Gold Beach

 Enjoying the Oregon coast on the way to Gold Beach.

 

 Teenagers having a great time on the rocks.  These large rock formations in the ocean were formed by volcanic eruptions over 25 million years ago.

 

 This rabbit owned this path along the coast.

 

 We took a jet boat ride on the Rogue River.  It was super fun.  Our driver was very good at spinning this big jet boat trying to douse us.  We saw an eagle, osprey, family of otters, quail, and black-tailed deer.

 Not sure why this color variation in the ocean, but it looked like a painting.

Florence

 Sea Lion Caves North of Florence.  This cave was probably 100 feet high.  The sea lions were out to lunch when we were there, but the cave was impressive to see.

 Heceta Head lighthouse looking out from the end of the sea lion cave.

 

 While in Florence, we took a dune buggy tour.   The night before our tour we watched this vehicle maneuver around this very steep sand dune.  I told Cliff there's no way we would go down that steep hill.  Guess what!  We went down that steep hill.

 We went out on the beach then back up a very high sand dune where we could view the ocean in the distance.  There's miles and miles of dunes in this area.  It's a dune buggy haven.

We were on top of this dune looking out at the ocean.  Then the trip to the bottom of the dune was a thrill.

One of many "historic bridges" along the coast in Oregon.  It makes you wonder if they're safe, when they keep saying they're "historic". 

The fog is rolling in on this beach in Bandon.

Newport

 

 On the Newport wharf this couple was catching crabs.  Above they are measuring to make sure it is legal to keep.  Most of the catch below had to be thrown back.

 The sea lions really love this platform off of the wharf.  It definitely was a tourist draw.

 

 

 Depoe Bay just North of Newport.  These blow holes were right along the main road in Depoe Bay.  Several times the water sprayed up over the highway.

Very large "old growth" tree that is headed to the mill.

 Views of the coast line between Depoe Bay and Newport.

 

 

Two views of this remarkable Yaquina lighthouse.  Below was the view from our campground.

Traveling in a pull-behind trailer RV with 6 small dogs.  Glad it's not us.

Fort Clatsop & Tillamook

 A replica of Fort Clatsop is just South of Astoria.  This was the end of Lewis & Clark's 4000 mile trip.  Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis & Clark West to explore and map the river route.  Their maps ended up only being 40 miles off from the actual measurements.  They built and occupied this small fort just one winter before returning East.

 A park ranger brought this amazing Newfoundland into the visitor center at Fort Clatsop.  Lewis & Clark had a Newfoundland on their trip.

 A replica of one of the boats they used.   They bartered with Indians for boats or made their own.

 Tillamook Cheese & Ice Cream factory.   This block of cheese is called a "forty" because it weighs approx. 40 lbs.  It's wrapped & boxed then sent to a warehouse to age for several months before it is cut and packaged for retail.

 A Canadian moved to Tillamook in the early 1900's and started this world famous cheese plant.  They are extremely careful about the milk that is produced feeding the cows a very precise and rich diet.  1.7 million lbs of milk is brought to the plant every day.

Astoria, Oregon

Bridge over the Columbia River from the State of Washington into Astoria, Oregon.

Where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean, is some of the most treacherous waters in the world to navigate.  Above is a picture of a ship that went down in 2005.  Over 200 ships have sunk trying to navigate the entrance to the river.

This Coast Guard ship, CG-44300 was retired in 1996 after 34 years of service.  We got to see an unbelievable film on the Coast Guard training that goes on in this area.

 

Pier 39 in Astoria was the location of the original Bumble Bee Tuna plant. 

Column in Astoria overlooking the harbor.  The paintings on the sides depicted the history of Oregon.

 

The British ship Peter Iredale crashed on the shore just South of Astoria in 1906.  The park ranger above was showing a picture of what the ship looked like when it first came aground.  After all these years the wreckage below still decorates the beach.

Port Angeles, Washington

 Wooden boat festival in Port Townsend,  Washington.  Boats of all sizes from canoes to very large yachts.  The rule to be a part is that it had to be made of wood.   Boat fanatics from all over Washington were there.

 Great clam chowder in Port Townsend.   A yacht came by with a helicopter on top.  Keeps making me wonder who owns it.

 Hurricane Ridge above Port Angeles, Washington.  We had a beautiful day, but usually the wind is blowing pretty hard  (thus the name of Hurricane Ridge).

 We met this deer on our walk on the ridge.

 

 Can't see it clearly in this picture, but we could see the buildings in Victoria (near the horizon) pretty well through the binoculars   Victoria was a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride to Port Angeles (in the foreground at the bottom of the mountain).

 This is actually seaweed that washed up on shore. This was about 6 feet long.

 Crescent Lake near Port Angeles along Hwy 101.