Coastal Views and Lighthouses, Tuesday, May 7, 2013

This morning we started out going a few miles north of the campground to Depoe Bay.  The Depoe Bay Bridge is said to be a good place to see whales but we did not see any from there.  Continuing south along the coast we stopped at an overview of the Whale Cove an area according to research suggest that Sir Francis Drake may have landed here.  We then took a scenic side road from Rocky Creek Bridge to Cape Foulweather.

From 2013-05-07 Depoe

  At Cape Foulweather, named by Captain James Cook on a day of inclement weather, there is a gift shop that sits on the edge of the cliff called “The Lookout Observatory”-  an interesting small shop with great views out the windows.  We even saw a young raccoon digging and eating in the grass.

From 2013-05-07 Depoe

   further south we came to Devil’s Punchbowl, a different formation in basalt with the huge rock having 2 arches the open into an opened area.

From 2013-05-07 Depoe

From 2013-05-07 Depoe

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is under the management of the Bureau of Land Management.  This is a narrow coastal headland that extends a mile into the ocean.  The hard basalt cliffs were formed millions of years ago from lava flows.  Our first stop was at the Interpretive Center which had displays and 2 films – one on the area and one about the lighthouse that is one this property.

From 2013-05-07 Yaquina Head

  Leaving the center we were getting hungry so we decided to leave, get some lunch and then return after lunch to drive about this strip of land.

We went into the old part of Newport and had lunch at Mo’s Restaurant.  Mo’s Restaurants are in several towns along the coast but this Mo’s is the original restaurant started in 1946.  We both had dinners that started with a cup of clam chowder, then clam strips, oysters and cod with steamed vegetables, and shared a dessert called Marionberry cobbler.  Nice lunch.

Before leaving the town of Newton we decided to stop at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, the only wood lighthouse along Oregon coast and the only one with living quarters attached.  It was only lit for 4 years from 1871 to 1874.  We were able to walk through the house from basement to top floor.  It is operated by volunteers.  There is another tower beside this lighthouse owned by the Coast Guard.  According to what we read in 1996 this became a working lighthouse but the volunteer had no idea just what the Coast Guard was doing up there.

Now we returned to the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area.  The lighthouse here is still in operation with its original lens that has been in place since 1873.  This lighthouse is undergoing restoration so was not open to the public.  It is Oregon’s tallest lighthouse at 93 feet.

From 2013-05-07 Yaquina Head

  We drove part way and then had to walk down to an area of tidal pools and seals where we saw a few pools and no seals.  By this time we called it a day and returned to the motorhome.  It was cloudy and chilly most of the day so getting inside out of the damp air felt good.  Tomorrow we will moved on up the coast.

NOTE: 1. When we are camped in state parks internet is not available so these blogs are not posted until we are in parks with internet.

              2.  A publication called “The Original Highway 101 Mile-by-Mile Guide” is available at Visitor’s Center within the state and are a really nice guide to vistas, towns and attractions along this route.