We set out this morning by first going into Coos Bay and the Boardwalk along the Bay. Two tall ships, the same ships we saw while in Crescent City- Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington – were tied up along the Boardwalk. There were sign boards along the walk telling about the lumber industry in this region which seems to be the main industry here. Before leaving the town we stopped at the Myrtle wood store where some very pretty Myrtle wood products are sold.
We then drove north on US101 to several miles north of Florence and the Sea Lion Caves. This is the largest sea lion cave in the world. Stellar sea lions gather here in the fall and winter. In the spring and summer they reside on ledges outside of the cave as they breed and have their young. An elevator did take us down to the caves. While down there we did see one sea lion come into the cave. After going up on the elevator we walked up an incline and then down another incline to a viewing area of the Stellar sea lions on a ledge. In the ocean by the ledge there were several groups of sea lions swimming in groups. The sea lions were noisy making guttural sounds unlike the barking sounds of seals. There were some big bulls on the ledge claiming their mating partners and the “pupping” is predicted to start within a week or two.
It was then well past noon and we were hungry so we headed south to Florence and ate at seafood restaurant (where else?) having a real good seafood pasta dish. We then walked about the shops in the area. It was a nice sunny warm day. We were in a kitchen store talking with the clerk and when we left the store we could feel a definite change in the temperature along with a stronger wind. We were leaving Florence and could see a white cloud moving in from the ocean and the temperature fell from the upper 70’s to 55 degrees in a short span of time.
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| From 2013-05-05 Weather System |
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| From 2013-05-05 Weather System |
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| From 2013-05-05 Weather System |
Tomorrow we will move further up the coast.
