Seven days on the Oregon coast and then some

DAY ONE:
It was decided that we would meet our fellow adventurers, Tawni Marie Ferguson and Bryan Beddoes, AKA the Bearded Lady, West of Portland along highway 26 somewhere. They had gotten an early start and would rendezvous in the late afternoon. Susan and I, with the fine chauffeuring of Owen Francis Cummings set out to find an easy on/off site for meeting and departure.

While waiting , we had time for a pint, a bite, and a run through an automated car wash.

Once hugs were given, packs and coolers on board, the fearless four headed west on highway 26, through the coast range. On the way a stop was made for fries and burgers and another for roadside timber for the nights camp fire. The truthful songs of Niel Diamond filled the cab and before long we were on the famous 101, the scenic coastal route that we would follow for the next week.
First pull off to beach access via 101

Campsite number one: Nehalem Bay Sate Park. We rolled in to our reserved campsite in the early evening. We where all surprised at how full the campground was. Bicycles, kiddie pools, motor homes, trailers, and tents as far as the eye could see. Wanting a spot that skirted the coast, weeks ago an online search reveled that only a handicap site would meet this need. So for the next two nights we will have a fire pit that was raised three feet off the ground, concrete instead of dirt under foot but a short walk through a dense seaside brush revealed sandy dunes and crashing waves. Later we would watch a fledgling surfer chase waves. These same sandy hills would later provide late night hi jinks and strained necks searching constellation filled skies.

First campsite located at Nehalem Bay State Park, Tawni's camper located bottom right.

DAT TWO:
Easy going morning, coffee, campfire set off with a bowl of muesli. Our plan for today was to get our toes wet in the world of crabbing. Earlier research was done and a facility nearby was chosen to introduce us to the world of shellfish hunting. Not being fully prepared (cooler left behind) we set sail so to speak. We pulled into the establishment, Jetty Fishery, and instantly were surrounded by fantastic sites of dilapidated sea implements, large tanks of oysters,clams, and crabs topped off by a shimmy sham of a shack with all the necessary items to spend the day on the sea. Sign us up! We sauntered in, took pictures and before you could say merganser, we had shellfish licences, measuring stick, crab ring, bait, beer, and a spot on the dock. And begin!


Bits and pieces of the Jetty Fishery...a good place to figure out the art of crabbing.


It's all in the toss of the ring, we call this position first string.



Make darn sure you measure beyond point to point and only keep the males!

Bait for the little buggers!

The most important implements for a fine day of crabbing are good collapsible chairs, cooler full o' beer, snacks, and good friends. If this is all in place then a fun filled afternoon is guaranteed. Remember two hours before and after high tide, and the Red Rock crabs have less meat so only keep the large ones....and I would still keep to the males, those female crabs are not fun to clean.


Some rest, some exercises, and some to catch the dinner!

Back at the camp the ever so tricky leveling of the camper takes place. A croquet course is set and the cleaning of the two large crabs we caught is prepared. A young man at the docks cleaned our largest, showing us the fine details of cleaning a crab including the delicacy of the crab heart. The devouring of our crabs was certainly a sight... four famished fiends, feasting feverishly over finely fresh Dungeness crabs. We stood hunched over the bowl of melted garlic butter divvying up pincers and cavity meat equally among the ravenous harvesters of shellfish.

Um....that sure does not look so good....skip it, lets eat some fresh steamed crab instead!
It just tastes better if you catch it.

And if that was not enough fun filled action for one day...later that night we trekked out to the beach and played a session of Spy Camp seaside style and lounged under the stars and told stories, snapped images and prolonged a full nights rest. We just couldn't get enough vacation this day. This perhaps was our longest day of adventure, we even invented a game called seek and find that was like rifle through the drawer but with a camping flair. Oh, and we also had a session of shadow puppet theater. Never did finish that game of croquet though.

goodnight.

