Washburne State Park, Oregon

Tucked in between the third and fourth football games of the season we managed to tuck in a quick trip to the coast to meet up with a friend. Steve checked the reservation sites and everything was full, amazing this time of year! So, we decided on a no-reservation park, Washburne State Park, just north of Florence.

Before we reached the park we were met with a very strange site. Instead of a sparkling white lighthouse on Haceta Head, we saw a hulking black shape. We eventually found an explanation for the apparition.... they are doing major repairs and the whole lighthouse is enveloped in scaffolding and tarps. This pictorial article explains in detail all the work that is being done to restore the landmark.

Washburne State Park campground was fairly crowded when we arrived, but we were able to find a suitable full-service site, and after our four night stay we have dubbed it the friendliest campground in the state. We sat around a smoky campfire and chatted from folks from Wisconsin, California, in addition to the expected Oregonians. A musician/songwriter from Norman, Oklahoma serenaded the campground in the evenings, and he even gave us a CD of his music. Ferrel Droke as won Honorable Mention twice in the Woodie Guthrie songwriting contest. His music has a bit of an an Irish folk flare to it, worth listening to for sure!

The weatherman had promised sun. Humpf! There's a saying in Oregon, "Only fools and Californians believe the weatherman". We bit. He lied. So, in a deep, dark, forested park we sat under cloudy skies. That's the Oregon coast, unpredictable, but beautiful under any circumstance.

The beach is easily accessed from the campground via a half-mile trail that goes under the highway. The trail leads through a mossy carpeted, tangled bit of forest that seldom sees the sun.

The trees are covered with draped ferns and layer upon layer of moss, and the canopy overhead makes he floor of the forest so dark that even the multitudes of mushrooms have a powdery blue mold on them.
Surely there are Nomes living here!

The beach wasn't crowded, so very dog-friendly and Shiner enjoyed a good game of tug-a-war with our friend's German Shepherd, Heidi.

As we watched the dogs romp on the beach I glanced over to the surf and noticed a seal waddling up onto the shore.

As soon as it spied humans and dogs moving on the sand it slipped back into the waves. The Sea Lion Caves aren't farm from the park, and seals are common in all the harbors here, but it's still unusual to see one on the beach.

The campground and surrounding forest are beautiful, but thanks to all the lovely trees there isn't any satellite service. A cell phone connection is possible out on the highway, but not in the campground itself.