We took a little road trip to get away from the casino for a while. We backtracked a few miles north to Reedsport and then east two miles on Highway 38 to the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. It was our lucky day. A sizable herd of elk was in the west end of the park. They were too far away for a really good look, so we just enjoyed them from a distance.
Maybe a mile away we saw another group of elk. Every one of them was lounging like it had been a hard day. Then I noticed they were all males. I guess it was a stag party.
Back in Reedsport, I had to stop at the Sugar Shack Bakery for some specialty doughnuts. They are home to the "Big Foot". It was about an inch and a half thick, the size and shape of a full-grown foot, stuffed with creamy filling and covered with maple icing. I opted instead for some great looking cinnamon pecan rolls, something called a "crunch", an awesome apple filled maple covered danish and a couple of chocolate old-fashioned doughnuts for Mike.
We visited the Oregon Dunes Welcome Center to get some advice on the best bet for a hike. We wanted to see the 300 to 500 foot high dunes. First, we drove the access road for the off-roaders. The size of the dunes was staggering. The trees below help to gauge the scale.
The Umpqua River Lighthouse made a nice showing from the Off-Highway Vehicle designated dunes. We decided this was close enough and chose to skip a closer inspection in favor of getting to the trails.
The John Dellenback Dunes Trail was recommended to see the largest of the dunes without the off-road vehicle buzzing. The trailhead started in dense forest but quickly changed to sandy soil and strange plants.
The trees got shorter and then were replaced by bushes. The bushes gave way to grasses and then there were acres of beautiful sandy dunes.
You know we had to climb that dune because it was there. The other side had an even steeper angle. It would have been a blast to have a sled, but the trip back to the top would have been tough.
From the top of the dune, I looked east towards the forest and Oregon's mountains.
Looking west I could just see the Pacific a couple of miles away.
In the picture below you can see footprints that were not from hikers. I thought they were probably from a neighborhood deer, but the sand did not hold the print well so who knows?
The shadows were starting to lengthen adding some drama to the pictures but they also were telling us it was time to head back to the car.
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