Bandon, Oregon: Home of the World's Greatest Sunset

On Thursday night, Sarah and I finished dinner in Bandon's Old Town district, on the Coquille River estuary.

Our dog Andie needed some exercise, so we drove to the beach on the south side of town.

Our timing was perfect, because the sun had just begun to set behind the sea stacks jutting from the sand and ocean waves.

It also happened to be low tide, so we were able to view Postelsia kelp (which resemble tiny palm trees), ochre sea stars, and black chitons (leathery mullosks) on the lower rocks.

It was also roosting time for hundreds of Brown Pelicans, which are staging all over the coast for their migration to winter breeding grounds in southern California and Mexico.

Could this sunset get any better? How about a rainbow and its reflection in the wet sand? It was not even raining in Bandon, but there must have been some precipitation to the north.

The sunset light was also reflecting on the sand, giving the beach a celestially tie-dyed look.

We have watched many sunsets on the Oregon coast, but this was surely the most eventful of all.