1998 Oregon Coast II (7/5-6/1998)

Sunday, July 5, 1998 (continued)
We headed back north on US-101. Stopped at Strawberry Hill, where we saw some strawberry plants on the sand dunes. We climbed on barnacled rocks and studied the tide pools, seeing green and purple anemones, hermit crabs, and brown starfish.

Green Sea Anemones

Kirby holding a Hermit Crab

Tidal Pool with seaweed and a Sea Star

Fragaria chiloensis/Beach Strawberry 

We were concentrating so hard on the tide pools, we were shocked to see all the harbor seals on nearby rocks in the water in front of us! Over 100 seals!

Phoca vitulina/Harbor Seals

Continued to Cape Perpetua, driving over Cook’s Chasm, a small narrow gorge. Stopped at Devil’s Churn, but were reluctant to pay $3 to see a high tide phenomena at low tide. We found if we walked to the road, we could see the narrow crevice reaching inland in the rock where water splashed in and out. It was especially narrow partway long the crevice. Lots of wild digitalis/foxglove. 

Devil's Churn

Next stop was Seal Rock Wayside, with supposedly a seal-shaped rock. There were many rock formations, and one covered with seals.

Seal Rock Wayside

Seal-covered rock

One seal was swimming around. A beach with tide pools containing anemones and starfish, as well as mussels.

We continued north to Newport, OR, where Jan & Kirby were going to explore the town, and we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We were to meet at Salishan Lodge for dinner. We had a AAA discount at the aquarium ($19.75 on Discover). Followed the map of the nicely displayed small aquarium. There were a touch pool discovery lab, videos, and natural settings including tides and surfs, etc. We did not see a spiny lumpsucker, namesake of the beer the guys tried at Mo’s. Saw jellyfish, and brine shrimp. A hands-on educational whale exhibit, then outdoors to see the Pacific octopus. The aviary had tufted puffins, oystercatchers, and pigeon guillemots.

Fratercula cirrhata/Tufted Puffin

Uria aalge/Common Murres, butt-side

Saw many seals and a sea lion, and one web-footed sea otter. In the so-called open-ocean exhibit, Keiko, the Free Willy movie whale was way off in the far corner, too hard to see him well. We used restrooms, checked out the gift shop, then walked around to the viewing platforms over Yaquina Bay at low tide. Stopped at a children’s play area with sculptures of sea life.

We next went to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse State Park, in hopes of seeing tufted puffins.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

View from Yaquina Head Lighthouse

The rangers there said none had been sighted today, but suggested other places to try.

We headed north through Depoe Bay with the world’s smallest harbor, to Gleneden Beach, to the Salishan Lodge. Checked into our $210 room ($222.60 with tax on Discover)! Had a covered parking spot (okay, is that worth $100 right there?!), gas fireplace, huge TV, coffeepot, bathrobes, and a balcony view towards mud flats (at low tide).

Salishan Lodge room

Salishan Lodge symbol

Took quick showers and were ready for our 18:30 reservation for dinner. Covered walkways connected all the rooms of the lodge. Arrived at the Dining Room ($63.20 on Discover) with lots of wood, and nice chairs. Jan & Kirby were not impressed by the service. Kent had a beer, Brynne and I had cranberry juice. Brynne had fried chicken and fries from the children’s menu, and a salad. I had the chanterelle, potato, spinach, and onion strudel, with a tomato-garlic sauce, and tomato slices and spinach. Kent had a grilled pork chop, caraway spaetzle, and a salad of carrots, apples and greens. For dessert we shared a chocolate cake with a liquid center, topped with whipped cream and blueberries. After dinner we found the library, and Brynne and I “played” chess. Back to our room to play the book game of cards. To bed at 23:00.

Monday, July 6, 1998
Gleneden Beach, OR to Astoria, OR
Woke up at 8:30, ready to meet Jan & Kirby for breakfast, going in our respective cars. Ended up at the Chowder Bowl in Depoe Bay, with the toy train running around at ceiling level, and Minnie Mouses everywhere.

The Chowder Bowl, Depoe Bay, OR

I had a Belgian waffle with strawberries, Kent had two eggs over easy and pancakes and ham, and Brynne had two scrambled eggs with bacon, rye toast, and hash browns. ($21 cash.) Kent had had coffee in the Lodge room, but more here.

We drove to the Devil’s Punchbowl off Otter Crest Drive. There was water in the bottom of a quarry-like hole in the rock, but you could see stones on the very bottom. It had been carved out by water filling from the bottom.

Devil's Punchbowl

We returned to Salishan to check out, and Brynne got another chance to play chess.

Brynne at the chessboard at Salishan Lodge

Our caravan continued on to Lincoln City to stop at the D River Wayside. The D River is the shortest river in the world, being 100-200 yards long, an overflow from Devil’s Lake to the ocean. Looked like a beach culvert. Birds were bathing in the water.

D River, Lincoln City, OR

Corvus/Crow with an apple core

Are pigeons waterbirds?!

We did see kites flying in the Kite Capital of the World. Did not see any signs for a covered bridge. So we went on the Three Capes Road, leaving US-101 in Cloverdale. First to Cape Kiwanda and its state park to see Haystack II, a rock formation with a handle or arch on the right side.

