Excursion & Socials

Monday Night Social

A welcoming social will be held on the campus of Southwestern Oregon Community College following the last scientific sessions Monday. Shuttle busses will then be available to transport individuals without transportation to North Bend, Coos Bay or Charleston for dinner.

Tuesday Night

Dinner on your own… shuttle busses available for those without cars.

Wednesday Excursion

After lunch, delegates will board coaches for a two-hour sightseeing tour of the southern Oregon coast. The trip will terminate at Gold Beach, where we will board the famous "Mail Boat" jet boats for an excursion up the Rogue River. The mail boats, which were not always jet powered, have been delivering mail to remote river towns for more than 100 years. The Rogue River originates high in the Cascade range near Crater Lake, and has received the "Wild and Scenic River" designation by the U.S. government. Trained naturalists will help us observe the spectacular scenery and an assortment of wildlife. Dinner (an American Indian style barbeque) will be served at the midpoint of the river excursion. We will return to Coos Bay about 10:00 p.m.

Thursday Banquet

Apart from barns, school gymnasiums and the local casino, there are no halls on the southern Oregon coast large enough to host our group's gala banquet. We will therefore depart from tradition by holding a catered outdoor banquet on the campus of OIMB. The setting, in the shadow of giant trees and near a meandering brook, is beautifully peaceful and protected from the blowing winds. A catered buffet will highlight freshly caught local seafoods and Oregon wines.

Informal Activities on your own

Southern Oregon is rich with outdoor activities that can be enjoyed before the symposium, after the symposium and during particularly boring sessions. These include hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, river fishing for salmonids, "deep-sea" fishing, dune exploration on foot or 4-wheel drive vehicles, horseback riding on the beach, sightseeing, golfing, crabbing, clamming, tidepooling, etc. Crater Lake National Park, an ancient volcanic cauldera filled with some of the most transparent water on earth, is about 4 hours from the conference venue along scenic routes punctuated with waterfalls and old growth forest. Redwood National Park in Northern California, with its impressive groves of Sequoia trees and scenic coastline is about 3 hours away. The entire Oregon coast, both north and south of the Coos Bay Area, is very beautiful and worthy of leisurely exploration. To explore the recreational and sightseeing resources of Oregon, please visit the following links:

City of Coos Bay, Coos Art Museum, Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Whole Shebang Magazine, Welcome to Oregon, Southern Oregon Visitors Association,Welcome to the Oregon Coast, Oregon Citylink Coos Bay site.