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Friday, May 20, 2016

Fabulous Morning in Bandon

(Continuing the recap of my late April trip to Bandon and the Southern Oregon coast....)

I learned the first lesson of yurt rental that Friday night - never get a yurt over a weekend at a popular campground.  Bullards Beach State Park had six yurts for rent - all clustered close together in what they called a "village."  Upon returning to camp after photographing the sunset, I discovered I had several noisy neighbors.


Coquille River Lighthouse

It appeared members of the same family had rented at least three of the available yurts, all directly adjacent to mine.  Besides having lots of shrieking kids (yes, I'm a mom and I know kids will be kids, but these were especially loud) the adults stayed up way past midnight, drinking and talking at full volume.  Needless to say, it wasn't a very relaxing night's sleep.


Morning beach view

Waking before 7 am the following morning, I had about 30 minutes of peace and quiet before the neighbor kids arose and resumed their screaming.  Time to go explore the beach!


Looking towards Elephant Rock

I began my morning with a drive out to the Coquille River Lighthouse.  Located across the Coquille River from Bandon, this small, but charming structure sits at the base of a rocky jetty.  Although no longer in service, and only intermittently open to the public, it makes a nice photo subject.


House with an amazing view

After getting a few lighthouse images, I drove into Bandon and discovered a small parking area on a bluff just south of the jetty.  Several local trails led walkers and runners down to the beach or along the clifftop.  The views back towards the Coquille River were especially nice.


Fab morning light on the seastacks

Then I drove back to Face Rock Wayside.  I discovered excellent morning light illuminating the shoreline.  Excitedly, I grabbed my camera, and headed down to ocean level.


Blue sand reflections

It was a beautiful morning for a walk on the beach.


Morning beach walk

Wet sand reflected the blue sky overhead.  Frothy waves crashed on nearby rocks.  Seagulls glided overhead.


Shorebirds

Not only the wide sweeping coastline panoramas, other small details also got the attention of my camera lens.  A small group of shorebirds searching for food in the wet sand against the bright blue water.


Lovely purple shell

And this incredibly lovely purple-hued shell.


Bird reflection

Some of the seastacks cast reflections in the wet sand, and I busied myself trying to capture a few abstract views.


Seastack reflecions

Finally, climbing back up the wooden staircase to the parking lot, I stopped to take in the amazing ocean vistas from on top of the bluff.


View from Face Rock Wayside

Gorse flowers were blooming prolifically along the cliff faces.


Gorse bloom

These bright yellow flora made a stunning backdrop to the blue ocean below.


Lovely colorful beach view

Still having some time before lunch, I headed back to Coquille Point.  I'd enjoyed watching the sun set there last night, and decided the place needed a bit more exploration.


Elephant Rock

Many large seastacks sat a short distance from the beach.  Elephant Rock, one of the largest, was especially interesting, as it was shaped similar to a large-eared elephant.  Hundreds of seabirds nested on it's flat top.


Delicate white wildflowers

Since I didn't have time to explore the blufftop trails the prior night, I took the opportunity to check them out now.  I found several varieties of flowers blooming in the grassy slopes, such as these delicate white ones (which I didn't know the name of).


Seabirds on Elephant Rock

Then I spied a small patch of purple peeking out from the beach grass.


Wild Iris

Wild iris!  One of my favorite wildflowers!


More iris blossoms

I love these vivid, purple beauties.  Hoping to catch their blooming season, I felt like I'd hit the wildflower jackpot.


Colorful beach scene

I spent the rest of the morning wandering about Coquille Point's trail system, capturing as many iris as I could.  (Yes, there's quite a few iris images posted here, but you should've seen how many I started with!)


Great morning to be on the coast!

A hugely successful morning for beach photography!  With a full memory card and empty tummy, I now set my sights on Bandon's downtown boardwalk, hoping to score a bowl of clam chowder.

In my next post, I'll continue the day's recap - with another lighthouse visit and more fabulous sunset shots.  You won't want to miss it!


Sharing with:  Floral Friday Fotos and Weekend Reflections

38 comments:

  1. What a great set of coastal images. Love lighthouses and the Oregon shorelines are breathtakinlgy gorgeous.

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  2. What a gorgeous spot, the lighthouse is the frosting on the cake!

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  3. Hello Linda, these are fabulous photos. Sorry about the loud kiddies! The views of the coastline, beaches and the seastacks are lovely. I enjoyed seeing the shorebirds and gulls. Th wildflowers are beautiful, the irises are my favorites too. Awesome post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend.

