Driving from Medford to Florence was somewhat tedious. We knew we had to go over 4 mountain passes but it actually turned out to be more like 7. It seems only ones noted in the Mountain Advisory publication are those with numerous curves and speed restrictions. So we did a lot of ups and downs.
When we exited I-5, Jack wanted us to take one route but a fellow camper had suggested another road. We've had other examples where Jack didn't know _ _ _ _ and figured this was one of those times. So we didn't follow Jack and like all good navigators, he recalculated and recalculated. As it turned out, Jack's route would have been the quickest and shortest but maybe not the most scenic.
Oregon has a reputation for being a logging giant but we had not seen any evidence of that up until now. Someone commented that most of the forests are Bureau of Land Management properties and logging isn't allowed. The land between Medford and Florence is privately owned and logging is extensive. Unlike the logging we do back home, the land is clear cut here. And everything is on steep slopes. We wished we could see some in operation as it must be quite a feat getting the trees down and out. We're heard they use helicopters but didn't see any evidence of that.
We finally reached the Coastal Highway at Coos Bay and headed north. We crossed a drawbridge and noted that the signs indicating height restrictions on the bridge were partway across the bridge. It sure would be tough to turn around if you were too tall to clear! We also saw this swivel bridge beside the drawbridge. Don't know if it was for trains or just tall trucks!
Then the ocean disappeared! So much for seeing the Pacific on this drive. We were inland several miles, which may have been best considering all the Tsunami warning signs we have seen. Finally we started seeing dunes and knew we were near our destination.
Our site in Florence is Pacific Pines RV Resort and it is very nice. Plenty of space and all the amenities. The rhododendron festival was 2 weeks ago but we are still enjoying the blooms beside the motorhome.
On Friday we set out to drive north to see some of the coast. Our first stop was the well-known Heceta Head Lighthouse. It was quite windy and cool along the coast and also the day for numerous school trips. We were fortunate to get the tour between groups of 2nd and 5th graders. The life of a lighthouse keeper must have been rough. Supplies arrived every 6 months and that also appears to be the only time there was contact with the outside world. Of course, the keepers had families there and there was even a school for their children and the few locals that had settled in the area.
The house that is still standing was the assistant lightkeeper's house. Two families lived there - the first and second assistant's. The head lightkeeper's house was sold in 1940 for $10 after it wasn't being used. The new buyer tore it down and used the lumber to build a store inland. The view from the lighthouse was great and we even saw a seal in the water below. There were a number of different types of seabirds and wild flowers on the property.
We continued up the coast and made several stops at ocean overlooks, including one at Strawberry Hill. Some Stellar sea lions were sunning on the rocks at this point. Dennis watched as one climbed onto the rock from the water and he was quite agile. But generally, they looked like shapeless bags of flab. And because of their coloring, are somewhat hard to pick out on the rocks (there are 4 in this picture).
Our northernmost destination on this day was the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. The center had some beautiful exhibits of native fish and inhabitants of the coastal tidal pools. It was a lot easier to photograph the sea urchins here than try to climb over wet rocks. The starfish are some of the largest we have seen, and also the most colorful. There is a bacteria or fungus growing in the tanks that has spread throughout their "hands on" exhibits. This has caused the pink background and has even coated some of the organisms in the display.
This fairy shrimp was just begging to be photographed! It's a tiny thing but the Nikon did very well shooting through the glass of the tank.
We drove back to Pacific Pines and stopped at a few interesting overlooks but apparently were either too early or too late. There was a front moving in with strong westerly winds and some of the areas were very misty. We couldn't decide if it was sea mist or smoke at one site.
Several stops had interesting wave action during storms or high tide - we had neither. But there were still some pretty sights and it was interesting watching the waves hitting the rocks.
By the way, for those of you interested in what you do with four dog crates when you have no dogs... drying jeans after 40 minutes in campground dryer, storing ice chests not in use, holding reference materials and reminding us of the four dogs that love and miss us!
No comments:
Post a Comment