Baker City to Bandon
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| Mt. Hood enroute to Liz in West Linn. |
Rick and I were home for a whole week before we decide it is time to get a move on again and head to the coast! We want to take advantage of Mom's house again before the opportunities are not longer available! (Not immediately on the horizon, but eventually!)
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| Where are the steps?? |
We take the Prius for the 10 hour drive, having made arrangements to stop in West Linn to have lunch with Liz, and then head down to Bandon. A great stir fry and 2 hour conversation, and smooth travels down. We stop in Cottage Grove at the Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Arrive at Seabird Lane around 6:30. I promptly take off for a quick walk on the beach, finding the stairway down absolutely covered with vetch, horsetail ferns, bracken ferns, and BLACKBERRY BRAMBLES! That will be getting cleared off quickly!
We set up shop in the master bedroom - it doesn't feel weird to be sleeping in Mom's bed.
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| Welcome back, I hear the ocean call! |
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| The velella, "By-the-Wind Sails" jellyfish are back on shore! |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RICK!
Today is Rick's 67th birthday!! We spend time together with a walk on the beach and steelhead for dinner. (It took us awhile to find a fish source - nothing at both fish markets. We finally had to go to Ray's). Steelhead, great bread, corn on the cob!
I worked and got the top half of the stairs cleared, plus deadheaded the rose bush. Made arrangements with Sabra to come over for dinner on Thursday evening.
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| Selfie down on the beach. |
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| Tide is low enough to walk around Tunnel Rock |
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| We find starfish, but not an abundance. |
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| The sun is shining bright and the mussels are pretty colored in the light. |
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| Classic Face Rock and the Cat and Kittens. |
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| Rick is reflected in the stream waters heading to sea. |
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| The sea gulls congregate in the stream delta. |
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| Another gull on the rocks. |
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| Drifting gull feathers. |
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| The seals are on the rocks at Elephant Rock. |
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| Wildlife folk post signs during low tides. |
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| Nice job cleaning those steps, Ginger!! |
WEDNESDAY, June 6
Jed's Arrival!
This will not be the most detailed blog I've ever written. Most Bandon ones aren't as it is a time for rest and recuperation! But it will be a central place to post my pictures!
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| Cleaning up after a hedge trim. |
A lazy morning working on computer, then I finished up the stairwell while Rick tackled trimming the hedge and pampas grass - both much needed. Then a quick trip to town to pick up more steelhead for dinner.
Jed arrived just before 3 and shortly after he and I went down to the beach and walked nearly to the jetty before turning around. It wasn't very windy - in between tides - and relatively warm! Good chance to catch up.
Dinner (a repeat of last night as Jed brought us more corn on the cob!) PLUS a Boston cream cake that Jed picked up for Rick's birthday. Nice!
Four games of SandM in which I am victorious! (I had to mention that because it doesn't happen often when I am playing games with Jed!)
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| I love the yellow dune flowers - usually they mark the spot where I head through the dunes to Mom's path. |
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| Today the velellas were intact! Not just the sails, but the blue base as well. ALL OVER the beach! |
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| I attempted another seal picture, not very successfully. |
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| Jed picks his way through a gap at Coquille Rocks. |
THURSDAY, June 7
Evening with Kachleins
Busy morning baking bread for this evening and catching up on some 'must dos'! - Like a few thank you cards and birthday cards, etc. Jed and I took a LONG walk on the beach this afternoon, nearly to the jetty and back once again. It was enough today to screw up his foot in some way - pulled a muscle in his arch in the soft sand.
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| I grab a shot of Jed through one of the 'holes' in Tunnel Rock. |
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| Beautiful anemones in the tide pools at Tunnel Rock |
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| I just want to poke the circle in the middle. |
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| Jed walked in the water most of the way - my boy who at 3 walked 30 feet up shoreline for fear of a wave taking him to sea! |
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| Seagull taking to flight |
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| Hello! What's up? |
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| Seals just hanging out on the rocks. |
I tried out a new recipe on friends! Spaghetti pie! Only I made it in a casserole pan to be sure we had enough. If Mark had showed up in time for dinner, it would have been a perfect amount. As it was, a little leftover (which Jed consumed the next day!) Sabra brought a strawberry fluff cake for dessert which was light and delicious! A little wine and we played the National Geographic game. Close battle, but Strider won by 1 point!
Mark arrived around 9, exhausted from a long delayed caddy job at the Dunes. They ended up playing in the dark at the end! All he wanted was glasses of water!!
Bad girl! I didn't take any pictures of Kachleins while they were here!
FRIDAY, June 8
Old Town
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| Rose for Mom in Memorial Garden. |
y the church so Jed could see the rose bush that Mac planted in the Memorial Garden for Mom. It has just started to bloom and had one large blossom. It smells good!
