COTTAGE GROVE.......SCHWARZ CAMPGROUND

We would be meeting Mark, the  Head Ranger, who had been our Contact Person for this job. at Walmart, it took about 3 hours to get to Cottage Grove.

Mark  was very nice, but nothing like I expected!  We have had many conversations over the last two years, and I felt like I sorta knew him.  He led us out to what would be our new home for the summer. He also told us he will be retiring in July.

This is the Gate Attendants Booth, where we will be working.

Our Large Site.......

As large as this site is, it took Darrell  quite a while to get the RV into it's space.

We met a few of the Volunteers, they seemed friendly and nice.

The next day Mark came out  showed us around the Booth, gave us our Training Manual  and we get our two sets of keys.  We are on the Row River, the Dam is above us. Mark drove us around  Dorena Lake. We also met three more Rangers. As  hard as Darrell tried we could not get a Dish signal and only one bar on my phone, we had Internet, but it was soooo slow. We had a few days off before starting training on Monday.

BANDON BY THE SEA

Another day we saw that Bandon has a Farmer's Market and decided to go check it out. Bandon is another little town on the Oregon Coast.

Lots of crafty stuff and plants, nothing we needed or couldn't live without, but it was fun to walk through. We walked  through some of the shops downtown.

Then, we drove to the Ocean.

We went to the hot tub when we got home and then over to the Casino for Prime Rib, sooooo good!
The next day we drove out to Sunset Beach,  it was a  nice, sunny day.

Marlee couldn't wait to explore.

Maggie..........not so much!

We sat in the sun with the dogs, just enjoying the day.

I was surprised by the beauty of the Oregon Coast.

The next day we had breakfast out,  washed clothes and bought groceries,   We  were leaving for Cottage Grove in the morning. As Darrell was hooking up the trailer and I took  Maggie and Marlee for a short walk, I met  a nice couple from Roseburg, Oregon and their dachshund, Lexy.  In our conversation, they told me they make their own dog food. I asked for the recipe, they offered to bring it to me in Cottage Grove. I gave them my email address, just in case they didn't make it over. They had an extra one in their freezer and gave it to me for Maggie to try.  She loved it! 

FLORENCE.........BIRTHDAY DINNER

I found a restaurant that I wanted to have my B'day dinner in Florence, just a short drive from Coos Bay.

I had a shrimp dinner......delicious!!

Florence is a quaint little town....not too many tourists this time of year. We walked through some of the shops.

We decided to drive more of the Coast  and enjoyed the stunning views.

We stopped at this park and I walked down to the Ocean.

We headed back to North Bend......nice day!

COOS BAY BOARDWALK

The next day we decided to check out downtown Coos Bay.

The Boardwalk looked interesting!

It was!

Coos Bay is where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean.

Coos Bay has been the commercial center of Oregon's southern coast since it's earliest days. 

Coos Bay is called Oregon's Seaport and one and a half million tons of cargo move through the Coos Bay Harbor. We saw logs being loaded onto ships and this massive pile of sawdust will be loaded onto ships.

We could see this pile of sawdust grow while we were in the hot tub.....we couldn't  believe how tall it got!

COOS BAY, OYSTERS, AND WHALES!!!

We  will be here until May 8,  nine days on the Oregon Coast, we wanted to see as much as we could! The next morning, we went exploring. We wanted to find the Ocean, we were on the Bay.  We found the 101 and then we found the Ocean!

Even more beautiful than I had imagined!

We got out and walked down this path, trying to get closer to the Ocean.

We drove back to Coos Bay, headed the other way, toward Florence.

We saw a sign for oysters!

Stopped and got me some!!

Went home and cooked them up for lunch........

After lunch, we decided to drive over to Gold Beach.

On the drive over, we rounded a curve and the  Ocean was right there! Darrell says, " There are Whales down there!" We stopped and sure enough! We watched  nine whales swimming! Big Bubbles and Little Bubbles! The Moms were coming up the Coast  with their Babies!!

Gorgeous Views!!

We turned around at Gold Beach and headed for home, hoping we would see more Whales....no such luck! We just happened to be at the right place.....at the right time!!