Golden and Silver Falls State Park

If you look at a map of Oregon, most are going to show a road going past Loon Lake, where we are working this summer, that also goes past Golden and Silver Falls State Park. Well it isn't possible to do this. The only way to get to the park is to go to Coos Bay and head back north on the Coos River Road to get to the park. Now the road starts out as a nice paved two-lane highway. It narrows and then turns into this unlined paved road.

But that's the good part! After that you travel on a gravel road that is 1/2 potholes. This photo doesn't show how bad it was. My pothole photos had a glare. Anyway off to the right is a river and many places you had to watch how far to the right you swung to get away from a pothole... you could end up in the river real easy!

Did you think that was the worst of it? Well think again. The last two miles to the park was this one lane path. At least it wasn't full of pot holes and we didn't meet anyone along it. The road ends at a parking lot for Golden and Silver Falls State Park. It took us an hour to drive from Coos Bay to the park.

Now, as the name implies, there are two water falls at the park.

First we went off to the Golden Falls lower trail. Lots of mud holes along the way.

The falls were beautiful!

A closer look.

We retraced our path back to the trail for Silver Falls. Along the way we read this information panel.

This is what the road looks like now. I can't imagine how scary it would have been for those log truck drivers!

Silver Falls.

The only wildlife we saw during our walk.

Since this is a temperate rain forest, moss hanges on everything. I just thought this tree was interesting.

I wonder why these trees are so bumpy.

Large rock along the trail with a tree growing out of the top.

We followed a school bus along the gravel road on the way back to Coos Bay.

We've seen two signs like this in Oregon. What does it mean "sunken grade"? I make fun of the signs here. You'll see one saying "rocks". Ok, falling rocks, rocks in road, overhanging rocks... what kind of rocks. Yeah I know it means watch for rocks on road or falling rocks but I just poke fun at them.