The Oregon Coast ~ December 13-16, 2009

We made a 'long weekend' trip to the Charleston area, with side trips as far north as Gardiner and as far south as Bandon.  We had good weather and bad weather, but we had a great time!


Santiam Pass

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/santiam-pass.html

McKenzie Highway

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/mckenzie-pass-highway-126-december-13.html

Welcome Home, Nathan!

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/welcome-home-nathan.html 

Umpqua River - Highway 38

•  http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2010/01/umpqua-river-highway-38-december-13-16.html 

Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/dean-creek-elk-viewing-area-reedsport.html 

David Dewett Veteran's Memorial

•  http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/david-dewett-veterans-memorial-coos-bay.html 

Conde B McCullough Bridge, Coos Bay

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/conde-b-mccullough-bridge-coos-bay.html 

Charleston, Oregon

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/charleston-oregon-december-13-2009.html 

Campbell's Vacation Apartments

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/charleston-oregon-december-13-2009.html 

Shore Acres State Park

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2010/01/shore-acres-state-park.html

Shore Acres Christmas Lights

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/shore-acres-christmas-lights.html

Charleston Harbor, December 14

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/charleston-harbor-december-14-2009.html 

Umpqua Lighthouse and the Umpqua River

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/umpqua-lighthouse-umpqua-river-december.html 

Winchester Bay

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/winchester-bay-december-14-2009.html

Gardiner Cemetery

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2010/01/gardiner-cemetery-gardiner-oregon.html

Reedsport and the Discovery Center

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/reedsport-and-discovery-center-december.html

Cargo Ship in Coos Bay

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/cargo-ship-enters-coos-bay-december-15.html

Cape Arago Lighthouse

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/cape-arago-lighthouse-december-15-2009.html

Bastendorf Beach

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/bastendorf-beach-december-12-2009.html 

Sunset Bay

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/sunset-bay-december-15-2009.html 

Cape Arago State Park

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/cape-arago-state-park-december-15-2009.html

Bandon

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/bandon-december-15-2009.html

Coquille River Lighthouse

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/coquille-river-lighthouse-december-15.html

Christmas Trains and Villages ~ The Charleston Fire Department

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-trains-and-villages.html

 Last Morning in Charleston and the Seafarers Memorial

• http://wanderingoregon.blogspot.com/2010/02/our-last-morning-early-light-on.html

Final Thoughts on Our Trip

We made some fairly bad choices on some of our restaurant adventures - found most restaurants closed on the nights we were in town and had a fire prevent us from eating in one highly recommended restaurant, The Portside, in Charleston.  Fortunately, we were directed by the owner of The Portside to the Hilltop House. (see the map below) Hilltop House Restaurant & Lounge, 93405 Willsey Lane, North Bend, Cuisine: pacific northwest, steakhouse, seafood • 541-756-416.  It sits on the north side of the McCullough Bridge and has a magnificent view of the bay. 

We stopped at the local cannery outlet and purchased some gift packs.  I wish we had gotten a take out shellfish dinner for ourselves while we were there instead of our restaurant choices --- next time!

I had some difficulty with my new camera on the first day and managed to delete a days worth of pictures of the Umpqua River, which was very disappointing.

I can't say enough about how magnificent Campbell's was to stay at!  Since we don't like the "hotel experience" and like quiet and privacy and a view, we could not have been more pleased.

Traveling in winter has its own joys and problems.  For the most part the trade off in weather is made up for by the lack of crowds.  After all, you just dress warm and know that water won't cause you to melt.  Our last day was marred by heavy winds that were harder to work around.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip!


View Larger Map

Reedsport and the Discovery Center ~ December 14, 2009

Every trip has a "I wish I hadn't wasted time and money there" moment and lunch, dinner and the Umpqua Discovery Center were all shoved into one big horror for us on the same day.

When we couldn't find one of those wonderful bistros in Gardiner, we headed back to Reedsport and stopped for a bowl of clam chowder.  If we could have picked a worse restaurant, I can't imagine that the seats would have been anywhere else besides the dumpster.  It took over 45 minutes to get two bowls of clam chowder in an empty restaurant.  The soup was old and a bit curdled.  It had been heated a few too many times.  Both of us spent the rest of the afternoon feeling like we had eaten a raw loaf of bread.

After lunch, we went to the Umpqua Discovery Center.  This beautiful building sits along the river and has a magnificent view from the tower.  Ready to learn about the history of the area, we were stunned by the exorbitant cost for the value, the rude and disinterested staff and the very tacky rooms.  We were dismayed by the day glow plastic lizards and snakes encased in glass on the floor.  I cannot recommend it to anyone.