After lunch the weather was WET. Jed and I did not make it down to the beach today, which was just as well because his foot was still bothering him.
Spite and Malice games, computer hardware discussions, and then some new form of dominos in the evening!
SATURDAY, June 9
Play time with Sabra
Jed wasn't in any hurry to leave today, which was great because the skies cleared enough for us to take a short walk SOUTH to the river and back. Rick got caught in one of the rain squalls earlier when he took a walk along Beach Loop. I made a quick trip down to Dollar Tree and Dollar General to pick up some helpful items for batik and glass for etching. Managed to find a bargain on three t shirts, so we can tie dye those as well - trying out my 'crayola melt' method.
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| One more walk with Jed! |
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| What is it about these sea creatures that fascinates me so? |
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| Stormy skies and blue waters. |
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| Me and my boy on the beach. |
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| We were amazed at how clear our footprints were showing in the sand. |
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| My favorite of the nativity batiks I tried |
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| A stained glass pattern - I made a mistake on Mary's sleeve though. :( |
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| A bit of a sunset tonight! |
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| Another bloom on Mom's rose |
Worship Plus
Today is church day - the weather is still overcast and cloudy. I think it is supposed to clear up and be sunny Monday and Tuesday.
We make connections with Bobbi and enjoy sitting behind Sabra and family on the 'other' side of the sanctuary. (We didn't sit in "Mom's" pew!)
Bobbi showed me the sign for Mom, and indicated that they would redo it because the c in McLean was uppercase. Oops. I took a picture anyway to send to sibs.
Back to relax, take a short walk on beach in blustery weather, and rinse out all the tie dye. (Success!)
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| Not sure what happened, but this row of feathers was interesting! |
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| Cycles of beach life, but I found the tuft of feather still on the wing tip fascinating. |
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| Seagulls taking off from feeding grounds. |
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| Dune grass and Face Rock. |
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| My crayola drip shirt and one of Mom's dish towels! |
Baked the other half of the bread and made soup for dinner. A good rainy day meal!
MONDAY, June 11
Chores and Walks
The weather man promised improvement after Sunday and the day got better and better as time ticked by! Rick took a long walk this morning and I spent nearly 2 1/2 hours on the beach this afternoon, walking clear down to past the jetty, up to the top of Coquille Point and back down to the beach. Part of the return trip I conversed with Chris Rodgers by phone.
I went back to Dollar Tree this am for some more glassware - making wine glasses for Shawn and Gretchen (I'll leave in the cupboard and see if they ever notice!) and Zach and Savannah, who are coming in July. Another sourdough crock done and a snowflake glass for me!
Rick did some clean up around the house. We made French toast for dinner and then I baked some rhubarb bread to use up the rest of the rhubarb sauce and the apricot syrup. Evening...Rick watched his Pirates absolutely blow a 5 run lead. Grrr.
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| The velella jellyfish are THICK everywhere and mostly dried up. |
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| Beautiful ocean view as I approach Tunnel Rock area |
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| The seals were thick on the rocks - I counted about 30 of them. |
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| I didn't get a front view here, but the water splash was great! |
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| This little guy gave me a classic pose! |
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| I discovered a little box canyon in the rocks at Coquille Point. |
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| Beautifully colored tidal pool on the north side of Coquille Point |
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| I encountered a dead elephant seal down near the south jetty. |
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| This guy must have been about 8 feet long - belly side up. |
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| Coquille Lighthouse across the river. |
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| Beach lupine covers the knoll atop Coquille Point. |
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| View south from Coquille Point |
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| Washed Ashore has installed one of their 'plastic trash' sculptures at Coquille Point. |
TUESDAY, June 12
Gold Beach 'Fishing' and Cape Sebastian Hike
What a glorious day! We head south for the hour drive to Gold Beach, amazed to find our clear skies are soon masked with swirling mists and clouds around all the headlands (Humbug Mt., Otter Point, etc.) When we could first see the ocean at Port Orford, we couldn't see the ocean! Through Gold Beach, where we scope out our 'fishing hole' and then on to the Cape Sebastian State Park about 7 miles south off 101.
What a delight! Only one other car in the parking lot. The trail winds through thickly overgrown undergrowth along a narrow ridge hundreds of feet above the water. Thick forest of spruce and Douglas fir. But the wildflowers were the amazement for me: wild iris, tiger lilies, asters, false lily of valley, salal, manzanita, succulents, paintbrush, yellow composites, Oregon grape, fuzzy cat's paws, and several I still haven't identified. Salal and manzanita were colorful as the new growth was red buds on green leaves.
