Tuesday 3rd October - day 14.
Lost Creek to Cape Blanco.

After another cold night we woke to beautiful sunshine in an open parkland setting . We were surrounded by large trees in all shades of green, gold and red. Our camp spot was perched above the lake and we ran along a path beside the lake to a series of falls and then back home for breakfast and a spot of laundry / housekeeping. We sat in the sun for breakfast before setting off for the West Coast.
We had a choice of routes. We could drive due west straight over the mountains or loop north or south to our destination at Port Orford. All three routes were predicted to take three hours. Our instinct was to go over the mountain but the road was described as being steep, narrow and winding - and 3 hours to drive 60 miles? It sounded a bit stressful so we chose the northern route - following the rogue river, then a blast up interstate 5, then another picturesque drive down the Umpqua valley to Coquille and the ocean.
The drive was fine. Good roads, good weather and a good Peter May audiobook That kept us engrossed all the way to Safeway in Coquille.
Thoroughly re-stocked we were delighted to rejoin Highway 101 and to see the sea again.
We celebrated with fish and chips on a bench in the harbour at Bandon Fishmarket before driving out to Cape Blanco Lighthouse. This is the oldest, most westerly and highest in Oregon.
We arrived just after sunset at 7pm.
The panorama was very beautiful, with a red sky silhouetting the Lighthouse and waves lapping the rocky shores either side of the headland. The lamp in the Lighthouse was lit and looked spectacular in the dusk.
We bagged the last space in the Cape Blanco campground and settled down for what we expected to be our last night in Oregon.