April 6, 2005

April 6, 2005

Bandon to Newport, Oregon

DAY 292

 

Today was a sunny, warm day. The cherry blossoms and lilacs are blooming here in Oregon.

Before we left Bullards Beach State Park this morning, we drove over to the day use area of the park, to see the old Coquille River Lighthouse which used to light the entrance to the Coquille River from the Pacific Ocean, allowing ships to travel upriver to the towns of Bandon and Coquille. We left the park, continuing north on Hwy. 101. At Seven Devils Road, we left the highway and turned west towards the quaint little fishing village of Charleston. In Charleston, we stopped at a fish market, where I bought a smoked salmon pepperoni stick ! We followed Seven Devils Road around for 12 miles back to Hwy. 101, and the city of Coos Bay. We stopped in Coos Bay to buy some groceries and supplies at Wal-Mart, and to have lunch.

After lunch, we continued north on Hwy. 101, periodically stopping at scenic spots to look around, and take pictures. The rugged Pacific Coast of Oregon is quite spectacular. Just south of Florence, we contemplated stopping for the night at Passport America listed private campground, but I didn't like the look of it, so we kept driving. At Waldport we turned east onto Hwy. 34, and drove a few miles to check out another Passport America listed private campground. Again I didn't like the look of it, so, back to Hwy. 101, and we continued north. We finally stopped for the night ( once again, a bit later than we should have ) at South Beach State Park. The state parks are more expensive than the Passport America rate for the private campgrounds, but you get what you pay for. Oregon's state parks are excellent.

After setting up, we took Bo for a lengthy, challenging obedience session. Most days, we are working him together, because until Joanne joined our obedience training sessions just recently, Bo thought I was Alpha Dog, and Joanne was a lesser being. His obedience training is progressing very well lately, and he now accepts that Joanne is also Alpha Dog. Today we started really mixing up the sequence of the commands, and forcing him to really think about what our expectations are. Good work, Bo ... good dog !

Joanne made my favorite spaghetti recipe for supper, then we watched the recap episode of Amazing Race. We missed a couple of episodes in the last couple of weeks.

DSK