DAY THREE:
For some reason we had decided the night before to get up early (crack of dawn) and catch the morning low tide to explore the world of clamming. The campground was still asleep when we hurried and broke camp. We sluggishly collapsed the tent, collected bottles, gathered chairs and plucked wickets out of the ground and readied for a hasty exodus. We all slurped coffee as we pulled away from Nehalem Bay. We were told of a spot where clams are plentiful. Bryan stopped to pick up a hand spade to aid in the digging. We soon found the area a couple towns down the 101. We were behind time as the low tide was concerned and we soon found ourselves up to our ankles in mud, muck, and myer. The tide was low but not enough. The empty bay was riddled in rocks and our little hand held shovel seemed just silly when faced with the hardened muck that protected the subterranean clams. We left with only myer on our legs and a new understanding for what to seek when clams are on the agenda. The rest of the morning/day found us driving south through the seaside towns that dotted the famous highway.

Susan rocking the ball knockers in our camp in Lincoln City.

DAY FOUR:
After a midnight meander of clam digging, our clothing, especially Alex's was ripe and stiff with layers upon layers of mud, muck, and myer. Our efforts found one another sticking our arms up to our shoulders in holes dug into the sand by our newly acquired contraption known as a clam gun. There is nothing like the sensation of being on ones knees, in the middle of the night, feeling ones way down a wet dark hole and grabbing shelled creatures that are trying to escape your grasp. We succeeded in a decent collection, Tawni jumping in and really going after those little buggers with much gusto. Bryan severed his finger with a pocket knife early on, sorry for your troubles. This morning clams were shucked, lobstrosities severed and we were off to a fine day in Newport that gave way to an outstanding afternoon of crabbing off Dock One next to the underwater garden in Newport.

Idahoans pose by Boiler Bay

Crabbing off Dock One, downtown Newport

DAY FIVE:
The Ferguson Family Reunion is upon us. A brief cloudburst the night before panicked Alex into throwing the camp chairs under the truck, Susan wowed by cooking up a seafood meddely and a quiet night by a smoldering fire made of Canadian wood was enjoyed. Saturday morning, and miles need to be put behind us as we are expected at the first annual Ferguson reunion a go-go.

Outline of dry footprint of tent.

Devils Churn and the area around might be the most beautiful stretch along the Oregon coast

We arrived at Bullards Beach Sate Park, outside of Bandon by the Sea in the afternoon. Soon we were greeted by family and re-introduced to the two lovely young ladies: Madeline and Genevieve, Alex's nieces that live in New York and hasn't seen in seven years. What fantastic girls. Over the next two days many a fun filled hours would be spent together, hiking, crabbing, photographing, laughing, and catching up. It was certainly a memorable time, one that we will cherish for many years to come. We hope that communication will improve among all the nieces and nephew (mischievous Mathew) and another get-together is on the horizon!

A picture says a thousand words!




"grin and bear it" and she did! Truly amazing.

DAY SIX:
A sluggish day for Alexander, crabbing with David, Susan and Bryan share fish & chips, waiting for the kids, the emergence of Jayde and Chrisie, Lydia tortured by her father, Tawni getting some R&R, Bryan cooking again and the formation of GOOD-SUPER-AWESOME!

Attack of the cherry eaters!

Bryan's pork tenerloin and Mathew giving some pointers in a game of ball knockers.

DAY SEVEN:
All great things must come to an end and the time to leave the coast and the Fergusons was upon us. We decided that a trip to the beach to explore tide pools would be a fitting setting to capture memories and give hugs. Checking our pocket guide to tides we tried to rally the gang in time to catch a bit of low tide. The sun high above and a cooling sea breeze from the west played host Curious examinations of sea life lead way to a digital capturing frenzy.


Mathew/Genevieve explore

Ferguson Foto Frenzy:

A Motley Crew

Then...poof we hit the road and left the coast and family behind, seeking quiet serenity away from campers, motor homes, and trailers. We found it east of Cottage Grove, at a sleepy little reservoir that is nestled in the foothills of the Cascades.

No neighbors, campers, trailers, motor homes, caravans, air streams, camp hosts. Nada is nice.

DAY EIGHT & NINE: and then some
If your still reading this congrats, yes this was quite a trip. The last two days we spent in and around our town of Silverton. We showed our friends all the sites, spent a night at Silver Falls State Park where we took in a hike and water falls. Many wonderful moments spent in the great outdoors. Oregon is tops when it comes to outdoor adventures, and we got a bit of everything it seems during our July trip with Tawni and Bryan. If your ever aching for a little nature with some good ol' friends, give us a ring and begin. Thanks for the memoreis, we love you Idahoans!





Wrapping up the trip at the Oregon Gardens. Can't wait to do it again! Until our next adventure...