FROM BANDON, OREGON

(click on center thumbnail to see map)

The Longest Day: Ashland-to-Bandon via Redwoods

(click on thumbnails to enlarge)

Ashland

BANDON, Oregon, May 30, 2007 - This has been my longest day on The Oregon Trail.  And one that had the most variety.  The temperatures swung wildly, from 93F in Ashland to the low 50s on the coast.  I went from scorching sunshine into fog and back into sunshine... all within 3-4 hours.

I started the day from Jacksonville heading south to see Ashland, the southernmost town in Oregon, just a few miles from the California border.  I've been told that Ashland is the cultural capital of southern Oregon.  With its annual Shakespeare Festival and many other cultural events, the town reportedly attracts the liberal crowd from the Bay Area.

Situated in the foothills of the snow-capped Mount Ashland, a skiing resort in the wintertime, Ashland has some charms, as you can see from the above photos.  But for my money, it's no great shakes.  If I had to take it or leave it, I'd leave it.  Which is what I did around noon, heading in the northerly direction in the I-5, from where I had come.

Within a few minutes, I was in Phoenix.  No kidding.  There is a small town called Phoenix between Ashland and Medford.  Unlike the sprawling Arizona metropolis that's now the fourth largest city in the country, this Phoenix is a Podunk place, according to one of my local sources.  "I have no idea why it exists," this person said.

The Giant California Redwoods

An hour or so later, I made a pit stop at the southern tip of Oregon, just before crossing into California on Hwy 199, in pursuit of giant redwood trees.  The forest around me looked downright spooky, with moss hanging from most low hanging branches (see above photos).  I figured that alone attests as to the amount of rain and moisture the area gets.

I drove through pretty northern California gorges for about half an hour before arriving in the area of giant redwood trees.  I stopped at a ranger station to ask for directions and get a more detailed map (see the right).  And then I set off to see what everyone has been telling me was one of the most amazing scenes - giant redwood trees in their natural habitat.  I crossed a bridge over a pretty canyon (left thumbnail) before entering the Jedediah Smith State Park (right thumbnail).

Cutting to the chase, this photo should give you an idea of the size of some of these giants.

...or any one of the above four pictures.

In fact, I tried to replicate what I did with a giant fir tree at Toketee Falls, and splice the three redwood frames together, but it was impossible.  So you will have to look at three shots of the same tree, from the bottom to the top, to get an idea of its size (click on above thumbnails).

Oregon Coastline

After reaching the coastal highway (101) just south of Crescent City, I turned north and crossed the border back to Oregon (left thumbnail).  By then, the weather had quickly changed.  You can see the fog rolling in from the ocean.  The temperatures had also dropped like a stone.  From the 90s in Ashland, and still in the 80s most of the trip before the redwoods, they were now in the 50s.  I was shivering and glad I had my leather jacket handy in the car, where it had been sitting since Crater Lake.

These are some of the interesting coastal scenes between Brookings and Port Orford that I was able to steal from the fog.  By then I had decided that I would turn right and cross the Coastal Mountains back to the I-5 as soon as I possibly could.  Alas, there was still a long way to go to Hwy 42 or 38 (see above map).

And then suddenly, as if God were eavesdropping on my thoughts, the fog lifted around Port Orford.  From there on, for the rest of the afternoon and evening, bright sun shone, although the air was still cold.  The plaque at Battle Rock (rightmost thumbnail) explains some of the violent history of the Oregon coast, including the reason for the rock's name and that of Port Orford.

Windermere Cottages, Bandon

The return of the sunshine made me change my plans again.  I decided I would spend the night somewhere on the coast.  As is usually the case, that meant following my nose.  Eventually, it led me to a charming spot, right on the beach...

...the Windermere Cottages in Bandon.  The leftmost thumbnail is my unit.  The next two shots show the views from my cottage, to the north and to the south.  The rightmost thumbnail should give you an idea of how close they are to the beach... like right on top of it!

And what a beach it was!  The first two thumbnails show the views to the north and to the south from right in front of my cottage.  Immediately, I decided that this was an ideal opportunity to get some aerobic exercise.  So I set out to walk the beach from one set of those rocks to the other, and back.  I figure that was about 4 miles.  All along, I had a feeling I had this marvelous beach all to myself.  Not even in Western Australia, have I seen the beaches either this big and this deserted.  I may have seen a total of three humans and one dog during the hour that I had walked on it.

As I came close to the rocks sticking I thought that they looked like giant sugar cubes that the ocean had dissolved into white sand beaches, leaving only the stony sculptures to mark the spot.

Some sugar cubes were first dissolving from the inside, creating small caves and even tunnels.  They were fun to run through and view the ocean from.  

I felt like a boy playing on a beach that I had all to myself.  As you can see above, I was well bundled up in my leather jacket, which was zipped up and buttoned up right up to the collar.  A steady wind from the north made the wind-chill temps probably in the low 40s.

At the other end of the beach, I found a stream flowing into the Pacific.  And a bunch of seagulls wading in the water where the two met.  One of them later came to visit me on the lawn in front of my cottage.

No overnight stay on a beach would be complete without sunset scenes.  And so here they are... at Bandon beach.

By the way, as I checked into my hotel, I asked the hostess "what happened to the 'A'?"

"To the 'A'?" she repeated, looking bewildered.

"Yes, to the 'A'," I snickered.  "Isn't the name of this town Bandon?"

"Yes, Bandon."

"So what happened to the 'A', I said, thinking it was Abandon."  :-)

She laughed.  "That's what it looks like indeed right now.  But you should see it in full season.  It's a very busy place."

"Well, I am glad I happened upon it now," I replied.  "Have never been much for crowds."

And that's all she wrote on Day 5 of my Oregon Trail.

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