Blogs from Florence, Oregon, United States, North America

As expected the weather on the Oregon coast is poor but we nevertheless manage to have a good day here with some excellent wildlife viewing even if it isn't the best day for outdoor activities. Just south of the appropriately named Pacific City and right by the road is a blowhole and with the sea rough today it is blowing nicely. Further south we stop off at Cape Foulweather which was named by Captain Cook after encountering stormy weather here. The weather today isn’t great for views but we do catch a glimpse of 2 grey whales cruising just off the head. We pay entry to see the Yaquina Head area. The lighthouse has tours but these are all booked up but we walk around the headland and see the discovery centre which has some interesting ... read more

I woke up thinking about my wish list for the day. First item was returning to Yaquina Head. My access pass from the day before was still valid and I felt like I hadn't fully explored it yet. Once done, I had several other items in Newport and the surrounding area. I hurried through my breakfast and headed back to Yaquina Head. I started by hiking a short but steep trail to the top of the quarry. Despite the morning clouds, I could see north and south for several miles. I went back to the bottom and took a few more pics of the lighthouse before noticing a set of steps going down the cliff side towards the ocean. According to the signs, at the bottom was a set of tide pools that were part of ... read more

Wir sind positiv überrascht: die Küste Oregons ist nicht einfach nur schön, sie ist geradezu dramatisch. Der Charakter der Küste lässt sich daher viel besser in Filmen als in statischen Fotos festhalten, und wir haben mit den Fotokameras auch einige Filmchen gemacht. Aber ihr müsst leider erst mal mit Fotos vorlieb nehmen. Angefangen haben wir mit den 3 Kaps Cape Meares, Cape Lookout und Cape Kiwanda. Cape Meares besitzt einen sehr charmanten kleinen Leuchtturm und hat mit tollen, nebelverhangenen Ausblicken auf die Bucht geglänzt. Das Cape Lookout Vom Mt. St. Helens sind wir in die Columbia River Gorge weitergefahren. Der Columbia River stellt die Grenze zwischen Washington und Oregon dar, und die Schlucht ist auch wirklich sehr hübsch anzusehen. Allerdings führen 2 Highways und 2 Bahntrassen hindurch, und der Lärm trübt deutlich die Idylle. Daher: weg ... read more

Réveil vers 8:00 au parc Carl Washburn et rotation des roues. C'était nuageux et froid comme les derniers jours. Nous sommes partis vers 11:00 en direction de Florence. Un arrêt à la grotte des lions de mer et à partir de là, le chemin a commencé à devenir de plus en plus mauvais surtout après le tunnel (long tunnel avec des lumières signalant la présence de cyclistes; même principe que pour traverser la rue dans le genre...). Nous avons marché au moins trois miles avant de chausser nos patins pour quelques km avant de remarcher. La route est devenue « patinable» juste avant Florence. Nous avons fait un arrêt à la station d'essence «avec service» et le serveur à fait déborder notre bouteille... juste après avoir regardé la bouteille comme un OVNI et avoir dit "yeah ... read more

October 9, 2013 It’s a beautiful day again today. I think it would be fair to say you count on one hand the days of real rain we’ve had in these past 77 days and on two hands the days of overcast, occasional shower days. The rest have been blue, sunny and warm to hot days. I’d say we’ve done pretty well for the Pacific Northwest. We enjoy the sun, sand and surf on our beach again, enjoying the pleasure of being able to walk through the waves and powdery, fine, clean sand barefoot in October, and enjoy the fact that we can see all this through our glass fronted house when we’re not on the beach itself. Grateful that we didn’t come armed with a list of must-see’s while here in Waldport we again enjoy ... read more