OR -- South Beach State Park, 17-24 Oct 2011

 

We had a fun week at South Beach State Park just south of Newport, Oregon.  The wide, long beach was a half mile one way.  Yaquina Bay with its impressive bridge was a half mile another way.  And the harbor with hundreds of boats and the Oregon Coast Aquarium was just a mile the other direction.  Each time we stepped outside we could hear sea lions making a ruckus in the distance.

   

The weather was glorious the first two days.  Big high pressure and easterly, off-shore winds meant clear blue skies and warm temps.  If the weather was like that more often, the Pacific NW would be the population center of the country!

No clouds and the temps in the upper 70s…Awesome mid October weather for the Pacific NW!

We walked to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  The route was along the bay and under the  Yaquina Bay bridge.  As “PACNW Righty” commented in the last blog entry:

“The bridge you will cross is the first of a series of the big bridges along the Oregon Coast designed by Conde McCullough. It was built back in 1936. You'll hit a few more as you make your way south along the coast.” 

Over the next week, I enjoyed seeing the bridge from different perspectives and crossing it each time. 

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is rated as one of the top 10 in the US.  The exhibits are nicely displayed and informative.  We got to watch shore birds, otters, and seal lions get fed.  I found the jelly fish and walk-through deep sea displays the most amazing.

    

       

Per a recommendation from “PACNW Righty”, we visited Ona State Park and the Beaver Creek Natural Area.  We launched our kayaks on Beaver Creek right by Hwy 101.  The creek was about 50 feet wide at that point and didn’t have any current.  We started seeing quite a few different kinds of birds as we moved upstream.  Just over two miles from the launch we hit the foot bridge that crossed the now 10 feet wide creek into the Natural Area.  It was fun and tranquil snaking along the narrow creek walled in by thick vegetation.  It was only us and the wilderness…we felt like explorers.  We “parked” the kayaks in the grass by the bridge, put on our hiking boots, and hiked all over the Natural Area.  We filled our mushroom basket with fresh chanterelles and a couple of king boletes – aka porcinis.  According to our mushroom book, “no other mushroom is more substantial or satisfying to find” than the king bolete ( http://mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomking.html )…Thank you Mother Nature!  On the way back, I caught a couple of sea-run cutthroat trout.  The largest was about six inches.  We decided to see how far downstream we could paddle and got stopped as the creek hit the tidal area and fanned out getting too shallow.  All told we kayaked five miles, hiked three miles, picked about two pounds of shrooms, saw all kinds of birds, and caught some pretty little trout.  The sun was going down and I was craving a burger and fries (a rare craving for me) so we stopped at “Flashbacks”, a funky 50’s style diner that satisfied my craving perfectly.  It was a great day!

   

       

The frog tried to hitch a ride!

The walls are closing in on Beaver Creek…ramming speed ahead!

Too shallow to proceed…Pacific Ocean in sight!

 

And while we were kayaking the creek, a guy was attacked by a great white shark on the beach where we stayed:  http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Surfer-encounters-shark-near-Newport-132279493.html

Don’t worry about us…we have no urge to go into that cold water!

The weather turned blustery with intermittent drizzle and light rain and winds 20-40mph.  It was a perfect day to visit Cape Foulweather!  First we drove up to Depoe Bay which is known for two things:  the whale watching center and the world’s smallest harbor.  We had a great meal at Tidal Raves with the amazing view making it a memorable experience.  At the whale watching center, we learned about the migration routes of various whales.  It surprised us to learn that a resident pod of grey whales reside off the central Oregon Coast most of the year.  Seven were seen the day before we visited, but sadly, none were seen the day we were there…“should have been here yesterday”.  The next stop was Cape Foulweather.  The Cape is about 500 feet above the ocean on an exposed point.  It was named in 1778 by Captain James Cook.  Winds can hit 100mph during the harsh winter storms that batter the coast.  Hopefully we don’t experience that!  The weather was foul enough while we were there.  The winds were 30-40mph and the visibility was 3-4 miles with light rain, drizzle, and fog.  I posed for a couple of quick pictures and then we went into the little gotcha shop to warm up.  Next we dropped rapidly from the top of the cape, down to Devil’s Punch Bowl ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Punch_Bowl_State_Natural_Area ). 
This unique formation was made when sea caves collapsed.  The color of the rocks ranged from light sandy brown, to dark orange, to stripes of red.  The waves wash in and out of the narrow opening resulting in turbulent punch bowl waters.   Then we stopped at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  It was built in 1873 and is 93 feet high…the tallest on the Oregon coast.  We climbed to the top and admired the mechanics of the lens and structure.  We also took a quick hike up Salal Hill for a better view.  The weather was still blustery but the visibility allowed a great view.  We also tried to visit the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, but didn’t make it in time.  A week isn’t enough to see everything!

