On our way our way out of Yachats we stopped to explore the Devil's Churn, a narrow inlet in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. Waves crash into the inlet, creating large sprays of water. The morning was foggy, and I loved this because it added to the mysterious feel you got walking down to the Devil's Churn.
The scenery along this area of the coast was stunning. Can you spot Amelia on the staircase to the right in a grey t-ahirt taking photos of the coast?
Amelia and John were happy to explore the short trail to the inlet and the surrounding rocky areas. Even daredevil John didn't go too far out on the rocks because he was trying to be careful.
You can see a slight crashing of a wave against the rocks on the right hand side below. Can you spot John on the left in a grey sweatshirt? Apparently John's signature pose on this trip was on the rocks with his hands stretched out wide (he also did this in Yachats).
The short walk through the forest was lovely. Notice the twisted shape of the branches of some of the trees, and the fact that most of the leaves are confined to a few branches towards the top. I don't know why this is the case, but the trees has this unusual appearance on the coast in the wind-swept areas.
Unfortunately, we could not explore the Cape Perpetua area longer because we had to get to Florence (about an hour south) by 11:00. We had reservations on a dune buggy tour of the Oregon Dunes. John is in the front seat below, with Amelia, myself, and Scott behind.
From Wikipedia: The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is located on the Oregon Coast, stretching approximately 40 miles north from the Coos River in North Bend, to the Siuslaw River, in Florence. The area is part of Siuslaw National Forest and is administered by the United States Forest Service.
The Oregon Dunes are a unique area of windswept sand that is the result of millions of years of wind and rain erosion on the Oregon Coast. These are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. Some dunes tower up to 500 feet above sea level, providing numerous recreational opportunities including off-road vehicle use, hiking, photography, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, and camping.
I took this photo from the inside of our buggy at a stopping point. I was the person who researched and booked the tour because I thought going on an "adventure tour" of the dunes wounded like something we would all enjoy. And even though I watched the video of a buggy racing along the dunes on the company's website, I obviously did not do enough research because I was NOT prepared for how thrilling of a ride we would experience. I should have realized this at the beginning, when our tour guide strapped us into the buggy like we were about to ride a roller coaster. Each passenger had a tight shoulder harness, a tight seatbelt across our lap, and a chest-level horizontal bar in front to hold onto. We also wore protective goggles to mitigate sand from getting in our eyes.
There were four buggies in our group, and we stopped two or three times during the half-hour tour to regroup and for the photo opportunity above. Below you can see another buggy in our group zipping ahead of us as we were pulling out of a stop. There is no way I could take photos while we were in motion because we were going so fast, so I only have a few shots from the stopping points.
The dune buggy tour was absolutely fantastic! I was not prepared for the vast openness of the dunes, nor the fact that the views would be so pretty. And the SPEED. At top speed (which seemed like most of the time) we were traveling at 60 miles per hour. And since the dunes rise and fall like rolling hills and there is no track to speak of, I really had no idea what the driver would do next. It felt like riding a roller coaster where you can't really see where you are going. I was constantly scared that we would crash into another buggy. Our driver would roar up and down a few rolling dunes, then abruptly turn on top of a crest and roar back down the other side. It was crazy and amazing. Everyone in my family wanted more, and I shook the entire time. I trusted our driver completely, but this was unlike any experience I have had before and I was scared and excited at the same time. John complimented me for not screaming (I usually do on rides), and Amelia said she couldn't understand why I was scared at all. Scott wanted the driver to go faster. We all got sand in our mouths at the beginning before we learned to keep our mouths shut.
After a stop at a cute local restaurant in Reedsport for a late lunch, we continued our drive south to Gold Beach, Oregon which was our stopping point for the night. The beginning of this two hour drive was not on the coast, so the minute we got to Port Orford about half way through and we saw the coastline again we got out to stretch our legs.
I couldn't get over how much the coastal scenery had changed in just one day. We started in Yachats where the rise in elevation from the ocean to land was small, then in Cape Perpetua at Devil's Churn it was so high, steep, and forested, and then south several hours we were back to high elevation, but different with topography more similar to rolling hills rather than steep cliffs.
The hotel in Gold Beach was our last stop on the coast where we could stay on the water. Our room was on the third floor and it had a beautiful view of the ocean. The weather was quite warm in Gold Beach, so we all enjoyed some time outside before dinner. The hotel actually did not have air conditioning, but this was just fine because we spent with the sliding door open and let the cool breeze off the ocean keep us cool at night.
Our hotel is pictured below. If you look carefully to the right,just above the trees, you can see a speck of red. This is John's kite! John had fun playing with his kite at Gold Beach because the winds were milder and the kite was easier to control.
I took the above photo from the beach, which Scott and I both enjoyed exploring. While Gold Beach wasn't as naturally pretty as the coastal areas we saw in other towns, the views were still gorgeous and the setting was peaceful.
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