Finders Keepers...

Happy Easter!

We spent most of the morning inside just relaxing, doing mail, and watching the waves. I think we both needed a quiet day. A lot of the other RV's left this morning and we are pretty much the only ones here.

Later in the afternoon we took a ride about 15 miles north on 101 to Lincoln City. At first look Lincoln City seems a bit honky-tonk, with restaurants, salt-water taffy stands, and outlet shops. This is a larger beach town and really has a lot to offer. It's "a great place to try new things". We had hoped to go to a studio where we could blow our own glass floats. Unfortunately they wanted $65 each to do this so we decided to pass.

Lincoln City has favorable winds for kite flying and takes advantage of it through annual summer and fall kite festivals. In March the city hosts an 'indoor' windless kite festival. Unfortunately the wind is still too strong and we missed the indoor festival by a week....oh well....next.

We drove through Main Street and enjoyed shops and a number of art galleries. Lincoln City has become a center for glass art. Each year from mid-October through May 30 more than 2000 signed, numbered, and handcrafted glass floats are hidden along 7.5 miles of public beach. They hide 65 floats a week (a few each day) ocean permitting. This started in 1999 for the mellenium and is kicked off by the Finders Keepers Festival each October. It is a reminder of the history of finding Japanese glass fishing floats on the beach - some of which floated in the pacific for more than 30 years. A Japanese float is rare now, but a mellenium float is much more common. Due to the storm we didn't have a chance to hunt.

Lincoln City runs along the coast from Siletz Bay past Devils Lake on the north. We drove over D River, which connects Devils Lake and the Pacific Ocean. The river is listed in Guinness Book of Records as the world's shortest river at 120 feet.

Turning back into town we took the back roads along the beach and was surprised to find the Chinook Winds Casino. With beautiful ocean views we grabbed a bite to eat and then played for a while and then headed home.

It was a good day...

A Real Nor'Wester.....

Today we decided to check out the scenic views in the area. The storm is raging, windy, and heavy rain. Our first stop down Rte 101 S was Boiler Bay. The ocean waves roll and crash in various directions making the water look like its boiling. The waves were about 8 - 10 feet high and the spray was coming up over the rocks in huge sprays. The only word to describe it would be "tumultuous".

Further south toward Newport we took the Otter Crest Loop (part of old 101). We stopped at several overlooks to marvel at the changing views and the power and force of the sea. The Otter Crest Wayside sits 453 feet above the ocean on Cape Foulweather (perfect name). This is a great place for whale watching. We stood on the cliff edge where we could see Yaquina Head Lighthouse in the distance. A plaque at the wayside told us winds could exceed 100 mph.

Down the road, past the swirling water of Devil's Punch Bowl overlook and on to Yaquina Head Light Natural Area. The first stop is at the visitor center where we watched videos about the building of the light and the keepers who kept it going. Yaquina Head is a thin coastal headland which extends 1 mile into the ocean. It was formed by ancient lava flows. It's a great place to explore tidepools, trails, and the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast at 162 feet above sea level. You could spend the whole day here. The light at Yaquina Head was first illuminated in August 1873. We pulled into the lighthouse parking lot and grabbed the camera, however, when we got out the wind was so strong we could hardly stand up....oh well back into the car...

Further down 101S to the little beach town of Nye Beach. After browsing the neighborhood's boutiques and book stores we found The Chowder Bowl on a side street. Naturally clam chowder was Ken's choice while I chose fish tacos for lunch. The chowder was the best we've had so far out here. It was excellent and Angie, our waitress, was fun. Now that we're fed and happy we left for Newport Bayfront.

The Bayfront area is home to Oregon's biggest commercial fishing fleet. Sea lions also inhabit the many private docks and public piers. We could hear them barking blocks away.

Walking the boardwalk we learned about Newport's first tourist destination resort, the Ocean House, which was built in 1866. Sam Case, its proprietor, named the Ocean House for a resort in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s no surprise that Case also named Newport for his favorite town in Rhode Island.

Development of a large seafood industry didn’t begin until 1908, when electricity (needed for refrigeration) became available. This industry still thrives today. Yaquina Bay became an attractive shipping port with the construction and dredging of the jetty, complimented by Newport's famous lighthouse.

Newport was once the location of the world’s largest spruce mill which provided spruce for the manufacture of airplanes during World War I. Later the mill provided all of the wood to build Howard hughes’ infamous Spruce Goose.

Our last stop was back in Depoe Bay to visit the world's smallest navigable harbor. Today was quiet, but in the summer this little place really buzzes. Walking along the harbor we found the Kite Shop. We went in and got a beginner kite set up. Now we just need to have the wind calm down a little.

With all of our stops checked off for the day we headed back to camp. We got some great pictures today and saw fantastic scenery.

Pictures: (right to left) Boiler Bay (2), Otter Crest Overlook, Cape Foulweather (2), Yaquina Head Light, Chowder Bowl Lunch, Sea Lions

Wonderful Sea Life

Leaving Winchester Bay this morning we are going to inch our way up Rte 101N a short way to Depoe Bay. The wind was so strong we debated as to whether we should leave or not... but in the next half hour it calmed down a little. We rolled up the coast highway saying goodbye to the communities we enjoyed over the last few days. There are over 100 state parks along the coast and they are really beautiful. Many allow camping and all of them have terrific day use facilities.

Crossing over the Suislaw River the road skirts the coastline, hugging the beaches, and then climbing up cliffs to look out over rolling breakers and then winding down again. The angry ocean today is full of white caps as far as we can see. We meander through Yachats known as the "gem of the Oregon coast" with 635 villagers located at the mouth of the Yachats River. This is a vacation destination, perfect for those who enjoy quirky art festivals and music festivals throughout the summer.

Next was the community of Waldport huddled between the ocean and the Siuslaw National Forest. A very quaint little place with lots of brightly painted buildings. (They love bright yellow here...) We stopped for gas and learned that in Oregon it's a state law that the attendant has to pump your gas. Felt like we were back in the "old" days.... Our friend at the gas station told us we could get 80 mph winds later today! Looks like we are going to be able to experience a real "northwester".

A few minutes in the car brought us to Depoe Bay where we found the Sea and Sand RV Park which sits up on a bluff. There are 3 tiers of RV sites and we have a perfect view of the ocean. We got set up, but didn't put the slides out tonight... the wind is really rocking us and the gusts feel longer than 40 mph. Once settled we walked along the RV Park walkway along the bluff.

After a while we left camp and stopped to watch the waves throw water onto Main Street in Depoe Bay. There are lots of people parked along the sea wall watching the water come over the wall. With this storm and the high tide the waves are awesome, atleast 10 feet.

Further south on Rte 101 is the town of Newport and home of the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It's a fun place. As we arrived they were feeding the Sea Otters (which are huge) some very large clams, then we moved on to see the seals and Octopus. They had a great exhibit about the creatures that live in the sand and rocks. We got to touch a red Sea Star and green Anemone (sticky on the side) and you can hardly feel their tentacles. We learned a lot about the tide pools they live in. We walked through an aquarium as many different types of sharks swam over our heads and beside us as we sat along the glass. It was great. Other aquariums held sea life we had never seen before like Sea Nettles and white Jelly Fish. The aquarium was a lot of fun. After our visit we'll be much more prepared to explore tidal pools.

We had hale again on the way home. The sky is a strange looking dark gray with sunshine holes and patches of blue sky. It's beautiful, but ominous looking. We had another great day.....

Pictures: Depoe Bay RV Site, Sea Wall on Main St, Sea Otter floating on his back having dinner, Puffin, Sea Nettles, Green Anemone & Sea Stars