I was up early again. Another quiet night. The RV park across the street was still napping when I drove off from Reedsport, with the sun still trying to shine high across the water. Traffic was minimal.
I wanted an early start to a hike and opted to check out the Dunes' shoreline. I pulled into the Siltcoos entrance and just my luck that dogs were allowed here, going north. It was still cool out, but winds were minimal. The sand felt great against my barefeet as I follwed the shoreline. Both dogs played with each other. No one was around. Where was everyone? Tracks up along the dunegrass line revealed recent activity with OTVers. I was the only one on the beach.
I spent my much younger years along the south shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana, a shoreline crowded with steel mines and power plants. But here in Oregon there is no industry. From my vantage point I only saw sand, water and sky both toward the north and the south. The beach was clean, too: no dead fish or trash. Visibility was about a half mile.
I didn't engage the dogs much on this early walk. I let them entertain themselves as I got lost in my own thoughts. Minnie found a chewed-up buoy which she carried in her mouth; I found a few sand stones. Most of the shells were broken from the constant trashing of the waves. Low tide was at 6:08am and it was just past 7am when I started the walk. We walked 1.76 miles, but it felt like more.
There were a few more cars in the parking lot when I got back to the van. Several men were fishing off the shore. The day was young and surely the visitors were still sleeping in.
Florence, Oregon is where I started my ocean drive two years ago through Oregon. I discovered a few more things to like about this town: A Dutch Brother's Coffee stand (I first noticed them in Coos Bay) and a laundromat with showers! Curious about that combination, I stopped in. The Pacific Coast highway has a lot of RVs on this route, and this combo is designed for the RVers. People were already washing their clothes when I came by at 10:30am. A couple that was leaving gave me their EZcard, a plastic card that one recharges with cash like a gift card. The card costs 49 cents and there was still 31 cents on it. I added another five bucks and took a hot shower, the first one since leaving Fairfield. I was worried about having ticks on me as the woman who gave me her card noticed a tick on my upper chest. I can't stand ticks. That now gives me two ticks on me and none on the dogs. I should be wearing a tick collar, too! Minnie bites and scratches herself but I've yet to see a tick on either dog.
I then continued the slow drive north, recognizing some old landmarks from two years ago. North of the Dunes are lighthouses, beaches and geological formations, all that require either a state park or federal pass to use. I bypassed all the places I explored two years ago, focusing instead on more remote areas where I could let the dogs out. After a short stop at Sealion Rocks and the Hecheta lighthouse, I drove up Cape Creek Road, a narrow road that meanders uphill on a steep grade. I stopped when the road got too steep and eroded, instead walking uphill. No one bothered us here. The vines were overgrown, there were plenty of hollyhocks and wild berries. Where does the road lead to? Two years ago I didn't quite make it up this far up the road, but it would be interesting to see if the road eventually leads back to Highway 101. IT's still a nice area to explore off the beaten path without driving too far off the beaten path. Two other cars were coming up the road as I was driving back to the highway. The dogs and I had now added another 2.1 miles to our daily tally.
The final stop today was Agate Beach, just north of the touristy town of Newport. Parking is free here and the beach is dog friendly! There were plenty of dogs here in all directions and my dogs stayed with me. I kept them away from the water and focused on a three-mile loop, to the cliffs and back, looking for agate but finding none and just giving the dogs some exercise. The added bonus to this beach is that there is a creek that flows into the ocean here, that paralles the ocean for a mile before turning into the Pacific. The dogs were thus able to drink fresh water at their leisure while I admired the wavy sand hills across the beach. This is definitely a beach to return to with dogs. We added another 2.86 miles here.
Now I was hungry and knew about the Rusty Truck brewing company in Lincoln City. I parked the van in the shade and had a quick pizza with two great beers before rejoining the dogs. After watching the sun set over the water, I opted to make Lincoln City my stop for the night. The dogs were treated to beef ribs from Safeway. Despite it being a Saturday night, all was quiet in this seaside town.
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