Oregon Coast Day 5 - Gold Beach

Chris and I got up early to go exploring on the beach. It was a lovely morning with a lot less wind. Wind at the Oregon coast is kind of a given. We both took some lovely photos and enjoyed a nice walk.

We made pancakes for breakfast and had a slow morning. Originally the girls had planned to spend the day at the rental just relaxing, but decided to come with Chris and I. We drove North on the coast exploring Battle Rock City Park. 

The beach was lovely. The sand was warm for sinking our toes in even though the temperature was 60 degrees. Chris, Amy and Misha climbed up on a big haystack rock with the warning from others on the beach, “Don’t touch the poison oak.” Hmm, that would make for a not-so-fun trip.

I took some fun photos; this cute little boy became the subject of a few of my shots.

We drove on to Port Orford. Though there wasn’t a lot there to interest us, we did have lunch at Griffs on the Dock surrounded by amazingly blue water. 

Our waitress, Ruby, was awesome and recommended that we drive onto Bandon where there was a chocolate shop with some delicious treats. Our girls were sold.

We found Coastal Mist Chocolate Boutique in Old Town Bandon and indulged in a few treats. 

Chris and I explored the Coquille River Lighthouse before leaving Bandon, walking out along the jetty. A couple of guys were fishing but seemed to be doing more chatting than catching.

It was a chilly afternoon and we decided to drive back toward Gold Beach, making a few stops at pull-outs along the way.

As we neared Gold Beach, Misha ordered pizzas for us from Sunset Family Pizza. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, though Chris and Kristen tried their hand at flying a turtle-shaped kite in the wind at the beach. I started a load of laundry.

Oregon Coast Day 4 - Redwood Forest to Gold Beach

It was a lovely sleep in the cabin in the woods, mostly. Chris woke up in the middle of the night, disoriented as to where the bedroom door was located. Our room was pitch black. I fumbled to find my phone, knocking my blistex on the floor, and was finally able to turn on my phone for a little bit of light. Chris made his way out of the room to the bathroom, and then I followed. Unfortunately my phone light turned off by the time I returned, and I had to feel my way back to my side of the bed. The cabin could have benefited from a nightlight or two. Perhaps I will need to add one to my packing list.

We packed up the cabin to spend a day in the Redwoods at Prairie Creek State Park. It was a beautiful area frequented by elk. We even saw a couple elk as we drove into the park. We started off on a hike, taking the Cathedral Trees Trail. 

Six miles and three hours later, after going uphill, downhill, over trees, under trees, and through the Rhododendron Valley, we finally passed the Cathedral Trees Trail sign again. Turns out, it was the “strenuous” hike. Yep, we can attest to that. There was lots of hiking. Some whining.

In our walking, we even passed a work group of men from the prison, working to clear fallen trees from the road.

After gratefully sinking into the seats of the car, we drove on toward Gold Beach in Oregon. We stopped in Brookings for groceries at Fred Meyer’s and were then pleasantly surprised by the lovely airbnb Chris and I had picked. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom townhome next to the beach. Not right on the beach, but close enough to have a small view of the crashing waves between two homes in front of us.

We made pasta, corn, and salad for dinner with a little ice cream for dessert. It was a pleasant evening followed by a walk on the beach at sunset.

It was nice to spread out and relax for a couple of days instead of having to pack up every night and move on to a new place.

Oregon Coast Day 3 - Crescent City and Redwood Forest

We had to leave Fort Klamath by 8 am Saturday morning in order to see the tide pools in Crescent City at noon and to walk to the lighthouse at low tide. It was a 3 and 1/2 hour excursion with few stops—gas and the California sign for a picture. 

The scenery was awesome. We were driving along and suddenly surrounded by redwood trees. So amazing and beautiful.

As we arrived at the tide pools, Chris informed us that there was supposed to be gale force winds today. He didn’t lie. I was standing on rocks trying to take a picture and almost fell over backwards as a gust hit me.

Chris spotted the first star fish or sea star as they are really called. 

I didn’t realize they came in a variety of colors. 

It was so windy as we climbed on the rocks looking for more sea stars. We also climbed up to the lighthouse. The wind was just as crazy. Whew, it was so nice to get out of that wind as we returned to the car.

Ralibertos for lunch. Not the best food and the wait took forever. We ate in the car and tried to be tidy.

From there, we drove toward Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park to explore the Redwood Forest. It was amazing, awe-inspiring, spiritual. Our walk took us to Nickerson Trail. 

It was later in the evening and though we had wanted to hike to the Boy Scout tree, an extra five miles would have had us hiking out in the dark. 

Misha’s brilliant observation for the evening. A tsunami is like an ocean sneeze—a really catastrophic sneeze.

Our hike in the Redwoods was downhill until we reached the Nickerson Ranch Trail, so going back to the car was an uphill journey.

My daughters kept asking “Why do we have to walk so fast?” I might have walked a little fast. Sometimes it is just easier to get those uphill jaunts over with. I’m not sure they would agree, but they are pretty good about keeping the pace.

We stopped for dinner in Crescent City (Chris had clam chowder as he has a temporary crown while waiting for a permanent one. His tooth had been hurting a lot). We knew that we wouldn’t have much cell service at our airbnb tonight and warned the girls in advance. They weren’t thrilled, but the location was unbeatable.

We stayed at a cute little cabin in the forest. 

Before settling in for the night, we drove to Stout Memorial Grove in the redwood forest and hiked around. Misha stayed at the cabin to shower and have some down time. The Grove was beautiful with many downed trees to climb over or walk around. It was close to sunset and the light was fading fast.

The girls found out that Chris still had cell service and were more than happy to tether to his phone. Kristen spent time working on her driver’s ed. She was hoping to get to 75% completion by the end of the week.