A great meal and a great view at Tidal Raves in Depoe Bay, OR

   

Parachute pants at Cape Foulweather, OR

   

Arleen is the blue speck in the upper right corner………………………………….Devil’s Punch Bowl, OR

       

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

We went agate hunting at Moolack Beach just north of Newport.  We wandered around on the beach at low tide near a creek per guidance from multiple web pages.  Did we find any?  Heck…I don’t know.  They all look the same to me!  However, I found a beautiful porcini mushroom on the trail to the beach.  That’s a real treasure!  We saw a few fossils too.

   

   

Porcinis on the left. Chanterelles on the right. Grilled steak in the middle. Freakin’ outstanding!

Our last meal out in Newport was to Georgie’s Beachside Grill.  We sat right by the window with a great view of Nye beach and Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  I had a seafood sauté that included shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, salmon, and white fish.  Arleen had one of the specials with chicken, scallops, and sundried tomatoes in a creamy wine sauce.  They were outstanding!  The clam chowder was thick, buttery, creamy, with tons of clams and few potatoes.  We rated it #3 behind Castaways and Mo’s.  I couldn’t resist a cup of chili.  Imagine how this would taste:  “Prime rib chili…A mix of prime rib, chorizo, black beans, spices, diced tomatoes, amber ale, and dark chocolate.  Topped with Tillamook Cheddar and a dollop of sour cream”.  I like to try unusual things on menus.  There was no way I could pass up chili made with dark chocolate!  It’s some of the best chili I have ever tasted!!

We are on a roll when it comes to finding good restaurants.  The key…an IPhone app called “TripAdvisor”.  This very useful and free app allows you to search for trip related things like restaurants, hotels, things to do, flights, etc.  You can search based on your location or you can enter any chosen location.  What makes this most handy are the rankings and numerous user reviews.  We look for places with a large number of consistent reviews.  So far we have not been led astray.

We plan to spend two weeks at our next location:  Woahink Lake just south of Florence, Oregon.  The lake will be on one side and the famous Oregon Dunes on the other, both just a short walk away.  We’ll slow things a down even more and take a break or two from being tourists while we tackle the growing to-do list.  Check back with us in about two weeks!

We appreciate your comments, feedback, and suggestions.  Keep them coming!

Howling at South Beach State Park as the sun goes down

OR –– Nehalem State Park, 10-17 Oct 2011

 

 

One week in Nehalem State Park was not enough!  We camped on a long peninsula wedged between the ocean and Nehalem Bay.  There are miles of beach, miles of trail, and a boat launch.  The quaint town of Manzanita was just a two mile walk up the beach.

   

We were very comfortable in the campground.  The only amenity that we missed was a sewage dump at the campsite.  No big deal…We were able to go a week before we dumped the tanks on the way out.  The campground was 2/3 empty through the week, but nearly filled up over the weekend.  The weather was decent, the salmon were running, and the crabs were aplenty which likely led to an influx of folks from the Portland area.  It remained very pleasant the entire time.

There were two great walks we enjoyed.  Walk number one was a wonderful two mile beach stroll to Manzanita.  Manzanita is a peaceful little town and had everything we needed.  It has a short main street that ends at the beach with just a few touristy shops, pet store, grocery store, coffee/bakery shop, a few book stores, and a few delicious restaurants…perfect!  Walk number two was a one mile loop that was partially along the beach and through two camp ground loops.  We did it a couple of times each day with our four legged friend.  There was always something interesting to see including black tail deer.

