Daily Archives: June 6, 2014

June 6, 2014 Yachats, Oregon

Today we left Bandon and continued north, stopping along the way for groceries and fuel in Coos Bay, the largest city on the Oregon coast.  We passed the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, where the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America is located.  Some of the dunes tower up to 500 feet above sea level and this is a popular area for off road vehicles.  The dunes are the result of millions of years of wind and rain erosion along the Oregon coast.  The science fiction novel “Dune” by Frank Herbert was inspired by these dunes.

Two and a half hours later we arrived at our next destination, Yachats, population 700.  This little village is cradled between the lush forested mountains and the dramatic Pacific coast.  We stayed at Tillicum Beach Campground in the Siuslaw National Forest which didn’t seem much like a forest at all with our beautiful view of the Pacific out our front window.

With only a two night stay here we had to make the most of our time.  After arriving and setting up we walked on the beach even though it was very windy and rather chilly.

The next day we went seven miles south to the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area in the Siuslaw National Forest to do some hiking, sightseeing and geocaching.  We drove to the Cape Perpetua Headland which at 800 feet is the highest point accessible by car on the Oregon coast.  It was a fairly clear day and it was beautiful with views extending 37 miles out to sea and along 70 miles of coastline. IMG_0671 Captain James Cook first sighted the headland in 1778 and named it after Saint Perpetua.

 

 

 

In 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt formed the Civilian Conservation Corps and Cape Perpetua was a base camp.  The CCC’s built a stone structure which we were able to stand in at the overlook.

IMG_0675 IMG_0673 In fact they chose to built this structure here because of the magnificent views.  The stone structure served as a lookout for enemy ships and planes during WWII.

We enjoyed the Visitors Center with their friendly and knowledgable staff and viewed a couple movies there on the area.  One movie showed how the area had changed over the past 100 years and was especially interesting.

Oregon Facts:

1. Oregon produces nearly 100% of the nation’s blackberries, black raspberries and boysenberries.  Oregon grew more than 70 million pounds of blueberries in 2013.

2. About 99% of the U.S. hazelnuts are grown in Oregon.

3.  The Oregon state fruit is the pear.