June, 2020

Last Logbook Entry  � for previous day

6/15:  This report is a work in progress.  We've come to Bandon, Oregon to spend about three weeks on the coast.  In more or less typical Oregon fashion, the weather has been horrendous for the first six days.  Supposedly it's going to improve tomorrow.  (It didn't).

The Fishing

Fly fishing for surf perch has been an exercise in futility so far, and I suspect it will remain that way for the rest of our stay here.  It's hard to find deeper holes at any tide or other places along this raging shore where those fish might be hanging out, and casting into the relentless wind is an exercise in futility.  Have tried the beaches at high tide, mid tide, and low tide.  Minus tides get me to some spots where it appears fish could be working, but nothing I've thrown in the water has done any good.

Trying for rock fish or greenling off the jetty is out too.  Relentless high winds have made the waves hitting the rip rap too dangerous to get close to the water.  Another complete bust.

Did an overnighter camp out after driving up along the Rogue and Illinois Rivers, but with the exception of near tidewater on the Rogue, access to bank fishing is almost impossible.  Some sections of the Sixes and Elk Rivers were fishable but saw nothing but tiny smolt in both basins.  Supposedly decent holdover trout exist in the upper reaches of both these streams, but I saw nothing of size in either place.  So let's face it, the fishing was a washout on this trip.

Everything else

6/25.  We finally had one decent day of weather this week.  That's it for the trip.  So far we're still planning on staying through Monday, the 29th.  I'd get out now, but no matter where ever else we likely would go, it's not going to be fun there either.  Best to get home to Colorado where the runoff is finally ending, and we should be able to wade the rivers and creeks shortly.

Here's more about where we're staying. We booked it for almost three weeks.  It's called the Historic Queen Anne.  Converted from a triplex to a duplex, we're in the southern three bedroom side of this ancient building that survived the famous 1936 Bandon fire.  While quite odd shaped and laid out, it's a decent place.  Interior spaces have been cleaned up and painted.  The laminate floor works great.  Plumbing has been updated.  Beds are fine, as are the towels.  Kitchen is tiny and appliances are old, but it all works.  No disposal in the sink has the potential to be a big problem but hasn't so far.

The back deck has a small but acceptable view of the ocean.  (See photos.)  Other shots are of the bedrooms, baths, living area, etc.  Oddities about the place were the lack of clothing storage (only one dresser for three bedrooms), stairs to the lower garage (steep with head knocker beams), a grill stored in the garage along with some leftover trash, and a washer and dryer in the other lower storage room.  

(More commentary below these photos.)

OK.  Let's finish up with this place's shortcomings and the get on with the better stuff.

We didn't have WiFi for the first four days and almost went berserk.  The booking company Vicasa is utterly useless.  They're apparently understaffed and impossible to contact about problems - we'll never use them again for anything.  Ditto for booking.com which we have loved and used in the past, but will no longer do so again because they appear to now be owned by Vicasa.  Finally had Charter get internet service started and found the WiFi to be very strong.

Last bunch of negatives.  The house info booklet was basically useless.  Just full of "do not dos" and no up to date local information.  There's no outside thermometer.  Minimalist plates and utensils and cooking pots & pans in the kitchen.  The previously mentioned lack of a garbage disposal in the sink.  An ancient toaster - no toaster oven.

How about the good stuff.  The place is pet friendly.  Let's repeat that.  The place is pet friendly!

The location is good - fairly near the (130 step) stairway down the hill at Coquille Point to the beach, and being close to 11th street means a quick drive to shopping.

The lone TV worked fine.  The dogs were happy.  Given its age and condition, the facility would be rated 2-3 star as a building, but its funkiness worked fine for us.  As much as we found some negatives about the Queen Anne, we would still rebook it if we ever headed back to Bandon.

If the reader has any interest in suffering further, here are a few clips of the travel and the stay:

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