Oregon Coast (STR-2022-18)

Sunday, 24 July

Finishing our overdue Lewis and Clark assignments, we continued south on US 101 to Ecola State Park. The road in to the Ecola Point Day Use Area was narrow, steep and winding - not suitable for RVs wider than Sprinty. Sprinty handled it like a champ, and even managed to get a parking place on a busy Sunday afternoon. There we enjoyed the scenic views of Crescent Beach and Haystack Rock (one of the tallest sea stacks in the world) in the distance.

Due to its scenic nature, a number of films have been shot in Ecola State Park, with The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, and Twilight the most notable.

We continued south on US 101, enjoying the occasional scenic overlooks. We stopped at Oswald West State Park to hike down to Short Sand Beach. Again, we lucked out in being able to get a parking place at a very popular location on a busy Sunday afternoon. The hike to the beach wound through the park's temperate rainforest, very reminiscent of our recent visit to Olympic National Park.

As we entered Tillamock, OR, we initially thought we would stop at the Tillamook Creamery for ice cream. After all, that's what you do when you visit Tillamook, OR. As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw the line stretched out into the parking lot. We decided to pass.

Our camp for the night was the Blue Heron French Cheese Co located in Tillamook, a Harvest Host. We checked in, got Sprinty settled in a marked out grass field, and bought some cheese for enjoying in the next few days.

Monday, 25 July

A most pleasant stay at the Blue Heron French Cheese Co. Quieter than most campgrounds, and just a little road noise. We continued south towards Newport, OR.

First stop was the Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge. There, we enjoyed coastal views and a short hike to the Octopus Tree.

Octopus Tree

We walked to the Cape Meares Lighthouse, the smallest lighthouse in North America.

Despite its size, it still used a First Order Fresnel lens, which is the largest fresnel lens. Shaped like a giant beehive, the outer surface of the lens is made of prisms, that bend the light into a narrow beam. The beam then passes through a magnifying glass, or bull's-eye, at the center of each side that intensifies it, producing a brilliant sheet of light visible for 21 miles.

We stopped at Cape Lookout State Park, where we got a view of Three Arch Rocks.

Three Arch Rocks

Continuing south, our next stop was at the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, Pacific City, OR. We walked along the beach, noting the change in the seashore to have huge sand dunes at the beach.

We walked to the rocks hoping see tidepools. We saw a few, but the tide was coming in, so many were ready covered.

While we were there, we saw a high speed dory come in for a landing on the beach. It was interesting to see how they got from being beached onto the trailer.

Continuing south, we stopped for lunch at Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint.

We stopped in Depoe Bay to see the Spouting Horn (a.k.a. blow hole: www.beachconnection.net/news/depoe_spouting_horn.php). Even though we were there right at high tide, the surf conditions were not producing the spray. What we did get was the opportunity to see two gray whale pods right offshore, one with at least four whales. We got to see the whales as close as the whale watching boats. It was interesting to see the whale watching boats navigate the narrow entrance into Depot Bay Harbor, the world's smallest harbor.

Continuing south, we made stops at Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint and Otter Crest State Scenic Viewpoint.

An advantage of traveling south is most of the pullouts and turns are right turns in, right turns out.

Our attempt to visit the Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area did not work out - after good luck for three days on parking, Sprinty finally got skunked. We even cruised the available parking areas several times.

Our last stop of the day was Yaquina Head Lighthouse, near Newport, OR.

Along the path, we saw a Spear Thistle with a bee on it.

Our campsite for the north is at South Beach State Park, Newport, OR - a reservation we made on 30 June, before the deer incident. The combination of Showcase Body Shop's determination and persistence to get us out of their yard in 10 days and making a slight change in our adventure plan, we are back on the original plan we made back in June before the deer incident. One of the advantages to meandering slowly.

Tuesday, 26 July

With our destination only 105 miles away, we meandered slowly south on US 101. First stop was Cape Perpetua.

On March 11, 1778, after spending five days trying to sail against a stormy sea, a British explorer named Captain James Cook made this entry in his journal: "The Northern [point] was the same which we had first seen on the seventh; and on that account, I called it 'Cape Perpetua'"

Why Cape Perpetua? Perhaps because March 7, the day he first sighted this rocky headland, is the holy day of Saint Perpetua. Or was it because the cape was in "perpetual" sight? No one knows for sure.

After getting Sprinty situated in the small parking area at Devil's Churn Viewpoint, we hiked down to Devils Churn. We arrived around low tide. The churn is a small gorge where the rolling waves bounce around rather violently.

The walkway went all the way down to the rocks for a close up view.

We then hiked to Thor's Well and Spouting Horn, two more gorges with churning water. A spouting horn is like a blowhole. The energy of the waves bouncing amongst the rocks was tremendous.

The coast geology is quite different here, with the coastline being exposed volcanic rock.

