Last Trails, Last Sunsets -> Adieu OR Coast (‘Till Next Year)
We’re winding down our very last few days here on the gorgeous OR coast. On Monday we’ll be packing the rig, waving our last teary coastal goodbyes and moving inland. Current jello plans have us in Eugene for a week, then Crater Lake and then (possibly) another fall drive down our favorite highway in the entire country (spectacular Hwy 395) before we land our jacks for a month of spa at Desert Hot Springs.
After then? Likely some random boondocking in the SW desert, maybe a little jaunt to San Diego and possibly some adventures we’ve not even thought of yet…we’ll see…
Staying on the coast this summer has been one of the best decisions we’ve made in our 3 years of RVing. We’ve hit perfect temps, near perfect weather (getting better each month), discovered our new fav city on the coast (beautiful Bandon) and experienced something we’ve wanted to do for a while -> lighthouse hosting. After a personally tough start to the year, this summer was a soul-soothing balm and has only solidified our love of the wild and wonderful OR coast. It was also wonderful to slow down, enjoy the space and soak in the full experience of the southern coast with time to spare. Our month in Bullards Beach was fabulous and this past month at Cape Blanco has been enchanting, poetic and gorgeously wild. We’ve throughly enjoyed the park, the lighthouse job, the trails and yes…even the crazy weather!
Our time at Cape Blanco has also given us the chance to discover nearby Port Orford, the oldest city on the coast. It’s not quite got the charm and size of Bandon, but it’s a neat little town with a mix of eateries (go to the Crazy Norwegians for lunch and hit Red Fish for an evening glass with a view), history (the Lifeboat Museum is a “must see”), natural beauty (Port Orford Heads is a fabulous short hike with jaw-dropping views), art (several galleries in town) and even a cute little Sat AM farmers market (the locally caught fish and pastured pork are amazing). Given time it’s a town I could grow into….and it gets bonus points for having a RedBox too.
Between the stunning nature here at the Cape, nearby Port Orford and lovely Bandon we’ve been totally satisfied and have practically turned into locals. I now order “the usual” at the local coffee roaster, have exchanged recipes with the pastured pork vendor and am on a first-name basis with the fish monger….what more could you want in life?
But alas our nomadic itch is scratching and despite sad adieu’s we’re excited by the next stage of our fall plans. We may have seen our last OR coast sunset this year, but it certainly isn’t our last time here. We’ve signed up for another 3 months lighthouse hosting next year (including Sept…our FAV month) and almost can’t wait to come back.
Adieu beautiful OR coast. We’ll see you again soon…and maybe you’ll join us here next year too?
We also ate at the Crazy Norwegian when we passed that way. Here’s my take on it, “In Port Orford we stopped at The Crazy Norwegian for lunch. It felt like we were Up North in Minnesota. There were lots of signs about lutefisk and Uff Da and a sandwich named The Scandihovian. Small place but good food. No lefse, though.”
Cheers for the write-up. That’s a great description of the place!
Nina
Sounds and looks like you have found a match made in heaven on the Oregon Coast. I have a suggestion for a future trip (you may already know about it.) It is Highway 89 north to south going through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming. Just a suggestion.
Enjoy your travels where ever they may take you.
Oh yeah we LOVE Hwy 89. We’ve done parts of it in Arizona and Utah. Haven’t made it further than that, but we’re (tentatively) planning 89 again next year. We’ll see.
Nina
This is the only way I’ve found to get you a msg. Love your blog. Also, outside Alturas, Ca (hwys 299 & 395) is a Modoc Natl Forest campground called and at Blue Lake. Rec it highly! 395 is also my favorite hiway, end to end. Happy Trails, Chuck n Geri http://www.phunnyfarm.blogspot.com/
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Cheers for the tip!! I will look that one up and add it to my ever-growing list!
Nina
Have enjoyed your Oregon writeups. Stayed and enjoyed Armitage, had a major project done by Elite (Marty, Eric, and Mark) drop down TV-new 40″ and 27″ in bedroom with modified cabinet, enjoyed Bandon-but state park was full. Valley of the Rogue State Park between Grants Pass and Medford is great especially F loop sites 12, 14, and 16 (Water/ 50amp/ NO sewer at site but a dump station) with day trip to Crater Lake.
Oh so happy you guys got good service with Elite! Sounds like a sweet project you got done. Also cheers for the tip on Valley of the Rogue State Park. I’ve heard good reviews from other folks on that place so it’ll probably be a stop for us at some point.
