June 12-16, 2023

A beautiful, however windy few days spent at the Oregon Coast. We camped at Cape Blanco and had a gorgeous site. Very wooded campsite but peaceful, easy hiking trails and quiet evenings.

First stop was the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. Wildflowers were out in force but the wind was howling. This is the most western point of Oregon. The lighthouse is one of the first 5 built but is the oldest lighthouse still standing and in use.

The beach path from our camp was an easy hike. The beach was strewn with driftwood. There were several miles in either direction of sand and sea.

We drove south a few miles to Port Orford and found a fairly flat trail to hike. There were three nice viewpoints, one of which was particularly interesting. We could see what looked like a rail track along a cement wall and tried to figure out what purpose it had. Once we finished the hike, we walked past a coast guard rescue boat designed to get launched on those tracks. Since there is no beach accessible for boats, there was a pulley system that lowered boats to the water. Pretty genius!

Next stop was Bandon Beach with huge boulders scattered along the beach. Apparently tectonic plates crashed into each other two million years ago and tossed some large chunks of rock towards the sky. Over the next many thousands of years the process continues. It is amazing to walk along these giants. You feel small…

Bandon is known for its special artwork using materials found in the sea. This puffin had box lighters, combs, knife sheath, squirt bottle tops, beverage caps, and so much more. Sad that we have this trash to deal with but a great way to use some of it.

The last hike was towards the Lighthouse from our campsite. It was a beautiful trail filled with lush ground cover and gorgeous views.

Last visit was the Hughes House built in 1898. The family came from Ireland, had excellent business sense, started a dairy farm and continued to purchase land. When the state purchased their land king after their death, it included the entire Camp Blanco campsite. Thank you!

Camping is fun no matter what the weather… this was a definite excellent camp spot!

#campingOregon