Camping and Car Clout in Florence, Oregon

When we visited Florence in September 2002, we were still motor home "newbies", learning some lessons the hard way. The hard lesson we learned there actually had more to do with our tow car, which experienced a car clout while we went for a long beach walk. This colored our stay from what might have been idyllic and golden, since the unpredictable coastal weather was gorgeous while we were here, to a more bluesy frustration as we spent hours on end on the campground pay phone, trying to straighten out our mess. Beyond that dumb twist of fate that united the clouters with our hapless Hyundai, Florence and the surroundings are lovely, with no end of interesting, scenic and outdoorsy activities.

Oregon Dunes Recreation Area: Recalling gritty, sandy haze and incessant droning of dune buggies at California’s Pismo Beach, we didn’t pull out to view the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area south of Florence. Although thousands of off-road vehicles visit the dunes every year, the area may be large enough (it’s the largest expanse of coastal dunes in North America) to accommodate those of us who seek quieter pastimes.

Sea Lion Caves: Around 200 Steller sea lions and seasonal California sea lions live in these caves north of Florence. We’d been planning to visit them, but you guessed it, we spent that day driving to Eugene in our injured vehicle to get the passenger window replaced.

Old Town Florence: We spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening wandering around the shops, on the boardwalk and down onto the docks where albacore tuna boats were unloading their haul, selling some, and loading the remainder into large iced bins to be trucked away, and selecting a place to eat from among the many restaurants. We chose a pizza place that was advertising an "all you can eat" pizza night. Pizzas offered ranged from standard pepperoni to more exotic combinations; a good range of selections. Downtown also offers a fly-fishing museum, many historic homes and buildings, and a cute little gazebo park overlooking the river.

In our pre-digital camera days, we were extremely miserly about taking photos, and we took none at either of the two campgrounds.

Quick Tips:

We spoke with different folks about how they avoid car clouts. Some leave their doors unlocked and windows open all the time, hoping clouters will think they have nothing of value inside. They reason that if something is taken, at least no windows will be broken in the process. At the other extreme are those with elaborate car alarms, warning stickers on the windows, flashing lights blinking ominously on the dash. We opted for the middle route, disabling the trunk lever between the door and the driver’s seat. As our car ages, maybe it will look less appealing to clouters (and thieves).

Best Way To Get Around:

We drove around in our car.

Best Things Nearby:
town of Florence, restaurants, shopping, fishing boats that sell albacore tuna at the docks, Siuslaw River, marina and boat launch.

Best Things About the Resort:
secure and clean campground, quiet, home to lots of friendly rabbits, many amenities, very well-stocked RV store.

Resort Experience:
Nestled among the pines and cedars only one mile from the Pacific Ocean, South Jetty Campground lies just south of the Siuslaw River, with the town of Florence across the Siuslaw Bridge to the north. Although this was a very pleasant full and partial hookup campground, there were a couple of things that marred our stay. First, we were assigned a very shady spot under a thick canopy of trees where it was perpetual night, requiring lights on in the motor home even in daytime, and even when it was sunny. We probably would have requested a sunnier spot, but then the second thing happened that really threw us for a loop, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the campground itself: Our car was broken into and my purse was stolen out of the trunk while we were walking on a beach a few miles north of town. Even though we only had made reservations for 4 days, they let us stay an extra day so that we could continue to work on all the complications that ensued from loss of cards, etc.

Between hours spent hanging on the pay phone at the clubhouse, we also did take time to walk around this large campground and view some of the extensive amenities. Everything was nicely kept up and we only wished we’d had more time to enjoy them and be in a happier mood. South Jetty not only had a pool and Jacuzzi, but my favorite means of exposure to extreme heat, a sauna. For the kids, there was a family activity center and a wealth of games, including a video arcade and playground. There was also an adult-only lodge, and playing fields for horseshoes, volleyball, pickleball, badminton, and a ping pong table. Rounding out South Jetty as a fairly self-contained village were South Jetty Betty’s café, small grocery, laundry, propane service, and adjacent to the park on the corner, an RV parts and service shop.

South Jetty belongs to the NACO/Thousand Trails membership campground family, but is also available for members of RPI (Resort Parks International), at a nightly fee of $8. (It was $5 during our stay in 2002.)

