The Oregon Coast Part 2- Cape Perpetua

May 30, 2014

Greg needed more fish and chips, so we delayed our start on Wednesday, so that we could drive south to Port Orford to visit the Crazy Norwegian for lunch. We had lunch in a small glorified fishing shack, then checked out a parking area looking over the harbor, high on a bluff, where, for a donation the town provided an overnighting spot for RV's. Hmmm...if, we come back, that could work...
Next we drove back north again to Bandon. Greg found a carwash that could accommodate the rig, and did a good scrubbing and rinsing off. Still quite a few squashed bugs plastered to the front, but at least, the mud and dust are off.

Almost a foodie.

Traveling north past the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, we discovered that the road goes inland, and the only way to experience the dunes is to drive around them on an ATV, or hike miles across them to the ocean. We found a viewpoint, looked at them and drove on to Florence.
In Florence we found a Fred Meyers. We haven't been in one since we left Anchorage in 1996. Our mission was to find a new french press coffee maker, since I smashed Greg's earlier in the week. This is the one we bought last summer in Quebec City to replace the one that flew out of the cupboard in the construction zone on the Gaspe' Peninsula. This one had been safe “behind bars” whenever we traveled. I broke it washing it. (How many have I broken through the years...5, 6?) Greg has been making “cowboy coffee” all week, with varying degrees of success. He poured boiling water over the grounds in the bottom of a pan, let them steep and then settle, and poured the coffee off the top. Thankfully, we found a new french press and continued north.

The Oregon Dunes at the overlook where they are over a mile wide.

Rhododendrons love Oregon.

We took a short diversion off the road to visit a bog filled with Darlingtonia, carnivorous plants. They were larger versions of the pitcher plants we saw in Atlantic Canada last summer, and jammed together in a way that would make you question whether there could be enough insects in that small area for them to eat! We weren't getting swarmed by bugs, so I guess they were doing the job!
We found the Cape Perpetua Forest Service campground a short drive up the road towards Yachats, (pronounced ya-HOTS), and checked into another secluded, but no hook-up site along Cape Creek. More mossy trees, wildflowers, and ferns. I love this area!

Darlingtonia california, about 18 inches tall

Green, Shady, and Dark campsite, the sun hit the solar panels from 12:17 pm to 12:23 pm.

Thursday we hiked all over the area, starting with a one and a half mile uphill climb through the woods to the top of Cape Perpetua. It was overcast and windy, but we had a spectacular view back south down the coast. Hiking around the bluff we came upon a CCC built stone hut perched on the side of the cliff. The hike down was easier! By the time we reached the rig for lunch, the sun was out and the wind picking up.

It was easy to keep warm on the way up, almost a 900-foot climb over a mile or so.

Cool fungus looks like shelves of wood

Red moss looked like velvet.

Looking south down the coast

Devils Churn, where the westerly waves run straight into a narrow fissure in lava.

The CCC rock shelter

Moss, Ferns, Oregon...

Old Man's Beard

Downhill toward lunch

After lunch we hiked along the coast and on the rocks and explored the lava flows that have been eroded into slot canyons. The waves blast them into a geyser, depending on the timing of the tides. The tide pools weren't as fruitful here, but we saw a lot of sea life at Port Blanco, so we hiked back to camp.

Cape Creek behind our campsite

Cooks Chasm and the Spouthole (not spouting today)

Narrow fissure in lava, maybe a collapsed lava tube.

Kathleen on columnar-jointed lava

Fierce wildlife!

Between Cape Blanco and Cape Perpetua, we would return here in a heartbeat. What glorious, raw beauty we found along the Oregon Coast!