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  4. Wonderful series. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Too bad about the loud kids! But the photos are amazing. What a gorgeous area.

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  6. Great scenery and lovely wild Iris!

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  7. Linda, this is such a gorgeous and magnificent series! I love the water, and the beauty and reflection in your water photos are phenomenal! :)

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  8. WHat a very pleasent place to visit, not sure I would want to leave

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  9. What fantastic scenery. But I must admit that thoughtless neighbors in campsites or hotels really annoy me.

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  10. Astonishing scenery and I love that Lighthouose

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  11. You got some great photos in spite of very annoying neighbors.

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  12. Exquisite captures, Linda!
    (Noisy neighbors would drive me bonkers)

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  13. Your beach walk captured so beautifully.

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  14. Every time I see photos of this part of your coastline I'm amazed at the wonderful light. Perhaps I've only seen the works of talented photographers, and, looking at these, you would be top of the class. Every one of these is just lovely. Love the sea-stacks, the reflections, the gorgeous irises.

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  15. These are some great shots! My mouth fell open a bit as I scrolled through them--I could have taken the same shots here in New Zealand! We even have an 'elephant rock'! The little flowers are wild onions (allium trique) and we have them, too!

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  16. What an awesome coast you get to explore! The pictures of the ocean from the top of the bluffs are absolutely amazimg! And the Irises are great too.

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  17. I like lighthouses almost as much as fire lookouts!

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  18. The iris are so beautiful... isn't it odd that we don't have these on the Washington coast? Love the shots of the coast, especially the reflections in the sand, and that bright blue sky.

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  19. Hi! I looked both your this and former posts. The sea scenery photos are very beautiful and impressive. It's fantastic to see the seashores with wild flowers. Your reflection photo is very cool too. Thanks for sharing.

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  20. Nice series - my favorite is the isolated iris

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  21. Beautiful photos of Bandon beach area which I enjoy so much. The iris with beach in the background is so pretty. 19 and 20. Glad you had a good time away and garnered lots of photos to revisit whenever you wish! Happy weekend!

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  22. I truly enjoy your stunning photographs. Such wonderful scenery so well captured. I didn't think you could get clam chowder outside of New England? ;)

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  23. Beautiful photos! I cannot identify that wnite Wildflower for you, but I sure enjoyed the photos of the Iris:)

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  24. What a great looking place - may have been worth getting up early for!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  25. Uma praia maravilhosa e fotografias fantásticas.
    Gostei bastante.
    Um abraço e boa semana.

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  26. Love the photos - hate you! haha I so miss my May trip to the coast this year but you certainly brought it back to me to see. Haven't spent any time at Bandon so will have to see about that next trip!

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  27. So sorry that your yurt experience was so noisy, and that can be so irritating when people have no respect for a place of nature or their yurt neighbors. Wednesday would probably be a better day for quiet, but glad that you did see so much amazing beauty on the beach. Love your photos, and that light house is so lovely! I was fascinated that you have also traveled to some of the places that I am sharing in Germany. It is truly a beautiful place, and I hope to go back one of t these days. We did enjoy our tours with local people who were so conversant with the history of these places.

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  28. I love the reflection of the sea stacks in the water and the beautiful array of wildflowers. I also love to take photos of lighthouses...there is something quite steadfast and alluring about them. I'm sad your yurt stay was less than ideal. Sometimes parents let children have too much freedom...sigh

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  29. Sorry the yurt didn't work out the way you expected, but your photos are simply spectacular, especially the coast and the wild iris. Delightful! :-)

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  30. You hit the jackpot with those Wild Iris growing on the bluff overlooking the sea! I would have been hyperventilating at seeing those gorgeous rocky outcroppings. I love the reflections on the wet sand. Unfortunately, those children are learning bad behavior from their parents - too bad about your Yurt experience.

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  31. Lovely section of coastline. Had no idea you had curlews (or whimbrels) in the USA, a bird of coastal marshes and open moors here with its evocative mournful call, a sure sign of wild places. Long Billed Curlews up the western coast looking at an online map. Great sea stacks.

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  32. A shame about your neighbours but the beauty of the area, well and truly makes up for them.

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  33. Wonderful shots of a stunning place, Linda!
    Thank you for joining us at the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

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  34. The views are just stunning. Capturing people in front of the rocks really gives a sense of the rock size.

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  35. Incredible beauty! The reflection shots are my favourite!

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  36. Too bad about your noisy neighbors. The scenery is lovely though!

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  37. Beautiful! You had a perfect day on the beach after a less than perfect night.

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