Day 64 – May 13 – Port Orford

We took it easy in the morning, found where we are going to move to tomorrow and made the reservations.  By now it was noon, so we loaded up and headed into the town of Port Orford – population less than 2,000.  We stopped at “The Wooden Nickel” gift store.  It features items made from Oregon Myrtlewood – a distant member of the Laurel family.  It is one of the rarest type of tree. It normally grows as a bush that occasionally grows into a tree.  The grain of the wood varies from tree to tree and the grain in the products they featured was very pretty.

We purchased a few items and then we took a tour of their shop.  It is a small woodworking shop where they produce the items they sell.  We were told the trees are slow growing – a tree with a diameter of four feet can be as old as five hundred years.  The wood contains a lot of water, so they cut most of the products to a thickness of one inch to aid in the drying process.  If it is dried too fast, the wood cracks or warps.  We got to see a guy turning a bowl on the lathe and another cutting blanks out of a slab of wood using a band saw.

We asked for a good place to eat some fish and chips.  They suggested a place called “The Red Fish”.  We found that restaurant was closed on Tuesdays.  The other place they suggested was Griffs on the pier.  It was a small place with a gift shop, tackle shop, fish market, and a restaurant.  The food was really good and we all enjoyed the food and our experience.

We had talked to another couple while we were eating.  They left before us, and then the lady came back in to tell us there were some whales just off the pier.  We finished up and went out to see if we could see them.  Below is a picture I managed to get when one came to the surface.

The back of a Gray Whale

We then drove to Cape Blanco State Park to see the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.  It too was closed on Tuesday, but we took some photos.

 

A sea stack near the lighthouse

A rock out from the lighthouse we named it whale rock

We then drove to Port Orford Head State Park and took a hike through the woods to view the ocean from the bluffs.  This whole region has bluffs over the ocean.  Even to get to the beaches, you must walk down a bluff to get the beach.

Cape Blanco from our hike

Close up of lighthouse from hike

View of a beach from the hike

After an honest one-mile hike we returned to the camper to rest and eat before going out to look at the sun set.

About 7:30 we drove to Paradise Point State Recreational Area.  We walked down the bluff and we sat our chairs on the beach and watched the waves crashing in on the sand.  The sand was not the white or brown sand we have normally seen elsewhere.  It is a mix of black and white sand, very different.  Below are some pictures we took from the beach.

 

 

As a bonus for us, there was a full moon and it peeked above the trees as we stood on the beach. 

So as we faced the sunset we had the moon to our back.  Another good day!