Haystack II

Lathyrus japonicus/Beach Pea

Sandstone cliffs at Cape Kiwanda State Park

Saw gulls, common murres with white stomachs who stand up like penguins, and black oystercatchers. There were loons in the surf. Western (white with yellow bills and young ones with more gray with black-tipped bills) and glaucous-winged (lighter gray on wings) gulls. We may have found a few agates, and saw broken sand dollars on the beach. Kirby found wish rocks (with an unbroken ring of a different color). Jan and I climbed a wooded dune to search for birds, and saw the Swainson’s thrush this time. 

Onward to Cape Lookout, the highest point on the coast, which was in the clouds. However, from the road, a wonderful view out to the point of the cape. Apparently hang gliders start off from here.

Hang gliding take-off point

Took a detour off Three Capes Road to Oceanside to Oceanside Wayside. We could see Three-Arch Rocks and many others with lots of birds, and this time, sea lions.

Three Arch Rocks

Jan birding and Brynne beachcombing

Cancer antennarius/Pacific Rock Crab: where are the legs?

Here Kirby found a tunnel, partly man-made and partly natural, through a cliff, and he and Jan, and I went through, having to bend down to get through the three-foot tall stretch to an isolated beach for a closer look at Three-Arch Rocks. 

Jan at the tunnel

In Oceanside we went to Roseanna’s Café that was supposed to be a quaint place like your old aunt’s eccentric beach front cottage. It did have a great view of the ocean and the rocks formations. We picked out desserts; Brynne a huge cinnamon roll, Kent the marionberry cobbler, and I had Toll House pie with Tillamook ice cream. We treated Jan & Kirby as well, paying $21 in cash. 

We rejoined Three Capes Road and did not see signs for the Octopus Tree, so passed it. Backtracked to Cape Meares State Park and finally saw a sign for the Octopus Tree. A short hike brought us to the immense Sitka spruce, which wind had caused to grow with eight branches from the center trunk like a candelabra. Absolutely huge! And it was located in the middle of the woods.

Octopus Tree

Tamiko & Kent (Photo By Brynne)

At the interpretive center there was a nest of barn swallows and three baby heads would pop up for food, especially when mom arrived. We went down to the lighthouse, seeing rocks full of common murres. Ended up getting the last lighthouse tour, and a lot of the information we had heard before. The light signature here seemed to be white for a full minute, then red for a minute. But this lighthouse is no longer working, as there was a small light on top of a concrete block building on the hill above the lighthouse. The old lighthouse was built in 1890. Bought a postcard for 50 cents. 

Cape Meares Lighthouse light

View from Cape Meares Lighthouse

Marah oreganus/Oregon Manroot

We said goodbye to Jan & Kirby who were returning to Salishan for their last night before heading home. We continued to Tillamook, and went back and forth before finding the Naval Air Station Museum. You could see it from miles away, but not from town! It was housed in a blimp hangar, the longest wooden structure with a clear span ever built.

Naval Air Station Museum building

Dairy country

We backtracked past dairy farms and their cows. Continued north for 40 miles to Cannon Beach. Stopped at a couple overlooks for marvelous views down the coast.

Oregon Coast Highway Viewpoint South of Neahkahnie Viewpoint

Silver Point Viewpoint View South towards Lion Rock on beach

Cannon Beach was an artists’ colony with a quaint shopping district. Lots of brick and flowers. Parked and walked to the beach, but Haystack Rock was too far away. Saw Terrible Tilly, the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, built in 1879 on a basaltic island. It was retired in 1957.

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse in the distance

We could not see Neahkahnie Mountain because of low-lying clouds. We went to the Local Scoop for a light dinner. Brynne and I had bowls of clam chowder (mostly bacon) with a slice of bread. Kent had a cup of chowder and a large half of the Cow Jumped Over the Moon sandwich (with roast beef, cheese, and greens), and the same kind of chips Kirby had given us. Left $16 in cash. We then drove for a closer look at Haystack Rock, the third tallest monolith in the world.

Haystack Rock

We saw seagulls and one common murre, but no tufted puffins! It was getting very gray. 

We continued to Seaside, the largest and oldest ocean resort in Oregon, started in the 1870s by Ben Holladay. Holladay is the main road into town. Seaside is known as the end of the Lewis & Clark Trail. We first found the salt works, a replica of the salt cairn built by the Lewis & Clark team to boil seawater for salt in 1806.

Lewis & Clark Salt Cairn

We drove to the end of Broadway, a turn-around at the beach with a statue of Lewis & Clark to commemorate their journey.

Kent & Brynne with the
Lewis & Clark Memorial

We returned to US-101 and drove to Astoria, stopping at a gas station because Brynne badly needed a restroom, so Kent got gas ($10.50 at Texaco on Discover). The Red Lion Inn ($69.48 on Discover, $1 cash for postcards) was only a couple blocks away. Checked in and got our water view room.

Red Lion Inn room view

Actually, our room was over the water, and overflow from the little harbor nearby. But our main view was of the Port of Astoria. Also the Astoria Bridge, the world’s longest three-span continuous truss bridge.

Next: 1998 Oregon, Not the Coast I.