And the final super fun road trip wrap up! Yesterday was my actual birthday, amid a whole week of birthday-ness. I decided Celebrating for a week is so great, next year I will celebrate for a month! January is birthday month!

We started the day in Bandon with an early coastal fog that quickly yielded to bright sun. Our first stop was the Coquille River Lighthouse north of Bandon, which was built in 1895. It sits on a rock ledge on the shore, buffetted by wind and sand and ocean debris. There was an interpretive sign there just for my birthday – “with age comes beauty”

I was feeling kind of tired and road weary (hmmm how could that be?). We were headed for Florence a short 90 minutes away, and we thought we’d route west to explore some more beaches, parks and lighthouses. But as we drove I realized I really needed a break. We were almost to the beach so we just headed to the nearest one, a little county park called Bastendorff Beach. It was a really sweet and beautiful beach with a nice campground and even a couple of cabins. The whole area is beautiful, with a huge area of tidal estuaries where I’d like to return with a kayak. We just chilled for a while, letting the surf lull our tired selves.

From there we routed north into Coos Bay for lunch, and detoured to a historic marker. This point along the water was called Hollering Place because the villages of Qaimisiich at now Coos Bay and El-ka-titc on the spit to the west were close enough to call across the bay for a canoe ride – hence the translation of El-ka-titc, “Hollering Place.” I love gritty working towns and I’ll put this one on my list to return for more exploring.

Traveling northward on 101 we paused at the historic community of Gardiner on the north bank of the Umpqua River. Fewer than 250 people live there now, and housing is a mix of pre-1900 two stories and dog eared mobile homes. Gardiner was founded in 1850 when a Boston sailor ran aground and couldn’t free his ship, so they salvaged goods and materials from the ship and began to build the town.

What caught my eye was the cemetary. It is built on a hillside in a series of terraces dating to the mid 1800s. Headstones cling to the slope, tucked into squares resembling garden patches. Many of the deceased died in the 1800s but the actual headstones are much more recent, from the past couple of decades. I wondered if the cemetary was damaged and headstones were replaced but I couldn’t find any information like that.

Our hotel in Florence was such a welcome sight. After a brief rest we went across the Siuslaw River to the “old town” area to wander through shops and have a birthday dinner. And that was it for us. Birthday was in the books.

Friday morning we were headed home, and we decided we needed one more bit of fun. I felt like my hiking legs were feeling recovered and we wanted to explore the coast range since we don’t often get that far south. I found two small hikes only a mile apart, about a half hour off the highway.

The first one. Sweet Creek Trail. Wowza!!! Oh my gosh, I don’t think I’ve said “ooooh. Wow, look!” So much in a mile, ever. The hike report said it features a waterfall but that’s wrong. It features at least 20 waterfalls! The creek just spills and tumbles and roars it’s way past, dropping over low rock plates and steep jumbles of stone. At the end was “the” waterfall, a tall one cascading down in tiers.

What’s more, the trail had multiple steel bridges cantilevered out from the sheer rock wall of the creek canyon. The fun factor, the scenery factor, the waterfall factor, the unique and interesting factor, all amazing. This rocketed right up to my list of top favorite hikes.

And one more thing. The bathroom at the trailhead wins the award for MOST rolls of toilet paper. I’ll lay it down right here… I challenge anyone to find a bathroom with more tolls of toilet paper than this one!

We wondered how the second hike could possibly measure up. Beaver Creek Falls Trail was shorter, just a half mile in, and it was a more gentle stroll through a forested trail above the creek. At the end was another waterfall. A broad one with water dropping over ledges from creeks in two directions into a deep pool. Definitely worth adding!

From there we were on the road home. Such a fun week and a special birthday. Thank you for following along!