

https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/destinations/parks-forests-wildlife-areas/a-locals-guide-to-the-oregon-dunes/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Dunes_National_Recreation_Area

Our first glimpse of the dunes:

They are HUGE and go for miles:

A view of the plain and back dunes:

The European Beach Grass has now spread all over.  Their roots can go up to 100 feet.  There are areas where they are trying to eradicate it because of the harm it is doing to the dunes and the ecosystem it supports.

I just had to see the ocean.  It was really difficult climbing the dunes in this really soft sand.

Beautiful!

Walking back to Andy:

This area is for those with dune buggies and ATVs:

Leaving Florence – a view of the dunes:

The dunes end and the mountain start!

Every turn has these incredible views.  This is the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

In 1981 I took a picture of this and had it enlarged, matted, and framed and actually won a contest.

We will be back tomorrow to tour the area.

This is one of the beach access areas.  We parked our car and traveled this path:

That opened to this – WOW!

Some marine fog rolling in:

This is the exit of that path:

WOW!:

Lots of driftwood:

It was cold and windy – Brrrr:

Another beach – this one was rocky:

We stopped at the Cape Perpetua Overlook.  The tide was coming in so we were able to see the Spouting Horn (middle of the picture):

Cool!  We saw it happening a couple times.  The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks was incredible.

The Bridge Builders:

We continued our travels to Yachts – a cute little coastal town.  We both got an ice cream and found a place to watch the tide come in.

Our way back:

Last look at the dunes:

I just love this area.

Tomorrow we continue to play tourist so stay tuned and enjoy today!