The Discovery Coast

Off to explore the Long Beach Penninsula known as the Discovery Coast. Ambling up the west side of Rte 103 the ocean is on our left and the road is mostly residential with picturesque beach cottages on our right. There are miles of pristine ocean beaches and plenty of access points as we passed through little hamlets of Klipsan Beach, Ocean Park, and Surfside. We came to the end of the penninsular and crossed over to the east side. We followed Sandedge Rd along Willapa Bay. There was an interesting little side road on our left which led us to a little village called Oysterville.

Although Oysterville is a ghost town, it has life. The historic district, with Willapa Bay as it's backdrop, looks like a movie back lot from a 19th century community. We passed storybook cottages with amazing gardens . The village dead ends at the Oysterville Sea Farms where they harvest oysters. The owner was out collecting Oysters and arrived with a wheelbarrel full as we roamed the store shelves. We purchased a small container of oysters to cook later and then continued down the road. Following the bay road Captain's Coffee appeared. As its cold, raw, and showery we stopped for a hot drink. We passed by several oyster canneries and drove down to the dock of one. There were enormous piles of oyster shells at the end of the dock. We couldn't believe the amount of them. People use the broken shells for landscaping as well.

Our next stop was Long Beach. We parked on the sand beach, watched the surf, and drank our drinks. Long Beach is a fun place and is famous for it's eccentric charm. Long Beach is the world's longest beach. During the summer it offers many festivals and soaring kites. We wanted to walk the boardwalk but decided to wait and hope the weather gets better.

There's more on our to do list today so we're off to the town of Ilwaco (pronounced way-ko not whak-o...). This is an incredible place and is framed by one of the world's most beautiful harbors. Turning onto Alternate Route 100 we drove through the Lewis & Clark State Park to the picturesque North Head Light perched high on the headland overlooking the Pacific. This light is a testimony to the cape's challenging weather. Winter winds have been clocked here at 160 mph. The rain stopped so we walked the trail to the light and enjoyed the views.

Next stop is Cape Disappointment. This is the older of the two lighthouses. Many difficulties were overcome, include the loss of all construction materials in a shipwreck at the mouth of th Columbia. Finally in 1856 the 53-foot masonry light was completed. As we drove through the park we stopped at Waikiki Beach. This is where Lewis & Clark came ashore when they finished their expedition. John Jacob Astor also landed on this beach to trade with the local indians.

Ilwaco Harbor Village was an interesting place with refurbished fishing shacks. It was time for some chowder and we decided on "Ole Bobs" right on the harbor. It was really quaint and the chowder was good. Afterwards we passed the Cape D Coast Guard station and training center. Unfortunately we weren't allowed into the station as it's now part of Homeland Security.

Back at camp we looked over materials on Washington to help us plan the next few weeks. We'll be seeing mostly beaches, scenery, trails, and hopefully "sun"! Ken did some maintenance. We had dinner, watched TV, and went to bed.

Pictures: (right to left) Oysterville Cottage, Oyster Shell Pile, Long Beach Entrance, North Head Lighthouse trail, North Head View, Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Waikiki Beach and Cape Disappointment, Ole Bobs

Terrors of the Bar!

We are camped in Long Beach, Washington only a short drive from Astoria, Oregon. It's partly sunny and much better than yesterday so we snuck back over the Astoria Bridge into Oregon before the "rain gods" knew we were back! Clinging to a steep shoreline where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean this town was once the roughest, toughest town between San Francisco and Seattle. It is steeped in maritime legends as well as thoseof explorers, fur traders and lumberjacks. After reading up on the history we were excited to go exploring...

Having a full day planned our first stop was the Columbia River Maritime Museum. We spent several hours here learning about the rich maritme legacy that came alive as we roamed through the extensive collections of nautical artifacts. The most dramatic exhibit was the US Coast Guard 44 foot lifeboat which shows a life size sea rescue. We learned about the Columbia River Bar Pilots, a group of 15, who guide the vessels from 100-foot tugs to 1100-foot tankers through the 17 mile danger zone. This is no place for the timid! The pilot is brought to a ship by "pilot boat" and boards the ship assuming the navigational responsibility. The pilot safely navigates the vessel to or from the entrance of the mighty Columbia River, one of the most dangerous and challenging river bars in the world. With this information under our belts we experienced a trecherous crossing through the museums newest exhibit: Crossing the Bar - Perilous Passage. This film was awesome! (we took pictures, but little blurry due to the movement...) We finished the indoor exhibits and went outside to board the Lightship Columbia. Lightships are small towns anchored about 5 miles offshore, marking the entrance to the Columbia River. It remains anchored in one place and is designed to give major navigational aid when required. They are used where construction of a lighthouse doesn't make sense. From 1892 until 1979, a lightship marked the entrance to the Columbia. During fierce winter storms, thirty-foot waves aren't unusual as they guide vessels across one of the world's most hazardous bars, known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific ".

