Aug 11 - Florence (Oregon not Italy)

In classic Oregon style, we ran into pockets of rain, or was it drizzle, or was it low hanging clouds? Fortunately, it would come and go so we were able to continue to sight see. One of the businessmen in Florence told us that winter in Oregon was this same kind of drizzle, but coming at you horizontally.


We were able to get into a good Forest Service campground right along the beach (Tillicum Campground).

The next day we continued south and got into to a state campground we had not gotten into in the past, Honeyman. We got a spot this time and then headed to a small fishing town, Florence.



The picturesque bridges were part of the Depression era WPA programs that produced the beautiful deco/Egyptian theme bridges of the Oregon coast. Florence had been a prominent fishing village at the mouth of the Suislaw River. People were sitting on the dock reeling in baskets of undersized crabs. We saw this very weathered fishing boat and wondered what tales Cap Armstrong had to tell.



Honeyman State Park is in Oregon Dunes recreation area....dunes kind of like our own Oceano Dunes, but with massive forests that have grown on the adjacent ancient dunes. On a hike through the forest to the dunes, we ran across the sport of dune board surfing -- a refinement of how our kids surfed down the Morro Bay sand spit dunes. Sadie inspects the view from one of the jumps the kids had constructed. She decided it was too cold and windy for an attempt at the world's record for Corgi jumps.