Bullard's Beach State Park

(+9 insets!) (please view large, it's worth the time! :D) Revisiting Bullard's Beach Last year, Steve and I got to visit this state park for only a single night. We'd seen rave reviews and hoped to spend time appreciating the park but our timing couldn't have been worse. It was the Fourth of July weekend--the busiest vacation weekend of the summer--so we got what we could, which turned out to be the Eve of Fourth of July. I still remember the festive mood that pervaded the whole campground. Once we arrived and set up, we popped onto our bikes and rode around the loops. People had put up flags and 4th of July decorations, and we loved seeing folks wearing red, white and blue clothing adorned with patriotic stars and stripes. So many smiles! What a great weekend to be camping at this pretty campsite. Even though Steve and I could only enjoy the park for a few hours, we had a great time! We rode our bikes down to the beach and I got pictures to share too (see insets, second row). Fast forward to this trip…how's SEVEN NIGHTS for a perfect number?! What a wonderful, relaxing stay we had this time around! We got the time to kick back, explore and do whatever we wanted. And of course that meant that I was able to go out with my macro lens and creep around to see what I could see! My macros are the feature of today's presentation! Today's Pictures Do you know what Scotchbroom is? This bush features very lovely yellow flowers that bloom in massive clusters and can really take your breath away. However, this invasive species comes from Europe and considered to be a noxious weed because it takes over and displaces native species. Needless to say, the flowers are gorgeous and so are the seed pods, which I'm sharing as my main image today! (I'm also including a flower in an inset which I took at William Tugman State Park.) Also, if you'd like to see another nice picture of Scotchbroom, Ron Hanko has a really pretty image as well! Insets include… …a wonderful Plantain or Fleawort in bloom …a pretty grouping of Cat's Ear flowers in a sea of ferns (non-macro) …the buds and floral close-up of the stunning Douglas Spirea ...fuzzy, beautiful wild grass that's either Bottle Brush or Rabbit's Foot (I think) …a group of colorful, dying Madrone leaves soon to fall ….the lovely blossoms from the invasive Scotchbroom (I've also included couple of pictures from our first trip to Bullard's Beach) I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful day and coming week ahead! :) Thanks so much for your visits, comments and stars. You guys make me so happy!!! *big virtual hugs all around* Explored on 8/9/20; highest placement #6.

(+6 insets!) Serenity Amidst Virus Insanity…Aren't We Lucky! The news continues to boggle our minds but we are keeping our fingers crossed that we're able to camp as we wish! This is our third week out now and we're enjoying every precious moment! I've changed the way I do my posts…now I am just writing whatever and whenever I like, and when it's time to post a picture, I'll grab a topic I wrote and add it to my post! This makes my uploads less of a time-intensive task and more in keeping with relaxing and not being too serious about everything. It's nice! So, here you go! My Morning Walk When I'm at home, I like to start my morning (after my shower, coffee, cider drink + vitamins, of course) with a 30+ minute tromp up and down our driveway. The grade is steep enough to promise good exercise and it's wonderful to listen to the birds and perhaps get the chance to watch our resident turkeys and deer wandering by. When we're out camping though, I get the marvelous opportunity to go on a walk around the entire campground! Every one is different in appearance, size and number of areas to visit. It's such a great way to begin the day! Walking around each loop, I get to see everyone's RV (recreational vehicle) and see how they set up their individual campsite. There are plenty of traditional tent campers too and every single arrangement is interesting and fun to look at as I stroll by. Another nice thing about visiting the whole campground is the added sense of community I get. As I make my way around, I say good morning to everyone I pass by or to whomever notices me. The cheerful exchange is so bright and happy--what's better than exchanging big smiles with others in this natural place?! Steve and I don't have kids so, it's very interesting to see the variety of families and how they experience a vacation away from home. Sitting at picnic tables and eating meals, parents chat and cook, clean and relax. Kids play with their dogs, ride bikes around the loops and play games together. The situations are endless and such fun to take a peek at. It is so enjoyable to have these small glimpses into family life out on the road! A couple of days ago I saw such a sweet exchange. A man was couched down in front of his beautiful liver-and-white spotted Springer Spaniel. The dog, who appeared to be glowing with health and happiness, was laying on its chest with feet out in front. The man gently hand-fed kibble from a gleaming metal bowl with such a tender look on his face, his dog taking each mouthful with great satisfaction. Unnoticed, I stood and watched with a beaming smile on my face, my hands clasped behind my back. I didn't want to disturb their dear story so after about 30 seconds I walked on, sighing happily that I got to see this love shared between two best friends. Today's Pictures With time to relax, I'm doing macro photography like crazy and getting so many satisfying images. I've gotten some insect pictures too, including today's bumble bee and hoverfly pictures! I'm also including a pair of pictures that show a mama spider with her babies clinging to the hairs on her back! What a marvelous surprise that was! I'd gone on a walk down to the beach at Humbug Mountain State Park when I noticed a spider racing across the sand. I couldn't resist taking pictures when it stopped nearby, but I had no idea how special these photos would be. When I transferred my pictures over and took a closer look, I almost fell over! Why, she had babies all over her back, all clinging to her hairs like little troopers! Aren't they cute?! I must admit my great luck with these rare sights…my last inset is a picture I took last year when we were camping at Diamond Lake. I found a mama spider carrying her egg sac with her as she ran along! Thank You All!! You've all been so wonderful with your lavish comments, stars, and warm messages…talk about making a person feel great! *hugs all around* Here's hoping everyone is doing well and having a nice time too! Explored on 7/16/20; highest placement #2.

