Life In Coos Bay

September 2002-June 2003 

Seven Devil's Beach

Nothing beyond capriciousness brought us to this small community on the southern Oregon coast. After spending the summer just a little north of here and liking life by the ocean, we decided to settle in with full hookups on Cape Arago Highway, half way to Charleston from Coos Bay. The bay is approximately 200 yards from our door but we don’t see it directly from the RV due to a thick mass of tall fir trees.  

          Claming beach across from RV park

The bay is a barometer of the weather and the wind and it’s endlessly fascinating to watch the changes in color and water depth as the tide runs back and forth. The bay has also presented us with so many good things to eat, from several types of clams and cockles, to those famous Dungeness crab we’ve become so fond of. 

              The bay and old fishing docks                                   Skitter watching me clean cockles

In the fall, we had a visit from fulltiming friends Dave & Barbie, and spent some time in one of Oregon’s best state parks, Sunset Bay, just down the road from Charleston.

          Playing Mexican Train with the Jenkins                            The end of the road, Cape Arago

         Sunset Bay State Park Campground                                            Sunset Bay beach

The park is free for day use, which includes some easy shoreline hiking trails, picnic areas, and an offshore reef for whale and sea lion watching.

        Cape Arago Lighthouse from hiking trail                                 Sea Lion and whale watching

                Simpson reef sea lions                                                             More sea lions

It’s become a favorite ride for Marc & I on our motorcycles, where we pack a picnic of crab and sit on the bluff watching the waves crash below us. After a lengthy scramble down the bluff, it’s possible at very low tides to explore some of the best tide pools we’ve ever found.  

                     In the tide pool                                                                Purple urchins

It’s also a place to photograph the unique, as seen in these pictures of the shore line rocks and their other-worldly forms created by wave action.  

                           Fantastic forms       

                Log table found in Bandon

Life is rich in this community by the sea, but the town isn’t. The economy has lost its stability and former masters, commercial fishing and logging and there’s been very little to take their place.

                  Historic Coos Bay bridge

Coos Bay remains a retail hub but unemployment is high and wages are low. Not the best situation for a thriving environment and so the struggle is worn on the population like a cloak, often times hiding the good.

                   Downtown Coos Bay

           Beautiful Topits Park in Coos Bay

 We notice great disparity between the down and out appearance of Coos Bay and the hectic beehive of activity and new building in Bend. Bend is growing; this town is withering.

     North Bend has seen better days

Many families have left town and Rachael has enjoyed one of the lowest student to teacher ratios she’s ever encountered at her marvelous high school solidly built in the 1950’s when there was money in this town.  

                   Marshfield High School

Our good has been that the high school will graduate Rachael a year early, easing our departure by June. We’re already making preparations as our countdown nears only 84 days.  

We’ll miss living by the sea. I’ll miss the moistness in the air that makes it so easy to breathe, the sea breeze that always delights me with its smell, and the way the sun looks like molten steel reflected on the bay as I drive home from work. I’ll miss the gulls and the way flowers bloom here all year long. But miss Coos Bay? No, probably not. Trying to make a living on the Oregon coast has not been fun. It’s time for other adventures.