Yaquina Bay & Heceta Head, Oregon Coast

October 5th found me still following the coast of Oregon there is so much to see there no one trip can get it all unless you have more time than I've allowed for this trip...but I feel like I covered Oregon pretty good I came in on the east side transversed it via the Columbia gorge then south to John Day and back up north and west to Hood and Portland, then off to Washington for a while then back into Oregon via the coast, and IM not done with Oregon posts yet!  

                                                         cliffs at Hecta Head Overlook 

So the next  light house on my list was Yaquina Bay. It was used before the larger Yaquina Head of my previous post was built...the Bay Lighthouse was in use from 1871-74. Its part house!

                        You have to drive over the Yaquina Bay Bridge built between 1934-36 to continue on 101- Hwy 101 goes from Canada to Mexico!

Once over the bridge many overlooks off the cliffs gave me good looks at more Harbor Seals and some brown California Sea Lions!

Harbor Seals 

I stopped at Cape Perpetua to see the Devils Churn...a place where the tide crashes up into a small inlet and churns up a storm especially at high tide!

A little farther down the highway is the Heceta Lighthouse...you can go to the parking lot and walk up and take a look at it,  but it was currently not on tour...I went to the beach ...but the lighthouse was not visible from the beach! The B & B  house was nice looking...

Out on the rocks I found yet another new bird for me, the Black Oystercatcher as he fiddled through the barnacles...

Two of them picked at a meal....I needed to cross yet another bridge to get a better look at the Heceta Head Lighthouse...here is the DLEX by the bridge...Casey is in there watching me from the big window..lol

With another van that had 2 very barky Pomeranians in it! Over that bridge up a hill around a couple curves is the best look at the Heceta Head LH.  

Now you can see why its not a good look from the beach nearby the lighthouse sits on a 1200 ft cliff!

and a little closer look...with the light on!

Its an amazing view!

A little farther down the road is the Sea Lion Caves but sans Sea Lions...so I stopped and visited the gift shop but didn't go down in the cave...no sea lions and they were only discounting the price by $2 but you got a rain check if you come back around Thanksgiving when the sea lions reappear. 

I took this video of the sea lions I had seen off the coast at Seal Rock...just ignore me talking I was talking to the woman standing beside me...we both decided video was the way to film this swarm of sea lions

That night I camped at South Beach Campground they had a nice shower house and the next morning I headed inland for more exploration of Oregon!

PEACE

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

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.