Art and Eats in Bandon

December 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Bandon has a cute, very walkable downtown in their Old Town district, located in a marina area just off of Oregon Coast Highway Highway 101 S. You can easily see where to pull of from 101 thanks to two Old Town arches you can see right from the highway. You can find street parking and there are several free visitor lots as well. One of the compelling reasons to stay or at least stop and wander here in the Old Town District is that you can find a good mix of art and eats in Bandon beyond just the usual handful of small local stores for souvenirs and local crafts, and it’s super walkable. Also the art is FREE to enjoy! Here are my favorite picks.
Bandon Art and Eats: Annual Port of Bandon Boardwalk Art Show Bandon Art and Eats: Annual Port of Bandon Boardwalk Art Show Bandon Art and Eats: Annual Port of Bandon Boardwalk Art Show Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes

Art in Bandon

There is a unique, family-friendly, interactive and educational and FREE art gallery that you can find in Bandon- the Washed Ashore Gallery. This is one of two galleries they have (the other is in Coos Bay), and the specialty here is “art to save the sea” by teaching environmental issues in an engaging way through the arts. The efforts of non-profit Washed Ashore, include not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and create curriculum to help educate and inspire, and provide volunteer opportunities to get involved in the art creation. Founded in 2010, they hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes. You may have even seen some examples of their art in other locations as part of commissions or traveling exhibitions.
Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes Bandon Art and Eats: Washed Ashore Gallery, not only creating striking sea life sculptures created from ocean debris, but volunteers help to gather the material via beach cleanup efforts and hope to raise awareness globally about pollution in the ocean and to spark positive changes

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Easy Guide to Samuel Boardman Scenic Corridor

November 3, 2022 by 4 Comments

The Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor is an iconic area of the Oregon Coast and is a state park that you can travel to between Bandon and Brookings offering miles of rock formations among lush green forests with cliff overlooks, sea stacks and arch formations, and quiet beaches. And, it’s all free- no park pass needed. You can make this a day trip as it is just a 2 hour drive between these two seaside towns, but expect to add on a few hours with the many scenic stops and hikes available before and within Samuel Boardman State Park. Even if you do not want to do much hiking, it is still worth a visit as most viewpoints are easy accessible right along the corridor that you can park and do very short walks to viewpoints. Here’s my guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor based on my day trip. This was a leisurely drive from after sleeping in and breakfast and first walking Circle in the Sands, to a lunch to go, no hike more then 30 minutes roundtrip, and then returning back to Bandon with a stop at Prehistoric Gardens, all in time for watching sunset at Coquille Point.
Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Secret Beach Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Secret Beach

I covered Circle in the Sands and the sunset views at Coquille Point already at the linked posts, so this post will focus on my take on a guide to the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor iconic views, whimsy nostalgia of the Prehistoric Gardens experience, along with a lunch with a famous hot dog!

Don’t worry whether the weather is sunny which will look beautiful with blue skies and blue seas in your views, or if it is a gloomy grey day that is also IMHO atmospheric: I think all weather conditions make the scenic viewpoints look special. I recommend driving from north to south for the trip so you are always pulling to the right side into the viewpoints.
Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Secret Beach Guide to Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor: Natural Bridges

A Famous Oregon Coast Hot Dog

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Sunrise and Moonset at Face Rock Viewpoint

July 5, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Every year, I plan one trip to the Oregon Coast where it coincides with minus tides, which is when the tide tables are measured in the negative two feet. This gives us the bonus of also adding really excellent tide pooling to our seaside adventures. I’ve shared some incredible spots in the past with the tide pools of Haystack Rock and the Neskowin Ghost Forest being revealed. This year the timing of the Strawberry Supermoon also coincided with minus tide (in this case -2.5 feet in Bandon). This meant a juxtaposition of a 8.26 feet high tide, so a 12 foot swing high to low tide in the span of seven hours. We would be able to enjoy low tides, sunrise and moonset at Face Rock Viewpoint with the iconic sea stacks here.
Sunrise at Face Rock Viewpoint in Bandon, Oregon as dawn approaches Sunrise at Face Rock Viewpoint in Bandon, Oregon as dawn approaches

Where To Stay

Waking up for sunrise is early in Daylight Savings Time in June – sunrise is around 5:30 in the morning. Add to that if we wanted to see the full moon, we needed to be up earlier then that before the sun’s rays brought too much light to the sky. A supermoon is called so because the moon is at its closest orbit to earth, so can appear larger and brighter then other full moons – the best time to see this is when it is rising or setting closer to the horizon. You will have to wait until it gets quite late and dark enough to see the moon during the summer long days, or you might want to use blue hour – the time before sunrise, where you can capture the mood when the blue color spectrum is most prominent, about when the Sun is between 4-8° below the horizon.

