Circling

Today was just one day we set aside for the object of our desire here in Bandon. We came here as a get-away to celebrate our birthdays. The Circles in the Sand project was just an excuse. As it turns out, it was a good one. Backing up to yesterday evening, we went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. We had a nice window seat where we could watch the sunset.

This morning, nothing would do until we got Smitty out for a walk. Oh. My. Gosh. The whining he did!

Sometimes he's shy about getting out, but he had all night to think about it, and he only balked a little bit at putting on his harness. Outside, he headed straight for some grass he'd been eyeballing and had a good long munch of it.

Mostly, we hung out by these blooming hostas. This part of the campground is pretty much abandoned, and so it's a good kitty-walking zone.

Poor little Sadie so wishes she could get out, but she's just too crazy. After we nearly lost her in North Dakota, her walking days were over for good.

It's okay though. While we're outside, she snuggles down on her daddy's lap.

After breakfast, we headed out to find the Circles in the Sand. This is the place.

Across the street from the park sign was this one, and so we knew we were in the right place.

From the parking lot, we could see it.

We decided to head down the stairs to the beach. Just follow me, but mind your manners. Here are all the ways you can die out here.

We walked down these stairs to get there. It wasn't bad getting up again. All in bloom there on the left are Scotch Broom. They're ubiquitous in Oregon, and they're pretty when they bloom. They are notorious for causing hay fever, though, and yes, we've both been putting drops in our itchy eyes.

Down on the sand, we first came to this circle where visitors were invited to write a message using those chopsticks you see there.

Well, sure! Don't mind if I do!

This is Denny Dyke, the man responsible for this event. He was showing folks how he draws the labyrinths.

He explained that this is best done following a good high tide and then a good low tide. The highest of tides will wash the beach clean, and then, of course, the lowest of low tides provides the largest canvas.

If the sand is too wet, it won't hold the drawings.

If it's too dry, the blowing sand covers it up. He draws the labyrinths by drawing a single line first, and then fills in the rest. Someone else does the drawings.

Someone else deposits little rocks and shell surprises at the centers of some of them.

My shadow self liked this one.

Mike's shadow self was more interested in seeing the lighthouse.

You can get an idea of the immensity of these in the image below.

Here, there was a long and large message that said: "Our memories of the ocean will linger on long after our footprints are gone."

Look at Face Rock in the image above, and you'll notice there is a cave in the middle...more than one, actually. I tried to get a picture of the interior, but wasn't able to. In order to get inside, one had to traverse a trench of water approximately four feet across and at least knee deep.

To the right of where I was standing was another hole in another large outcropping. We could walk through this natural bridge to the other side.

Mike and I have lived in Oregon for nearly 41 years, and we've never visited this area, although we've been to Bandon before. It was quite a surprise, and it made us wonder why we'd never heard of it before now.

Of course, I took pictures of every blooming thing. In the bright sunshine, a lot of my images were blown out, unfortunately. I have a few to show you, however. These looked a lot like Lily of the Valley, but I don't think they are.

Here's another shot of the Scotch Broom lining the stairway and covering the cliff side.

From there, we visited a quilt shop. I'll tell you more about that in a separate post. After the quilt shop, we wanted to visit the lighthouse. As it turns out, the lighthouse is right here in the park. We just drove beyond the campground a couple of miles. Along the way, we saw these wild turkeys. We saw them yesterday too.

I like this guy with the sun shining through his wattle. They were gobbling too. So funny to hear them.

A little further on, we found the lighthouse. The large numbers you see here and also at the Face Rock Wayside indicate the location along the Oregon coast. If there is an emergency, you can pinpoint your location for first responders by telling them the number. And we don't want any emergencies today, so please take note of just a few of the ways you could die here.

There's the lighthouse. It has been shut down for decades, but the land was purchased and the lighthouse restored back in the 1970's.

Here's the information about it:

The lighthouse is located where the Coquille River flows into the Pacific Ocean. The jetty is more than a century old.

In the image below, you can see the jetty, and I've indicated the electric light that replaced the lighthouse. There were men fishing from the jetty.

From there, we headed back to the RV, and I got a picture of these little guys. They are about the size of a dime.

And now, we're just vegging out in the RV...it's the best part of RVing...enforced do-nothingness.

Our plan is to visit the Circles exhibit again tomorrow since it will be different then. Tomorrow is Mike's birthday, and so I'll be making him his favorite Eggs Benedict. We're also planning to get out and walk around the little town of Bandon. I'll say more about that tomorrow, and I'll get back to you with a post about the quilt shop later today or tomorrow....or Wednesday...one never knows when one is forced to do nothing.

Edited to say I'm linking up to Whims and Fancies Wandering Camera.