After another night of relentless rain in Trinidad, CA we packed up and made our way to Bandon, OR. The drive to Bandon was very interesting. Besides rain we were subjected to high winds and road construction, due to the road having washed away last month.

At one point, as we went over a bridge, it felt like the RV was pushed sideways by the wind. It was a little unnerving. When we stopped at an overlook near Gold Beach I found out just how windy it was. As I opened the door of the motorhome the wind slammed it open and forcefully pulled me outside. Imagine a funny caricature where a person is holding onto something in strong winds and their feet are off the ground as they are blown sideways and you’ll have a good idea of my situation. I was still determined to get a picture of the coastline though, for whatever reason in the wind and rain. As I walked away from the RV the wind blew my eyeglasses off my face and across the parking lot. That was the last straw. I made my way back to the RV and ended up taking a photograph through the windshield of the RV, just for memory sake.

We would have liked to stop by Cape Blanco State Park and tour its lighthouse, but as you can imagine, it was not a good day for that. We continued onward, along Oregon’s coast, to Bandon for a 4-night stay at Bullards Beach State Park.

After parking the RV in our spacious site we headed over to the historic downtown area of Bandon. It is small, but full of quaint restaurants and shops.

We stopped by a fabulous chocolate boutique called Chocolate Mist (http://coastalmist.com/). We usually pass by these types of stores but this one had been recommended by fellow travel bloggers Kevin and Laura from Chapter3Travels (https://www.chapter3travels.com/). We are so happy that we took their advice. All of the chocolate at this store is made on-site and everything we tried was fabulous! In fact, it was so good that we were compelled to revisit the store.

Their coffee, roasted locally, is also fabulous. During our first visit we tried out their signature chocolate dessert. It is absolutely divine! The chocolate mousse just melts in your mouth.

After our indulgence of chocolate and caffeine we drove along the coastline on the edge of town. There are numerous rock formations along Bandon’s coast. This is a primary reason as to why I chose this location for a visit. I was hoping to get some beautiful sunset photos. That was not to be the case though. This is what it looked like on our first day.

One evening we had a little clearing, but not a full sunset.

We also got a little clearing one morning so we spent a couple of hours walking around the beach area, amongst the rock towers.

We checked out the tide pools and found some colorful starfish.

If you are wondering how these rocks were formed, I’ll summarize a plaque that is located at the Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint:  Scientists believe a history of earthquakes, volcanoes and erosion along the Oregon Coast contributed to the formation of these rocks. Rocks from volcanic activity moved along the Earth’s crust and were pushed deep underneath the continental plate. Under great pressure, they were uplifted and exposed. Certain rocks resisted erosion and formed these rocks.

Beautiful wildflowers were in full bloom along the coast.

Back at the State Park we drove down to the beach area. I’m amazed as to how many trees wash up on shore. I was wondering where they all came from until I looked up the river and saw a number of trees floating towards the ocean. I imagine there are always trees falling along the rivers, especially this year with so much rain and wind.

At the end of the beach is the Coquille River Lighthouse, built in 1896. I always enjoy checking out lighthouses, and the Oregon coast has a good number of them.

There were a couple of nice birds near our campsite.

One afternoon we drove up to Sunset Bay State Park. The coastline is gorgeously rugged in this area.

There is a fantastic hike along the coast, but with all of the recent rain it was extremely muddy. We tried to hike it, but gave up after sinking into the mud numerous times. Regardless, we enjoyed the sights we were able to see at the vehicle pullouts.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Bandon. It is a beautiful area that we hope to return to one day.