Bullards Beach State Park, OR

Coquille River Lighthouse

Monday, July 9, Bullards Beach State Park, Bandon, OR - 8.4 Miles Today, 9,525.8 For the Trip

Well, I finally got to Bullards Beach. Since I arrived in the area at least a week early, I've been making small hops exploring the area, but now I'm settled in site A08 for the next week. Even though the "Oregon Gathering" doesn't start until Thursday, there are a number of fiberglass trailers already here at the park. I've now met in person some of the people I've only know on various websites. By the end of the week there should be about a hundred trailers here at the park.

After setting up I drove out to the lighthouse, took a couple of photos, including some of the beach. There is an amazing amount of driftwood along the shore. So much that people have built "shacks" out of it on the beach. I'm sure the shacks help keep the beachcombers out of the wind. It is much cooler than the east coast (at least my experiences on Nantucket) with highs predicted this week in the mid 60's. At least the skies are something I'm used to - when ever you are in the lee of large bodies of water you can expect grey sky. Reminds me of Oswego!

I checked with the local grocery store for blueberries - I'm planning to make a blueberry pie for the pot luck dinner on Saturday. Quite expensive, and not all that good looking. There is a pick your own in Coquille, but they list their starting date as the 16th. I'll keep looking. Dinner tonight will be steak & rice with a salad.

Till Tomorrow -

Bandon, OR

The Pacific Ocean, Bandon, OR

Sunday, July 8, Bandon RV Park, Bandon, OR -25.9 Miles Today, 9,517.4 For the Trip

A very short but exciting drive along UT 42S to Bandon - a curvy, narrow road with significant drops to the Coquille River (and, of course, no guard rails and the river on my side of the road). I'm glad the trailer isn't any wider or longer. I stopped for the day at the Bandon RV Park, Site 19.

After setting up the trailer I drove into "old Town", a touristy section of Bandon with all the requisite shops. Of course there had to be a used bookstore. Yesterday I even went to the extreme of buying a hard cover copy of a book by one of my favorite authors (Lincoln Child) and a couple of books by authors I haven't read just so I would have something over the next week or so. Well, at the River's Edge in Coquille they had a book exchange that was stocked with some of my favorites, and here in Bandon the used book store had many more. So, I'm fixed for books for the near (maybe even the far) future.

I wandered around town, then took the Beach Loop Drive to check out the rocks & beaches south of Bandon. I took a couple of long exposures to add to the collection for next week's talk on long exposures at the Oregon Gathering as well as my first pelican photo. As you can tell by the lack of sky color, today was the perfect day for waterfall photos. Unfortunately, there aren't any in the area! Hopefully, it will clear up over the next couple of days. More photos at today's LakeshoreImages Page.

Dinner was going to be at the blue Fish & Chips place, but when I got back there at 6:00 they, like most of the rest of the town, were closed. Since I didn't feel like eating in a "formal" restaurant, I'm back in the trailer eating cheese & crackers & soup.

Till Tomorrow -

Rivers Edge RV Park, Coquille, OR

A Clean Trailer & RAV4 at the Rivers Edge RV Park

Saturday, July 7, Rivers Edge RV Park, Coquille, OR - 75.7 Miles Today, 9,491.5 For the Trip

I did manage to stop at Walmart & pick up a few books so my sanity should be OK for the next couple of days. I was stopped in Wilson. OR as I drove along OR 42 by a group of car washers from the Crash Youth Ministry. I did ask if they really wanted to wash the RAV4 AND the trailer, and they said yes. Took about 6 of them 45 minutes to do both & it was a pretty good job. I gave them a bit extra over my estimate for the price for 2 vehicles since the trailer was pretty dirty. The Graffiti Weekend that I linked to in yesterday's post covers quite a portion of the area. There were events in Glide, Roseburg, and this afternoon, in Wilson.

I continued on to Coquille, OR & The Rivers Edge RV Park, site 17. A nice, clean park that looks to be mostly full time resident, but I have a nice site along the river I wish I had more laundry to do - the machines are the least expensive I've seen on the trip, but I don't have enough for a full load.

I checked with Reserve America, and was able to add the 9th to my reservation for site A08 at Bullards, so I only have 2 days to kill rather than three. I'll probably head to Bandon, the town next to Bullards for tomorrow night.

Since the sausage didn't defrost last night, I'll have it tonight.

Till Tomorrow -

Douglas County Fairgrounds & Museum

Douglas County Museum

Friday, July 6, Douglas County Fairgrounds Campground, OR, Day - 55.1 Miles Today, 9,415.8 For the Trip

A short drive to Roseburg & the Douglas County Campground. I'm in Site 42, a back in site with water & electric for $20.20. The bathrooms & showers are a long way away, but from the look of them, that is probably good! Still, a good stop for one night. I'll be making short hops until the 10th, when I can get my site at Bullard's Beach.

They have a museum here at the fairgrounds. $4.00 for seniors. The most unusual exhibit - a pair of live rattlesnakes. Hard to shoot because they are behind glass (probably a good idea!). Anyhow, most of today's photos are of the museum. I had to include the photo of the 2 man chain saw. My parents used one of these when clearing the land for out house in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. A huge, heavy beast that scared all of us, but made quick work of the trees that had to be removed for the foundation.

It is Graffiti Weekend here in Roseburg, with many classic cars all over the area. I saw around 40 as I drove through Glide on OR 138, and there are a few here at the fairgrounds. Tonight there is a "Show & Shine" race at the fairgrounds - It sounds like the Oswego Speedway during warm ups. I hope they aren't racing some of the cars here in the campground - most are far too beautiful to bash around on a track.

Depending on whether the sausage defrosts (it shouldn't be a problem since, while the freezer is doing OK at 5°F, I can't get the refrigerator section under 44°F with an outside temperature of 80°F) I'll either have the rest of the Alfredo sauce with spaghetti, or a Bubba Burger. Tomorrow I have to make an emergency stop at Walmart, or, better yet, a used bookstore. A tragedy is taking place - I'm out of books!

Till Tomorrow -

Susan Creek BLM Campground, Day 2

Whitehorse Falls

Thursday, July 5, Susan Creek BLM Campground, OR, Day 2 - 0 Miles Today, 9,360.7 For the Trip

Happy Birthday, Karin! Since I didn't take any photos today, I'll use one from the trip along OR 138.

A quiet day of doing nothing. I did spend a little time putting together some stuff for a long exposure photo workshop I'm going to give at the Oregon Gathering next week, but aside from that, just a kick back day. I can't think of a nicer place to do it. While there are no hook ups, Susan Creek BLM Campground is a very nice stop.

I'm not sure where I'll stop tomorrow, but I plan to move a bit closer to Bullard's Beach over the next couple of days.

Till Tomorrow -