Bandon by the Sea

Bullard's Beach State Park, just north of Bandon, is where we fell in love with Oregon, it's coast, and it's parks. We hiked and biked to the beach nearly everyday.

Our first day on the beach was like a dream. Everything was a new discovery...like these weird creatures.

This atmospheric halo stayed above us for most of the afternoon.

Click here for a video of the incredible sunset. Do it. It was stunning. 

Check out my Instagram for other photos of our travels that I don't post here.

Someone left their rock collection in the parking lot, I rearranged it.

 My hobbit, in a driftwood wizard hut we found on the beach

Face Rock

Sea stacks. That one in the middle is called the Wizard's Hat. The mist this day was so thick. It's not just in the distance, you can see it drift right up to you, and pass between your feet.

Bike ride to the Coquille River Lighthouse

North Jetty

Watching the waves, the weather, and seals.

Lighthouse from the south side

Cat and Kittens

Wizard hut party! This was the most impressive one we found, you could stand up inside.

The beaches are magical, and the State Park program is better than any I've seen. All of the infrastructure is so thoughtfully laid out, and has been well maintained throughout the years. There are almost always flush toilets, drinking fountains, and garbage/recycling cans available nearby. The Oregon State Park system seems to receive good funding and a lot of community support. Not since leaving home, had we found a state park system that topped Indiana! (sorry we skipped you California, I have a suspicion you'd do us proud) And not since leaving Indiana has it been so easy to find recycling facilities. 

The town of Bandon was fun too, very bike friendly, and just a short ride down the 101 from our campsite. There is a great city park with disc golf, and other neat shops, historic places, art and sculptures all over, and the coolest yarn shop ever.

We met up with some long lost family during our stay, and I somehow did not get any pictures (facepalm). I got a picture of this bike though...keg delivery!

Tracy picked us up and took us back to her beautiful historic home to meet her family. They treated us to dinner and drinks at 7 Devil's BrewCo, then out to watch the sunset at Shore Acres State Park. All around successful family reunion. Great minds! Another reason we never wanted to leave...did I mention we loved it here?

 Again, more pictures and videos on my instagram account. It's easier than blogging.

Tucumcari, New Mexico

Our stay in Tucumcari, NM was pretty perfect. It's a great little town to stop in if you're into rt. 66. It's a chill place with murals everywhere, some great neon specimens, and the best Mexican food I've ever eaten. I didn't spot any fast food chains, or strip malls in the whole town...how strange, and nice! It has a long and interesting history, including Spanish explorers and old Indian legends. It was once called Six Shooter Siding when the railroad came through.

This was our view of Tucumcari Mountain, the field had a couple longhorns and a bunch of bunnies running around in it. (sometimes out west, the sky looks strangely neon in pictures...not shopped!)

 Rule #7 at the Empty Saddle - Alcohol, drugs, explosives or guns will not be permitted or tolerated outside of your RV.

 The motel is gone, but the sign is preserved

The teepee curio is one of my favorites on 66. Kitsch, neon, funny building - check!

 We biked up and down rt 66 just about every day.

 This place was closed, so we followed directions

The Palomino doesn't light up anymore, but the cacti and mismatched upside-down slide letters almost make up for it.

Since we were last here in 2010, Tucumcari seems to have made improvements on preserving their rt 66 remnants. Some of the old deserted gas stations have been painted up with neat murals, and one dilapidated motor-lodge has been brushed-off a bit, and the office turned into a gift shop. The Blue Swallow was looking a bit shabby in 2010. I believe it had been recently purchased by the current owners, now they have the place cleaned up and looking nice.

2010 - check out "the blog that was never finished" to see other shots from the first time we came through town. 

I leave you with more neon, because.

OK!

After visiting a variety of state parks in the last few months, from Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Alabama, I've become quite the park system fangirl (and critic). I've found that state parks are a really good gauge for gaining insight to a state's political, social, and environmental values. (BIG differences from north to south) So after visiting Lake Murray SP in Oklahoma, (and wishing we had more time to visit their other parks) Oklahoma appears to be on top of their state park game.

Lake Murray SP is Oklahoma's largest and oldest state park, it was built by the CCC and WPA. It's BLUE.

The vegetation begins to get scrubby in Oklahoma, and the trees don't grow so tall. They even sway differently than we're used to...we're getting closer to the desert!

The rain finally stopped Monday evening and we were able to enjoy a week of lakeside camping with beautiful sunsets every single night.

Throughout the week we biked 40 miles around the lake, the hills are friendly but the wind is mean.

Oklahoma is also on top of their hand-painted sign game

I was so excited to finally visit a nature center! We have not seen one since leaving Indiana. The Tucker Tower nature center is beautifully designed and thoughtfully curated. It features half of a meteorite found in the park in the 1930's, which is the fifth largest meteorite found in the world! From there, it's a short hike up to Tucker Tower, which is full of CCC and WPA displays and memorabilia. *swoon* Oklahoma, you really know the way to my heart. Now if you could just install recycling facilities...another thing we haven't seen since Indiana.

We hit the road on Saturday, headed for Amarillo. Had to stop in Chickasha and eat a fried onion burger before leaving Oklahoma. This place, so much, so good. Didn't eat again until the next day.

Stopped on the walk back to gawk at the gorgeous art deco courthouse

Then,