See oysters get shucked

Take a tour of Clausen Oysters and see the shucking process first-hand. All visitors are welcome to a free oyster sample, cooked or raw.

Lilli and Max Clausen own the oyster processing facility and grow many of the oysters on the tides flats of Coos Bay. At low tide, oyster beds can be seen in the water on both sides of the McCullough Bridge, where white sticks mark their sites. Huge piles of oyster shells also can be seen at the facility, located at 66234 North Bay Road, one mile east of U.S. Highway 101 and two miles north of the McCullough Bridge.

Clausen is happy to give tours for groups of at least 15 people during weekdays by appointment. Tour-goers will be taken to the pier to see where the oyster barges dock, taught about oyster culture and history and given a free sample. The tour takes 45 minutes to an hour.

To arrange a tour, those interested can call Lilli Clausen at 756-3600.

Old Bridge Winery

Visit Coos County first commercial winery. Follow Highway 42 east from Myrtle Point, just past the tiny community of Bridge, at the covered bridge to the newly opened Old Bridge Winery.

George Clarno and his wife, Angie, make a variety of wines, including pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, marechal foch and concord and whites, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, chardonnay and a late-harvest blend. Fruit wines include blackberry and cranberry, in both sweet and light dry, rhubarb, apple, cherry and strawberry.

Old Bridge Winery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. While there, don't miss the county's only historic covered bridge.

Go back in time

Prehistoric Gardens, located on U.S. Highway 101 between Port Orford and Gold Beach, features life-size replicas of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. It is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. A gift and souvenir shop is located just outside the gardens.

Visit site of storied Indian massacre

The Geisel Monument, seven miles north of Gold Beach off U.S. Highway 101, is an interesting, albeit somewhat macabre, historical site to visit.

The Geisel family lived at the site and operated a motel and store there until they were killed by local Rogue River "Too-toot-nas" tribal members in 1856, one of whom worked for the family. Historians surmise the Indians were upset over land takeovers and the introduction of diseases by the white settlers. The day the Geisels were killed, 25 other residents along the Rogue River also were massacred.

According to local historical lore, tribal members killed John Geisel and his three sons, sparing his wife, Christina, and two daughters, who were taken up the Rogue and held captive for 14 days. There is quite a story behind the incident, and the monument consists of a small graveyard, where Geisel family members are buried.

Visit historic house

For a nostalgic and informative historical experience, visit the Hughes House, located off U.S. Highway 101 near Cape Blanco State Park, just north of Port Orford.

Volunteers from the Cape Blanco Management Unit of Oregon State Parks lead tours of the Hughes family home on Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., April to Oct. 31.

Visitors also should visit the gift shop, with jewelry, tea cups and kitchen implements much like the items visitors see on the tour, as well as books, crafts and toys of the 1898-1923 period.

Those interested can call (541) 332-9002 for more information.

Get up close to many of nature's critters

Lions and tigers and bears. Oh yes!

For the past 38 years, West Coast Game Park Safari, America's largest wild animal petting park, has been one of the most popular tourist attractions in Oregon. Seven miles south of Bandon, the park specializes in hand-raising wildlife.

For youngsters and parents who have never experienced the fun of walking among free-roaming wildlife (many of which are eager for a handout and love the attention), it's the thrill of a lifetime.

The park covers almost 21 natural, wooded acres where more than 450 exotic animals and birds live. In addition to the hundreds of free-roaming critters, numerous exhibits of large predators and big-hooved wildlife bring visitors closer than many have ever been before. Visitors can mingle, touch, hand-feed and be entertained by wild creatures from around the world.

There are more than 75 species spread over the park grounds, including tigers, cougars, lynx, antelope, bison, deer, elk, African lions, llamas and bighorn sheep.

Park staff schedule special events and visitors have the chance to meet and hold the latest babies born into the park family. Visitors are allowed to pet the animals and film their personal adventures.

Animals likely to be seen include African lions, tiger cubs, bear cubs, panther and leopard cubs, cougar cubs, snow leopards, wolves, lynx, chimps and many other youngsters of the wild. Wildlife at the park is constantly changing.

The park is open all year. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Summer hours begin June 15 and are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Those interested can call 347-3106 for additional information, or write to the park at 46914 Highway 101, Bandon, OR 97411.

Dig into agriculture at a cranberry bog

For many years, cranberries have been one of the South Coast's top agricultural crops, and Bandon has long been known as the "Cranberry Capital of Oregon."

Bandon's cranberry industry began in the 1920s with vines from Massachusetts. Cranberries require a specialized growing environment, and Bandon's acidic, sandy soil is the main ingredient. Planted vines send runners out, taking four to five years to reach full yield as dense mats of vines form over the sand.

Many of the growers are members of the Ocean Spray cooperative, which buys the berries and markets products worldwide. Bandon's berries, known for their deep red hue, are used by Ocean Spray mostly to add color to its juices. Other growers sell independently or market it themselves as fresh cranberries.

Bogs, usually referred to by growers as cranberry beds, line the highway north and south of town, while others are hidden in the woods. They look like low, brushy marshes, and when ripe in the fall, the bright red berries shine through from the thicket of vines. Volunteers at the visitor information center can guide you to bogs in which owners will show you around and answer questions.

There are 170 cranberry growers in Coos and Curry counties, who comprise 98 percent of Oregon's growers.

There are independent growers, also, who produce for distribution to other buyers. Along the coast from North Bend to Port Orford, some 2,400 acres are devoted to growing the plump, tart berries, with the largest concentration of bogs in the Bandon area.

Most growers use the water method of harvesting to avoid damaging berries. Wet harvesting involves flooding the bogs at harvest, then using a special machine called a "beater" to agitate vines and loosen berries so they can float to the surface.

The Ocean Spray plant is busy during harvest in the fall. Berries are cleaned and sorted there, then trucked to freezers in the Eugene and Albany areas. Some also are trucked to an Ocean Spray facility in Washington to be made into juice concentrate.

The Bandon Historical Society Museum, located at U.S. Highway 101 and Fillmore, has a display on the history of cranberry culture in Bandon, with vintage equipment and many old photographs.

Each fall, Bandon celebrates its annual Cranberry Festival, including a parade and food fair featuring cranberry recipes - cakes, pies, sauces and breads.

Explore Coast Guard history

On the headlands overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Port Orford, U.S. Coast Guard lifeboat station No. 318 still stands 280 feet above the water.

For 36 years, crews manned the motor lifeboats, helping mariners plying the waters of the Southern Oregon Coast.

Built in 1934, the station featured Cape Cod and Craftsman style buildings, residences, storage buildings and a pump house. Now, it's maintained as a museum and interpretive center by the Port Orford Heritage Society.

The boats were docked in Nellie's Cove, a 532-step decent from the station to the water's edge.

Crews carried supplies and fuel for the boats by hand up and down the stairs.

The station was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1970. It was used by Oregon State University for six years, being dedicated to the Oregon State Parks Department and the Port Orford Heads State Park was created.

In 1995, the Point Orford Heritage Society and State Parks worked together to restore the station and create the museum. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and was opened to the public on June 3, 2000.

On the grounds is a project the society is tackling, the restoration of lifeboat No. 36498, a 36-foot motor lifeboat that worked from 1946 through 1979.

Besides the museum grounds, there is a trail system that takes visitors to various points along the headlands.

The road leading to the museum is well marked on U.S. Highway 101 in Port Orford. The museum is open April through October, Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.