LOCATION: SW Oregon coast near Coos Bay
WEATHER: Nice on coast (60s); hot inland (100)
We biked around the campground, then down to our beach. It was low tide and a dead seal had washed in. The ranger was there checking it out. She said it looks like he died of old age...had lots if grey whiskers. She put up a sign to tell people to stay away, and said she hoped the higher tide would wash him away.
We drove 75 miles south along the coastal highway to Gold Beach, almost to California border. The views along the highway were spectacular. We found a microbrewery and tasted their pale ale and porter. We ate lunch in the cafe next door that features their beer. It was an outrageous place, mostly older locals. (There were reading glasses kindly placed next to the menus). The bathrooms had funny, risqué stories posted on the walls. George took a picture of the men's room....
Then, we went into town and took a boat ride up the Rogue River. We had heard that this was a fun thing to do.
It is a 100-mile round trip on one of the mail boats, still used to deliver the mail to towns upriver. The boats have been used to carry mail and passengers, then tourists, for 100 years. It is a hydro jet motor boat, and we went pretty fast. The captain pointed out wildlife, mostly osprey, bald eagles, seals and deer. It was cool when we started the trip, but as we went farther inland, it got really hot. So, the captain would whirl the boat around, spraying us with cool water.
About 2/3 of the way there, we dropped off those passengers who didn't want to go on the scarier whitewater rapids. We all had to don life jackets for that portion of the trip. It was fun skipping over the rapids. Everyone got soaked, which felt good. We stopped at a lodge and some people ate dinner. It was really hot, and I couldn't wait to get back on the water.
As we returned, the sun began to set in the canyon. Really a beautiful day...
By the time we returned, it was late. We stopped in nearby Charleston for a small dinner at about 9:00 PM. We had a cup of the restaurant's world famous clam chowder and a cup of spicy crab soup. Fit the bill perfectly!
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