We
left NWMF 2011 in Sheridan, OR and headed to the coast. First
night, we stayed around Taft, OR at a normal RV site and did
chores. From there, we headed south along U.S. 101 and then back
through the coastal mountains.
The photos below are what we saw.
Traveling
along the coast highway, we spotted Jesus' boat inbound from fishing.
This
sign makes a bold claim given some of the fish camps we have seen in
Baja.
The
entrance to Depoe Bay is below the bridge between these rocks.
Jesus' boat makes the passage as we go overhead.
We
got many nice views of the shore and coastal rock formations that make
seafaring in this area dangerous.
Who
names these things anyway? Frankly, I prefer the "Bill and Ted's
Excellent Adventure" naming scheme: "Yaquina Head Most Excellent
Natural Area".
At
Newport, OR we headed into the mountains on a back road and passed this
paper mill along the Elk River. Notice the fire hose of wood
chips being sprayed.
The
sign stated that this was a Georgia-Pacific plant.
There
was a lot of infrastructure to support the wood plant.
We
traveled up Elk Creek and found a nice spot along the road to camp.
We
had the place to ourselves and the spot had both a nice sandy beach and
a slow-flowing creek.
We
waded in the water for awhile but in the end the bugs won the battle
despite bug spray so we retreated to the camper for the night.
We
wound our way through a maze of forest roads and despite the GPS and
detailed maps, we got turned around several times. The trails
went over steep hills that were harvested by the logging
companies. Some areas were clear cut, others were left
intact. But, all the roads were narrow and steep.
They
say ignorance is bliss. There I was driving along being
blissful and spotted this tree trunk that had rolled off the cliff onto
the trail. Because the clear-cut hillsides were so steep, they
were bleeding debris onto the trail. As the trail went on, the
number of large boulders and logs on the trail became a concern.
In the end, we were able to get through without moving any of the
debris.
After
many miles, we hit the county road and then the U.S. highway that took
us along the Alsea River west to the ocean again. The tidal areas
along the Alsea we quite nice.
We
started searching for a place to eat and ended up going north when we
should have gone south. We crossed over the Alsea Bridge and then
turned south again. We had a very late lunch in Waldport and then
continued south.
The
bridge over the Alsea River at Waldport, OR.
We
continued south from Waldport for a short distance and came upon a USFS
campsite right on the beach cliffs. They had a spot for us
directly next to the beach, so we took it for the night. After we
set up, we took our beach chairs and a bottle of wine to the sand and
sat for a while.
The
wind on the beach was strong, as it always is in this portion of the
Pacific coast. The prevailing winds are strong enough to cause
deformations in the coastal trees. Note the shape of the trees on
the lip of the cliff.
It
was quite foggy and cold after dark, but the fog generally cleared the
next morning. Before rolling out, Kathleen goes to the beach
again for a photo or two.
We
headed south along 101 and were treated to a feast of beautiful vistas.
We
were traveling south into the sun which makes taking high quality
photos a challenge. But, technical challenges notwithstanding,
the scenery was breathtaking. It was hard to concentrate on
driving, so I gave the camera to Kathleen.
Many
creeks made their way to the ocean and each had a nice beach area.
The
fog stayed with us most of the day obscuring the visibility.
In
some areas, the fog banks were quite thick.
An
observation point next to the shore.
We took too many
good photos to easily fit into one web page, so I split them with the
"next adventure". This section of the Oregon coast is truly off
the chart for scenery. We have traveled this section at least 4
times over the years and I am sure that we will be back again
soon. But, beware, this area is well known by the locals and all
the hotels, motels and campgrounds were full due to summer vacationers.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2011, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.