Gold Beach & Langlois, OR (4/10 & 4/12/2020)

After a long rainy period, I'm extremely happy to report that coastal Oregon has been experiencing a nice string of brilliantly sunny days, with mild temperatures ranging from overnight lows in the mid 40s to afternoon highs around 60.  Morning cloudiness burns off early and the remainder of each day is generally "perfect".  What a treat to be able to get out and enjoy the wonderful scenery.

On Friday I drove to Gold Beach, stopping at a few of the highway overlooks.  Most of the views are typical of what I've been showing you recently.

In this next photo, notice how eons of receding waves have eroded grooves in the rocks, similar to what you sometimes see in the beach sand.

And here's a pattern formed in the sand.  Just an observation of the ocean at work, always changing our landscape.

Visiting a small residential community on the shore, I didn't find any outstanding homes to show you, but there were a couple garden areas that were very nice.

The real reason I went to Gold Beach was to drive along the Rogue River, since I was unable to take the jet boat tour.  I had been told to take the southern road to the town of Agness, then cross a bridge and return by way of the north bank road.  Along the way, I saw a sign advertising "Historic Old Town Agness", so I was looking forward to that.

The Rogue starts near Crater Lake and passes through several mountain ranges on its 215 mile journey to the Pacific, losing more than a mile of elevation in the process.  In past trips to Oregon, I've seen many of the waterfalls, cascades and rapids created by such drop in elevation.  Unfortunately, there are none of these in the 35 miles from Gold Beach to Agness.  I have to say, however, the Rogue is a beautiful shade of green, and is obviously popular with fishermen.

Agness was a major disappointment.  Other than a few houses, I saw several resorts (presumably attracting mostly fishermen), and one old country store that was closed (probably due to coronavirus concerns).

On Sunday I drove north toward Bandon with the goal of driving all the side roads I had not been on before.  A small farming community called Langlois is more or less central to the area I explored.  There are lots of cranberry bogs here, as well as plenty of pasture for both cattle and sheep.  Logging is also an active industry here.  From high on the mountains, there are good views of the surrounding land toward the ocean.

I found one farmhouse in particular that I liked, not only for its style but for the plantings in its yard.  There were other places where trees and shrubs were blooming profusely, too.

 Along the way, I saw quite a few birds and managed to get off several shots.  I've grouped them here at the end so folks not interested in birds can stop at this point.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

American Kestrel

White-crowned Sparrow

Red Crossbill (Female)

European Starling

Gold Beach, Port Orford & Sixes, OR (3/31 thru 4/7/2020)

Slightly larger than Port Orford, the town of Gold Beach is the county seat and has a population of about 2300 people.  Originally called Ellensburgh, the name was changed after prospectors discovered gold being brought to the beach by the Rogue River.  The town is famous for the Rogue River jet boat service, also known as the "mail boat" for delivering mail upstream to the community of Agness.  I had hoped to take the jet boat ride, but that business is closed like most everything else.  Gold Beach is also known for its scenic shoreline with unique rock formations.

 In addition to natural beauty, I find the bridge over the Rogue to be attractive, and the house perched high on the mountainside certainly has a great view of the shore.

Since the near constant rain has given way to sunny skies, I've gone to Paradise Point several times to enjoy the sunset.  The recent Super Moon was also visible through thin clouds.

The Sixes River, north of Port Orford, apparently got its name from early miners mispronouncing the Indian name for it.  The tiny community built along the banks of the river has also taken the name Sixes.  The Sixes River Road is another scenic byway that runs up and over the coastal mountains.  While views of the river are limited, there are a few waterfalls along the way.

 

Oregon is a major producer of lumber and the logging industry is quite active in this area.  Seeing a hillside that has been "clear cut" can be sad for most of us, yet we recognize that everyone needs the lumber for housing.  Further, the companies that harvest the timber come along and replant trees for the future.  It just takes a while for the young trees to hide the scars.

As the road climbs higher, drop-offs into canyons become very deep, as much as 1000 feet in places.  No worry about driving off the road however, since trees would stop your fall right away.  There are occasional rock slides, but people simply drive over or around them where there's room.

Elk River Road, Port Orford, OR, Part 2 (4/5/2020)

After days being shut in due to rainy weather, it felt good to be outdoors, especially on Elk River Road going up a mountain.  While not technically a rainforest, it has many of the characteristics of one.  Lush ferns grow prolifically, and moss grows everywhere,  Most of the trees up here are covered with moss, and there seems to be several varieties.

I found dozens of waterfalls streaming into the river, many small and temporary, but some large enough to warrant a photo.

There were some interesting plants, as well, including the odoriferous  Western skunk cabbage with its pretty yellow bloom.  Despite its name, the skunk cabbage is poisonous to humans and most other mammals. I believe the plant with red clusters is the King Edward VII flowering currant.

I expected to see wildlife in this forest, but only saw a few birds, such as the dark-eyed junco and a varied thrush.  The thrush was a first for me and I had to go to the book for an ID.  No wonder I've never seen one before as they spend most of the year in Canada and Alaska, coming to coastal areas of WA, OR and Northern CA in Winter.

After turning around at mile 20, I did see a bald eagle lift up from the river with something in its talons, presumably a fish.  Trees blocked my view of his flight, but I found him again, perched in a tree across the river.  Now it looked like a plastic bag he had, and he was eating on it.  After enlarging the photo, it now appears to be an old rag.  Ugh.

I regretted not having time to go farther on this road.  Since then, however, a local hunter told me the road has been closed by a rock slide a short distance from where I turned around.  He also told me one of the other forks leads to a nice lake, so I may have to return and follow that road.