Monday, June 12th
– Thursday, June 22nd
Winchester Bay, Windy
Cove C.G.
After spending a wonderful time in central Oregon, we headed
to the Oregon Coast. This was one of our premier bucket list items, as we had
seen pictures of the amazing rocky coast and beaches. We drove west through the
Willamette National Forest, with beautiful views of the tall Douglas fir trees
and some small mountain passes. We also passed though the city of Eugene on our
way to Florence on the coast, then headed south to Winchester Bay. We quickly
found out that this area of the coast is famous for the Oregon Dunes National
Recreation Area. This is a wonderland of beach dunes and lakes that is the
playground for off-road vehicles. The Dunes are filled with campgrounds (on the
sand), lakes, hiking trails and forests. The town of Reedsport is known for
their annual chain-saw sculpting contest. There are wooden art sculptures all
around town, it’s very interesting to see the talent there.
Our County campground was on the bay and close to
everything. We began by touring the closest lighthouse, Umpqua River
lighthouse, originally built in 1857. This is an active lighthouse with a
distinctive Fresnel lenses that emit red and white flashes. We drove around the
area and found an elk viewing meadow, didn’t see one elk. One day we drove
south to Coos Bay to check out several state parks along the coast there. This
area had the rocky, craggy coastline that we expected to see. We saw another
lighthouse from a distance, the Cape Arago light. This is not a functional
light and is owned by the local Native American tribe. Another amazing area was
the Shore Acres S.P. This was once a coastal property owned by a wealthy timber
baron and was ultimately donated to the state. The estate was filled with
beautiful gardens and also a whale viewing area on the shore. There were
amazing coastal vistas of rugged sandstone cliffs along the shore. We also
visited Sunset Bay, a lovely crescent shaped beach with rocky shores and
cliffs.
Depoe Bay, Fogarty
Creek RV
After spending one rainy day inside, we decided to move
north to the Newport area. Along the drive north, we stopped at various
overlooks for more views of the amazing coastline. Cape Perpetua was
particularly beautiful and has history of Captain Cook landing there. The only
bad part was the weather was overcast, foggy, rainy and gloomy (June &
Gloom). We stayed in the small village of Depoe Bay, which is famous for its
whales that hang out there all year. After we setup camp in Depoe Bay, we found
that right across the highway was another viewpoint on Fishing Rock. We took the
dogs, crossed the highway and hiked over to the lookout. Even with the rain, it
was quite beautiful. While staying in this little town, we headed north for
more coastal gazing. This stretch of the coast was mostly composed of black
volcanic rock with amazing vistas. We stopped at Cape Foulweather and was able
to see some whales just offshore. There were several whale watching boats and
whenever they sighted one, we could watch around their boats and get a glimpse
of the grey whales. Along with the stunning vistas, there were huge beaches
surrounded by rocky cliffs. The hikes up to the cliffs provided great views of
the beach. We headed down to Newport for lunch and found a great little Mom
& Pop seafood shack, the clam chowder and fish & chips were wonderful.
We then toured the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Again, we saw more spectacular
views of black rocky coasts.
Seaside, Circle Creek
RV
Our last location on the coast was in the area of Seaside,
Oregon. This coastal beach town is a prime beach vacation town. The town has
all kinds of activities for families and everyone. We stayed in the RV park
just a mile south of town, it felt like we were in the country. Seaside is a
very busy summer town, with the Necanicum River flowing through the town, and
is a favorite place to kayak, stand up paddle board and paddle boat.
The first day we headed north to the city of Astoria, right
at the mouth of the Columbia River. This fishing town has grown into a tourist
stop. We rode the town trolley along the Colombia River waterfront with a great
tour guide that explained the history of this town. We also drove up a hill to
the Astoria Column, a huge tribute to the Lewis & Clark expedition and
early pioneers. The column is painted in bas-relief drawings of the historical
times in the area. We were able to take the stairs to the top and take in the
360 views of the inlet, bay, town and the Columbia River.
Ecola State Park was just a few miles south, so we went
there to hike and see the coastal views. The dogs went with us and the hike was
amazing. The lookout on the trail was a great view of the Tillamook Head
Lighthouse. This light no longer is functional and has simply just been left
alone. Even the views of the beach in the park were beautiful.
Kurt took one afternoon to go on a hike just east of Seaside.
He took Luca and they hiked to the peak of Saddle Mountain Summit Trail. The
pictures and views were amazing and they both had a great hike.
On our last day there, we headed just south to Cannon Beach
to check out this beach town. It was quickly apparent that this beach town was
upscale compared to Seaside. What a lovely town and a great beach. Nice little
downtown with all kinds of shops, restaurants, art galleries, wine shops and
breweries. We took the dogs and walked
onto the beach to get closer to Haystack Rock. This rock is a moss covered sea
bird rookery, filled with all different species. We were in awe as we watched
two bald eagles fly onto the rock and rob the nests. The seabirds all tried to
fight them off, but the eagles had babies to feed also. The eagles got what
they wanted. We were speechless after witnessing this act of nature, we will
probably never see anything like it again. Wow. We wished we had spent more
time in Cannon Beach, but we just ran out of time.
Had to head back inland and up into Washington State.
