Spring Break Road Trip

I want to take a momentary break from the Heceta Head Lighthouse project and do a post about my current travels during Spring Break.  I usually take some sort of road trip at this time of the year because I am free from kid duties for the week.  This year I am missing my youngest daughter's birthday trip to Disneyland due to my overloaded schedule and taking a huge road trip all over the tri-state area.

From Base Camp in Portland I travel 5 hours south,

Downtown Canyonville

My travels the next day started to Canyonville which is a couple of miles past Roseburg in southern Oregon.  The town is currently known for its Seven Feathers Casino. But the downtown is rather sleepy and depressed from economic stress.  From Canyonville I drive over the mountain towards Crater Lake to Casey State Park where there is a small ranger station needing some window repair.  On the way I ran across a beautiful herd of elk. 

 

Elk herd near Tiller, OR.

Casey State Park is located on the Rogue River and is a hotspot for fly fishermen.  Its a stunning place that is quiet and the air is crisp and clean.  Quite refreshing from the dirty air and racket of Portland.

Rogue River

Here is the little ranger station that needs a little bit of sash help.  Built in the early 1900s for the US Forest Service and recently given to State Parks.  It has since been incorporated into the Casey State Park complex.  

Ranger Station

After removing three sash for restoration I was on my way back across the mountain to the freeway and onto Hwy 42 to the south coast.  Hwy 42 is one of my least favorite routes to the coast.  The two lane road is windy and treacherous in rainy weather.  Truckers prefer this route so 2 out of 3 vehicles is a semi and they don't seem to follow the posted speed limit.  

I reached Bandon in one piece and set about my work at Bullard's State Park.  Last year vandals attempted to break into the empty Coquille River Lighthouse.  They severely damaged one of the sash but were unable to get into the building.  Partly due to the thick laminated glass in the new windows.  Look at this previous post for info about this lighthouse and the work I have done there.

Early morning on the southern Oregon Coast.

Port Orford off in the distance.

Next day was a short trip south to Arizona Beach State Park.  It was here that I was to pick up some Monterey Cypress for the building of a couple of storm shutters.  On the way back to Bandon I stopped off at a couple of state parks to see how things were.  And plus it was fabulous weather with no wind which is a rarity.  

Next up:  530 steps and a pioneer cemetery at one of the windiest places on Earth.