The holiday weekend is now over, and I feel remorseful over having to leave the cozy Cape Blanco State Park. Although the Verizon signal is good, it is not strong enough to support my VOIP phone for what will be surely be a day filled with conference calls on my first day back to work after six days of vacation. But I just can’t make the emotional shift from such a serene, idyllic place to a commercial RV Park in town. So I decide to try instead for Bullard’s Beach State Park, just two miles north of Bandon.
Historic Hughes House, built 1898 by Irish immigrants who made their fortune in the butter business. Cape Blanco State Park.
Jim, Gayle, and Debbie are headed further north to Winchester Bay, so after a morning hike down to tour the historic Hughes House, I bid a reluctant goodbye, with trust that our paths will cross again.
When I check in to Bullard’s Beach, it is still full from the weekend, and my assigned campsite has not yet been vacated, so the woman at the park gate asks me to return in an hour, and assures me a site along the road as the best opportunity for a strong signal.
I decide there is no better way to kill an hour than with a lighthouse tour! Bullard’s Beach is also home to the Coquille River Lighthouse, built in 1896. It was the last of the lighthouses to be constructed along the Oregon coast.
I am surprised to find when I climb the lighthouse tower, there is no light! It originally contained a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens, but the lighthouse was abandoned in 1939 when it was replaced by an automatic light on the jetty. It is just a tourist observation tower. But the view of the beach from the tower is still worthy of the climb.
As much as I want to stay in the State Park, the Verizon signal at Bullard’s Beach is just not strong enough to support my work needs. The line stutters so badly that it won’t even recognize the tones for my conference call password. Typically, I use my AT&T iphone for phone conversations, but the AT&T signal here is non-existent. Non-existent as in “No Service” on the display screen. It is a very frustrating morning on my first day back, so I make a quick judgment call to move into town on my lunch break.
In passing through Bandon, I remember noting the Bandon RV Park within walking distance of Old Town Bandon. Reviews are good, and they are offering a 25% Good Sam discount, which brings the price down lower than the State Park! It is way past time to do laundry, and they have a very clean Laundromat. And the best part – no “push button shower misters” like the State Parks, so it will be a week of steamy hot showers. So I come to terms with leaving the State Park, and I am content with the move.
Bandon has the most gorgeous beach I think I have ever seen, so I drive the three miles every day after work, and walk along the beach until sundown. Most days are cloudy and windy, but I do get one gift of a perfect sunset mid-week. I see more tripods on my evening walk than I think I have ever seen in one place.
The most famous landmark on the Bandon coastline is Face Rock. Can you see her below? She looks as if she is emerging from the sea, her face pointed skyward.
Face Rock. Can you see the face pointing upper right?
A walk along the Bandon Beach is like a stroll through rocky canyons, a wildlife park, and a gorgeous beach all rolled into one!
“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
~ Jacques Cousteau
I can’t imagine anything so beautiful!!! Your pictures are fantastic!
Ahhhhh…beautiful Bandon. We’ve spent so much time there. The downtown RV park is well-located and really not too bad, so I totally understand the move. Love your sunset shots and very happy you got to see the lighthouse!
Nina
wow, I was so busy being one of those tripods in the sand when I was there, that I totally missed noticing “Face Rock”. You got an excellent shot of it! Yep, after Bandon, I hate to say that all the other Oregon beaches will be downhill from there! (still prettier than your average non-Oregon beach, but not quite Bandon). Glad you had a fun week there.
What beautiful photos of the beach! We stayed at Bullards Beach a few years ago in the fall and they had just stopped giving tours of the lighthouse for the year. We we bummed, but it was pretty to look at, and the beach really is amazing. I’m surprised that you were not able to get a good enough Verizon signal there. We had no AT&T but plenty of Verizon during our stay. Do you have a signal booster? Sometimes that makes a huge difference for us. Not sure if you’re going to continue up the coast, but if so I highly recommend South Beach, Cape Lookout & Fort Stevens State parks. All have great cell service and amazing beaches (especially Fort Stevens).
Beautiful houses. I realise why the lighthouses have been replaced by automatic lights but its not the same is it. Years ago I always liked the idea of being a lighthouse keeper especially one in the sea. Abandonned for a few weeks, surrounded by raging seas, but also that wonderful feeling of safety and security of being in the lighthouse.
Mom — Thanks! Wish you were here with me, though you would be freezing! xxx
Nina– Thanks for the nice comment. I enjoyed Bandon, and could have easily stayed longer there. I agree, as RV Parks go, that one made adapting easy. Of course, it was 2/3 empty, which always helps! 😉 I know you must be happy to be back at the beach!
Lynne — I have a funny memory about Face Rock. You may recall that there are two viewpoints over Bandon Beach, one with the stairs, and another further out of town, directly across from Face Rock. A family pulled into the first one, and I listened to the father try to make out faces in the rocks to show his kids. They kept saying “HUH?? where?? I don’t see any face!” I didn’t want to tell him he was at the wrong overlook. 😉
Amanda — Thanks for the comment, and the great tips! I am going to continue on up the coast, so I will surely check out those State Parks you recommended. I am in Newport now. I am heading inland for a week in Eugene, but then will come back and continue on up the coast to the border. I want to drive the full length, since it is so gorgeous! I do have an antenna for the Verizon. It was fine for internet, but my VOIP just wasn’t working well enough to have a conversation with clients. And since there was no AT&T cell signal there, even with my Wilson Sleek, it left me “phoneless.” I will hope for better luck on up the coast…Thanks!
Dave — I am with you all the way on lighthouse duty! You described well what I feel as the dichotomy of the safety versus peril of the sea.