Leaving the museum we walked the River Walk for a while enjoying the views and then went back to the car. Unfortunately the Riverfront Trolley doesn't start until May.

Our next destination was The Astoria Column. Astoria is often called "little San Francisco on a hill" due to its beautiful Victorian architecture. We drove straight up Coxcomb Hill through the narrow streets to The Astoria Column, which provides panoramic views of the city of Astoria, Oregon and Washington mountain ranges, Pacific Ocean, and the river. We walked the grounds and were able to look down into the shipping lanes below. The column is a fantastic one-of-a-kind structure built in 1926. There are fourteen 25-foot-long scenes portraying Pacific Northwest history from before the white man to 1893 when the railroad arrived. The column is an Italian art form which combines both carving and painting.

We left Astoria and traveled east on Old Hwy 101 across Youngs Bay and the Lewis and Clark River to Fort Clatsop. The Chinook and Clatsop Indians made this their home for thousands of years. This is where the Lewis and Clark Expedition spent the winter of 1805-1806 at the end of their 4000 mile trek. As we have travelled on our journey we have been in and out of the many Lewis and Clark National and State Parks and they are fantastic. They provide all types of recreation and learning opportunities. We strolled the 2 mile path along the Lewis & Clark River and enjoyed the forest and river views. It was nice to be outdoors again!

Not being finished yet we hopped back in the car and west across the penninsular to Fort Stevens State Park and the Peter Iredale shipwreck. Ft Stevens was the home of the Clatsop Indians, who lived on Point Adams which is the southern tip of land marking the entrance to the Columbia River. The park also served the U.S. military from the Civil War through World War II. The Iredale sailed from Mexico bound for Portland Oregon the crew of 27, including 2 stowaways, and 1,000 tons of ballast reached the mouth of the Columbia River in athick mist and rising tide. With stong winds from the west an attempt was made to move away from shore, but a heavy squall grounded the Peter Iredale on Clatsop Sands. It sits on the beach today as a reminder of the ocean's strength.

As we stood on a dune looking at the shipwreck we saw people driving on the beach. Of course Ken got excited. Next we are looking for the access road and off we went. The beach is hard sand and great fun. This will be the Last Hurrah for the HHR as it's days are numbered now! After playing we drove to the North Jetty at the river entrance. We meandered down the road through the forest when a coyote ran in front of us. We watched him hunt for a while and then he sauntered off. We arrived at the jetty parking area and took the trail to a wildlife bunker (for birders). We walked the beach to Adams Point. A huge ship was being escorted into the river by a US Coast Guard boat and helocopter. The helocopter was lowering me onto the ships deck. We wondered what was going on...

Now it's time to head home. As you've probably guessed this place is all about the River!

At home we relaxed and then went to bed. This was a really good day!

Pictures: (left to right) USCG Life Saving Exhibit, Pilot Boat on the bar (2-from film), Ship crossing the bar (from film), Capt Ken on the bridge, Astoria Bridge from Coxcomb Hill, Astoria Column, Ft Clatsop, Peter Iredale Wreck, HHR driving the beach, Coyote in Ft Stevens Park, Walking Adams Point, Tanker with USCG escort - spot under helocopter is a person...)

What is SqueeekyCheese?

Oregon is really beautiful, the spring weather isn't the best, but it has a different kind of beauty. It was raining as we started to hook up and then the sky let loose, we had a downpour of hale...felt like we were roller skating as we moved around. Finally we headed out and within 30 minutes the sun was peaking out. The weather here is a lot like home - if you don't like it wait a minute!

We drove through Willamette Pass and over Cascade Head with great views and then through Suislaw National Forest with Alder, Aspen, and Douglas Fir on both sides of the road. This area is very much like home. We passed a Daffodil Farm and lots of dairy farms as we wound our way along Nestucca River. The river is a great recreation spot for fishing. Soon we began to see snow capped mountains on our right in the distance. It was our first view of the Cascade Range.

Along 101 we started seeing signs for "Squeeeky Cheese" and knew we were getting closer to our first stop.. Tillamook Cheese Factory. This is the only place you can get Squeeeky Cheese, Tillamook Ice Cream, and a first hand look at how Tillamook Cheese is made. Of course we took the self-guided tour. It was really interesting. They make 167,000 lbs of cheese per day and 1.7 million gallons of milk is delivered daily to the factory. So what is squeeeky cheese? When cheese curds are cold they have a squeak, but when they come to room temperature they squeak their hearts out and that's half of the reason people eat cheese curds. Tillamook's cheese curds are made from cheddar cheese curds...hmmm...and it has a nice medium sharp taste with a little bit of a rubbery texture which adds to their enjoyment. The curds also have a bit of a salty taste and they are shaped oddly which makes them fun. After the tour we went to the cheese tasting counter and last but not least visited the ice cream counter (38 flavors). Naturally we took cheese and ice cream home with us.