• Campground Type: Private
• Campsite Type: RV
• Price Range: $0 - $10
• Cleanliness: Excellent
• Campground Facilities: Excellent
• Recreational Facilities: Excellent
• Campsite Satisfaction: Satisfactory
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Very Good

Best Things Nearby:
Beach and trails, many lakes (4 in immediate vicinity, 12 more nearby), where you can fish, swim, sail, or powerboat. The town of Florence and Siuslaw River 6 miles south.

Best Things About the Resort:
Many open, sunny sites. B-loop surrounds a large grassy meadow. Some sites on A and B loops even have electric hookups (+$3). Nice system of trails, along Sutton Creek, into the dunes to the beach, and to Sutton, Dune, and Alder Lakes, and Alder Creek Campground. Short Darlingtonia (carnivorous lily) bog trail at entrance to B-loop.

Resort Experience:
Sutton Campground, a Forest Service campground in the pines, spruce and wax myrtles consists of 4 loops, A through D, including two group camps. Sutton Creek runs alongside the A and B loops. Many of the sites in these first two loops accommodate 40 foot and over RVs. We first considered reserving a space over the Labor Day weekend, just passed, but decided against it because we figured it would be over-filled to capacity on this extremely popular camping holiday. When we arrived in Florence we drove up the coast to take a look at Sutton Campground and immediately fell in love with it. Even though it was the weekend and great weather, the campground was virtually empty, except for a few campers and the host. We picked out a couple of longer sites on the B-Loop adjacent to a lovely meadow, and were already envisioning ourselves enjoying Happy Hour there before barbecuing some chicken or steak. We decided we simply must camp here, even if only for one night and day, which would be after our stay at South Jetty.

When we arrived to camp later that week in early afternoon, we were disappointed to find that our two favorite meadow sites were among those of the few that were occupied. We picked out another site almost as good and went ahead and had our barbecue that evening anyway. The next day on a morning walk, we met a Canadian couple walking their big, shaggy Bouvier des Flandres dog around the quiet, peaceful campground. They told us this most unusual looking canine is often used as a police dog because of its high loyalty and strength. Click on slide show to see what these amazing dogs look like.

The trails, vistas, ocean access and unique flora such as carnivorous "pitcher plants" (Darlingtonia), and contorted wind-shaped and stunted shore pines, make this area worthwhile to visit on a Day Pass, even if you’re not planning to camp here. The fees are $5 per vehicle, or $10 for a five-day coastal permit. From mid-summer to early fall, you’ll see a profusion of edible berries along the trails, including blueberry, huckleberry, salmonberry, blackberry, and thimbleberry. This coastal forest is home to more than 200 bird species, some migratory. Mammals include black bear, deer, opossums, rabbits, and chipmunks.

Sutton Campground is one of five coastal campgrounds in the Mapleton Ranger District. Sutton as well as nearby Alder Dune Campground are suitable for large RVs. They are open May through October. The other three campgrounds, Horse Creek, Dry Lake, and Baker Beach, have corrals and facilities for horses, and are open all year. Camping fees for Sutton are $15 per night, $17 with electrical hookup, half price with Golden Age or Access Pass. This is up $3 from when we camped there two years ago.

• Campground Type: National Park
• Campsite Type: RV
• Price Range: $10 - $20
• Cleanliness: Very Good
• Campground Facilities: Very Good
• Recreational Facilities: Excellent
• Campsite Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Satisfactory
• Service: Very Good

Summer 2002: our first summer of full-time living in our new motor home on the Oregon Coast! My husband Bob and I had been moving gradually up the coast in our slow, snail-like fashion, and were camped just south of Florence. We’d been experiencing either smoky or cloudy weather. Although clouds and mist are typical on the Oregon Coast, the smoke came from the lightning-caused Biscuit-Complex Fire that burned half a million acres that summer. We’d often see huge fire cumulus clouds in the east. Sometimes ashes would fall like rain throughout the day.

A perfect day: This Saturday dawned clear and sunny, with a few billowy natural cumulus clouds – a wonderful day to explore! So off we went in our tow car, a Hyundai Elantra, stopping here and there along the coast, taking short walks, and enjoying the scenery. I’d taken my leather backpack-purse, but didn’t really need it at the stops we were making. So I took out my camera and put the purse in the trunk, looking around to make sure no potential thieves were lurking. We walked to an ocean overlook, then back to the car and took off up the coast.

