Our Last Day on the Oregon Coast

For our last day on the coast we took it pretty easy. We slept in, spent a little time reading, then got up, showered, dressed and had breakfast. At 9:00am we drove to Old Town in Florence to meet Heron A Foot (HAF). There was a miscommunication and we ended up at different coffee shops - there are two within a few blocks of each other. Luckily HAF realized that we were probably at the wrong one and she came over and met us. So we had coffee and a very nice visit. We did our exchanges and just talked about letterboxing on the coast. When we decided to go out to find some boxes HAF accompanied us. Our first stop was atop a very tall hill where they have radio towers. I guess usually there is a gate blocking the road but today it was open. So we drove right up to the area. It took me a little time to find the letterbox because some numbers that I needed to find were no longer there. I eventually found the box with a little clue from HAF. It was a really nice stamp that went with the area. I enjoyed the area. The views were really nice and we could see quite a bit. We headed back down the road and made our way to Odd Fellows Cemetery. This was a neat cemetery. Not very manicured but taken care of - it was also spread out a little bit. We walked around and HAF told us the story of the cemetery while we hunted for the box. It took a little work and some encouragement from HAF to finally locate the box. I stamped in while we talked about the cemetery and then rehid the box. Since we were on the south side of the bridge we decided to go to the South Jetty Dunes to find a sandworm. We parked and walked the trail to the dunes. Following the clues we stayed along the rim. We had some great views of the dunes from where we were. I followed the clues and found the box without much trouble. I stamped in and then rehid the box. It was a great stamp and I enjoyed seeing the dunes that inspired Frank Herbert. At this point we drove back to the coffee shop so that HAF could get her car and then we were going to find one more box and then get some lunch. So we went to a bookstore to find the next box. This box was inspired by "Sometimes a Great Notion" by Ken Kesey. HAF followed us there because the log book was full and she needed to take it home to add more pages but she wanted to wait until I stamped into it. So I entered the bookstore and looked around for the box. It was a clever hide and I loved the stamp. After stamping in I gave the log book to HAF and then Thomas and I said our goodbyes and went to look for something to eat. We ended up at a place called Restobar 1285. We had some spaghetti and relaxed for a little while.

After lunch we wanted to find four more boxes and then call it quits for the day. So we headed to a rubberstamping and scrapbooking store to get the next box. We ran into HAF again and she made a little comment that made it easier to find the box. I sat at a table and stamped in, then picked up a couple of new markers and then we were on our way. Next we headed for a pull-out on Hwy 126 for a box called The Mighty Wakonda (also inspired by Ken Kesey's "Sometimes a Great Notion"). From where the box was placed you had a view across the river to Cox Island and the remains of the Bennedict House. After finding the box, stamping in and then rehiding the box we drove back into Florence. And this time headed to Heceta Beach. We took a short quarter mile walk along the beach to find a box (unfortunately it was a store bought stamp) and we didn't waste time at the spot. We did take a little time to walk the beach - the tide was pretty low and there was a fog rolling in. The visibility out to the ocean was pretty limited for a while then the fog rolled out and it was beautiful, but only for a few minutes and by the time we got back to the car the fog was back and it looked as though a storm was coming. From here we drove to the North Jetty and found a box that had been planted to celebrate the father's 40th birthday. It was a pretty easy find and I didn't waste time stamping in because it was pretty windy and foggy. I got the box back into place and then Thomas and I went for our last box of the day and the last box for us on the Oregon Coast. We arrived at the Public Library and located what we needed to be able to get this box. It was the second box related to Dune and it was a great box and stamp. It was hidden in the Frank Herbert Room at the library. They have a great collection of his books and other things from his personal library - these were donated to the library by his children. It was a great way to end our letterboxing on the coast. And thanks to Heron A Foot for sharing our day and placing such great boxes that we were able to find. We made it an early evening and have gotten things ready to drive to Portland tomorrow.