The Pacific Northwest Coastline
So, you want to ease the stresses in your life. You want to bring some harmony and serenity into your life’s mix. Look no further than the coastline of the Pacific Northwest. Let’s look a little deeper into that and get our Zen on!
Welcome back in, everybody! This week we will be visiting the Southern Oregon Coast. There were 2 towns that we stayed in. Yachats and Bandon, Oregon. We stopped at a few places along the way, both going there and heading for home, and I will share a couple of them with you. To the left, Siuslaw River Bridge, that spans the Siuslaw River, located on US 101 in the town of Florence. This shot was taken from the pier in Old Town Florence, there are signs directing you there, if you’re interested, from US 101. There are some really cool restaurants/bars offering up everything from Seafood, Thai, Vegan, BBQ and a few more. From the smells we encountered walking by some of these places, I don’t think you’d do yourselves an injustice by stopping in one of these places and having a bite to eat. We had been driving in the car for awhile and wanted to stretch our legs so we stopped here in Florence. We did not have food here, just needed to walk for a bit before the 5 hour drive back home. Behind this bridge you’ll notice a very small part of the Oregon Sand Dunes National Recreation Area. When you travel down this stretch of US 101, between Florence and Coos Bay, Oregon, you will see a great many places that have Dune Buggy, and other sand venturing vehicles, to rent so one can explore these dunes! If you don’t want to drive a Dune Buggy, no worries, they have folks you can hire to do the driving for you, in a multi-passenger Dune Buggy. Travel here and you’ll be ensured of having a blast and filling all your bellies with great food!
So, in the town of Bandon, there is a place that you can get some Vittles and Potions and you may have to wait a bit…but I assure you, the wait is worth it! Tony’s Crab Shack is as simple a place as you can get, no frills, no flashes, just great seafood! There is limited indoor seating and they have quite a few, pic-nic bench style, seating outside. The line was a bit long when we were there, but it moved rather quickly and we were able to snag a table inside, it was pretty windy that day, and enjoyed us some awesome grub! My lovely bride had the Clam Chowder and I had a fish taco. Everything is made from scratch, nothing microwaved, and it all was good! So good, in fact, that I was 3/4 of the way thru my meal that I realized I’d forgotten to photograph what we ate! But, I did get the front of the place and that’s all you need to go yourselves here and partake!
Make it stand out
I can’t go on without giving a shout out to this fine establishment, The Bandon Coffee Cafe. This is a shot of the back, but you can enter on both ends to get your morning starter. There can be a line here as well, since we stood in one, but the wait is worth it and their menu of drinks and food is great! Service with a smile as well so you can’t beat it as a wonderful start to your day!
One of the highlights to a trip along the Southern Oregon Coast is exploring its beaches. This shot, of Cathedral Rock. When the tide is out, there is a cave-like entrance toward the left side of this giant rock. As you can see, the tide was way out, so the people below could explore this crevasse reasonably safely. Make sure you check tide tables to ensure your adventure doesn’t go pear-shaped and you get into a predicament you cannot get out of. Always practice safety first when adventuring!
Yachats, Oregon, is cool in a different way involving its rocky shoreline. There are long, rocky outcroppings that line its coastline instead of sandy beaches. When the tide is even moderately in, all the crevasses, both narrow and wide, funnel in water and when big goes into small, exciting things happen! The sea water, when it hits the rocks after funneling its way thru, can make a rather large splash and, sometimes during high tide, makes a loud, BOOM. Great for photography, both fast and slow shutter speeds. You could use an ND or polarizing filter, if you’re shooting mid day to cut down on the contrast on the water. This was taken late afternoon, about an hour, or so, before sunset so I just shot it with a long lens, no filter, at a fast speed so can see the water droplets. On a cloudy day, I might just put on a filter and try more dramatic shots with longer exposure times. Try it all and see what works best for you!
Living and exploring the West Coast in the Pacific Northwest has allot of benefits and wonders to discover. I guess the benefits match the wonders but to live somewhere that you can drive an hour in any direction and be somewhere totally different, that’s amazing to me. The PNW is so diverse that you can’t possibly see it all in one trip…or ten trips! There is so much to do and the people are great, businesses want your business and they will treat you great, especially if you’re from out of town. Ask a server, in virtually any restaurant, what’s good to do in the area, and they’ll most likely will recite a list for you to make. It’s a grand place to live as well as visit!
So the setting sun, in the photo above, is a meaningful and perfect way to end this trip. I hope you enjoyed this stroll we took together and somewhere on the Washington, or Oregon, Coastline has made it onto a list of yours of places to visit. Next time, we will get into places that are abandoned, some interesting, others…downright creepy. Until then, as always, take care of yourselves, each other and may your traveling be safe and enjoyable!
