AN OLD ROAD TRIP TO BANDON, OREGON IN 2009

One of my old posts from the blog I started in April 2008 and closed in 2015. 

This rocky beach is in Bandon, Oregon. In the photo above you can just make out a figure walking along the beach with a dog. We met that lady earlier along a back road walking to this beach. We had just stopped at one place and she told us that there was a much better lookout further ahead, that it would be worth our time to stop. She was right. It was incredible and we were very grateful to her for pointing us in this direction. While taking photos we spotted them quite a distance ahead. The only other people we saw were a couple taking photos. We were very lucky with the weather. It stopped raining long enough for us to take in this magnificent view.

This area is famous for Face Rock. There is a local legend that you will find in more detail at this link.  It's rather sad as many legends are but below is a more condensed version. It has been passed on from one generation to another but is now written down so that the story will always be there for anyone to read. It is a very good thing that these old stories will be there for future generations. So very important to its people, the continuation of sharing their beliefs, their cultures, their legends, and may it always be so.  If you look at the rock on its right, you might be able to recognize the side profile of a face, forehead, eyes, nose, lips and chin, as if a face is staring up at the sky.  Those geological layers that stand out in the photo could almost be like tears. 

"Legend has it (from the Nah-So-Mah tribe) that Ewanua, a beautiful Indian princess was visiting tribes along the coastline with her father, Chief Siskiyou. While the local tribes lived in constant fear of Seatka, the evil spirit of the ocean, Ewanua and the other members of her mountain-born tribe, held no fear of the evil one.  Following a great feast set in celebration of their visit, Euwana carried her pets (one dog and a mother cat and her kittens) out to the edge of the sea with her before swimming far out from shore.

All of a sudden, a fearsome creature grabbed her, and Komax, her dog, fearing for Ewanua's life swam out into the dark water and bit Seatka. Hurt and furious with the animal, Seatka kicked off the dog and threw it, along with the cat and her kittens, out into the sea. Filled with rage over losing her beloved pets and knowing the power that lay in Seatka's eyes, Ewanua from then on, refused to look directly at him. Today, she lies in the ocean, looking skyward, continuing her refusal to look into Seatka's eyes, who sits nearby. Her beloved Komax, her cat and the kittens lie to the west of her, waiting in vain for their mistress to arise from the cold ocean."

The maps below all show Bandon, Oregon.  

The rocks mentioned in the story are at the bottom left of the map.

This is a larger version showing the whole state, marked by the dotted line. The state of Washington is above, and the state of California is below. Bandon is the red marker.

One more map showing Bandon, Oregon's location on the USA map.