Oregon Coast Sights

Going down the coast of WA and OR has been such a thrill for me...I lived on the Eastern coast for about 5 1/2 yrs and you really get in tune with the tides and the sounds of the sea, the calling of gulls, the pounding of the surf and the voices of the early beach walkers so I had an opt to get back in touch with those old "memories of the sea".  I am having major trouble keeping this blog in the order I went!! I have jumped around a bit so it may seem out of sync with reality of where things are to those who are familiar with this coast line but here goes where I THINK I was next!  I had some fog and drizzle to contend with on my first day of sight seeing on the Oregon Coast...but even in fog its awesome!

This area is, if Im right on my memory, Tillamook Head, off the coast is Tillamook Rock Lighthouse...I could barely see it but it was there! (And yes they do make the cheese in the town of Tillamook) So look along the horizon just right of center a few clicks and you see it...its only a dot on the horizon!

                     

                                                                                   

and a closer up view...I didn't see the light blinking  but it may have been...

                                                                                   

These were taken from the Ecola Beach overlook of Tillamook head...the surf was quite fantastic here 

and this view if off the Indian Beach section where I was told by a brochure I could see the Tillamook Rock LH, from if it was there I did not see it from this point..but I saw these incredible rocks...

                             

And then a little farther down the coast highway is Cannon Beach a very cute town with lots of tourist appeal..and their famous landmark the Hay Stack Rock...its bigger than I thought it would be! 

Couldnt hang around for a sunset photo so off I went on down the coast...here is the road as it hugs the shoreline...

That night I camped at Lookout point Campground...where a sign said a cougar had been sighted there on Sept 30th it was now 10/2 so I stayed pretty close to the campground...the next day we had sun! I was headed to Cape Meares Lighthouse its located over in this rocky cliff area but you can't see it from the cliff...

 its very accessible if you follow the signs up to the parking area and then take a little walk to the edge where its perched...its not a very tall lighthouse it didnt need to be due to the height of the cliff!

                                                     Spotted a Winter Wren on the trail 

The gift shop which is housed in the lighthouse these days was closed for the season..its like 35 ft tall...

                                                                                  

the light box is big enough to do the job and it sits on a beautiful cliff and the view is amazing from there..

         

                                                                                  

some fog was still hanging a little off shore where the rocks were amazing as they all had arches in them!! What a gift eh? Sea arches!

PHOTOS MISSING

Back on 101 down the coast a bit is the Yaquina Head area and yet another awesome lighthouse stands guard over the cliffs! This beautiful shoreline has more than just a lighthouse to show off...

It is a beauty and you could go up it if you like but in the words of Roaming Barbara why would you?  

Heck I could see for miles as it was and down on the rocks some harbor seals sunned...a young one had wandered onto the beach so they wouldn't allow us to go down and explore the tide pools which disappointed me, but I clearly understood the reasoning of not disturbing the young seal...

Harbor Seals 

So I tired a few zoom in shots from the overlook fence and actually got some pretty good images from there!

I can only imagine how many photos I would have taken if I had been allowed down there :O)

then my attention was drawn back to the horizon where whale's were surfacing to take a breath that was amazing to see since I had no idea they'd be there! They didn't make big splashes out of the water just barley brushing the surface for a blow, breath, and down again...still remarkable to witness..

Back on the rocks I saw cormorants..and not just any cormorants but Brandt's a new one for me...look for the blue patch just under the beak on the neck and bingo there it was when I examined my photo...these rocks were offshore by at least 80 ft so I was happy to get this shot..

There's 2 more Lighthouses on my list for the area and I will save that for next post as this one is long enough!

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.