FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Bandon

Friday, 19 January 2018

Bandon

The cold and rain followed us as we made our way south towards Bandon, a town on the mouth of the Coquille River. A few stops we voted to opt out of on account of the weather. What we were able to see in the short breaks where the rain lightened was amazing. It was a shame that we could not do more of the walks and trails. The stormy weather, however, accentuated the dramatic scenery of the wild and rugged Oregon Coast. It was pouring at Seal Rock, our first stop, so a quick photo of the black rocks jutting out of the ocean had to suffice. A short break in the rain allowed to explore Devil’s Churn in Cape Perpetua. Devil’s Churn was a chasm in the rocks. When the waves crashed into the rocks, it explodes into a riot of white froth. One of the benefits of the weather was that the “churning” was at its most dramatic. We were able to walk right down to where the action was, much to the excitement of the children.

Seal Rock

Cape Perpetua, where the trees go right to the Ocean

There was a trail that took you right down to Devil's churn

The children thought it was funny to have to look out for "sneaker waves"

Right next to the action, water looking like milk

Rather violent sprays all around!

The rain forced us to move on. Walking in the bitter wind and cold was doable but when rain was added to the mix, it would have just been miserable. We did stop at Sea Lion Caves. The walk to the "entry point" was short. An elevator took us from the cliff top right down to the cave level where there was a viewing hole to the caves where the sea lion colony was. Prior to the elevator construction, visitors had to hike a trial and then descend 135 steps enclosed in a wooden tower perched along the cliff side. We were admiring the sea lions on the rocks when we noticed that there were numerous in the churning surf. Sea lions in the water! Once we got up to the top of the cliff, we could then identify the little black blobs in the foam of white!

Seals everywhere!

A closer look

Plenty in the violent surf too!

The old entrance...

The view out of the northern end of the tunnel where the old entrance was

The view down from the cliff top

If you look close enough, you could see small heads of seals bobbing in the foam

The Oregon Dunes are a unique area on the Oregon Coast where the black rock has given way to sand from the millions of years of erosion. These are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. However, when we arrived, the rain was absolutely pelting down and we had to let go of the idea of going on the dune buggies much to everyone's disappointment.

We continued on with our drive and finally arrived at the port town of Bandon. We chose to dine at Foley’s Irish Pub at the quaint old town area. We were not sure if it was because the food was familiar, but the shepherds pie and bangers and mash were delicious! The comfort food was well appreciated by the whole family in the bleak weather.