Bandon, Oregon

 

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

 Drove home from Bandon to Vancouver.  Heavy traffic!  Seven hours of driving.

Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Reguge

 Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge

Bandon, Oregon

Coos Bay, Oregon - Images

Coos Bay - Information  

Bullards Beach State Park, Bandon

Bandon - Images

Bandon - Information  

Four Days in Grayland

Coquille River, Oregon

Today, I drive from Bandon to my home in Vancouver.  

I pack up and checkout from my yurt around 8 am.  I enjoy breakfast at the Station Restaurant around 8 am.   

The drive from Bandon to Vancouver is roughly 270 miles, and takes from 5 to 8 hours, depending how much I stop for gawking, leg stretching, bathroom breaks, snacks, photographs, traffic congestion, sightseeing, short walks, eating, rest stops, etc.. 

I drive east from Bandon on Road 42S, then on Road 42 east through Coquille, Myrtle Point, Camas Valley, and then into Roseburg, Oregon.  Then, Interstate 5 north to Vancouver, Washington.  This area is used for farming and timber harvesting.  Small rural towns and lovely green countryside.  The road touches along the Coquille River at many places. 

Heavy flooding of all the low lying pastures and farmlands in the entire Coquille River Valley this January of 2023. Flooding as far as the eyes could see on either one side or both sides of Road 42S.  Fog rising up low over flooded fields ... spooky, lonely country road.  

Coquille River     Images

Coquille - City     Images  

Myrtle Point - City   Images

Camas Valley     Images 

Roseburg - Images

Roseburg - Information

Four Days in Grayland