This is the Reedsport draw bridge over the Umpqua river. It raises to
allow the passage of huge ships to the docks upstream! I'm sure it used
to be used a lot more than it is now. It is a very old bridge. On the
extreme left you can see the height of the crows nest on that ship.
The above pic is of Marie
lake. It is located in the Umpqua lighthouse state park.
It is crystal clear and full of trout. We saw many little boys
carrying stringers full of stocker rainbows. They were wearing huge
smiles too. The flowers are beautiful at the entrance, and the lake is
ringed with a paved path for the adventurous to walk around. It's a fairly
large lake, great place to have a picnic. No fee is charged to park here!
The ocean is straight west a mere 1/2 mile. Lets go take a peek at the
lighthouse, the Umpqua river entering the ocean and some sand!
The above lighthouse casts a beacon
out to sea that guides ships into the Umpqua river. It used to be a
popular shipping channel as the old sail boats could traverse way upstream
to unload their cargo, it is still a working lighthouse.
It is also a historical sight and the harbor of
the river is not used much any more. Turning around and looking over
my shoulder you can see the ocean and sand and river entrance. Picnickers
abound on a sunny day, along with the sand runners.
The above two pictures are
of the land between the Lighthouse and the ocean. The picnickers on the
sand have four wheel sand runners and are having a blast running
around on the sand. The bottom picture of the river, has a huge violent wave running
up its center. The retaining walls don't seem to stop the violence of the ocean
very well.
Our destination!!! This huge bridge
is over coos bay. A huge bay coming inland off the ocean. Coos Bay the town
is a thriving community, we're jealous because they have a wal-mart and
more importantly a UPS office. The airport is on the other side of
this bridge. This bridge has enough clearance the tallest ships can get under it.