Once back on highway 101, we continued north going through numerous coastal communities. Bandon was the first..."Bandon By-The-Sea"...copycats! Back home, we have "Sidney By-The-Sea".
Next was Coos Bay...
We pulled over next to the railway museum for a quick rest break...
Then North Bend...
Entering Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area...
Looks like a little blue sky is trying to break through...
Next was Winchester Bay and then Reedsport...
...and Gardiner...
Finally, Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, just a few miles south of Florence...We stopped at the campground entrance kiosk and noted the full hookup sites that were available for 3 (or more) nights and then continued into Loop H. Although we don't plan on ATV'ing in the sand dunes, during "Discovery Season" (October 1 to April 30) you are allowed to access the dunes from your campsite in loop H. It also is the loop that has the largest sites...and most with full hookups. That's why we chose that loop.
It was shortly after noon and already loop H was busy...of course, it is Friday...obviously a popular ATV spot on weekends. Most sites were reserved but there were 3 first come-first serve sites and we managed to get the last one...site 354. During off season, full hookup sites are $22/night...nice!
Steve effortlessly backed into the rather tight spot. Unfortunately the sites are fairly close together but at least there is a nice strip of vegetation offering some privacy between each site.
We got all set up...with the exception of the satellite. After three attempts to get a signal through breaks in the trees, we gave up. I guess we will be without TV for the next three nights.
After a walk around the loop and depositing our payment fee at the registration kiosk (conveniently located in loop H so we didn't have to walk all the way back to the entrance), we relaxed for a bit inside. While on our walk, Steve took pictures of one of the many Yurts available for rent...They have a sky-light...
The OHV entrance to the dunes...
A sand rail for sale...
Just after 4:00 we headed outside, Steve set up the campfire-in-a-can while I got the chairs out...time for happy hour.
While sitting enjoying the campfire, we started talking about the problem getting a satellite signal and Steve mentioned an app for the iPad. Apparently after entering your location and name of your satellite, you can just hold up the iPad and through the camera it will show you your satellite position and if you have a clear line of site. So after researching various options, we purchased and downloaded an app to our iPad.
Of course, we had to try it out and it indicated a spot where there was a slight break in the trees that we might be able to get a signal. So we gave it another try...and managed to get a signal! It's not a strong enough signal to get all the HD channels but at least we get most of the channels.
It was going on 7:00 by this time, so we "called it a night" and headed inside for dinner...and a little TV. We're looking forward to exploring this area tomorrow.
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