We had reservations that night at Bullards Beach State Park. The Oregon State Parks webpage describes it thusly: "Bullards Beach is a large, family-oriented park located just two miles north of Bandon. The campground is nestled among shore pines and well protected from the strong ocean breezes. " If you throw in a public relations filter, family-oriented means that it is absolutely crammed to the gills with people, and well protected from the strong ocean breezes means that you're a 3/4 mile hike through sand dunes before you even get a look at the beach. It was kind of a ghetto.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. On our drive out of the park, we went through a big section of the Umpqua National Forest. We pulled off the highway at a sign that said, "Clearwater Falls," mainly as a bathroom break, but also to check out some of the sights. So glad we did!
Clearwater Falls
We continued on to yet another beautiful waterfall, Tokeetee Falls. I have a picture, but I'm dumb with this Picasa software and may just have to post it seperately.
As mentioned above, our campground was close to the touristy little town of Bandon. It was while wandering around through the scenic downtown that I was struck with Traveller's Discomfort. Thirty minutes and a stiff slug of Pepto-Bismol later, and all was restored. We returned to our campsite where we learned that we were camped next to what Guiness would probably describe as The Woman With the World's Most Carrying Voice. It wasn't that she was speaking loudly, exactly, but that her voice just projected so far. She and her group got jiggy with Lynrd Skynrd's Greatest Hits until about 8:30 that night, all the while bragging about the 200 crabs they'd caught so far. I assume they meant Dungeness, rather than genital.
Interestingly, the Oregon State Parks all have a requisite "Wash Your Hands to Avoid Disease" sign on the inside doors of the bathrooms. More interestingly, they don't provide soap at any of their bathrooms. Scare tactics!