Oregon Coast at Port Orford

We were busy little beavers today.  Right off the bat, I forgot about the morning coffee at the coffee room which is adjacent to the 4 pm social hour room.  I had my feet propped up enjoying my second cup of coffee when I remembered about the 7 AM event.  We raced around throwing off pajamas, throwing on cloths, and brushing teeth and managed to get there before everyone left.  We probably won’t go to every coffee just like we probably won’t go to every social hour, but we want to go these first few days to get to know our neighbors.  This is a very friendly park; everyone stops to speak if they see you outside.  We want to know who we’re talking to.

After about 45 minutes with the java junkies, we went to the grocery and then I spent a little quality time at the laundry facility.  After a little lunch, we went exploring.

We came to the Oregon coast to see the Oregon coast so that is where we started.  And that is pretty much where we stayed all afternoon.  We were on our way to the Port of Port Orford, but got distracted by large letters painted on the road which pointed the way to an “ocean view”.  It turned out to be on the hill above the Port.  How convenient.  This port is different from what you would expect a small port to look like--there are no boats in the water around the pier.  Port Orford has a very short jetty and is largely unprotected from swells, so the boats using this port (mostly commercial fishing boats) have to be hoisted up on the pier when not in use.  While on the pier, each boat has a wheeled trailer it sits on.  Very unusual.

From the Port we went to the Visitor Center to inquire about hikes in the area.  The Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center is located at the end of the parking lot for the Battle Rock City Park.  This enormous rock which sits right on the coastline was the site of the conflict between the local Native Americans and the first white settlers to come to the area.  There is a little path which leads up and out over the rock.  We didn’t do that, but we did walk along the beach for a way until the wind got the best of us.

Battle Rock

The Port of Port Orford

Our next stop was the Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum.  After a short chat with the lady manning the information station in the museum who happened to also be a full-time RVer, we toured the small museum.  There are a couple trails near the museum which offered fantastic views of the coast line.  We followed two of these trails to their respective viewpoints.  Great views, but the wind was incredible.  We’ll have to go back later for a more pleasant stroll.

Tomorrow, we plan a real hike to the highest point around here--Humbug Mountain.