Booking to Brookings

Day 88 – Sunday, September 8

We tried to go to mass this morning at St. Mary’s, Our Lady of the Dunes, but the priest was on vacation, so there was no morning mass.  So, we booked to Brookings, Oregon completing our 363 mile trip down the Oregon coast.  This was the southern third of the coast, and much of it crossed the Oregon dunes, a bit inland from the coast; but when we reached Port Orford, the spectacular views returned, providing sweeping views of the waves and huge rocks out in the surf.  It looks  different at every curve.  The trip today was about 160 miles of curvy roads, and lots of inclines.  We were able to listen to the Colts game as we travelled, so it kept things interesting!

We stopped at the Myrtle Wood Factory.  Myrtle is a tree that grows only in Southwestern Oregon and northwestern California.  The color and grain of the wood is influenced by the minerals in the soil.  The wood factory had all kinds of beautiful wood objects…everything from tables, to bowls, to rolling pins, to boxes, to wood placemats.  It was a fun place, and of course I found a few things to purchase.

We traveled over a few more bridges today, and noticed the “signature” of bridge designer McCullough who is responsible for many of these bridges.  It is an arch and concrete pillars at the entry of the bridge. 

 

We also passed over the Thomas Creek Bridge which is the highest bridge in Oregon--it crosses 345 feet above the creek bottom.

We arrived at the Driftwood RV Park in Brookings, Oregon, and had a late lunch at a restaurant by the river and saw fishermen coming in with their catch.  The RV Park is only a block from the beach, so Spot made us go to the beach once again, and we were able to take in a beautiful sunset.