(+2 insets!) (Bigger is even better!) :) I want to make sure I have time to post this so I'm just posting a quick note to go with my pictures today! We are about to leave our wonderful campground, Bullard's Beach State Park and we had a wonderful stay! We will be heading about an hour north for a three day-stay at our next campsite. Unfortunately, that was the longest we could get for the time slot, but after another four days at a different place, we'll be back for another four days. Heh, I know that's not the same thing as seven uninterrupted days but sometimes you don't have a choice in these things! Today's Pictures I had a very nice time creeping around with my macro lens and got bunches of really neat pictures. Along the way I found these marvelous bushes covered with red-cloaked, round black berries. I thought it was very interesting that the berries grew in pairs…and so when I discovered the name of this plant was Twinberry, I had to laugh! Perfect! While I took photos, I couldn't help focusing on my favorite part--the beautifully shaped, red bracts surrounding the berries. Upon investigating online, I learned they are called involucre , and is part of the botany name of Black Twinberry, "Lonicera involucrata" . (These plants also have a red version, naturally called Red Twinberry ) I was also fascinated to learn that these berries are a kind of honeysuckle! The plant grows like a bush, which threw me off because I thought all honeysuckles are vines. However, when I learned it was in the honeysuckle family it all made sense do me. The honeysuckle that grows on our property has the very same berries, except that they are red. The leaves are the same too, and looking at pictures of the flowers, they are also quite similar. It's so fascinating to see the various species of a plant group, isn't it? So, as I took pictures, I took turns concentrating on the berries and then the lovely red bracts. Then I saw a lovely red flash…and gasped in surprise! Would you just look at that? Bracts that appeared to be a lovely red butterfly with perfectly shaped berries to represent a thorax and head! Seriously, what are the odds?! :D This picture just HAD to be my main image today! I'm also including some other views of these pretty berries--a pair to admire and a folded-over bract that looks like a red bat! :) I hope you like them! I wanted to give everyone hugs for all of the attention you've been giving my pictures, and for the lovely comments and stars. I appreciate you all so much. I was able to visit some of you finally and it was great to see what you've been sharing with us here on ipernity! Here's hoping everyone stays safe and healthy in these crazy days! Here's more information about these berries that I found very interesting: Twinberry, also called bearberry honeysuckle, is in the honeysuckle family. Twinberries are very common in the Cape Lookout State Park at the base of Netarts Spit. Unlike their cousins, the climbing and pink honeysuckles which are twining vines and can occur in our area, the twinberry is an erect shrub that may grow to more than twelve feet high. Its paired yellow flowers each have a five-lobed, tubular corolla. The flowers are subtended by a pair of large, green bracts that turn red as the fruits mature into pairs of shiny black berries. These berries are bitter and considered inedible, but their juice has been used as a dye. Its leaves are opposite, they have petioles, and they are rather shiny on top. They drop off in the winter. There are two varieties of twinberries, the coastal Lonicera var. ledebourii, occurring in coastal Oregon and California, and the mountain Lonicera var. involucrata, found in all western and the lake states. From Netarts Bay Today Explored on 7/14/20; highest placement #1.

Twinberry, also called bearberry honeysuckle, is in the honeysuckle family. Twinberries are very common in the Cape Lookout State Park at the base of Netarts Spit. Unlike their cousins, the climbing and pink honeysuckles which are twining vines and can occur in our area, the twinberry is an erect shrub that may grow to more than twelve feet high. Its paired yellow flowers each have a five-lobed, tubular corolla. The flowers are subtended by a pair of large, green bracts that turn red as the fruits mature into pairs of shiny black berries. These berries are bitter and considered inedible, but their juice has been used as a dye. Its leaves are opposite, they have petioles, and they are rather shiny on top. They drop off in the winter. There are two varieties of twinberries, the coastal Lonicera var. ledebourii, occurring in coastal Oregon and California, and the mountain Lonicera var. involucrata, found in all western and the lake states. From www.netartsbaytoday.org/Yellowish_Flowers.html

