We spent the first week at Humbug Mountain State Park. This was the first time we have stayed at a State Park since we left Virginia. Most of the state parks do not have sites that are big enough for our RV and when you can find one you have to book it months in advance. We were lucky to get this one. We were only a few hundred yards from the ocean and were able to walk down to the beach and watch the birds working the surf and at times we had a resident seal that patrolled the waters just inside the shore break. In the town of Gold Beach to our south we found over 140 seals lounging on the beach enjoying the sun. The temperature was never out of the 60's in the day but if you could stay out of the wind it was very pleasant and we sat out in the afternoon and had Happy Hour.
While in this area I was able to play Bandon Dunes Golf Course. It is 1 of 4 courses at the resort and a true links type course. You have to walk this course so I carried my bag but the two golfers I was paired with used pull carts which they allowed you to roll right over the greens. As you can see from the pictures below it had many holes that were right on the beach so I had to tee one up and drive it into the ocean.
We visited the Cape Blanco Lighthouse one day and then had lunch at one of the local crab shacks. On the way back to the RV we stopped at the docks in Gold Beach and bought a filet of wild Pacific Salmon and cooked it on the grill the next evening.
The wildflowers are in full bloom at this time of year. The most interesting of them is the Fox Gloves (first flower picture below.) It is highly poisonous but it also is useful in developing heart medicines.
For the second week we moved up the coast just below Cannon Beach. The next day we were joined by our good friends from Virginia Beach, Bob and Kathy Loomis. They made a special trip down to see us after they finished a birding trip in British Columbia. Of course anytime we get together with them we have a good time. We birded for two days along the coast and found many great birds including Tufted Puffin and Rhinoceros Auklet. We even found time to taste some very good cheese and ice cream at the Tillamook Creamery, and sample a few beers at the Pelican Pub and Brewery. On our final evening we took them to a great restaurant we ate at the night before they arrived, "The Pizza Garden" in Nehalem Oregon. They have so much more than great pizza. If you are ever in the area call ahead and see if they have the "Crobster" daily special. It was a crab and lobster lasagna that is fantastic. We hated to say good-by to Bob and Kathy and are so glad we were able to see them and we already miss them. Great people!
We will move inland tomorrow up the Columbia River Valley. We usually move on Tuesdays but with the 4th of July week coming up we want to get into a campground early to beat the crowds.