Cape Arago Light

Coos Bay, is the largest city on the Oregon coast. We decided to take a drive out to Cape Arago Lighhouse. Newmark St takes you out of Coos Bay and through the fishing community of Charleston. The main catch here is Crab and Oysters. From Charleston, we followed signs for Cape Arago lighthouse and Sunset Bay State Park. The Simpson Reef overlook came up on our right and we pulled in.

The reef provides a small barrier to the open sea. The habitat here is one of the most important marine mammal and seabird colonies on the northwest coast. Normally the overlook provides a viewing opportunity for seals, sea lions, and many seabirds. Today there were no seals in view and the birds were all huddled amongs the crevasses in the rocks.

It's really raw and the wind will knock you over! We watched amazing waves pound against the rocky point of land across the reef. We passed the state park which was closed due to flooding from all this rain. Further down the road we found the Arago Point view. The sea is so angry. This is one Oregon lighthouse that you can't get up close to. It is protected by a locked gate maintained by the Coast Guard. The light tower is 44 ft hight and was illuminated in 1934. In terms of service this is the newest lighthouse, earlier structures were built on this site in 1866 and 1908. Both were lost due to erosion and weather.

We left the point and drove to Bastendorf Beach. The miles of uninterrupted beach and ocean views were fantastic. We followed the beach road to the end where it turned to dirt. We saw a number of cars parked next to the jetty so we decided to go see what was going on. As we pulled up a huge spray of water leaped over the jetty wall followed by a bigger spray. Getting out of the car we could see 8 ft waves roll into the jetty where it meets the bay. Soon another exploded against the wall. As the waves rolled and broke the wind, still about 35 mph, blew the water from the crest of the wave into the air.

Back in the car we headed back to camp. We had dinner at the casino tonight, played blackjack and was home by 10pm. The wind has picked up again and is really shaking us and rippling the slider awnings. We decided to bring the sliders in... we'll be glad when the wind calms down.

Pictures: Simpson Reef, Arago Point View & lighthouse in distance, Arago Point View, Bastendorf Beach Waves (2)

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A Wild Night

Cloudy, windy, raw and rainy...seems like that's Oregon spring weather... It was a good day to just do stuff, laundry, blogging, etc. and Ken spent the day researching what we might need if we decide to buy a Jeep.

The rain is getting harder now. We took the shuttle bus to the casino (picked us up right at our door). We played for a while and did pretty well. Back at home about 10pm the wind is really howling and shaking the coach. It must be atleast 40 mph. About midnight we got up and pulled the slides in the wind was so bad and it was raining sideways. It was a wild night!

Coos Bay

Finally sunny and cool (45) but clear. Continuing north on the Pacific Coast Highway (Rte 101) we mosey up to Coos Bay. We are just inching our way up the Oregon coast. We passed over bridges above deep gorges with creeks running through them into the ocean.

We crossed over the Rogue River Bridge with it's picturesque concrete arches and turrets on all four corners. This bridge carries Rte 101 across the river near where it meets the Pacific. We passed pastures full of baby lambs grazing in the sun. The road moved inland for a while through farm towns like Denmark, lots of cranberry bogs, and Christmas Tree farms. The road is lined with Douglas Fir and Spruce. Arriving in Coos Bay we parked the coach near the boardwalk. Coos Bay-North Bend is the largest coastal city in Oregon. The port transport many various items but the main tonnage is made up of wood products. We sauntered along the bay and then roamed around town. Shark Bites caught our attention so we had a quick lunch.

Back in the coach we headed up the road to the Mill Casino and RV Park, which will be home for the next 3 nights. The park is right on the bay. Once we got settled in we went to check out the area and ended up looking at Jeeps, just for kicks.

Later we had dinner and watched TV. There's a very serious storm coming in with heavy rain and winds. They are saying rain for the next week! That will really hamper a lot of the things we wanted to do here.

Thanks to everyone for my birthday wishes... it was a good day.

Pictures: Rogue River Bridge, Coos Bay View from our site