As we continue up Rte 101 through Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach we really can't see much for views as it's pretty socked in. We crossed over the Nehalem River lined with houseboats into the little community of Nehalem and passed Wanda's Cafe. The forest got thicker as we drove through Oswald West State Park. A mountain appeared in front of us and as we rounded the corner the opening of a tunnel appeared taking us through to the other side. Suddenly we came along a stunning stretch of beach, Cannon Beach provides breathtaking views around every corner. The town was named for a cannon that washed up on the beach in 1846. The cannon from the US Navy schooner Shark washed ashore after the schiooner was wrecked while trying to cross the Columbia Bar, known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. The cannon was rediscovered in 1898. The town has worked very hard to keep the natural beauty of the area.

Arriving in Seaside, Oregon's first seaside resort, the gray stormy ocean rushed up to meet the sea stacks and exploded into the air along the roadway. Seaside is very quaint and offers visitors dozens of specialty shops, art galleries, and antique stores. It's a great place to browse. Rolling through Seaside we find ourselves back on the Lewis & Clark Trail. We thought if the weather clears we would come back this way to enjoy the beautiful beaches.

Arrivng in Astoria we realized we were about to cross Mile 0 of Highway 101 at the south end of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. The bridge rose in front of us and we were not prepared for the immenseness of the structure. The bridge is the longest continuous three-span bridge in the world and is over 4 miles long. The bridge makes Hwy 101 an unbroken link between the Canadian and Mexican borders. Going over the bridge the road took us up over the Columbia River as you get to the crest the bridge slants downward like the first drop on a roller coaster and then flattens out to more like a causeway. As we reached the crest Seagulls were flying by at eye level. You think you are over the bridge and then the causeway turns to a single lane bridge, due to construction. A line on this bridge divides Oregon and Washington. At 3:21pm we passed into our 21st state on our journey.

Our first view of Washington along Rte 101 is foresty with little hamlets dotted along the way. We got to our campground in Long Beach and unhooked and set up for the 1st time in driving rain and wind! Dinner, TV and Bed.....

It was an awful weather day but gorgeous scenery!

Pictures: Oregon Sunset (without sun)

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

OOOOOOOH!!

This morning we decided to head back to the Dean Creek Elk Viewing area to see if we could get a closer picture of the elk. We stopped at a pull off where we found 2 herds grazing close to the road. While we were watching the elk another couple joined us. They were local people and we talked with them for a while.

Next we drove up 101 back to Florence to visit the famous Oregon Dunes. The coastal range has been rising for millions of years. The dunes have been pushed upward by the incredible force of colliding tectonic plates. Wind and rain grind river rocks into sand which is deposited on ocean shores. Strong tides and winds from the pacific blow the sand into undulating ridges along the 50 miles of beach from Florence to Coos Bay. The dunes bring to mind images of Lawrence of Arabia.

Today we'll do something we've never done.. we're going Sand Railing on the dunes! Sand Dunes Frontier was our destination. The Sand Rail soon pulled up with our driver Darren, who has been driving the dunes for 19 years. We suited up in our rain jackest with hoods up, goggles, and Darren belted us into our buggy. He asked if we wanted the "fun" ride - we said "of course!" Off we went and for the next half hour we went up and over 100-200 ft dunes, down sheer drop offs like a roller coaster, back up and then along the edge until we swooped down again. We stopped at the top of a 300 ft plus dune, the tallest dune in the recreation area to take pictures. Sprinkled among the dunes are tree islands. These are remnants of larger forests that were covered by sand. These isolated stands look like they're floating in a sea of sand. It was spectacular looking over the crests to the ocean. Then we were off again curling up dunes at a 45 degree angle and then back down again. We plunged down another dune nose first causing us both to go "oooooh"! What a blast - one of the best things we've done so far on the trip.

Back at the car - a little sandy - we drove north of Florence to Hecta Light. The road passed through a tunnel that took us through a granite rock outcropping before arriving at the turnoff for Hecta Head. The light sits on the 1,000 foot high Hecta Head, 205 feet above the ocean. This light is rated the strongest on the Oregon coast and can be seen from 21 miles off shore. We walked the path from the parking lot to the lighthouse high on a cliff and watched the waves break against the rocks and headlands below. They were phenominal spraying everywhere. This lighthouse is famous and you've probably seen it on calendars.

We headed back to camp. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun!

Pictures: Elk, View of Oregon Dunes Recreation Area, Our Sand Rail, Sitting on Top of Dune, Sand Railing, Trail to Hecta Light, Lighthouse from Keepers home, Hecta Light, Us on the Hecta Headlands, Evening Light on Hecta Head