Fog bound

Gold Beach, Oregon is proving to be the perfect place to unwind as we continue making our way north.  I booked us into the Pacific Reef Resort Hotel overlooking an unspoilt beachscape.  We can literally step out of our room and into the grass clad sand dunes.  As you can see from these photos the view can change in minutes.  When I woke this morning the scene was one filled with a vivid blue horizon, within 15 minutes it had been transformed by an intimate shroud of fog.

The northern end of Gold Beach (and the town itself) ends abruptly at the edge of the Rogue River.  This impressive expanse of water is crossed via an impressive art deco style bridge.  Completed in 1932 the 1,932-foot bridge closed the last remaining gap on coastal Highway 101.  Once opened, travellers could drive from Portland, Oregon to the Mexican border along the entire West Coast.

As with most coastal towns we've passed through fish canning was once the local economy's mainstay.  Today the original cannery buildings are undergoing something of Renaissance.  Gold Beach's refurbished pier and cannery is now home to a jet boat tour company, a cafe and souviner store. Nearby sits the rotting hulk of a small steamer, the Mary Hume, that's been cleverly recast as a local artistic landmark.  Built in Gold Beach in 1881, it saw service along the Pacific Coast for 97 years.  The locals claim no other boat on the coast has ever been active for longer.