Our next stop was Heceta Beach, by Driftwood Shores Resort. On this beautiful sunny day, there were only a few parking spaces left on the state beach parking lot. We took one on the end of a row of cars, so there’d be less of a chance of someone banging their car door into our shiny gray new car. We walked down to the beach, where people were strolling and dogs were gamboling. It was midday and getting a bit hazy, with mist from the breakers moistening the air. Almost intoxicated by the warm sea breeze, we walked at leisure, approaching Heceta Lighthouse in the distance. An hour later, we turned to head back to the car.

A startling discovery: As Bob unlocked the front doors with the remote key, I stepped on shattered glass next to the passenger side, and couldn’t believe what I saw. The passenger window was gone, more glass tinkling down inside the door as I exclaimed and opened it. The glove box was hanging open. We quickly discovered that Bob’s camera, lying covered on the floor of the back seat, and our $2000 "brake buddy" in its plastic container on the back seat, were still there. As Bob popped the trunk and I looked inside, I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach; my purse was gone.

Our immediate hope was that maybe the thieves had found the cash (about $25) and thrown the purse out nearby, with credit and debit cards, gift cards, checkbooks, driver’s license, RN license, ALL our camping membership ID cards, and address book still in it. Fat chance. We walked around looking under bushes and in trash containers, to no avail. As we drove back to Florence, I kept looking by the side of the road, vainly hoping to spot my purse, which had been a gift from my mother, my favorite and only purse. We followed the "Police" sign to a side street in Florence. The police station was locked and looked closed. It was before 5 pm, and we’d seen that the library down the street appeared to be open. The librarian, sympathetic to our tale of woe, made some phone calls. She found out that since our car had been broken into outside of city limits, we’d need to go see the state police, whose office was north of town, where we’d come from. She spoke to an officer there, who told her to have us come on over. As we drove up, he appeared just about to take off in his patrol car, but when we gesticulated wildly to him, he got out of his car and invited us in his office. He shared with us that "car clouts" are very common on the Oregon coast, and even more so with the slashed state budget, decimating the ranks of state patrol officers. Druggies looking for quick cash make a coastal run, breaking into one car per community and taking what they can get. Another car had been broken into earlier that afternoon beachside a little further north. He told us they move fast, trying to avoid confrontations. I filled out the police report, but he was skeptical. I gave him our cell phone number anyway just in case my purse would turn up.

The two tasks that remained to us which would take up the next three days were (#1) phoning all our cards, banks, etc. so that they could be stopped and accounts changed, and (#2) getting the car window fixed. No body shops on the coast; the nearest were in Eugene, so we drove there Monday, called around from the Visitor Center checking prices, and got our window replaced.

Lessons learned: We were lucky; it could have been so much worse. We stopped leaving valuable items in the back seats. I learned never to leave my purse in the trunk. I learned to slim down and take only essentials with me when touring in the car. Bob disabled the lever that pops the trunk open from beside the driver’s seat. That’s how they’d gotten in. Alarms didn’t ring because only the car doors were alarmed, not the windows, not the trunk. We also reconsidered parking at the end of rows of cars. Scratches and dents on the side of a car are not as bad as shattered windows and stolen valuables.

A happy post script to the story: One of the things that made me the saddest about the theft of my purse was the loss of over $100 left on a Copeland Sports gift card, a going-away gift from co-workers. I’d been told gift cards are like cash; when they’re lost they’re gone. At the Eugene Copeland’s a few weeks later, an exceptional employee went out of his way to see what he could do to re-issue the card. Apparently they’re tracked, and since I knew who and where the card was bought, he found the balance had NOT been cashed in, cancelled it, and promptly issued me a new one.

Early days: Before the Siuslaw Indians even had much contact with Europeans and Americans, diseases such as smallpox caught indirectly decimated some of their villages. When Hudson Bay traders looking for beaver arrived in the area in 1826, the Siuslaw lived along the coast in 30+ villages, in and around what is now Florence. They lived in permanent cedar plank houses, and hunted, gathered, and fished, moving to seasonal camps upriver to follow the salmon and lamprey eel. The staple edible root was camas lily, which was baked a full day. The many types of locally growing berries were eaten fresh or dried.

