June 26…. Maybe not

Not a lot going on this week. We moved up the coast from Crescent City California to the central Oregon coast north of Coos Bay. It’s still beautiful country here, but very sparsely settled. Tiny towns dot the coast, some no more than a gas station and a few shops and some houses, but only a few of them large enough to have many real services.

Highway 101 runs up the coast, sometimes perched right on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, maybe a beach far below, always running through thick forests. Lighthouses dot the coast on every point.

Oregon is known for its huge timber industry. As we passed through Coos Bay, we saw huge piles of logs, possibly telephone poles, or else just that big, and enormous piles of sawdust and chips nearby.

Every medium-sized-or-better town has a tribal casino, from the very simple on up to significant luxury-looking facilities.

And evidence of fishing is everywhere, giving the casinos competition for second place as most important industry.

We’ve been spending a lot of time slowing down. The area here is very spread out, so the things we want to see and do are often an hour’s drive away. There’s a beautiful lake here at our park, with a nice trail around it, so usually our morning includes a mile and a half walk around the lake, just to get us started. And then we set off on an adventure to explore Oregon.

There’s a huge set of sand dunes, stretching for 40 miles or more right outside our camp. We can hear the dune buggies racing around. I’m hoping to give that a try soon.

We walk along the beaches each day, looking for shells or rocks, or just enjoying the scenery. It’s never very hot, maybe in the sixties usually, but the wind off the sea is quite cool. It’s very odd to me to be on a beach in June in full clothes and a hoodie, but sometimes that’s necessary. And then suddenly the sun pops out and the breeze dies off and it gets pleasantly warm. I found something fun on the beach which brought out my inner Indiana Jones. Some kind of sea-plant which had washed up on the shore.

Our allergies have really flared up now, out here. After speaking with a local allergist, we’ve learned that mold spores are very prevalent here, due to the constant moisture and damp conditions. Hmmm, maybe this won’t be our next home after all. Constantly swollen eyes and runny noses tend to be a red flag when picking a place to live.