5 Days on the Oregon Coast

The Oregon coast remains one of my very favorite places and I was excited to return with our friends. One of the two couples we were traveling with had never been to Oregon so we decided to hit the nature highlights of the coast such as Thor’s Well and Cook’s Chasm in between town explorations of Coos Bay and Newport where they did some shopping and antiquing.

First off however Tom and I made a midday stop at Arch Rock Brewing in Gold Beach while the others drove ahead to our campsites at Bullard’s Beach State Park because there was no way – and I do mean NO WAY – that I was going to miss out on drinking one of my two favorite beers in the whole world. Arch Rock’s Pistol River Pale was just as delicious as I remembered it from my last trip there in 2016 and though they now distribute throughout western Oregon I still cannot get it anywhere near New Mexico. I bought a case to go and then Tom and I settled in for a couple pints (and him some lunch) at the pub next door. Because it was windy and cold that day I had their State of Jefferson Porter for my second pint and oh my, I seriously thought about returning to the brewery and buy cans of that too but alas, there is a limit on the amount of beer you can travel in an RV with. Or so Tom says.

Our spots and Bullard’s Beach and South Beach State Park were all quite nice and, most importantly, connected via walkway and/or trails to the beach. Because it was out of season Allie and I were able to walk uninterrupted 3 or 4 miles each morning before anyone else was out and then another mile or two in the late evening. She also had midday beach romps with her best friend Magui and Hugo in between our group trips to see the sights so I would say she was also quite happy with our Oregon days too.
We humans did quite a bit of touristy town stuff as I mentioned above and I found myself enjoying the sidewalk strolls, though maybe not the shopping part as much. It was all new to me though since my previous trips were spent on beaches and on hikes. In any case, my friends indulged me by adding a brewery stop into these excursions so I was able to sample some (really tasty) new beers. Between the rugged beaches, rock formations, pine-forested hills, and the beer I do really think I could live on the southern Oregon coast sometimes, though probably not during tourist season.