Brookings, OR (4/19/2020)

Brookings is another small (population around 6500) town on the Oregon coast, not far from the state's border with California.  It took its name from the President of the Brookings Lumber and Box company who founded the town in 1908.  Lumber operations are still conducted nearby, but the area consists mainly of retirees and California commuters.  Winters are markedly warmer here than other coastal areas, caused by warm winds that sweep down from the Klamath Mountains.  Tourist agencies like to call it the "Banana Belt".

In 1942, the town was the first continental U.S. area to be attacked when a small Japanese plane, launched from a submarine, dropped an incendiary bomb in an attempt to start a major forest fire.  Obviously, the Japanese military had not researched average rainfall in the area.  Only minor damage was done.  More destruction was inflicted in 2011, when a tsunami caused by an earthquake in Japan did extensive damage to the harbor.

Incidentally, the pilot who bombed Brookings was invited back for the 20th anniversary of the event.  He presented the city with his family's 400 year old samurai sword as a token of friendship.  (I'm guessing everyone ducked when he took it from its case.)  The town made him an honorary citizen shortly before his death in 1997. (Retribution at last.)

The shoreline near Brookings is similar to the rest of southern Oregon's coast.

 

 

 Unique rock formations include the Natural Bridges and Rainbow Rock.

The bridge over Thomas Creek is the highest in Oregon at 345 feet.  Sorry, but I failed to gt a full view of the chasm beneath the bridge.

There is a sizable fishing fleet based in the Brookings harbor, formed by the mouth of the Chetco River.  I drove both banks of the river in search of scenery, but didn't find much.

I did find beautiful landscaping in some of the residential areas, including one hedge trimmed into the shape of a mother whale and her child.  You'll notice Mama's water spout.

One residence has a rather whimsical, and distinctly nautical, design.

On my drive back to Port Orford, I went up on a mountain road to get a different perspective of the coast.

Port Orford, OR (4/16 & 17/2020)

For several days, I stayed close to camp and tried to check out everything in Port Orford.  With the state parks closed, I feel like I've missed most of what the town would normally offer visitors.  I decided to drive to Laird Lake, which is off of Elk River Rd.  The lake proved to be pretty small and not very photogenic, but I took a couple photos on the way to the lake.

 

Coming back from the lake, I saw a truck that had gone off the road, so I stopped to offer help.  As it turned out, the driver had not been in the truck when it went over the side.  He thought it had not gone fully into Park when he got out, then rolled back and off the road.  I suspect he parked too far onto the narrow shoulder and the truck slid over.  However it happened, his brother had arrived to help and a tow truck had been summoned, so I left.

Farther down the mountain, one home had a beautiful blooming tree.

That evening, I went to my usual sunset location at Paradise Point. While the sunset wasn't spectacular, it was better than most I've seen here.  By changing exposure, I achieved different effects of the patch of pink wildflowers there.  It may not be apparent in the photos, but the beach is about 100 feet below the parking area.  There is a road down to the beach, but I haven't seen any reason to go down there.  You may also notice the Cape Blanco lighthouse several miles up the coast, which is in a state park and therefore not available for me to visit.

 

The next day started out foggy, so I went to Battle Rock to grab some shots of the socked-in coast.

After the fog burned off, I drove around town looking for anything interesting enough to photograph (a symptom of cabin fever, no doubt).  I found a residential garage with a mural painted on one wall.  Then I noticed it included the seal of the State of Jefferson.  If you've never heard of this, it is a movement among residents of Northern California and Southern Oregon to break away from their current states and form the 51st state.  The movement has been going on for many years and was close to succeeding in 1941when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and interrupted the effort.  Given the tax revenue from those areas, Oregon and California aren't likely to let it happen now.

Port Orford, like other nearby towns, has an abundance of nicely landscaped yards.  I'm convinced this may be the perfect climate for growing many plants, never too hot or too cold and lots of rain.

One plant that is widespread looks much like gorse with bright yellow blooms, but has a different growth pattern and some of the blooms have a touch of red.  More importantly, this plant doesn't have the vicious spines found on gorse.  It is called Scotch broom and was also brought here from Europe by early settlers.

There were plenty of birds around on this day, but few willing to pose for me.

Red-winged Blackbird

White-throated Sparrow

Steller's Jay

Bandon & Coos Bay, OR (4/14/2020)

I decided to return to Bandon primarily to explore the Coquille River area, but I couldn't resist driving along the Bandon beachfront again as it is one of my favorite spots along the Oregon coast.  On this trip the tide was pretty low. so  I took photos that are somewhat different than the previous ones from here.

 

I made it a point to drive by Table Rock, hoping the tufted puffins may have arrived for their nesting season.  Unfortunately, the only birds I saw were sea gulls and cormorants.  Some locals I spoke with told me they haven't seen any puffins yet this year.

Here are a couple of homes that impressed me, particularly the landscaping.

The Coquille River, named for an Indian tribe that lived in the area for hundreds of years, starts in the coastal mountains and flows into the ocean at Bandon.  It is very much affected by ocean tides as I saw during my drive along twenty miles of the river.

There wasn't the great scenery I had hoped to find, but I did see some birds and a few pretty shrubs/trees in bloom.

Tree Swallow

Buffleheads

By finishing the river drive so quickly, I had time to continue on to Coos Bay for the afternoon.  This town of about 16,000 is named for the bay it surrounds, which in turn is named for another local tribe of Native Americans.  There are some beautiful state parks along the shore near Coos Bay, but they are currently closed due to coronavirus concerns.  So, I took this opportunity to visit the only WalMart on the southern coast and stock up on toilet paper.

Coos Bay has a multitude of ponds, sloughs, creeks and the Coos River, all affected by tides except for the fresh water ponds.  This is also where the Oregon Dunes National recreation Area begins and extends some forty miles up the coast.  In places, the dunes are as much as 500 feet high. This park is also closed.

I paid a quick visit to the small (800 people) fishing village of Charleston, also located on Coos Bay.  In normal times, this is a fun place with many quaint shops, restaurants, bars, etc, all closed at the moment.  I parked near the Lost At Sea memorial and enjoyed my Burger King take-out lunch, sharing it with a hungry house sparrow.