We're on the move again! We left Harris Beach in the late morning and headed north to Bullards Beach State Park. We made a brief stop for lunch and to pick up some bread from a tiny bakery (literally in a shed in someone's yard) before finishing up our drive. When we arrived we unpacked our camp and took the dogs for a short walk before heading out on an exploratory bike ride.
The state park is just north of the river, and we were able to ride along the river for a bit before turning south toward the Coquille River Lighthouse. The road along the beach was extremely windy! Our ride south was easy with a bit of a helping hand behind us. We haven't done much riding in the dunes before and the view was very pretty, with lots of scrub growing in the sand and the sound of the waves crashing just to the west of us. We did a quick stop at the lighthouse before turning back toward our campsite. The road north was much more challenging as we rode into the wind. Despite the flat terrain it felt like we were pedaling up a very steep hill.
Eventually we made it back to camp for dinner, boardgames, and some reading before bed. The campsite is well protected from the wind, so we had no problems with anything blowing away once we got back to our site.
Our second day at Bullards Beach included more fun, more adventure, and most importantly, more biking! We had a lovely breakfast in the trailer, downed our coffee, and packed up the truck to head to the Whiskey Run mountain biking area. Dad elected to ride his bike to the park for a little extra time in the saddle. The route wove through the Bandon Dunes golf resort, which provided plenty of low traffic flat roads with very pretty views (unless you don't like looking at golf course grass). The Whiskey Run park had plenty of green (beginner) mountain biking trails to check out, and Remy was an absolute professional riding over the bumps and roots, navigating the tight turns, and using his brakes effectively. We had a good time on The Snag (trail name), before heading across the highway to check out Dirty Dishes and Sir Lance-A-Lot. Remy enjoyed all of the funny trail names. Eventually we hit a section that seemed a bit unsafe for small riders and headed back to the car. Dad skipped the drive again and went back on an alternative route through Bandon.
We've seen a surprising amount of wildlife at Bullards Beach, including a troupe of wild turkeys. The males seem to be pining for attention as they are always waddling around with all of their feathers stuck out as far as possible. We noticed Mom blushing and batting her eyes at one so it must be effective.
After lunch we leashed up the dogs and head out on the beach trail to check out the waves. The trail is sand for the entire mile+ from our campsite, which makes for soft but slow walking. There is a section with a boardwalk through a marsh, and here we saw something that we've never seen anywhere on any of our other trips. The marsh water (which appears to be somewhat seasonal) was absolutely filled with salamanders. Most of the salamanders that we have seen have been shy, but these little fellas were swimming about and bumping into each other like we weren't even there. Emma was so distracted she backed up and fell off of the boardwalk into the marsh.
We did a short beach walk but it started to rain so we headed back. It rained for the entire return trip and everyone was a bit wet. Luckily we have towels for the dogs and dry clothes for the humans. After a quick change it was back in the truck for a trip into town. We walked through old town Bandon, checked out the toy store, got ice cream at the fudge shop, picked out some earrings at a gallery, has a beer sampler at the brewery, and eventually settled on dinner at the sushi restaurant. A few minutes into dinner everyone remember that Dad has class on Thursdays so we scarfed our food, did a quick pass through the seafood market, and headed back to the campsite for a relaxing evening.
Dad's Restroom Review
Oregon State Parks have some of the nicest bathrooms of any state park I've ever encountered. I always look forward to our stops in Oregon for this very reason! The bathrooms at Bullard Beach were no exception! While not overly fancy, they are functional and well maintained. I'd personally call them spacious, as there is plenty of real estate available for bathroom buildouts. The showers are separated from the restroom, which of course benefits both those taking a shower and those using the bathroom. One strange quirk is that the bidets are in an extremely uncomfortable spot. Beggars can't be choosers I suppose.
4/5 flushes.
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