Top photo: Old Mill District on the Deschutes River.
"Home again... Chilling in Bend. Of all the places we've been, it always feels like coming home when we pull into Bend!"
Update: This post was first published on August 15th, when we arrived in Bend for our summer visit. We returned on November 1st for the winter.
"A short drive from our last campground is this state park that's located south of Reedsport that we wanted to checkout. It tucked in the woods on Eel Lake and Eel Creek."
We fired up the coach and hit the road, but before we made it to Highway 101, we decided to visit a park we enjoyed last year. So north we went, and here we are.
It's like "déjà vu all over again"... Same campground, same site, just about a year later. Mooch checking the campground after a short drive day.
A glimpse of the historic Coquille Lighthouse behind piles of driftwood on the beach.
Top Photo: Tillicum Beach Campground offers sites with fantastic views!
"Thirty-one miles driving day. Landed at a Forest Service campground that we wanted to check out for a couple of years and scored a fantastic site overlooking the Ocean."
A beautiful beach in Harbor Vista County Park near the North Jetty is within easy walking distance from the campground.
We enjoy hiking, and Bend offers plenty of options. We will add our hikes to this section and will first start with the South Sister hike.
South Sister Trail
Friday's hike (Sept. 16th) was a tad more challenging, to say the least, if not just downright difficult. But we did cover the twelve-mile...
Sixty-nine miles. Now that's my kind of driving day. We found a well cared for state park not too far from John Day, OR. There are a few things we want to check out in John Day.
We were hesitant to move on a Friday without reservations. But sometimes you just gotta... "Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape" - Guy Clark.
We're definitely no longer in the mountains with its tall pine & fir trees. We found a state park on the Snake River that will do for a short visit.
We discovered two excellent craft breweries in Brookings and a pizza restaurant where their beers are brewed at another location Oregon.
Our first stop was at Chetco Brewing Company, right on Hwy 101 in downtown Brookings. The tasting room shared the building with a Thai restaurant and Radio Sha...
One of the things we like about the Oregon coast is chanterelle mushrooms. We were introduced to them last fall, and upon our arrival this year, we immediately started looking for them. As we moved down the coast from Newport, then Florence, followed by the Coos Bay area and then Cape Blanco/Port Or...
Porcupine leading the way on New River Trail.
This trail is an easy 3.2-mile loop trail that runs through several habitat types. Two short sections of the trail go along the road. Actually, the loop is a collection of 6 short trails: Ocean View Trail, Huckleberry Hill Trail, Ridge Trail, North ...
Top Photo: The whale not long after he washed up on the beach. (This pic is courtesy of our park host)
While visiting the food co-op in Port Orford, we were told that a dead Blue Whale had washed up on the beach this past Monday, about fifteen miles south of town. Volunteers were currently in the...
Cape Blanco is the most southern Oregon lighthouses and is the most western point in OR. It was the 1st lighthouse in the state outfitted with a first-order Fresnel lens in 1870.
We decided to do some exploring on Seven Devils Road and, as we were driving, saw the sign for South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. So we pulled in to see what this was about. After visiting the Interpretive Center, we decided to check out a few of the trails to see what South Slough ha...
Found a nicely wooded campground that offers spectacular views of Bastendorff Beach below. This beach extends from Yoakum Head to the south jetty, which is the entrance of the bay.
"Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area extends for 40 miles from Florence to Coos Bay. This is the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. Recreational opportunities galore."
A popular State Park conveniently located 2 miles south of Newport, with easy access to miles of broad & sandy beaches and a lot more.
