THE CENTRAL COAST of OREGON: Florence to Lincoln City August 12-18, 2012

Trying to get out of the heat that had hit central Oregon, we chose to return to the coast for a week or so. Paul left pulling the dolly with plans that I would meet him at Exit 99 on I-5 and the Seven Feathers Casino parking lot. Though I was probably only 30 min later leaving Medford it took me the whole hour to finally catch up. We knew there were 3 good climbs north of Grants Pass and didn't want to stress the motorhome in the heat with pulling the car. Once hooked up we took turned west on highway 99 at Yoncalla passing through the little town of Drain and joining Highway 38. It's a most scenic and lovely drive along the Umpqua River. To our surprise we didn't leave the heat behind as we went west. The temps stayed above 95 for the next 2 hours until we reached the thick fog bank at  Reedsport.

Just before Reedsport we pulled off along Dean Creek where a herd of approximately 120 Roosevelt elk graze in the meadows. 

 There were 2 large groups far off in the distance.  We could see the sparring, or head butting, even if we weren't close enough to get it on camera.  The mature bull elk can weigh 700-1200 pounds and stands 5' tall at the shoulders...impressive and fun to see! All along the coast we have been seeing the sign that Elk are nearby but these were the first we actually saw.

 It was a welcome relief to see the fog bank and begin to cool down. From Reedsport we turned north onto Highway 101 for Florence. Another beautiful part of the coast with huge sand dunes poking out along the route. As we drove into Florence the fog cleared to a perfect afternoon. We checked into the Elks RV Park north of town and had a gorgeous wooded site.

 

It was a pull through so we didn't need to unhook the dolly, just the car so we could scoot back into town for music at the Traveler's Cove Cafe, a small Mexican restaurant along the water with great jazz music on Sunday evenings. We stayed 3 days just relaxing at the park, doing short hikes and reading. I loved it!

This particular park is very popular and we didn't have a reserved site so we needed to move after 3 nights... to stay any longer we would have to move again, so we decided to load up and go further up the coast to Lincoln City on Wednesday morning. The day was absolutely gorgeous and warm! We drove along the Siletz River to Chinook Bend RV Park. I loved this unique natural sculpture in the river; a fallen tree or driftwood had sprouted several evergreens and shrubs. Amazingly pretty!

We were early enough to get a river site, #11 with a peaceful river view. Paul drove the motorhome as far back on the bank as he could, with our bikes hanging out over the edge just a bit.

It was perfect to sit back and enjoy the fishermen trawling along the river all afternoon and evening.

Thursday we drove north through the slow traffic of Lincoln City and on up the 101 to the scenic Pacific City and the beginning of The Three Capes Scenic Route.  Someone had told Paul about the Pelican Pub and Brewery right along the beach which was fantastic.  Though extremely crowded at 2 in the afternoon, we found 2 seats at the bar and spent a fun hour visiting with other travelers from Florida. After a tasty lunch we walked out to spend the rest of the afternoon on the soft warm sand. Perfect!!! This is the first time we've seen cars drive onto the beach like Pismo. In the distance is Cape Kiwanda and its sandstone formations. It's also the home of the famous dory boat fishing fleet. The boats come in after fishing off the waters off Cape Kiwanda, blast their horn to alert people along the beach and slide right onto the beach. Pretty unique.

We ended up staying 4 nights at Chinook Bend RV Park since Mandy came over to get out of the sweltering heat of Portland on Friday evening.

The campground has a spacious setting with open fields all around. We took Foster for an evening walk along the river and forgot about his fear of crossing anything with movement, such as this little wooden walkway. His immediate response was to jump off the side into the creek.  Thank goodness Paul was fast enough to grab him as he landed in the reeds near the water.

Once back on his feet he scurried across to the other side to finish our walk.

It was evening time and several small boats were still fishing along the river.

Back at our campsite we started a campfire and watched the evening disappear.

Friday we moved to a different site, not quite so nice but at least we didn't have to find another campground. We could stay put for the weekend. Since the inland areas were so HOT the parks all filled up for the weekend. We went into Lincoln City Friday afternoon to see a few new sights. We drove to Regatta Park to find this huge "Grandfather Tree" a 450 year old Sitka Spruce along the nature trail.

We tried to find the trail around Spring Lake but didn't have any luck.  Mandy got into town about 6:00 and so happy to see fog and cooler temps. Portland was 100 degrees that day! We had dinner at a wonderful Indian Restaurant called Napali Kitchen. We had tickets that evening for a piano concert in town, Mandy decided to go on out to the motorhome and relax instead. 

Lincoln City has a wonderful Tourist Information Office located in an old school house  right along Highway 101. It not only houses an enthusiastic info center but truly is a Cultural Center for the city. There's an Art Gallery displaying work of local artists as well as a performance hall. Mike Strickland, a pianist and composer from nearby McMinnville was "breaking in" a new baby grand piano he helped procure for Lincoln City through the "Snowman Foundation". Yes, I've never heard of it either but what a neat organization. It connects young musicians with instruments throughout the Northwest, and in this case, the center applied for grants for a piano and the request was granted. We had a wonderful evening of music by the Mike Strickland Piano Duo.

Saturday was chilly and figgy all day.  We kept hoping for some warm sign of sun, but the clouds hung in all day.  That made Mandy happy, she was sick of the heat.  So we took her up to Pelican Pub for the afternoon to just relax and enjoy the beach.

Dinner that night was the Thai Restaurant in Lincoln City.  Wonderful food and great prices. It was misting lightly as we headed back to the campground so a little too wet for  campfire. We had been gone all afternoon and most of the evening and when we returned the park was packed!!! Amazing change from earlier in the day. Everyone from Portland must have decided to get out of the heat and come to the coast!

Mandy left early Sunday morning, hoping to beat the traffic getting back into the city, and it was time for us to try a new destination, Tillamook.