Our next stop was Sea Lion Caves (sealioncaves.com) located about 11 miles north of Florence, OR.

Sea Lion Caves is America's largest sea cave with a two-acre floor and a vaulted rock dome 125 feet high. Approximately 100 Seller sea lions were on the rocks. It was fun to watch the sea lions climb on the rocks and bully their way into preferred positions on the rocks.

The 215-foot elevator was opened in 1961. Construction required drilling and blasting through solid rock and was limited to the spring months when sea lions were not in the cave.

We then made our way to view the sea lions on the rock ledge outside the cave where sea lions breed and have their young in spring and summer.

We enjoyed lunch at a Oregon Dunes Overlook in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area just south of Florence. Once again, the coastline is very different with sand dunes. 

And many places to rent ATVs and UTVs to play on the dunes.

Arriving in Coos Bay, OR, in early afternoon, we then played golf at Sunset Bay Golf Course. The course was a 12-hole, par-47 course that wandered up a valley. We had low expectations on the course - which kept us from being disappointed. Since our goal was just to shake off the rust from not playing much, it fit the bill. And we got in over 2 miles of walking.

Our campground for the night was Sunset Bay State Park Campground, just south of Coos Bay, OR.

Wednesday, 27 July

Another leisurely drive down the Oregon coast. First up was Bandon's Beach Loop Drive, stopping at Coquille Point. We took the stairs down to the beach

and took advantage of the low tide to walk on the beach, around the point, to come up the north set of stairs.

The shoreline was just gorgeous.

We drove a short distance to Face Rock Viewpoints. Seeing the face in the rock took a lot of imagination. An interesting exhibit by the parking area was Cosmo, the Tufted Puffin. Marine debris threatens puffins and other marine animals. They often mistake it for food. Since they cannot digest trash it fills their stomach, leading to starvation. Puffins can also become entangled in discarded fishing nets.

Cosmo is made of garbage picked up from nearby beaches. Nothing has been colored or dyed.

We briefly visited Cape Blanco State Park in Port Orford, OR, then went to the Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum. It reminded us of the lifeboat museum at Whitefish Point Lighthouse we visited in Upper Peninsula Michigan. The Port Orford Coast Guard station opened in July 1934 and was decommissioned in 1970

The museum had a mid-engined, self-righting, self-bailing 36-foot motor lifeboat used at this station on display.

We walked the short Tower Trail to the point where the lookout tower used to stand. There was an interesting exhibit explaining the geology of the Oregon Coast.

Next stop was Sisters Rock State Park.

We hiked down to Frankport Sea Cave.

Along the way, we enjoyed the bright flowers, which we looked up - they were Broad-Leafed Sweet Peas.

Broad-Leafed Sweet Peas

Continuing south, US 101 turned into the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor. We stopped to admire Arch Rock

and Natural Bridges Cove.

By now, we were beach/rock/coasted out, having logged over 3.5 miles of hikes. We checked into our campground for the night at Harris Beach State Park near Brookings, OR.

Thursday, 28 July

Our intention was to get an early start - however we both slept in later than usual. We headed south to California Redwood National and State Parks in Northern California, Sprinty's 30th National Park visited since February 2017.

First activity for the day was a 1.5-mile hike of the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail, located about 2.5 miles off US 101, up a narrow, steep (grades in excess of 15%), curvy road. We knew it was popular and had very limited parking which is why we started there in the hopes we could get a parking place. Arriving about 10am paid off - Sprinty got a place to park.

The hike was mostly through old-growth California Redwood forest - with second-growth forest adjacent for contrast.

The redwood trees are humongous - mane we estimated at over 12 feet in diameter t shoulder height.

California Redwood trees can grow to over 300 feet tall, with some measured at 360 feet. Photos just can't capture the sheer size of the trees.

After the hike, we headed for the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick, CA. As we entered Orick, people were stopping on the road - there was a,large herd of elk gathered in the front and backyard of a house. 

We then headed back north to hike the Trillium Falls Trail. As we were approaching the trailhead parking area, we saw a small bear by the side of the road.

The hike wound through old growth redwood trees to a small waterfall.

We took the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor as an alternative to US 101. Being mid-day, we opted to pass on the short Circle Trail, which includes Big Tree, as it had a small parking area that was already full. And we already had over 3.5 miles,of hiking among the giant redwood trees. As we continued north, we encountered our second elk jam - a small herd of elk bulls on the side of the road.

We almost saw a major indent as the elk decided to cross the road in front of us, and almost got wiped out by an 18-wheel logging truck coming from the other direction.

We continued north, stopping at a vista for the cellular service before checking into the Mill Creek campground in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Campground just south of Crescent City, CA. We knew there was no cell service at all in the campground.

After dinner, we walked the campground loops, noticing the humongous redwood tree stumps that remained after the area was logged. Some of the stumps were over 20 feet in diameter.