We would like to thank everyone for their well wishes for our anniversary. Your comments, emails, and Ecards mean so much to us. A very special THANK YOU to Donna and Russ, Travels in Therapy. Since they know the Florence, OR, area, we told them where we were having dinner. When we arrived at the restaurant, a delicious cheese sampler was waiting for us compliments of Donna and Russ. WOW…we were so surprised. We haven't even met them yet, but we will on Saturday in Eugene. We are looking forward to thanking them in person. We had a wonderful seafood dinner. Oh yes, a few drinks were thrown in there also. Wonderful day and night.
A quick flashback…
Sunday, May 27 – We drove up the coastal highway, OR-101, to the city of Gold Beach. Sunny Gold Beach rests on the banks of the Rogue River where it flows into the Pacific Ocean. The Rogue has long been famous for world-class salmon and steelhead fishing.
Mouth of the Rogue River.
The Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge across the Rogue River on Highway 101 at Gold Beach is a beautiful bridge. It was the first in the United States to use prestressed concrete arches to reduce construction costs. It is designed with seven graceful arches that were finished to appear to be stone, but are actually concrete.
We drove to the harbor believing Gold Beach was a fishing town and would have an interesting fishing fleet to view. Nope! We were disappointed in the lack of fishing boats and with the low water level, They do have jet boats that tour up river, but it was a pretty cold and dreary day so not many people were interested in getting wet in the jet boats.
Sea lions taking a break at the harbor.
We did have a friendly dog come running over carrying a stick wanting to play fetch. The only problem was the stick was a piece of driftwood about ten feet long. It took all his effort to get it off the ground and follow us around the area. He was so disappoint when we had to leave without finding a substitute stick to throw for him. Off he ran down the path, dragging his stick, hoping to find someone to play fetch.
We stopped at the Myrtlewood Carving Factory on our way out of town. Myrtlewood is an extremely hard wood that is excellent for carving and turning. It grows only on the Northern coast of California, Southwestern Oregon and Israel. It has a beautiful grain and a wide variety of light colors. Tours are available, but being Sunday, only the store was open.
We stopped at several areas along the coast on our way back to Brookings. The rugged coast along 101 is so beautiful.
The beach is easily accessible and with the tide out, you had plenty of room to walk or play in the dark sand. There were very few people on the beach, even on this holiday weekend. Guess it is too early in the season, or it's too cold, or maybe there just aren't that many people in this area.
Burrrrrrrrr!
One way to get down to the beach.
Regardless, in most cases we had the vistas all to ourselves or we shared them with only a couple people.
View from Cape San Sebastian.
CRATER LAKE – We scrapped plans to visit Crater Lake. It's closed due to snow! There is only one mile of the road that is open. Guess we'll have to see that area sometime in the future.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!
Yes, the North Entrance to Crater Lake is often closed due to snow until July some years! The South Entrance is usually always open, and you can get up to the lodge and see how beautiful it is there with all the snow. I would check it out before planning anything, cause I've not kept up with their schedule, what with reduced park budgets and all. Thanks for sharing the great photos. Makes me want to go to the coast again!
ReplyDeleteWhat fantastic pictures!! The west coast is on our list of "must see" places!! If not for health issues we might be right there with you.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy and safe travels!!
"There were very few people on the beach, even on this holiday weekend. Guess it is too early in the season, or it's too cold, or maybe there just aren't that many people in this area." Yup, all of the above! However, even in summer our beaches are uncrowded - can't say the same for the campgrounds though. We took the mail boat out of Gold Beach one year and had a great time - even saw a bear. The best jet boat ride (in my opinion) is out of Grants Pass on the Rogue. Wonderful ride and a great meal stop.
ReplyDeletewe just love the Oregon coast..thanks for sharing some photos that bring the lovely memories back for us. We missed the myrtlewood place but will visit next time. I'd give anything for cool, chilly weather right now. It's gonna be 96 today in Spring, TX.
ReplyDeleteMy napkin holder is made out of myrtle wood in the shape of a whale. I got it six years ago in Bandon, OR. Love the beautiful coast views.
ReplyDeleteWe are so enjoying your travelogue of the Oregon coast. We were in the Northwest in June. After hitting the cool, foggy weather at Morro Bay and finding out that was common for the West Coast for June, we opted to travel through the center of Oregon. We still have an aversion to cool/foggy/rainy when the calendar says May/June. Looks like you're having beautiful weather but we have noticed the number of times you're wearing jackets. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe Oregon Coast is a beautiful place for sure. Cape San Sebastian is a place I remember as we stopped there for a bit last year. Keep taking those pictures as I never tire of seeing the Oregon Coast.
ReplyDeleteThe temperatures of the Pacific amaze me! Brrrr is right!
ReplyDeleteIf this cool weather is the norm for that area, sign me up for a visit :-)
ReplyDeleteIf you can catch good weather this time of the year at the coast, you have lots less people. However, the warmer weather makes it more pleasant. We've always wanted to do the jet boats down the Rogue but have never done that yet.
ReplyDeleteAll so familiar.
ReplyDeletePoor puppy! No ne wants to throw his stick for him.
ReplyDeleteI would have trouble getting out of the Myrtlewood shop without buying something. I'm not much of a shopper but make it out of wood and I'm there.
Love the pictures of the coast, can never get enough of it!
ReplyDeletewe will be near Crater Lake in a week or so and plan to make it up there if they let us...
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I'd love to see it featured on Dwellable's Gold Beach Page. Please shoot me [inna at dwellable dot com] an email or check out the blog section on the Gold Beach page. Thanks!
ReplyDelete