California Road Trip 2019 - Bullards Beach State Park

Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Bullards Beach State Park
Site #C53 & C58
Distance: 134 miles
Duration: 2 nights
Cost: $29 + 8 reservation fee = $37/night
Weather: Sunny and upper 60s

We had a lovely day relaxing at our campground in Bandon. After breakfast, we decided to ride our bikes out to the lighthouse (only 6 miles round trip) and later took a short hike up to the Bullard Family Cemetery, which another camper recommended. In all the visits to Bullards Beach State Park, this was the first we had heard of this little cemetery of just a dozen plots. Perched up on the hill, surrounded by salal, shore pines, rhodies and huckleberry, we discovered it to be well-maintained (most likely by the state park rangers) and quite peaceful. We also explored the other campground loops, checking out the sun and shade situations for future visits. I always prefer a campsite with a lot of sun, especially on the Oregon coast, which never gets terribly hot. We did a little reading (outside in the sun, of course!) and later enjoyed our drinks by the fire. All in all, a nice start to our big road trip. 

Bullard Family Cemetery

Nice level site.

No neighbors on one side.

Sunny afternoon.

So nice to get out and ride.

We do love our campfires.

Cheers!

California Road Trip 2019 - Prep, Pack and First Day Out

Monday, September 2, 2019
Depoe Bay to Bandon, OR
Bullards Beach State Park
Distance: 134 miles
Duration: 2 nights
Cost: $29 + 8 reservation fee = $37
Weather: Sunny and upper 60s

I'm probably stating the obvious, but we absolutely love our RV road trips! After several trips (including the big two-month-long journeys in the fall), I think I've pretty much got all the planning and preparation down to a science. I have a lengthy checklist to help remind us of what to pack, but I also do a lot of food prep so I don't have to spend my evenings cooking when I'd rather relax by the fire with a glass of wine. This year we decided to skip the more rigid planning and didn't make any reservations for our return trip once we left the Manhattan Beach area. This allowed us so much more flexibility to extend (or shorten) our stays depending on how we were enjoying the location and parks, what the weather situation was like, if we had seen everything we wanted to see, and if our neighbors were loud and obnoxious or, as we discovered in Dunsmuir, a lot of fun and willing to show us their favorite spots. Another benefit to a more relaxed trip is that I didn't have to spend a lot of time booking our sites. With that said, I still relied heavily on RV Trip Wizard to map out our route and also have at least two campsites in mind, depending on how many miles we were willing to put in each travel day. But part of the fun is in the planning, right?  

An Organized Mess

This trip was a little more complicated since the ultimate goal was to be in San Diego for our daughter's wedding at the end of September. In addition to our usual "camping" gear, we had to pack clothes for a week's worth of wedding events. We use a lot of tubs to store our items in the cupboards and on the bunk above the cab, but this time we also had to figure out where to stow a garment bag and small suitcase. As always, I overpacked, but we went from temps as high as 100 down to a low of 27, so we needed more than just shorts and t-shirts. The only thing we really didn't use was our rain gear. Out of the 55 days away, we only encountered 1 day of rain and that was almost all during the night. I will admit that I didn't need as many books as I packed, but it would have been nice to have the last two seasons of Game of Thrones. We watched a total of three seasons and were anxious for more!

Meal Prep Pays Off

A month or two before we get ready for a trip, I start freezing meals to take along. It's not really any extra work since I can use whatever I make for dinner and either double the recipe or simply freeze the leftovers. Soups are great for this, as well as pulled pork, ribs, stroganoff, and wings. We also grill a lot of salmon, burgers, pork tenderloin and chicken, so I stock up on all of that ahead of time so we don't have to worry about finding a grocery store if we're out in the boonies. I'm constantly amazed that the RV freezer holds as much as it does! We even have room for a small bag of ice for Rod's bourbon.

RV Trip Wizard

I've mentioned this helpful website in previous posts and I can't recommend it highly enough. I can figure out how many miles to our next destination, locate (and read reviews for) campgrounds and RV parks, find restaurants and local interests, calculate the cost of fuel, and archive previous trips. It's been a game-changer, as well as a huge time-saver. Love it!

We had originally planned to leave the day after Labor Day, but decided to go ahead and go on Labor Day. Traffic wasn't bad at all and the heaviest was heading north, which kind of surprised us. We had gorgeous weather and stopped for a few photos by Haceta Head and watched the whales and sea lions play in the water.

Haceta Head

Haceta Head Lighthouse

Always on the lookout for a good Mexican restaurant, we decided to try El Guadalajara in North Bend (Coos Bay) for a late lunch. The restaurant, pretty much a hole-in-the-wall type of place in a small strip mall, won't win any awards for decor but it was pretty good! Too bad it's such a long drive from home.

Carne Asada Burrito

Chicken Taquitos

So much food! We wound up skipping dinner later that evening.

We made it to Bullard's Beach State Park, which is one of our favorite parks for either a quick getaway or for our first night down 101. We tried a different loop this time (C Loop) and got a nice sunny site with no neighbors on either side of us. After our huge lunch, we made sure to get in a long walk before settling in for the night.

Bandon - Day Six & Seven

Bandon, Oregon
October 27-28, 2017
Bullards Beach State Park

It was chilly when we woke-up! 44 degrees outside and only 52 inside of the trailer. Brrr! We do have a heater, but we don't like to run it all night since it's a little noisy. 

