Towering trees looming through a coastal fog. Frothy surf crashing upon jagged shores. Majestic headlands offering clear views for miles.

It all awaits you at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. Located two miles south of Yachats, this coastal wonderland – where the forest meets the sea – captivates locals and visitors alike.

Black bears are very active in the mid summer months because they are entering the breeding season. Bears can be seen moving around near feeding areas in late evening. In mid day bears will be inactive or in heavy cover where viewing them will be difficult. Most bears are feeding heavily on grass and the growing tips of brush. Good places to see bears are in clear cuts that are a few years old where brush and grass is well established and in natural forest clearings like land slide areas.

Yearling bears are becoming independent at this time of year. They can often be seen walking down forest roads or out in clear cuts as they try to establish territories. Many of these bears are small—much less that 100 lbs. in size. Some people think they are orphaned cubs but in reality they are not. These bears can be relatively easy to find if you watch clear cuts during twilight hours.

They are also wandering into coastal communities looking for food.

by Terry Richard for The Oregonian

Floras Lake is a sizable dunes lake, popular for windsurfing because of predictable afternoon "breezes" _ which may feel like a hurricane on some days.

This lovely lake is blocked from the ocean by a narrow neck of sand, making the area one of Oregon's geologic oddities due to the New River that flows north from Floras Lake (the river was created after pioneer settlement).

While this part of northern Curry County is indeed pleasant to visit (weather permitting), the feature that makes it outstanding is the ocean beach south of Floras Lake, with its 80- to 100-foot-high line of cliffs.

There's no other beach quite like it on the Oregon coast.

By Terry Richard, The Oregonian

It may look like a grave marker of a long lost surveyor.

But it's not.

The piece of inscribed granite stone sunk into the Coast Range forest, not far off U.S. 26, marks the only place in Oregon where four county points meet.

Statesman Journal Article

Hike: Sutton Creek, north of Florence

A young man who had been blind since birth approached me at the Oregon Authors Table at the Oregon State Fair in Salem a few years ago.

He said he wanted to buy a copy of my hiking guide for the Oregon Coast.

I responded that the book would be hard for him read because the text is not in Braille. The photos and maps would be useless.