The Oregon Coast, Part 1

Our drive from our home in SeaTac (south Seattle area) to our family cabin in Rockaway Beach, Oregon takes 41/2 to 5 hours, depending on traffic and stops along the way. It was mid afternoon by the time we reached our favorite view point, the overlook from Neakanie Mountain. 

 From here we can see all the way down the beach to Rockaway, and look at that sky! Yay! Fair weather!

We stopped at Wheeler, on the Nehalem Bay,  to check out our favorite antique mall.

From there is was a short trip to the cabin. After settling in and a short beach walk, I put together a salad and Tom picked up some take out clam chowder from a local sea food shop for our dinner.  

Then, since it was almost the autumnal equinox, and the weather was obliging, I walked down the beach to position myself for my favorite sunset photos, as the summer sun sinks away between the Twin Rocks. 

Sigh. 

But it wasn't the last day of summer. We still had one more! And we spent it driving down the coast highway visiting some of our favorite spots. 

At Cloverdale, along Hwy 101 in an interior valley dotted with dairy cows, we checked out this flea market/antique barn. Fun, but no treasures here for us this time. 

 When you are not in a hurry, you stop at all of the view points. 

 Boiler Bay wasn't boiling much, but we sure appreciated the lack of wind.

 We passed right through the urban tourist sprawl of Lincoln City to get to our southern terminus at Depoe Bay. 

 Not only is it beautiful here, but the gray whales were in residence!

 We watched for at least an hour, as the whales spouted and rose to the surface enough that we could see their backs and once, a tail! Of course it was hard to catch them in photos, but in the picture below I believe I did capture one. Look for a buoy, a boat and a whale back. 

 A narrow channel connects the back bay from the sea, with this arched bridge for Hwy 101 spanning the channel. 

 It takes a good pilot to line up just right, then gun it and shoot through the opening. 

 I packed a light picnic lunch and we sat here at a picnic table to eat and continue whale watching. 

 We did walk through part of the touristy town, but preferred to get back to sight seeing. 

More tomorrow.