More of the North Coast of Oregon - Oct. 17 - 18

Sliding into the River Bend County Park in Foster, OR Saturday night after a busy day, I had planned an easy beans and dog meal but was reminded this would be a bad mix with the chill we had at lunch! A quick switch to the last of the smoked salmon from Will over baked potatoes and spinach salad w/apples and goat cheese turned out a wonderful meal that was so easy. Will have to remember this one for the book.

The past couple days were spent with more poking along the coast down to Newport in search of beach agates, a visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (5 stars!) and a first ever overnight at a casino, the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City. We realized this wasn't a novel idea as soon as we pulled into the designated parking lot with about 70-100 other assorted RV’s and campers. It turned out to be the start of the 16^th Annual Western BCA Regional 9-Ball Championship (pool players association) that ran through the weekend! It actually quieted down to a good night. The casino looks out over the Pacific, has easy access to the beach and is free. We'd stop again! 

The aquarium was phenomenal with exhibits of fish, birds, mammals and sea life in their habitat. The Seabird Aviary was the best with much of what I could hope to see on the rocks off shore but couldn't get to - Tufted and Horned Puffins, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, Common Murres and Black Oystercatchers. There was also an exhibit called Passages of the Deep where you walk through a glass tunnel with fish and sharks swimming all around including over and under!

For variety, we are looping east over the Cascades to Sisters, Bend and if the weather holds as promised, we may make a pass through Crater Lake. The NP campgrounds are closed for the season as are many of the National Forest areas so we’ll see how it goes but hope to come back to the southern part of the Oregon coast before getting to CA.

Photos