Part III
The old North Bend proper, along 101, there are many antique and boutique shops. Liberty Theater is now closed, due to the virus. It is a beautiful preserved motion picture theater from the silent era. I attended stage shows there for many years. David Walker, news anchor on KVAL, was MC for many years at the Liberty Theater Good Old Opry. Keep an eye out for when it opens again – consider attending a show. North Bend is also famous for a huge log export yard with freighters throughout the world being loaded with NW logs.
Also, on the river, is one of the largest shippers of wood chips on the coast. The chips are destined for Korea and Japan, and made into paper, cardboard, and other paper products. I am frequently asked how the chips are made and what they are used for.
On day two of our excursion, we drove to Charleston, another home of large fishing fleets, Charleston is famous for crabbing and seafood cannery. We stopped at Qualman Oyster Farms, on the left-hand side of Cape Arago Highway. You will recognize it with the mountain of oyster shells. They currently have 285 acres of prime oyster beds, most of which are in the south slough, and they harvest 4-6.000 gallons of fresh oysters per year. It takes 24-30 months to raise a market oyster.
Many of the oyster beds can be seen from the bridge over the slough into Charleston. It is worth a few minutes time to learn the history of the oyster.
Continuing on the Cape Arago road, we come to Sunset Bay and Shore Acres. Look for a turnout for the Cape Arago Lighthouse is visible. There are several improved campgrounds along the road. Shore Acres is 745 acres of beautiful botanical gardens. It is an Oregon State park, and about 250,000 visitors enjoy it every year. It is on a picturesque bluff over the sea.
Louis Simpson, a lumberman and shipbuilder, built a summer home with large gardens, and it burned in 1921. He started a new two-story home, 240 feet long, and wanted to enlarge the gardens. The stock market loss of 1930 wiped out the cash flow and he abandoned his dream.
The state of Oregon took over the site in 1942 and has operated it ever since. The gardens are immaculate and a show place for anyone interested in beautiful shrubbery, trees, and flowers throughout the seasons. There are ponds and large fountains. They have one of the largest light shows in the west at Christmas. Volunteers and sponsors direct all 740 acres with automated whales, seals. It continues from Thanksgiving to the first of the year. There is ample parking, and a $5 parking fee is required. There is a trail leading down to the shore.
Just beyond Shore Acres is another turnout with a view overlooking large sea rocks, and often you will see seals, elephant seals and sea lions, along with many seabirds. Binoculars and a telephoto camera lens are recommended.
From here, back to 101, you can head south on the two-lane south and two-lane north divided road into Coos Bay. It is a lively community. Storefronts are filled, there is ample parking. Cross streets are one-way.
One of the highlights is the old Egyptian Theater. It goes back to the early 1900’s and has one of the largest pipe organs on the coast. It was recently refurbished. A highlight for Jean and I if we were attending organ concerts in the Egyptian Theater. It is one of the old original motion picture organs that has thundering hoofbeats, a single horse trot, a bugle sounding charge or recall, the sound of wagons rolling.
South of Coos Bay, at Fred Meyer, take a cross street and come back north. You are now along the Coos River and Coos Bay.
The Allegany River, a short 10-mile river, also runs into this bay. The south end of the boardwalk is a railroad museum, with old-time steam engines and other examples of logging railroad equipment. It is a beautiful concrete sidewalk (boardwalk) that follows the bay all the way to the coast guard station at the end of the boardwalk. There are many boats moored along here. If you are lucky, you may see a two-, three- or four-mast sailing ship. I have been fortunate to be in Coos Bay when there were three.
You have a choice on how to come home. Go south, five miles where Highway 101 forks with Highway 42, which follows the Coos River and you come into Coquille. Highway 42 is an excellent road, and comes into Interstate 5. Or you can go back to Reedsport and inland.
Consult maps, and read up on the area. Google has a great deal of information. There are so many things we drive by that we would enjoy, if we knew they were there.
