Pacific Northwest; Day 12
We were expecting rain most of the day today, based on what the weather experts were telling us. The experts missed it today, well, mostly anyway. We had occasional sprinkles or light rain until we were driving away from the coast and it rained fairly hard but only for a few minutes.
It was partly sunny and 54 degrees when we left our motel in Lincoln City, OR. Our goal was to drive south along the coast on Hwy 101 and stop to see a few sights. Our first stop was at Boiler Bay
and our second was at Depoe Bay.
Traveling is relatively slow on Hwy 101, especially when you stop to take photos. We'd been on the road (sort of) for an hour and a half and we'd gone 37 miles!
The next stop was at the Yaquina Head Natural Area which had a lighthouse. It was a very pretty area.
As we were walking back to our car a cold rain started to fall, which made us hustle our buns.
The next stop was my favorite, Heceta Head Lighthouse. Below the lighthouse Cape Creek flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is a small creek but it's at the bottom of a deep ravine so the state of Oregon had to build a big bridge across the chasm and tunnel through the wall on the south side of the creek.
The cove below the lighthouse was beautiful with big rocks and, of course, waves from the Pacific rolling onto shore.
It was a half mile walk up the trail to the lighthouse and along the way was the old light keeper's house. It was a pretty hike with fantastic views along the way.
As you can tell from the photo the wind was really blowing.
Just south on Hwy 101 we came to a view point that offered a great opportunity to photograph the Heceta Head Lighthouse from a distance. I used my 200mm lens and a tripod to hold it steady.
It is hard to see where the ocean ends and the sky begins.
Another short distance down 101 we came to Sea Lion Caves. They claim it is the largest sea cave in America, but I'm not sure I believe that. The sea lions were not in the cave when we were there but we could see them far below swimming in the Pacific.
From Sea Lion Caves we drove on south to Florence, OR and enjoyed lunch at Mo's on the bank of the Siuslaw River. We'd eaten at a Mo's in Astoria, OR earlier in the trip and really enjoyed their clam chowder and fish & chips so we decided to do it again before heading back east. It was good again. Following lunch Chris did a little shopping and then we had some ice cream before hitting the highway again.
We drove south on 101 to Reedsport, where we caught Hwy 38 eastbound on what was called the Umpqua River Scenic Byway, and it was a pretty drive. Most of the way we could see the Umpqua River running parallel to the highway.
Further east we came across a herd of elk and, again, I got to use my 200mm lens and tripod.
At Hwy 138 we angled down south and east to I-5, which took us 10 miles south to Roseburg, where we called it a day, checking into our motel at 4:15. We drove 172 miles today with spotty rain and a high temperature of 66. It was a GREAT day with some of the best scenery of the trip.
To see all the photos taken today click on this link: Day 12 Photos
It was partly sunny and 54 degrees when we left our motel in Lincoln City, OR. Our goal was to drive south along the coast on Hwy 101 and stop to see a few sights. Our first stop was at Boiler Bay
Traveling is relatively slow on Hwy 101, especially when you stop to take photos. We'd been on the road (sort of) for an hour and a half and we'd gone 37 miles!
The next stop was at the Yaquina Head Natural Area which had a lighthouse. It was a very pretty area.
The next stop was my favorite, Heceta Head Lighthouse. Below the lighthouse Cape Creek flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is a small creek but it's at the bottom of a deep ravine so the state of Oregon had to build a big bridge across the chasm and tunnel through the wall on the south side of the creek.
The cove below the lighthouse was beautiful with big rocks and, of course, waves from the Pacific rolling onto shore.
Just south on Hwy 101 we came to a view point that offered a great opportunity to photograph the Heceta Head Lighthouse from a distance. I used my 200mm lens and a tripod to hold it steady.
Another short distance down 101 we came to Sea Lion Caves. They claim it is the largest sea cave in America, but I'm not sure I believe that. The sea lions were not in the cave when we were there but we could see them far below swimming in the Pacific.
From Sea Lion Caves we drove on south to Florence, OR and enjoyed lunch at Mo's on the bank of the Siuslaw River. We'd eaten at a Mo's in Astoria, OR earlier in the trip and really enjoyed their clam chowder and fish & chips so we decided to do it again before heading back east. It was good again. Following lunch Chris did a little shopping and then we had some ice cream before hitting the highway again.
We drove south on 101 to Reedsport, where we caught Hwy 38 eastbound on what was called the Umpqua River Scenic Byway, and it was a pretty drive. Most of the way we could see the Umpqua River running parallel to the highway.
At Hwy 138 we angled down south and east to I-5, which took us 10 miles south to Roseburg, where we called it a day, checking into our motel at 4:15. We drove 172 miles today with spotty rain and a high temperature of 66. It was a GREAT day with some of the best scenery of the trip.
To see all the photos taken today click on this link: Day 12 Photos
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