Blackberry Vines at the Bandon Marsh

 

950.

Blackberry Stained Hands

Bullards Beach State Park
Bandon Marsh NWR
     Bandon, Oregon
     August 2025

 

 

Blackberry vines
     lined the edge
of the dry Bandon Marsh;
     not one single cloud
flying in the sky

Picking wild blackberries
along the Bandon Marsh;
seagulls splash dive
     in and out of the Coquille;
east of the 101 bridge.

Families picking
          wild blackberries
     for fresh pies;
slight breeze
across Bandon Marsh.

          hand picked
     fresh ripe berries
hand-fulls of black round morsels
     chugged down
sweet tart summer sun

plucking blackberries
sucking juice
fingers in my mouth—
humming
"numanumanumanuma"

blackberry juice
    dripping from my mouth
        down my shirt—
sweet memories
on the Tongue of the Mind

 

 

[Bandon, Oregon]

 

Bandon, Oregon

Bandon, Oregon

Bullard's Beach State Park

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 3

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 3

Again, a bitter cold night at Sunset Bay. The temperature dropped from a 36F high to a 21F low. Burr!

The vinyl covering on the sofa and bed were cold. The yurt walls of vinyl and canvas were cold. I used 3 sleeping bags, and 2 large blankets, and was always fully dressed inside the yurt. The space heater in the yurt was no match for 21F weather. Luckily, the wind never blew on this visit.

I found it uncomfortable to go walking for more than 30 minutes when the weather hovers between 25F-35F.  

Weather reports from Karen and from local fishermen at the Arrago Cafe in Charleston OR, told me snow was expected Thursday morning. Since I needed to drive 75 miles from the coast to Interstate 5 in Roseburg via the Coquille River valley, through many coastal mountains, with the road shaded on both sides by forests; thus, snow and ice would be a serious driving hazard. Therefore, I packed up this morning and drove back to my home in Vancouver. 

Weather reports predict snow and ice in Vancouver on Thursday; and an atmospheric river is hitting California this month.

Lately, I have been working on reading and writing sonnets and longer poems:

    A Gift of Dried Garlic Flowers

    25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works

Photos from the Internet:

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 2

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 2

Today was a bitter cold day in Sunset Bay. The temperature went from a 24F low up to a 38F high.  Burr!

Last night in the yurt was an unpleasant experience. I have never yurt camped in the late autumn or winter on the Pacific Coast when the temperature dropped below 40F.  The yurt heater was inadequate, the walls cold, and the vinyl couch and bed need my covers. 

30F is too cold for comfortable walking for an oldster like me.

Explore Sunset Bay, Charleston, Coos Bay, Cape Arrago State Park (1932 donated by two women: Simpsons. Shore Acres, Lighthouse

Excellent fish and chips at the Arrago Cafe in 'downtown' Charleston. 

Lately, I have been working on reading and writing sonnets and longer poems:

    A Gift of Dried Garlic Flowers

    25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works

Photos from the Internet:

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 1

Sunset Bay State Park, Coastal Oregon, Near Charleston and Coos Bay
Yurt Camping Trip Day 1

Drive from Vancouver south on Interstate 5 through Portland, Salem, and into Eugene. It was foggy this morning in the Valley.

Then, east from Eugene to Florence on the coast, then Reedsport, Sand Dunes, Big Bridge, North Bend, Coos Bay, Charleston, and finally arriving at Sunset Bay State Park. Check in time at the yurt is 4 pm. 

Quite cold here at Sunset Bay. Burr!  Much colder than my other trips to the beach for yurt camping. Difficult to enjoy sitting outside.

By 5 pm, I was quite tired from the long drive and after setting up my yurt. And, 
the cold was not encouraging for me.

So I stayed inside the yurt, bundled up to keep warm, read, wrote, napped, smoked half a MaryJ, sipped chocolate, enjoyed a grapefruit, ate nuts. No 
cell phone service here.

Enjoyed Bastendorff Beach County Park just southwest of Charleston. They
offer yurt cabins, RV access, tent camping. The Beach was spectacular, just south of the north jetty entrance to Coos Bay and Charleston. 

Near Bastendorff is Sun Outdoors Commercial Park had nice cabins and looked interesting.

Drove around Coos Bay city area and North Bend.

Lately, I have been working on reading and writing sonnets and longer poems:

    A Gift of Dried Garlic Flowers

    25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works

Cape Disappointment Yurt
January 2025

Photos from the Internet:

Yurt Camping at Sunset Bay, Oregon

 

Yurt Camping at Sunset Bay, Oregon
Near Charleston and Coos Bay
February 10-13, 2025

Activities and Travel Depend on the Weather.
February: Cool 35-55 F, Windy, Rain, High Tides

Monday 2/10/2025

Drive I5 south from Vancouver to Eugene OR
Visit Bookstore:  J. Michaels or Barnes & Noble- Poetry
Drive road 126 to Florence
Drive south on 101 to Reedsport, Umpqua River
Dive south on 101 to Coos Bay
Explore Coos Bay
Visit Bookstore: Books by the Bay, Poetry-Local
Japanese Lunch in Coos Bay
Drive south west on 540 Arrago Highway.
Check in at 4 pm at Sunset Bay.
Poetry Writing
Walking

Day 2 Tuesday

Sunset Bay
Charleston
Shore Acres State Park
Cape Arrago Lighthouse
Explore Coos Bay
Photography
Poetry Writing
Campfire
Walking, Beachcombing

Day 3 Wednesday

Sunset Bay
Campfire
Tide Pools
Explore Coos Bay
Photography
Poetry Writing
Walking, Beachcombing


Day 4 Thursday

Check out by 11 am
Breakfast in Coos Bay
Drive north on 101 to Reedsport
Museum at Umpqua River
Lunch in Reedsport
Drive east on Road 238 to I5
Drive home to Vancouver on I5

Tidepools

Tidepools near Sunset Bay State Park
Charleston, Coos Bay,
Central Oregon Coast

Hecate Head

Photographs from the Internet:

Bandon, Oregon

I will be Yurt Camping at Bullard's Beach State Park near Bandon, Oregon.  I will be exploring the smaller areas around Bandon for three nights and four days.  

The drive from Vancouver to Bandon takes 5 to 6 hours.  I drive south on Interstate 5 until I reach Curtin, OR.  Then I take Road 38 west through Drain, Elkton, and into Reedsport.  Road 38 follows the Umpqua River.  Then south on 101 through the Oregon Coastal Sand Dunes, Tugman State Park, North Bend, Coos Bay, and then on to Bandon.  

Drain, Oregon - Images

Elkton, Oregon - Images

Reedsport, Oregon - Images

Reedsport, Oregon - Information

Oregon Coastal Sand Dunes

Tugman State Park

Coos Bay, Oregon - Images

Coos Bay - Information  

Bullards Beach State Park, Bandon

Bandon - Images

Bandon - Information  

Four Days in Grayland

Here is my Yurt campsite for four days.
Since it rained a lot while I was here,
having good dry indoor shelter was important.

Old lighthouse on the north jetty at Bandon.

View from the south jetty at Bandon.

When I go yurt camping on January 13-16 at Bullard's Beach State Park near Bandon, Oregon, I plan to include a number of spiritual practices while on Retreat.  I will read two books:

Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path.  By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana.  Wisdom Pubs., 2001, 268 pages, VSCL.  

Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Modern World.  By Lama Surya Das.  432 pages, 1997.  VSCL.  

Lama Surya Das

In 2023, I will be studying books by Deng Ming-Dao.

Taoism

Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty

By Michael P. Garofalo
January 2023