The foggy mists drifted through the trees, and in one spot, we looked back to see the sun making star ray shafts of light in the forest. Incredible view. Once off the ridge, the trail dropped down in several switchbacks to a broad tree-covered bench above the rocky shoreline. We took the western path toward a rocky chasm. Rick alone treked out on those rocks and took the camera with him! Pock-holed sandstone rocks, mini gorge's rocked with the pounding surf and crashing waves. I wandered back to another point overlooking it all. Eventually I hiked another .2 of a mile toward Meyer's beach, but never got to a point where I could really see where the trail dropped down to the shoreline.
We sat for awhile watching the waves, the multiple shades of blue and green of the ocean, spotting buoys and ships, and observing what appeared to be a writing class of college students sit and pen in notebooks on the rocks below.
Back up the trail in an hour to the car and into Gold Beach, where we found Hunger Payne's - a food truck that Rick had scouted out online. We ordered crab and shrimp melts just to splurge! Tasty and rich! Potato salad was good as well! Since the food trailer was parked right on 101 with no outdoor seating, we took our yummies down to the boat basin and found a picnic table on which to dine! View much better and a sea lion entertained us on the dock.
Time to go 'fishing'. We had called ahead to Fisherman's Direct and they have tuna for $8.50 a pound - vaccum-packed half loins. We bought nearly $100 worth and promptly put it in the ice chest we had brought with us for that purpose.
Beautiful drive north back up to Bandon, home around 3:15pm. Showers and then I begin to sort through the 170 photos I took for the day!
We have a dinner invite to Kachleins tonight! And Sabra insisted that we come to their humble little house in town, even though it's much more scenic at Mom's (her words!) She had outdone herself as usual with tuna and asparagus pasta, salad, bread, and lemon cake with homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert. I had brought some of the leftover corn on the cob to add to the mix.
Strider had to leave to teach his dance class, but Mark, Sabra, Rick, and I sat and talked while watching a You-Tube channel replaying songs of the 70's. Pretty entertaining as Rick gave a running trivia commentary on all the songs and groups. Fun evening.
I could hardly walk this afternoon - apparently pulling a muscle in my right foot from barefoot walking yesterday and then a little fall today on the trail when I twisted that same foot. Hopefully it will stretch out and heal. I will NOT be wearing my TEVA sandals again - blisters!
More pictures from today:
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| Vista from my viewpoint above the rocks |
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| Trailhead - Part of Oregon Coast Trail |
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| Rick in the middle of misty trees |
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| Tough to grasp the perspective here, but you are looking straight down about 500 feet to the surf below. A very narrow ridgetop. |
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| New growth colors on plants. |
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| Down to the bench covered with trees - surf in distance. |
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| Rocky headland of the cape |
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| One of many narrow chasms that roiled with sea waves |
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| Rick took the camera and was photographer out on the rocks. |
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| What interesting sculpted rocks they were! |
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| A good telephoto lens allows Rick to find Ginger up on the bench above. |
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| A little sea foam and waves |
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| View past writing class on rocks to Hunter's Island and coastline. |
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| Gnarly tree skeletons dot the bench above the surf. |
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| Heading down thickly overgrown trail. |
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| Heading back up - same section of trail was being cleared by state park workers. |
WEDNESDAY, June 13
Lazy Day
Wow...really low keyed day! I woke up early, took one look at the drizzle, clouds, etc. and said 'Go back to bed! Low tide isn't worth it!' Spent much of the day on the computer, drawing pictures, new mandala designs, etc. Did go down and clear some more of the stairway path and cleaned up the basement. Took a short walk on the beach late afternoon.
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| Just one picture from walk. |
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| Roses are in bloom! |
Evening I went through all the guest books and noted every time on a chart that we have visited Bandon over the years since 1980 when Mom and Dad built. Trivia .... Rembolds in some form or another have logged 80 visits! (This being our 80th!)
Rick and I watched a couple of the Rick Steves video on Switzerland and Italian Alps. Dinner of leftover soup and bread.
Highlight? We finally got a sunset!!
THURSDAY, June 14
Flag Day - Labyrinth - LOW TIDE!
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| Low tide reveals pockets of water everywhere! |
Up before 6 to complete my prayers before heading down to the beach a bit before 7. Tide is -2.2 feet, one of the lowest for the summer (other is -2.4 on July 14!) The huge spit spans toward Face Rock, but I didn't go out on it this time around because I had on my shoes and I would have gotten my feet wet! Wandered in and out of rocks with bright colored starfish enroute to Coquille Point. NO SEALS today - must have been out 'fishing'. But the wildlife gal was there to keep people off the exposed rocks - birds and anemones protection.