In Bandon we decided to stay at Sunset Oceanfront Lodging since it was the closest to Face Rock Viewpoint, so close that we could just look out the window and see it right there. This multi-generation family-owned business offers some oceanfront views with balconies, a small fridge and microwave helped us with managing food (in particular cold beverages in the morning) and restaurant leftovers, and that view and easy walking access sold us. I mean look at the view from our balcony towards Face Rock and towards Coquille Point! We stayed in the Vern Brown Addition, so there were stairs that led directly to the beach from there.
Sunset Oceanfront Lodging standard King Room at the Vern Brown Addition Sunset Oceanfront Lodging standard King Room at the Vern Brown Addition, view towards Face Rock from our balcony Sunset Oceanfront Lodging standard King Room at the Vern Brown Addition, view towards Elephant Rock and Coquille Point from our balcony

In our room there was a broom and dustpan to manage the sand that inevitably gets tracked in, very thoughtful. Some of the rooms offered a fireplace also. Depending on which part of the motel you stay in, the rooms may be pet-friendly though our unit at the Vern Addition was not. Sunset Motel does offer a pool and hot tub, though we didn’t use it.

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Visiting Neskowin Ghost Forest at Super Low Tide

July 14, 2021 by Leave a Comment

As mentioned in my previous post, there are a few days, for a few set months, every year where you can experience super low tide. In these cases, the super low tide, also called minus tide, is often in the negative 1.5-2 foot range, revealing more then usual from what is usually hidden by the sea. These super low tides tend to occur across a 3-4 days during those few set months. In June, the first day of super low tide I spent exploring the sea stacks and tidepools by Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, as covered in detail before along with the other 24 hours I spent in the area. For the next super low tide, the plan was visiting Neskowin Ghost Forest.
Neskowin Ghost Forest in the early foggy morning at Neskowin Beach Neskowin Ghost Forest in the early foggy morning at Neskowin Beach Neskowin Ghost Forest in the early foggy morning at Neskowin Beach Neskowin Ghost Forest in the early foggy morning at Neskowin Beach Neskowin Ghost Forest in the early foggy morning at Neskowin Beach Neskowin Ghost Forest in the early foggy morning at Neskowin Beach

Logistics

Neskowin Ghost Forest is located at Neskowin Beach in Neskowin. For visiting Neskowin Ghost Forest at super low tide, that may be early in the morning (around 7 am during my visit). Knowing that you want to be there at least an hour or so before that lowest point, you may want to stay over in Neskowin, or Lincoln City, or Pacific City, if you want to stay conveniently close and save the 2 hour drive from Portland. But, it is possible to make this a day trip too.

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Camp 18 Restaurant – a must stop on the way to the Oregon Coast

July 13, 2021 by 1 Comment

As you were reading my last post in which I shared what I did with a 24 hour trip to Cannon Beach, you may have wondered where did breakfast go, as I only showed what I had for lunch and dinner on the beach. The answer to that is Camp 18 Restaurant is a coast must stop on the way to the Oregon Coast. Even before moving to Portland, when I first visited Oregon as a tourist and was taken to the Oregon Coast, it’s pretty become tradition that if we can, we stop for a meal on the way. Camp 18 Restaurant is located on US-26 between Portland and US-101, in Elsie. Almost every time, we stop here for breakfast or lunch and to appreciate the cat (no petting though, per request of the signs up). The classic American menu here serves breakfast until 2pm, but and also has a lunch and dinner section available after 11am. Camp 18 Restaurant is also a roadside attraction of history of the logging industry with a logging museum and loggers’ memorial. Note: the photos for this post are over multiple years of visits and may not reflect current Covid setup.
Camp 18 Restaurant, a must stop on the way to the Oregon Coast on US 26 on the way to US 101 Camp 18 Restaurant, a must stop on the way to the Oregon Coast on US 26 on the way to US 101 Camp 18 Restaurant, a must stop on the way to the Oregon Coast on US 26 on the way to US 101

The name of Camp 18 Restaurant comes from its located at milepost 28 on Highway 26. In Oregon’s logging history, logging camps were usually numbered – and there you go. Camp 18 Restaurant has been offering family dining since 1986, but was a dream that started construction in the early ’70s by Gordon and Roberta Smith and logging friend the late Maurie Clark. Gordon, who with his own experience and knowledge of the logging industry (the story on the menu and Camp 18 website tells us he was called “Riggin Boss”), logged all the timber used in the 14,000 square foot log cabin himself and was hauled in, hand peeled, and draw knifed with help of his family and friends. Almost all the lumber used in this log cabin was cut in Goddon’s saw mill, set up on the property across Humbug Creek, that he had been running since 1966 and before the restaurant opened.

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