By 1836, the Siuslaw and other neighboring tribes began regularly trading hides for goods with Hudson Bay Company traders. The first settlers arrived in 1850. In 1855, the U.S. Government signed a treaty with all the coastal Indian tribes, removing them to the Siletz Reservation on the Central Oregon Coast. Since the Siuslaw River was then inside the reservation at the southern edge, many Siuslaw families attempted farming along the river. In 1875, a year before the first cannery began business in Florence, a U.S. congressional act removed large tracts of land from the Siletz, including the Alsea Subagency, to which some Siuslaw had moved earlier, and the land around the Siuslaw River, in violation of the 1855 Treaty. This illegal act forced many Siuslaw families out of their homes. Some moved onto the shrunken and increasingly crowded reservation, others attempted to go into hiding, and still others intermarried with white people.

From bad to worse: In 1916, the Siuslaw began working together with the Coos and Umpqua tribes, who had also been displaced illegally from their lands. After years of lobbying Congress, the tribes were given a hearing in 1931, and their land claims were rejected, because they didn’t use "outside experts" to validate their claim, and had historically been so peaceful, a lot of people didn’t even realize they were around. In 1941, a meeting hall was built on 6 acres of land near Empire, which had been donated to the Siuslaw. They didn’t give up, but in 1956, Eisenhower’s termination policy in effect stated all the tribes of western Oregon "no longer existed", which makes about as much sense as a little child closing its eyes and thinking the outside world has disappeared. After almost 3 decades of struggle, the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw tribes were restored to recognized status in 1984. These three confederated tribes are the only Oregon tribes that have not to this day been compensated in any way for the loss of their lands: 1.6 million acres from Yachats to Coquille.

The struggle continues: June 19, 2004 was a red letter day for the Siuslaw tribe. It marked the opening of Three Rivers Casino, the ninth Indian casino in Oregon. The confederated tribes had to BUY the 98 acres adjacent to Florence so that they could begin work on their planned casino. But one year later in 1999, the U.S. Department of the Interior ruled that it was not reservation land, so could therefore not be used for gambling. Following granted appeals and counter-appeals, the legal battle continues even as the hotly contested casino opened its doors. A local group opposed to the casino, People Against a Casino Town filed a lawsuit against Oregon, its governor, and the confederated tribes, claiming that the casino is in violation of the state constitution.

Three Rivers Casino opened at the beginning of summer 2004 in a 16,000 square foot military type structure with high tech slots, height-adjustable black leather upholstered chairs, and complimentary Pepsi. The One-Eyed Jacks Lounge serves alcohol. Florence townfolk have mixed opinions about the casino. Although Three Rivers employs 200 people in this town of 7100, have built their own sewer and water systems (even though only a mile from downtown Florence, being outside of city limits), and provide their own police protection, many Florence residents seem not to want to learn from the largely beneficial impact on surrounding towns and communities that other Indian casinos have had. Not to mention that confederated tribes’ motives in establishing these casinos is not akin to the glitzy hedonistic Las Vegas gambling palaces, but merely to allow their people to regain some economic independence and self-respect.

Another uphill battle: It saddens me when indigenous peoples’ and environmentalists’ interests seem at odds. This is what is apparently going on right now (September 2004) between the confederated tribes and some local conservation groups. The current conflict involves a headland, Gregory Point, and nearby Chief’s Island (Lighthouse Island), which the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) are preparing to turn over to the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. These lands are among the ancestral homelands of the Coos Indians. There are a small cemetery and an abandoned Coast Guard housing facility on Gregory Point; the tribes want to use the buildings for tribal offices. Chief’s Island is the only one of the over 1800 islands off the Oregon coast that is not under the protection of the Oregon Islands Natural Wildlife Refuge, and conservation groups want to make it unanimous. I am not against preventing chopping up ecosystems, but give me a break! Most Indian tribes are NOT known for how little they respect the land and how all they want to do is make profits off it and open it to massive tourism. Hey, that’s US (of European ancestry) that’s done most of that all through our history, requiring agencies such as national refuges to protect the land.

We’re planning another jaunt up the Oregon Coast next summer 2005, and I’m looking forward to checking out Three Rivers Casino. With the tight security we’ve come to recognize as common on Indian casino parking lots in Oregon and other states, I doubt our car’s going to be clouted while we’re there!