This morning we drove 92 miles south down highway 101 to another campground in Waldport. We were worried since it's the weekend, and although there are dozens of campgrounds on the Oregon coast, there are also lots of vacationers. We found one and booked it for the next two nights.
After we got settled, we started back up 101 to see the sights we couldn't stop at in the RV. We went back to Depoe Bay first after a quick stop for pictures at Seal Rock. Depoe Bay has the smallest navigable harbor, and it looks like it takes a lot of skill to steer a boat through the inlet!
There's an visitor center there that has information on whale watching, and they had seen one this morning, but he had already moved on. From the steps to the bridge, we could watch some guys cleaning the fish that were coming in from the fishing boats, and there was an adorable seal waiting for handouts!
After that, we stopped at the Rocky Creek Bridge which is an original bridge from the old 101. It's now on a one-way scenic drive.
Then we made our way up to Cape Foulweather where there's a nice gift shop. They had an instrument to measure the wind, and it was gusting to about 58 MPH which blended nicely with the 58 degree temperature! Needless to say, we didn't stay long out of the car!
Our next stop was the Devil's Punchbowl which is a collapsed cavern. It was so windy we could hardly stand up!
Our final stop was at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. They have a really nice information center, but we got there with only 30 minutes before they closed. There were cliffs around two sides of their parking lot, and we saw what looked like a peregrine falcon flying around. Someone pointed out the nest on the side of a cliff, and after the center closed, we spent a while in the car (too much wind!) watching the birds on the cliff. We could hear the chicks calling!
We also rode out to the point where there are rocks in the water with thousands of birds on them....probably common murres. Again, it was too windy to stay outside for long.
We had heard that Mo's Restaurant had the best clam chowder, so we found their original location in Newport. We had fried clamstrips and calamari in addition to a cup of chowder, and dinner was outstanding!
I have lots of pictures and had to let them upload overnight! Internet is not doing well here.
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Seal rocks...
didn't see any seals on these, though. |
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| Wouldn't it be fun to steer a boat through that?! |
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| Looking under the bridge into the harbor |
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| Waves crashing onto the jetty |
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| Fish cleaners |
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This cute little guy was waiting for handouts.
He had to compete with the gulls. |
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| View from Rocky Creek |
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Rocky Creek Bridge.
Designed by famous bridge designer, Conde McCullough. |
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That's the Cape Foulweather gift shop
at the top of that peak. |
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| View from the gift shop |
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| Devils' Punchbowl with Gull Rock in the distance |
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That's a surfer down there.
That cove was protected from the wind, but there weren't any waves, either! |
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California ground squirrels.
I've never seen spotted squirrels before! |
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| Seabird way down there |
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| That's the poop from the peregrine nest. |
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Hard to tell, but that's a peregrine.
I needed more than a 10X lens! |
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| Yaquina Bay Lighthouse |
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| Lots of seabirds on the rock...probably Murres. |
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Beautiful, wide beach....deserted!
Just too cold and windy for anyone except a few clammers. |
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| The original Mo's Restaurant |
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| View from our front window at dusk. |
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