We enjoyed another lazy morning, which typically involves coffee, showers and breakfast at a very slow pace. It usually means we're ready to greet the day with whatever outings we have planned by 10:00 a.m. Such a difference from the days of waking up at 5:00 and rushing out the door by 7:00!

After breakfast, I left Rod to work on an editing job and went into town to explore the shops. It was so nice to wander around for a couple of hours, going at my own pace, finding some gifts and greeting cards. I discovered a couple of restaurants that I'd like to try next time we're in town. The first is a new brew pub called Bandon Brewing Company and Pizzeria. It has both indoor and outdoor seating and the menu looks great. There's also a place called Bread & Wine that has a nice little patio/garden that might be fun to try. 

I stopped in a cute bakery and wound up returning at the end of my shopping trip so I could buy a bag of freshly ground coffee to take back to the trailer. I had a sample cup of the blend and it was amazing! I wound up buying two bags, as well as an herb biscuit and a couple of cookies for our dessert. The shop is called The Rolling Pin Bake & Brew and the woman who owns it runs it with her daughter-in-law, Kayleigh. We chatted for quite a while and if I lived closer, I know I'd quickly become a regular customer! 

I enjoyed my little shopping expedition and found some Christmas gifts, as well as a new travel journal. I wandered over to the fishing docks and popped into the Farmer's Market (indoors, rather than on the docks), which was nice, but not as good as the one in Newport.

The sun was shining and it was getting warm. What a lovely morning!

After lunch, Rod and I headed over to Rocky Point so he could do a little fishing. 

A pipe, a cup of coffee and an Ace Hardware bucket. What more does a guy need?

While Rod was fishing, I made a return visit to Bandon Dunes in order to hike the Woodland Trail, which includes a labyrinth.

I wasn't quick enough to get a photo, but as I passed this pond a beautiful egret flew out of the tall grasses and right past me. It was stunning!

I headed out toward the labyrinth and once again, I was completely alone. It was a little unnerving since I was in the woods. Alone. Thankfully, I didn't encounter any weirdos or bears. It was actually very peaceful.

The labyrinth is comprised of a series of 11 circles (modeled after the one in Chartres, France), with only one way in and one way out. Again, I was completely alone and walked to the inner section very slowly and calmly, trying not to think of anything but my steps and my breathing. I'm not very good at meditation and once I got to the center, I was too impatient to walk back through each circle and wound up just stepping over the lines and back to the trail. It would be easy to blame my impatience on wanting to get back to Rod, but the truth of the matter is that I didn't really feel what I thought I might experience by walking a labyrinth. Maybe it's like meditation and it takes practice. 

Back to the trail and through the woods...

I returned to Rocky Point and while he didn't have any luck, Rod said he did enjoy fishing from the dock. 

Just as we were getting ready to leave, I spotted an eagle perched high in a tree! I took a few pictures with my phone, but they weren't very sharp. I'm learning that I really need to carry our 35mm digital camera (which has a nice zoom lens) with me at all times!

We returned to our campsite and listened to another game of the World Series, while eating our dinner by the fire. It's a lot of fun listening to the play-by-play, rather than watching a game on TV. 

The Astros won again.

October 28, 2018
Bandon to Depoe Bay
132 miles 
3.25 hours

Saturday morning and time to hitch up and head home. It was drizzly and 54 when we left our campsite. 

We decided to stop for lunch at our favorite restaurant in Florence. Nice end to another great road trip!

Bandon - Day Five

Bandon, Oregon
October 26, 2017
Bullards Beach State Park

After reading about all the great hiking trails at Bandon Dunes Golf Course, I decided to head over after breakfast and try a few. The Dunes is only a few minutes from the campground and it's gorgeous, reminding me of Torrey Pines with all the pine trees and sweeping ocean views.

I picked up a trail map at the main club house and set out on the Jamie McEwan Trail. The sun was shining and I was glad to be wearing shorts. It got pretty warm!

This trail leads from the Lodge along the top of the main resort dune ridge. The views of the golf course, with the ocean in the distance, were amazing!

Looking east (Highway 101 is just beyond the trees).

This invasive plant (Gorse) is still a problem in Oregon and I saw quite a bit on the trails. It may be invasive, but I still think it's very pretty.

Almost makes me wish I knew how to golf!

Finally some shade, although the sandy trail was still a workout!

Lovely view of the ocean.

I was surprised that there were very few golfers out on the links. Or on the trails! The weather couldn't have been more perfect.

Ugh! This was harder than it looks.

Madrone Lake

You can only see their silhouettes, but there are two deer just to the left of the building.

Grabbed a bottle of water at the club house and headed out to hike the beach trail.

The beach was completely deserted (for that matter, the golf course wasn't terribly busy, either!) and I wasn't able to locate the shipwrecked schooner Acme, which ran aground on Halloween night in 1924. I enjoyed my walk, but was worn out and ready to get back to the campground. Walking through the dunes was a lot more difficult than I imagined!

This is a moderate hike, but the sand dunes make it even more challenging.

After lunch, we drove around in search of some fishing sites. We went out Hwy. 42S, which was very pretty. The trees and bushes were just beginning to show some fall colors and looked gorgeous in the late afternoon light. 

We came upon a herd of elk in a large field. They were pretty curious, watching us as we stopped to snap a couple of pictures.

We found this nice spot (Rocky Point Country Park) just a few minutes away from our campground and the evening glow on the river was so very lovely. I spied a huge blue heron, but he was too quick for a photo.

There is nothing quite like being near water, whether it's the ocean, lake or river.