Oregon Coast 2011 – Day 5

 

Day One: Drive up the through Utah and Idaho, Shoshone Falls, Twin Falls and Baker City, OR.

Days 2 and 3: Multnomah Falls area and Bridal Veil Falls, Vineyard

Day 4: Silver Falls State Park

Day 2 on the coast brought amazing weather as well.

Today we relaxed most of the day. We did some shopping, then went down to the beach and enjoyed the water and did some beach combing.

That is about as deep as I am comfortable getting into the ocean. The temperature was fine (even if the face in this image leads you to think otherwise) aside from the initial shock it was actually fine. However, I have a deep respect of the ocean. When I can no longer see my feet, and the waves can actually affect my balance… yea. that’s quite deep enough for me.

(Images courtesy Landis via my old Kodak) I knew I was getting in the water, and I had a small mishap with my Nikon last year that made me vow never to leave it on a beach ever, ever again. Lets just say SLR’s and beach sand do not mix. :( Luckily I was able to have this fixed, but definitely a mistake I do not want to repeat.

We then decided to take a scenic by-route down just south of Depoe Bay. Before we got there we passed a pull out which was right after a pretty cove. We decided to pull over and explore a bit.

 
We found a trail that hiked over to the Cove which I discovered is called Whale Cove. Very pretty area.

We found a tree similar to the Octopus Tree (last years photo) but not a protected tree, (as as fragile looking) so we decided to climb up. Not as easy as it was when I was 10.

Upon hiking back we then noticed a small crowd had gathered and one of the (what I call) whale chaser boats was there. Then we saw a spout. So we went down to the edge of the cliffs and watched 2 whales go by. Here are a few of the better picks.

Upper: Good Spout, Lower, Back. The whales here are not very photogenic. You get a spout, and then a quick glimpse of back.

Purple grass? Actually I have no idea what this is, but it is pretty.

We then continued on to our expected destination. The Otter Crest Loop.

Cool Old Bridge

Cool house, interesting trees. My mom wants to live in this house, me… not so much, well I could maybe stay there a night, but I would not leave the confines of the back porch. Yikes!

Ending at Cape Foul Weather which has a little gift shop. Last year, every single time we passed it it was closed or we were heading somewhere and didn't think about it. I.e. In the morning we had a destination in mind, and on the way back when we could stop it was later in the evening and they were closed. So we finally got to visit it, and check out the views. This gift shop sits 500 feet above the water on a pretty scary cliff. I am not sure I could work there!

Here is the view from the other side of this cliff. If you look really closely, at the top most point you can see Yaquina Head Lighthouse, and the point below that is Devils Punchbowl. (we will be covering those area’s shortly.)

Returning home, we of course made a repeat visit to Pier 101 for dinner. I really, really like this restaurant. Awesome staff, and atmosphere, amazing food. Best clams I have ever had in my entire life.

Got a decent shot of my parents walking down the beach.

View of our room from the beach. We are on the right in this image. Ok, total keeping up with the Joneses moment, our deck, (and thusly our condo) is significantly larger. Totally did not notice that until reviewing this photo. I really found a great place to stay.

 

This particular area, at least every time we visit, is typically foggy most of the time, and even if you do get a sunny day, the fog usually rolled in before sunset. Today however we started to get a sunset.

 

I thought for sure I would get a full ocean sunset after it passed that section of clouds... however it filled in before the sun got there. Eh, I am happy with what I got.

I wanted to walk down to the rocks again after seeing this, but was a bit worn out, and that hot tub was calling my name. I thought “tomorrow night” and never again had the opportunity with this lighting. Lesson learned, when on vacation, if you have the lighting, go get your shot!

Finally we decided to check out the local Indian Casino that was less than a mile from where we stayed. My experience this evening is: Their slots are much, much tighter than Wendover, and they do not pass out free drinks while you gamble. We had fun for a bit, but ultimately decided we would rather spend our money elsewhere.

Upon returning to the condo, I did some more experimenting with night photography.

I tried to stay up and wait for the big dipper to dip a little lower, but it was getting late, and I was getting tired, and the clouds started rolling in. Didn’t get the shot I wanted, however I am thrilled with what I did get.

All in all I would rate this as a good day. :)

Wow, these posts are running long. I had planned on combining more days, but then they would be HUGE. So a few more posts than normal.

A few mores days left of my coastal adventures!