Day 8 – August 13, 2009
Today dawned sunny and warmer – no rain or even coastal fog in sight. We went for a 1- mile walk around Lake Marie, a small lake enclosed by sand dunes, just down the hill from our campground. The older dunes right around the campground are completely covered with woodlands – Sitka spruce, western cedar, western hemlock and all the typical understory plants such as sword fern, huckleberry and rhododendron. The younger dunes nearby are mostly bare of vegetation and move according to the direction of the winds, summer and winter.
Today dawned sunny and warmer – no rain or even coastal fog in sight. We went for a 1- mile walk around Lake Marie, a small lake enclosed by sand dunes, just down the hill from our campground. The older dunes right around the campground are completely covered with woodlands – Sitka spruce, western cedar, western hemlock and all the typical understory plants such as sword fern, huckleberry and rhododendron. The younger dunes nearby are mostly bare of vegetation and move according to the direction of the winds, summer and winter.
After our walk, we drove the Green Machine to Reedsport, OR to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area Visitor’s Center to refresh our memory about how the dunes were formed in this area, We had been to this visitor’s center 5 years ago, but it is a good one and well worth a second visit. We then went to a local crafts gallery and looked at items made of myrtlewood, a tree which grows only here and on the northwestern coast of California.
We had lunch in Winchester Bay, OR at Unger’s Fish & Chips, a floating restaurant in Salmon Harbor. The halibut, fries, coleslaw and clam chowder were all delicious. We then drove south on 101 to the Spinreel Campground Dune Buggy Rental office to see if they had any vehicles to rent that a couple of old fogies like us could take for a spin on the dunes and come back alive. The young women behind the counter told us that they had the vehicles, but that they could not guarantee the “coming back alive” part. We may rent one tomorrow, just to show them.
Our next stop was further south on 101 near Coos Bay, OR. It is Shore Acres State Park, once the site of the huge 1920’s mansion of Lewis Simpson, a local entrepreneur. The mansion is long gone, but the beautiful gardens remain - we especially enjoyed the rose gardens the Japanese water garden and the daisy - lined path to the sea. The gardens are located right on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean, a spectacular sight.
After a short trip to Safeway for supplies, we returned to Big Mother for the evening.
After a short trip to Safeway for supplies, we returned to Big Mother for the evening.
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