We are here because it was one place that still had a couple of sites available this weekend. The renovations were completed ahead of schedule which gave us a few days to loiter somewhere before heading to our next destination in Prosser, Washington. It was a bit of a surprise to discover that every resort we called along the coast north of Junction City was full, even though summer vacation is over and schools are back in session. Now that the kids are in school, we found out it's "vacation time" for retirees who flock to the Oregon coast until the weather turns in early October. So we were lucky to find a spot for a couple of nights at Netarts Bay Garden RV Resort.
It's an interesting name, so I Googled the origin of "Netarts." Here is one explanation courtesy of Uncle Google and an Oregon government website on the origin of names in Tillamook county:
The exact origin of the Netarts town is not clear. The name appears to have been the name of a small tribe or family of Indians living in the area. The town was sometimes called Oyster Bay. The Indian translation for Oyster Bay is "Na-ta-at." A stretch, but a possibility.
It seems quite plausible to me when you consider that whoever heard the name wrote it using the English phonetic system. An American Indian Place Names website concurs with the same explanation: http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/1462
Netarts is located at the mouth of Netarts Bay opposite the spit you see on the map here. The RV Resort is just south of route 131 on the coast. There is significant geological evidence that this area has experienced earthquakes for over 3,000 years and that the coast is an accumulation of ocean sediment from the resulting tsunamis. As we learned in a lecture at the Coos Bay rally in June, that evil subduction zone lurks off the coast all the way from northern California to Alaska.
Yesterday when we went exploring, we discovered why this tiny, secluded spot is also a popular place for folks to come and stay for months at a time. It's a perfect sheltered cove and a fishing and crabbing paradise. Folks also come here to harvest oysters and dig for clams.
We walked along the beach from the Resort all the way to Oceanside, about a six and three-quarters mile round trip. Both days we walked were perfect. The Pacific coast is not known for its good weather yet we have been very fortunate this weekend.
I think we may have found ourselves yet another destination spot. Again, as with Cape Kiwanda, it's the access to the beach and miles of sand for walking/running that is so appealing to us in particular.
Here is what we saw on our walks:
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view north, walking from the RV Resort towards the marina where we are able
to access the beach |
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view south from the RV Resort, where the road comes right up to the bay, and
where the crabbers like to hang out |
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| Oceanside up ahead with its three haystack rocks on the horizon |
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| Oceanside nestled between highway 101 and the beach |
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| a kind beach walker offered to take our pic |
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| getting closer to the haystacks |
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| a perfect sand dollar |
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| perfectly intact "angel wings" |
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it was low tide, so this section of beach was like a "sand mogul" maze and fun to hop
across the depressions |
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| homes clustered along the ridge like barnacles, with spectacular views |
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| a paradise for fishing and crabbing |
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| the gentle sweep of the bay looking south |
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| driftwood and logs that line the beach after being washed up by winter storms |
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| we saw a wedding on the beach on this perfect day today |
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| it's also Talk Like a Pirate Day, as this structure reminded us |
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| the haystack rocks at Oceanside |
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| this was as far as we could walk |
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| heading back home to Netarts |
Netarts is located at the mouth of Netarts Bay opposite the spit you see on the map here. The RV Resort is just south of route 131 on the coast. There is significant geological evidence that this area has experienced earthquakes for over 3,000 years and that the coast is an accumulation of ocean sediment from the resulting tsunamis. As we learned in a lecture at the Coos Bay rally in June, that evil subduction zone lurks off the coast all the way from northern California to Alaska. 