We wandered back down the highway to Campbell's.  We wanted to change and get ready for a nice dinner out.  We had chosen The Portside Restaurant.  When we pulled up to the restaurant, the owner met us with an apology - they had had a kitchen fire and would be closed for at least a week.  The other nice restaurants in town were closed on Mondays.  So, we made the enormous error of going to the Fisherman's Grotto.  We were there almost two hours.  We had to wait to be seated, wait to be waited on, wait to get our dinner and wait to pay so we could leave.  By the time we were served, we were too hungry and too tired to much care about the crap they called food (all fried) and ate it anyway - sad.

The second half of the day was just a disaster in the food department.  Somehow, getting fresh seafood seemed to be out of the question.

The Gardiner Cemetery ~ Gardiner, Oregon

Gardiner Cemetery
located in Gardiner, Douglas County, Oregon

The cemetery is terraced into the hillside on the north end of what remains of Gardiner, Oregon. Most of the headstones are quite old and some are struggling with the elements and the passage of time. These gravestones belong, for the most part, to the early pioneers of the area. Below is the plaque on the flagpole.

This picture shows how steep the hillside is with the reference of a 6' tall man.

Abby J Lockwood

Born November 7, 1849
Died - July 11, 1876

The bed frame above the grave is rusted, but in remarkable shape for being close to the ocean and in a very wet environment. I have seen these bed frames before and assume that it is a symbol of an everlasting resting place, but have not been able to find a reference in the guides to cemetery symbology. If anyone has a reference to direct me to, I would appreciate it.

We were not able to spend a lot of time here - racing a bit between the raindrops and in search of a meal. We had read that there was an upcoming community of artists and small bistros in Gardiner - their demise preceded our arrival, but their previous existence allowed us to discover this pioneer cemetery.

Gardiner was a harbor community along the Umpqua River. It was founded by merchant Gardiner when his ship wrecked - what was salvaged was moved here and it became a town. It became a noted port for wood mills and wood products. Destroyed by fire in 1880, the town was quickly rebuilt and became one of the busiest port cities on the Oregon coast. It not only shipped out of the area, but ran paddle wheel boats up the Umpqua River. The mills and paper companies were active until 1999. They have since been razed and the land lies empty.

The cemetery is located to the left of the white square building just below the US 101 marker.  You can enlarge the map and see it quite well.

From- Oregon Geographic Names:

Gardiner is on the north bank of the Umpqua River near its mouth. It is an historic community of Oregon, and bears the name of a Boston merchant who sought to trade on the river. His vessel, Bostonian, was wrecked at the mouth of the Umpqua on October 1, 1850. Most of the goods on the vessel were saved and moved to the location of what was subsequently the town of Gardiner. The place became the headquarters of the Umpqua customs district in 1851, with Colin Wilson as collector. The community is described in the Oregonian for June 23, 1855. The post office of Gardiner's City was established on June 10, 1851, with George L Snelling first postmaster. The form Gardiner City was used on October 20, 1853, which was the date that Harrison Spicer became postmaster. The official name is now Gardiner.



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Winchester Bay ~ December 14, 2009

 Winchester Bay, Oregon

A small fishing port on the Umpqua River,

located between the Umpqua Lighthouse and Reedsport

It is a very charming place.

 

 Jack Unger Memorial Wayside

A memorial to those from this port who have been lost at sea

 

 

View Larger Map

Umpqua Lighthouse & Umpqua River ~ December 14, 2009

Umpqua Lighthouse 

Umpqua River

 

 View from US Route 101

Lighthouse, Triangle where oysters are grown and Umpqua River meeting the Pacific

 

 

 

 Coast Guard - cleaning the lenses

 

 

 

 

 

 Original Housing for the Coast Guard

This is now a very interesting museum and gift shop.

 

Coast Guard Boat House

 

 

 

 This is an area of large sand dunes

 

 

 

 

Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area ~ December 13, 2009

Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area

Highway 38 - 3 miles east of Reedport

Roosevelt elk are Oregon’s largest land mammals, weighing up to 1,100 pounds and standing as tall as five

feet at the shoulder. Antlers of the Roosevelt elk, which are status symbols during the fall rut, can reach spreads of nearly three feet.  The Roosevelt elk are not the only animals that call this area home – the wetlands and the creek hum with life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a magnificent area for viewing wildlife and the elk.

There is a large interpretive display about the elk and the other residents of the marsh.

The area has extensive pull-outs and parking,

restroom facilities and is handicap accessible.

It would be a nice place to car picnic.