June 28, 2017 Florence to Coos Bay

June 28, 2017, Day 23 Florence to Coos Bay

The breakfast was offered in a cramped lower level room, but if one was willing to carry the breakfast upstairs, you could get a bigger room and a nice view of the river. The breakfast was just OK. After breakfast, we walked through a riverfront park near the Inn and then drove around the town to locate the post office.

We then drove north on 101 about 12 miles passing several beach access roads, to the Sea Lion Caves. These two large caves are the only known hauling out and rookery area for wild sea lions in the mainland, continental US. The sea lions and pups were visible from the cliff hanging out on the rocks and swimming. However, the site is very commercialized. It has a very large gift shop (which has good fudge) and then offers an expensive elevator ride to get a closer view of the lions. We passed on that and resumed driving north passing Devil’s Elbow State Park, through the Cape Creek bridge and tunnel and then the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

We pulled off the 101 into and parked in the Carl G Washburne State Park. He was a former Oregon Highway commissioner who donated the bulk of the land for the 1100 acres for the park. We walked around the part of the park that was west of the 101. It had a swamp like quality with think underbrush and trees that were twisted into tortured shapes.  Then crossed the highway to hike along a gorgeous trail on the east side. The forest was very green. It had tall trees, several ponds and tunnel like areas and at one point opened into a pleasant meadow.  Very different from the woods on the west side of the highway. Unfortunately, near the end and before we reached the Hobbit Trail which lead to the Lighthouse, the trail was closed due to a bridge reconstruction. It looked as if we could safely cross, but instead we turned around and took a different loop back to the highway crossing.

We ate lunch at a picnic table overlooking the beach and then took a walk on a windy, broad beach that had a lot of driftwood. That was a common feature of the beaches in Oregon and northern CA. because of the winter storms.

Returning to the car we drove south on the 101 retracing our morning drive, but stopping only at the Heceta Lighthouse viewpoint to take some to take some pictures.  This lighthouse houses Oregon’s most powerful beacon whose lens was built in England. The keeper’s living quarters have been converted into a B&B, but I could not get a reservation there. Drove over the Siuslaw River Bridge and passed by the Dunes Recreation area due to time and no desire to rent and ride around on a dune buggy. I would have liked to have rented a canoe or kayak and paddled around the estuaries that were regularly present in the area.

After passing through Reedsport and over the Umpqua River Bridge (a swing bridge span) we turned off 101 into Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. We were too late for the lighthouse tour or museum, but we took in views of the dunes, river and the Winchester Bay from the whale watching platform. The Lighthouse was opened in 1894, the first one at that site was toppled over in a storm, and is still operated by the Coast Guard and flashing out a red and then two white beacons every 15 seconds.

After returning to 101 we resumed our drive south to Coos Bay without any additional stops crossing over the majestic McCullough Bridge that guarded the northern entrance to North Bend. We easily found our lodging at the Old Town House B&B on Newmark Street. It is an older, freestanding building near the water. The house was filled with lots of furniture and nick knacks. Our bedroom had a four-poster bed that was high and required effort to get into.

We drove into downtown Coos Bay for dinner. The town was founded in 1854 as Marshfield named after the founder’s hometown in Massachusetts. It was renamed in 1944 to Coos Bay by referendum. I could not learn why.  It is Oregon’s largest coastal city. It lies next to the largest natural harbor on the west coast between San Francisco and Seattle. A century ago vast quantities of timber were cut from the Coast range and were milled in Coos Bay and shipped around the world.  Today, with dwindling lumber reserves and very few mills that seems to be largely gone, although it is still an active port. The harbor had lots of what seemed to be fishing craft.

We parked in a very desolate downtown and walked on the boardwalk along the waterfront along Bayshore Drive. There were lots of interpretive displays that emphasized transportation’s role in the natural and human history.  We ate dinner at the Blue Heron Bistro. Lots of German food and many beers on tap. Good meal at reasonable prices.