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| Sabra adds her name to the circle. |
Back toward Face Rock viewpoint around 8 to field a phone call from Sabra. I meet her at the base of the viewpoint and we walk the labyrinth together. The theme for the next 5 days is Gratitude, so I focus on my blessings as I walk. Lots of red, white, and blue rocks for decor, plus a row of tiny flags. At first I thought, "It's not July 4th yet" but then remembered it was Flag Day!
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| Selfie with Sabra at the start of the labyrinth. |
Sabra and I then wandered about 2/3 of the way back towards Coquille Point before heading back to the house. A good walk for the morning! And it was incredibly beautiful - sunshine, only a slight breeze. Lots of folks out on the beach, thousands of pictures were taken this morning!!
Sabra called Mark and he came over to say goodbye to us as well - we sat over a cup of coffee and visited for another hour! Mark drove Sabra back to her car at the wayside.
Spent an hour talking with Marg on the phone while Rick took a walk. She and Ron are due to arrive on Monday.
A little shopping to restock the house and pick up the wine and goodies for Savannah and Zach. Picked up some brochures and a map at the Visitor Center. Rick vaccuumed the house while I was gone. He also cleaned out a mouse pile we discovered above the records in the coffee table. The mouse had a bunch of stuffing and about 10 Hershey Kisses in his stash. In cleaning, Rick found the mummified mouse as well! What killed it? Foil? Chocolate? Trapped with no water? Not much in the way of dropping though. Mystery!
We eat up leftovers for dinner and wash the last load of laundry (other than the sheets) I get preoccupied reading some of Grandpa's sermons downstairs. Rick also found a weathered 20 page booklet that comprised a sort of yearbook for Mom's high school (Laguna Beach). 
Ready to head out in the morning.
FRIDAY, June 15
Bandon to Prineville, OR
Up early, wash sheets, final cleanup and we are on our way east! It is another beautiful morning on the beach, however! But windy!
We decide to go the 'longer route' (by about 8 miles!) and take the Umpqua Highway up past Diamond Lake. Rick adds to the adventure by taking Lampa Lane up and over the mountain to Myrtle Point. We miss on turn there and end up going through the little town of Arago as well. Good drive, but we note the coastal mountains are already too dry for June.
Hope to catch a low gas price at a Love's, we inadvertently end up on I-5 south at Roseburg and have to drive 5 miles before we find the next exit and can turn around! You would think we had never traveled this direction before! Eventually we find gas in Roseburg as we head out 138 toward the mountains.
Quick stop for a snack and potty at Clear Creek Falls picnic area. Sunny and cool. Mt Thiesen, as usual, is hiding behind trees and nearly impossible to get a photo of, but it was clear! I drove from Clear Creek the rest of the way into Prineville.
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| One prickly pear blossom |
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| Different variety of cacti |
We got to Tom and Diane's around 3:15 and spent a wonderful afternoon/evening visiting, seeing the improvements on their house, admiring the flowers and cacti, and enjoying enchiladas and strawberry shortcake for dinner. We played a game of Bendominos after dinner which was a new game for me. Fun....I might have to pick up a copy somewhere! Also painted our stick for Diane's signpost pillar out in the yard.
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| Sun sets behind Mt. Jefferson. |
SATURDAY, June 16
Prineville to Baker City
200 miles
We weren't in any hurry to hit the road today, spending the morning visiting and just chatting. Diane made an egg frittata for breakfast to go along with the cinnamon rolls. Tasty. I finished painting the back side of our signpost stick and then made Tom and Diane hold it for a picture when I couldn't seem to get a panorama shot to work!
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| Mileage part |
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| I put a phrase on the back. |
We then went next door to the neighbors who just picked up their new motorhome. We had to go take a look see! Very nice folk....we sat inside the new rig for nearly an hour laughing, sharing stories, and enjoying conversation.
Back to Hinkles to gather together our stuff and take off for Baker City. We got away around 12:30 and made the drive home in just about 4 hours exactly. Rick drove the whole way. The green of the lush grass beneath the pines was incredible all the way home. We encountered balsamroot in the Occhocos as well as plenty of lupine, wild roses, and elderberry.
A few flashes of lightning around the John Day valley and some rain. Later we saw hail alongside the road, but we didn't drive through any. The outside temperature did drop from 70 to 46 Listened to our Clive Cussler tape the whole way home, but still didn't finish it! About an hour still to go.
Home to find all in good order. After unpacking the car, I couldn't wait to get out into my garden and deadhead the iris and columbine. Still plenty more yard work to do.
Good to be home. Great trip. Relaxing time in Bandon. Now the work begins. Property to buy, plans to determine, utilities to install!