Nina
I share your love of the Oregon Coast and yearn to see it, again.
I’m with you 🙂
Such gorgeous pictures of the coastline made even more fantastic by the solitude. No wonder you are coming back for 3 months next year. I think a month in any of the places you’ve been would be terrific! Sure is beautiful.
Are you staying 3 months in one spot or one month in each of 3 spots??
Yeah, we’ve been totally smitten!! Next year we’ll do July & Aug at Bullards Beach and Sept at Cape Blanco. The nice thing about OR State Parks is they let you volunteer a month at a time, so you can move around if you feel like it. We’ve met several folks who volunteer year-around here in different spots.
Nina
We may just have to pay Oregon some attention before long.
Indeed you must! Get your feathery butts over here!
Nina
You two have had a wonderful summer. I agree…Oregon is one beautiful place to be!
We sure have and I’ve been very happy with it. Of course summer is not quite done yet 🙂
Nina
Hi ! I have a question about the RV park that you stayed at in Desert Hot Springs. Did the have sewer hookups?
John
Yup, full hookups. We’ll be back there again in November. Love that RV park!
Nina
My very favorite hike is the Little Lakes Valley, at the end of the road up the hill from Tom’s Place, north of Bishop, CA. Maybe you’ve already been there, but if not, it’s a winner! Look at:
http://lifeontheopenroad.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-very-favorite-hike.html
NEAT! We’ll have to check out that hike. Thanks so much for the tip!
Nina
Maybe we will join you along the coast next year. We have a commitment to Carson City in May, but after that we hope to be foot loose and fancy free for at least four months. We remember the Crazy Norwegian — loved it, so that’s a place to revisit for sure.
Oh I sure hope you do! We’re hoping to maybe make it over to Benson this winter sometime too, so maybe we’ll meet you there as well.
Nina
Glad your summer was so wonderful. Thank you for introducing us to the Oregon coast. It is indeed very special. Your photography is just stunning Nina! Hope to see you both soon. 🙂
Happy we got to share a bit of it with you. We’ll see ya again soon at Crater Lake! Nina
Good write-ups, Nina. Nice too know how much you enjoy the Oregon coast. At some point in the future if you find time for a new adventure to the Washington coast, I’m sure you’d enjoy it immensely as well.
I sure hope you are as premature in talking about the end of summer as I think you are. 🙂 Here in the Pacific Northwest September is usually a very good month as well. A few years can bring a bit of rain at the end of the month, but generally a very comfortable month. And not just on the coast but in the mountains as well. The autumn colors and wild huckleberry picking of the Cascade high country are among the things that make this my favorite time of year.
Ya never know…ya might wanna stay a little longer next time ’round. 🙂
Oh I’m with you on September. In fact Sept may be my favorite month of the entire year in Oregon! We’ll be spending most of it around Crater Lake so hoping to grab some excellent weather there.
Nina
looks like you had a ball….enjoy Eugene and the rest of your trip…we leave manhattan, ny tomorrow and head out to manhattan, ks…hopefully we will see you on the road….i love the sunset shot that has paul in it…very dramatic…..
That was a fun shot to do…double exposure combination (one exposure for Paul and one for the sunset) combined together. I do have fun with photography!
Nina
Glad you had such a super summer in Oregon — enjoyed your photos and writings ! and don’t forget to give us a call and stop in if you are at all near Tuscon/Catalina in the upcoming months!! the door and pool are always open!!
Terry,
Oh we definitely will! There’s a good chance we’ll be heading out there and I’d love to see your new home in person.
Nina
I am a newbie to your blog and have LOVED every minute of it. We have been RV-ing over the weekends with once a year longer trips for 3 years and look forward to the open road when we retire in 5-6 years (sooner if we get the chance). Safe travels to you and yours. lmck
Welcome to the blog and thanks for following our journey! Sure is fun to meet other RVers this way!
Nina
Have enjoyed you Oregon time with you. Lovely snaps! Be well and safe travels, Ann and Jerry
Nina and Paul,
We just discovered your blog and enjoyed reading about your adventures. We live in Port Orford and enjoy camping and traveling in our Airstream.
We read that you are coming back next year to host at the lighthouse (one of our favorite places to camp). Please let us know when you return and we will come by and say ‘hello’.
Continued good travels,
Cindy and Stan
How lovely to see you on the blog! We love, love, love the OR coast and have definitely decided to come back next year. We’ll be hosting at Coquille River in July/Aug and then moving onto Cape Blanco in Sept. Most definitely would love to meet you when we get back to the area.
Nina