Click on a photo to enlarge it.
From Coos Bay we continued north and stopped at John Dellenbeck State Park to take some photos of the sand dunes.
Sand dunes at John Dellenbeck State Park - 360° Panorama(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
We took a loop road down to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park and the Salmon Harbour and then detoured off the coastal highway to see
some Roosevelt Elks near Reedsport. There are about 100 in the herd and they live here year round. We had coffee and cakes and watched as they got
closer and closer to Winnie. (See video).
Roosevelt elks near Reedsport
We continued to Florence and walked along a board walk and through the quaint old town. At the North Jetty Kirsten took video of
seals playing in the waves.
Seals playing in the waves on Florence.
It's a good job we made the most out of the sunny day because it rained for the rest of the week. We stopped at a casino and it
rained so much that poor old Winnie couldn't cope and we started leaking again.
The weather also meant there wasn't much to do but sit it out. So we went to a garage to have Winnie looked at because he was juddering
every time we used reverse and our fuel consumption was getting too high. We thought it might be because of all the stop and go
along the coast plus ethanol in the petrol here. But after a quick look they told us we were running on only three cylinders and,
because of the upcoming memorial Day weekend, we decided to drive the 60 miles north to Newport over the weekend and get it fixed
the following week.
The rain and the leaks were still a problem though and we were running out of dry tea towels! But, in a rare dry moment we did
manage to tape the roof again without knowing where the leak was! At least it seemed to work.
As a celebration we went to Lovejoy's English Tea Room where Kirsten had salmon bisque and asparagus quiche and Helen had sausage
rolls and bread pudding. All home made of course!
Later the sun came out briefly so we drove to Haceta Head Lighthouse and took a very muddy trail to get to it. After two days of not
really doing much it was good to get back onto the coastal trail despite the mud!
Haceta Head Lighthouse - 360° Panorama(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
The next day was a highlight of our tour - Sea Lion Cave. We paid $12 each to take the elevator down 63 metres to the largest US
sea lion cave that was discovered in 1888 by Captain Cox. There is a live video monitor in the entrance so you can see if there are
any sea lions in the cave before paying to go down and look.
Normally at this time of year the sea lions would be mostly outside but the Oregon coast has had an unusually wet and cold May, so
we were lucky to see 60 of them taking refuge in the cave from the wind and rain.
There are various viewing areas, videos, information boards and screens inside so we spent over an hour there. As huge waves rolled
into the cave we watched the sea lions find the best spot to avoid getting swept off the rocks. Some just climb up onto the rocks and
over other sea lions and they even start fighting to defend their position! (See video).
Sea Lion Cave.
Our next highlight was a short distance further north - Cape Perpetua. It is a beautiful area and we did three short trails whilst
the weather held. We were also there just at the right time to see the spouting horn, where during high tide with high waves, water
is forced through a blow hole. (See video)
Cape Perpetua.
We stayed overnight at the spouting horn viewpoint and the next day was grey again. That's what it's like on the coast - you have to
make the most of the sunny moments!
Although we waited to see if the sun would poke its head out, by noon we decided to move on and went to Yachats for a short walk along
the coast and saw two Great Pyrenees dogs. One was only 11 weeks old and was a fluffy white ball called Rowdy! Then we had more fish
and chips at a restaurant that was fresh off the boat and absolutely delicious.
Just south of Newport we turned off the highway and found a very peaceful spot for the night near Beaver Creek.