(+2 insets!) EEK EEK! It's another late post! :D Not my fault! STUFF HAPPENED! :D Can't type much tonight! Today was another driving day! We left our wonderful site at Devil's Lake and drove several hours back down the coast to the Bullard's Beach State Park Campground for one night's stay as we begin to make our way back towards home. We got into camp at about 4:30 and fast forward, we got our bikes out and took a ride around the campground and then out to the beach where we laughed our heads off trying to ride our bikes on the wet sand! FAIL! So funny! It Doesn't Work! You must have really fat tires, which we don't have, heh! Then we road over a short distance to the bay and oh my it was so beautiful! My main picture shows our bikes on the dock with a beautiful local bridge behind! Insets are a couple of views from another spot in two directions. SO LOVELY! Our bike ride was soooooo much fun! We will definitely be back to this pretty place! Pam, I can't write now but you are in my thoughts as well as in Steve's! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 5/25/19; highest placement, #11.

(+21 insets) (Sorry so many, I wanted to get all of my scattered images together!) Revisiting a Lovely Park! The second stop on our "Escaping Covid" trip was Bullard's Beach State Park, a beautiful, sprawling campground that we visited for only a single day the year before because of Memorial Day…every campground was full! One of the insets has a picture with a link that tells of the fun we had in that day. However, needless to say, we were delighted to get a chance to spend a full week there this time around! It was so nice to relax and enjoy this pretty park in a much more relaxed manner. Bullard's Beach This coastal campground is nestled just inside the scrub and forest which begins where the sand and dunes end. The natural wind-break means the park isn't windy, which is very nice. The park has many campsites with a good distance between them too, and I really like the way this place feels. Laid out on mostly flat ground, all of the three campground loops are wonderful for strolling and bike riding too. There's also a path which leads a mile down to the beach which goes for miles in each direction. Unique features of this park include the wide Coquille River which empties out into the ocean nearby and the view of Bullard's Bridge, which is has two vertical-lift spans and is an impressive sight. Another difference: sandy hiking trails… *wince* Sandy "Trails of Tears" The day I decided to go on one of the Bullard's Beach "hiking trails" was when I discovered its least positive unique aspect. Unless one stays on cement paths, the deep, sandy paths are often a painfully slow and arduous "three steps forward and two steps back." I learned this the hard way. I decided one day to go on a trail which led for a few miles on a supposed loop path up and around an area just inland of Bullard's Beach. Stepping off the campground's cement path onto the sandy trail, I really should have just turned around right then and there. But I was determined! Plus, I'd never gone on a walk like this before. The terrain was interesting and different so I was optimistic. It couldn't be all sand…could it? Um…yes. Deep, loose, slippery sand the entire way. It didn't help that these trails were frequented by horseback riders, and that meant the trails weren't packed down at all. So, instead of my usual brisk pace, I was forced to plug along at a snail's crawl. Normally I would have been around that trail in perhaps a couple of hours. In the end, it took about three hours to the point that I gave up and turned around to retrace my steps. (see inset) What misery! It was pretty to see and I enjoyed the environment and views but the time it took for progress was ridiculous. I was so happy and relieved when I finally stepped back onto the cement path again! Today's Pictures The road down to the beach has a lovely paved path that parallels it with the Coquille River just across the way. Today's main image features a bench and tree which look out over the wide Coquille River. I finally have a nice image to include for Happy Bench Monday! :) Insets for Today's Presentation Walking down the path to the beach from the Bullard's Beach campground, I got a nice pano with not-so-great picture of the cool dual-span Bullard's Bridge and the fun shot of the path that includes a picnic table tucked away in a meadow past protective bushes. Picnic gazebo: I thought it was interesting to see one of the park's group party areas that was blocked off with yellow tape because of the corona virus. It made me stop and think about the way the world has changed--and continues to do so, because of the pandemic. One day Steve and I drove down to the road that goes along the beach and went to the light house for pictures. It was miserably windy and cold though so we didn't end up going on a beach stroll as we'd hoped. I got the light house, which is probably one of the least interesting I've ever seen, but I also noticed a fellow nearby who was "crabbing", or putting in crab traps. The Coquille River is deep enough that big ships use it to transport goods and I got a couple of nice pictures of a ship entering the river. The beach itself had some fun driftwood forts and interesting lean-tos that I took pictures of. As well, the morning that we left, I rode my bike down to the beach and got some pretty beach pictures, along with a few of the golden carpet of flowers that grew in the scrubby area between the beach and the campground. Next to last, I've included pictures of the "sandy trail of tears" walk that I went on, including a map that shows the trail and how far I got. Finally, I am also including links to the other Bullard's Beach posts I made in the past so this is a complete collection. Sorry for the vastness of this presentation, enjoy what you can! :) Thanks so much for all of your visits, comments and favorites! Be safe and have a fantastic week! Explored on 2/1/29; highest placement #5.