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Published: September 7th 2014
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Yesterday, Friday, September 5, was breaking heat records, into the 90's fahrenheit. And the outlook was for more of the same on Saturday. But, the day started very foggy, misty and COLD and we didn't climb up past 55 degrees; nearly 40 degrees cooler than forecast! So the Miata kept her top on all day today.
Our first stop today was Cape Foulweather with a 360-degree coastal panorama view. Unfortunately, the weather really was foul; so foggy we couldn't see much but I did get a few shots of a beautiful beach, hundreds of feet below us, fading off into the fog in the distance.
We drove on to the Devil's Punchbowl from here, which is a rock formation on the coast that is like a huge bowl with tunnels at the bottom letting in the sea water. During high tide or stormy weather the water floods into the bowl and shoots up into the air out of the top of the bowl. Today the water was calm and the tide was low so it wasn't as dramatic as it could be but really neat to see anyway.
We stopped next just south of the town of Newport
to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We watched them feeding the Sea Otters, Seals and Sea Lions, checked out the Tufted Puffins in the aquatic aviary, and then moved indoors to view sting rays, sharks, salmon and a variety of jellyfish in the aquariums which are built with tunnels through them so you are actually walking through the water surrounded by the sea life on all sides including above and below you!
After the aquarium we drove on to Cape Perpetua, two miles south of Yachats, and did a short hike through the forest from the tourist info/ranger station. Then it was on to the Heceta Head Lighthouse, labeled as the most photographed beacon in the United States, so I snapped a few shots to add to that. The lighthouse was built in 1894 and was named for the Spanish mariner who is credited with being the first European to set foot in the region. The old lighthouse keeper's quarters has been restored as a B&B.
Right next door to the lighthouse is the Sea Lion Caves. For $12 you can ride down a 200 foot elevator shaft through solid rock along the coastal cliff to the
Sea Otter feeding
Oregon Coast Aquarium caves at sea level. Unfortunately, today there were NO Stellar sea lions in residence when usually there are dozens to hundreds. We did see a few out in the water and three suntanning on the rocks nearby. The caves are privately owned, in the same family since 1932. The elevator shaft was built over two years in the mid 1960's, in the Spring when the Sea Lions are not in this area.
From here we drove on to Reedsport for the night. We stopped at another Best Western and they gave us a free upgrade to a huge spa suite. We decided to stay for two nights to take a break from all the driving. Sunday we drove nine miles south to Umpqua Dunes to see some of the largest dunes around the area where people come to drive ATVs, Dune Buggies and dirt bikes on the dunes that are as much as 500 feet high! We also took a long walk on the beach which is edged with dunes and runs for what seems to be hundreds of miles. There are often grey whales offshore here but we didn't see anything, possibly because it is STILL cold and
Tufted Puffin
Aquatic Aviary at the Oregon Coast Aquarium foggy today! This is also a very popular fishing area and there are RV Parks everywhere, all full, with people camped here to go fishing, and there were many dozen boats in the water just off the mouth of the Umpqua River and along this beach.
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