The Oregon Coast

On Wednesday, we first tried to go through Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park on Howland Hill Drive, reputed to be a beautiful view of redwoods.  We went east from Crescent City, up into the hills, but were thwarted by gates closing the road because of construction.  So we went up Rt. 199 to Hiouchi and tried to double back onto Howland Hill Dr.  But we ran into a roadblock just as the scene was getting interesting and had to turn back. 

Oh well, off to the Oregon coast. We explored the Oregon coast from Brookings to Coos Bay.  There are a series of mesmerizing vistas up and down the coast.  There are cliffs and bluffs that provide wonderful viewing platforms.  We could look out on the near rocks - sea stacks and the like in pictures framed by healthy green trees.

We could look at long views, such as this looking north along Gold Beach.  (Gold Beach is at the mouth of the Rogue River and the starting point for the jet boats that go up to the Rogue's rapids.

There are a series of pleasant coastal towns in southern Oregon, somewhat isolated (not so much as Gualala, but still isolated from the other parts of the State).  Each is finding its niche as a viable community.

One such town is Port Orford, where we used to stop at a favorite ice cream shop (and enjoy the view as we entered the town from the south.  A year ago, the shop had disappeared and this year we found an art gallery in its place.  The landscaping wasn't done, but the gallery was open and we fell to talking with the in-charge person.  Turns out she was a Napa/Sonoma person who knew The Sea Ranch and who was a very good friend of a favorite Sea Ranch couple - small world!

We went on to Coos Bay and then Coquille, county seat for Coos County.  Harriett and I had a great uncle, Walter Culin, who came to Coos County in the late 1800s after graduating as a doctor in Philadelphia, but we didn't do any geneological research.

We ended the day in Roseburg, after driving one of the beautiful roads that go between the coast and I-5.  We usually drive from Reedsport through Drain to Cottage Grove, a drive that we thought was the prettiest, but the Coquille-Roseburg road competes for top honors.