Shore Acres Shoreline, OR

Welcome to new followers, Sue and Doug.  I joined their blog, Big Dawg and Freeway, after reading about them on Margie's blog. 

After our busy day on the jet boat yesterday, today was kind of a laid-back day.  We found some geocaches in North Bend.  Then we explored the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area north of North Bend.  We were amazed at the number of dune buggies, ATVs, and RVs that were camping and visiting the dunes. 

This geocache was a plastic bottle that was camouflaged well.

When we were at Shore Acres State Park on Thursday, I took a few pictures of the rocky shoreline there.  We were there in the morning and the marine layer made the coast foggy. 

This was once the Simpson’s family private beach. Now it’s part of Shore Acres State Park and you can hike down to it.

Below are some views of the coast from Shore Acres Park.  You can see that the fog was lifting, but the sky was still not blue.

We have enjoyed our time at the southern Oregon coast.  Tonight we talked with our friends, Tom and Cindi, about where to go for next summer’s trip together.  So many possibilities, so little time!

Thank you for reading my blog.

Rogue River Jet Boat Tour, Gold Beach, OR

I’ll post the Oregon coastline pictures eventually, but today I want to write about our jet boat tour.  We drove from North Bend to Gold Beach, leaving at 9 am in order get to Gold Beach by 11:30 to check in for our noon tour. 

We ate a quick lunch at the harbor, toured the museum and gift shops, then boarded our jet boat, The Rogue, with Captain John.  He narrated the whole trip and treated us to scenery, turns, spins, and whitewater.  I tend to get seasick easily, but I was fine on this trip.  We DID get wet, but it felt good because the temperature rose to about 90 degrees as we went east on the Rogue River.  We took the 80-mile tour, which included 8 miles of whitewater.  Captain John 

Another jet boat that left just before ours

Our boat heading up the Rogue River

We saw river turtles, an otter, several minx, a Great Blue heron, an eagle, a couple of ospreys and nests, pelicans, cormorants, harbor and California seals.  Bears are commonly seen along the river, but we didn’t see any. 

Harbor seals 

Cormorant

Osprey (click on photo to enlarge)

Forest scenery

Nest

More beautiful scenery

We saw several campgrounds and RV parks along the Rogue River

As we headed into the whitewater area we were required to put on life jackets

Turtles

As we came back downriver, the boat stopped so that we could eat a late lunch at a resort called Singing Springs in Agness.   We had stopped there earlier for a bathroom break on our way upriver.

A fun trip was had by all!  And this is our jet boat after the trip. 

Just kidding!  Neither Dave nor I could resist posting a picture of this derelict boat.  That green stuff you see is moss and grass.  The marine layer fog was coming in when we arrived back at Gold Beach at 5:15 pm. 

Thanks for reading about our adventure on the jet boat!

Shore Acres State Park, Coos Bay, OR

Today’s excursion was to Shore Acres Gardens.  The gardens are now part of Shore Acres State Park in Coos Bay, Oregon.   

From the park brochure: “Perched on a scenic bluff high above the Pacific Ocean, Shore Acres began as a private estate with luxurious gardens featuring trees, shrubs, and flowering plants brought from around the world aboard the sailing ships of pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson. 

Simpson developed the summer home into a showplace three-story mansion complete with a heated, indoor swimming pool and a large ballroom.  the grounds contained five acres of formal gardens, including a Japanese-style garden built around a 100-foot lily pond.

When fire destroyed the mansion in 1921, Simpson began to build an even larger replacement.  However, financial losses during the Depression caused both house and grounds to fall into disrepair.  In 1942, Simpson’s beloved Shore acres was purchased by the state or Oregon for use as a public park. 

The mansion no longer remains, but the restored formal gardens continue to attract thousands of visitors.  The garden features year-round displays of floral and scenic beauty and the annual “Holiday Lights at Shore Acres” event that runs from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.  

A fully-enclosed observation building now occupies the site of Simpson’s mansions, offering spectacular view of rugged seascapes, towering storm waves, and glimpses of migrating whales from December through June.”

Tomorrow I will post pictures of the shoreline—another spectacular sight.

Thanks for reading!

Arrival at Mill Casino RV Park, North Bend, OR

This morning we left Armitage County RV Park.  We drove south on I-5 for about 40 miles and then turned west and picked up  State Highway 38 and drove through the small towns of Drain and Elkton.  We followed the Umpqua River for most of the way and crossed over to the north side of the river. 

Highway 38 west with Umpqua River on our right

Just before we connected with Highway 101 South, we reached the town of Reedsport.  We usually are here in the winter, so seeing the town in summer, with flowers displayed in hanging baskets and flags flying was a pretty sight to see.

This area of the Oregon coast is famous for sand dunes.

Without leaving Highway 101, it’s hard to get a view of the ocean along this part of the coast.  We saw a lot of trees and some impressive dunes. No, this isn’t Iraq, this is the Oregon Coast!

After turning south on Highway 101, we only had 34 more miles to go before we reached the Mill Casino RV Park in North Bend, Oregon.

Crossing over the bay into North Bend  

We signed up for the free Millionaires Club card in order to save 15% at the RV park, then we settled into site #92 with its view of Coos Bay.

We will be stay here for the next four nights.

Thanks for reading my blog!