   

We took a day trip to Cape Meares and the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  The Cape Meares lighthouse ( http://capemeareslighthouse.org/html/history.html ) is the shortest on the Oregon coast at 38 feet high.  However, it sits on a cliff 217 feet above the water clearly seen 180 degrees from the south through the west through the north.  The history of the lighthouse is very interesting with its one of a kind lens being built and shipped from France then hoisted up the cliff from the water.  We hiked about 5 miles around the Cape enjoying the great views, the “Octopus Tree” ( http://capemeareslighthouse.org/html/octopus_tree.html ), and hunting for mushrooms.  We picked about two pounds of chanterelle mushrooms ($20-$40 worth)!  At the Tillamook Cheese factory we sampled ice cream.  Arleen shopped for unique fruity marinades and I made 4, 5, or 6 trips through the sample cheese line.  Who’s counting?!?  If there is a camera, I may not be allowed back!  On the way “home” we had an amazing dinner at “Pirate’s Cove” near Garibaldi.  The restaurant sits about 100 feet up a cliff overlooking the north side of Tillamook Bay.  Arleen had wasabi halibut and crab and I had honey bbq sturgeon.  The meals came with clam chowder which was very good but no match for Castaways in Long Beach.  We had a terrific day!

   

   

See Arleen?

The following day we hiked to the top of Neahkahnie Mountain ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neahkahnie_Mountain ).  We started around 400 feet elevation and crested the top at 1,600 feet after about 1 1/4 mile of steep hiking.  Though this was more than our arbitrary limit of 1,000 feet of rise per mile, we did well and enjoyed ourselves.  The weather was overcast and blustery, but remained dry.  The view from the top was incredible.  On the way down, we spent a lot of time walking off trail looking for mushrooms.  We found six fresh, yummy chanterelles.  Unfortunately, we didn’t find the Spanish treasure rumored to be hidden on the mountain (check out the web link above).  Between the steepness and the brutal off-trail mushroom hunting, we got our butts kicked!  After burning a couple of thousand calories, we figured we earned a trip to “Mo’s” in Cannon Beach.  Mo’s is an Oregon coast restaurant known for its clam chowder.  It is highly recommended by our Oregon friends and other “Oregonians” we’ve met recently.  The Mo’s in Cannon Beach is right on the water.  It has a great view and fun atmosphere.  The menu is also fun and everything was reasonably priced.  The verdict on the clam chowder…it was excellent!  It was thick, creamy, buttery, and had bits of clam and bacon in every bite.  So how we do we rate it?  #2 behind Castaways in Long Beach.  Both Castaways and Mo’s stand out above all of the others we’ve tried.

   

                                                                               View to the south from the top of Neahkahnie Mountain

We also hiked a section of the Oregon Coast Trail in Oswald West State Park.  Much of the route was along cliffs dropping straight down to the churning ocean.  We took a snack break sitting on the edge with our feet dangling way above the water.  We found about 3 pounds of “orange gold”…tasty chanterelle mushrooms!  So far Arleen has cooked the shrooms with pork chops and pasta.  She also made an amazing Hungarian mushroom soup.  It’s the best soup I’ve ever eaten!!  Finding these beauties adds a whole other realm of enjoyment to our hikes.      

   

We caught another great sunset.  There were quite a few families with young kids playing and making memories on the beach as the sun dropped below the horizon and the sky turned red.  Here is Arleen flying the kite on the beach as the sun went down…

The Camp Host, Leo, told us that we should not miss a kayak trip to the little town of Wheeler for coffee and treats.  The winds were consistently strong during most of our stay keeping us off of the water.  Finally, the last day was bright and shiny and winds were just a moderate 10-20mph.  We knew the tides could help us if we timed it right.  We launched from Nehalem State Park catching the last push upstream with high tide.  The wind was at our backs and we moved “downhill” with the waves.  We sailed right along up the Nehalem River, but really had to concentrate to stay in control and on a straight path.  We made it safely to Wheeler about 3 miles from where we launched.  We pulled the kayaks up into the grass by the boat ramp and walked across the street for coffee (Arleen), tea (Shawn), and two fresh blueberry muffins.  Leo was right…It was a nice paddle with a nice reward!  On the way back we trolled for salmon but didn’t get any bites.  It was a lot of work going “uphill” directly into the waves and wind.  Even the though the tide and weak river current were in our favor, it was much harder going back!

Where are the clouds?!? 

Next we head 90 miles down the coast to South Beach State Park just outside of Newport, OR.

Life is good!