Crossing the long bridge over the Columbia River into Oregon we stopped immediately in the likeable town of Astoria to visit the very good Maritime Museum there, with lots of good stuff about the history of the Graveyard Coast. After a good lunch at a funky joint on the wharf, we headed for our home for the next 5 nights at Manzanita, stopping for a look around Cannon Beach on the way.
For some exercise next day we headed up to the nearby Neahkahnie Mtn for a round trip walk of around 3 hours to the summit for some great views of the Manzanita coast. Not wanting to do the simple up and back from the parking area, we continued over the top and came down the other side (actually, we screwed up!), which meant a bit of a hike along the highway, then back up the access road to the vehicle. But it was good exercise!
Back in the truck, we headed north a little way to Cannon Beach and a wander around a giant sea stack called Haystack Rock. This rock and it's surrounds have been designated a Marine Garden with lots of marine life in the COLD water around it's base, and heaps of birds nesting above. Look, but don't touch!
Then it was time for an ice cream and wine supplies.
Looking for some more walking to kick start our legs after the previous outing, we headed south for the Three Capes Loop. First up was Cape Meares and a lighthouse fix for Susie, then south to Cape Lookout and a 10 km round trip walk to the tip of the cape. Nice walk, but not a lot to see. A stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory finished off the day.
An easy day followed. Up late, wandered the local shops, coffee, and walked the beach to the end breakwall and river mouth. Watched a seal playing. Local markets in the evening and a chat and sample with a local winemaker. Did we buy some? Of course!
The next little ramble Pam had in store for us was Saddle Mountain, just back from the coast and 3,270 ft high. The walk climbs 1,680 ft from the trail head, 4 km to the top, quite steep in places, and affords great views in all directions. That is, of course, if you do it on a clear day. We did it in cloud. Couldn't see a thing at the top, but it was nevertheless a great walk. Lots of wildflowers in the mist.
Leaving Manzanita, our destination was inland, near Silverton. But first we headed south again to Cape Kiwanda and Rockaway Beach. Lots of cars on the beach and lots of surfers out, all in 5 ml wetsuits, hoods, booties and gloves. Not bad waves. After a coffee for Susie and a "cup of disappointment" (decaf/soy) for me, we turned east via Salem to a great little cabin about 10 kms out of Silverton on the bank of the Abiqua River.
Monday, 4th July, American Independence Day.
We met Russ and AeJa, friends of P and H, at Silver Falls. Actually not one, but about 10 waterfalls along a gorge - a spectacular place. After a car shuttle, we walked from North Falls to South Falls, about 10 kms easy. Even with the inevitable Independence Day crowds it was a beautiful walk.
Back at our little cabin, Russ and AeJa cooked us all a mighty meal, washed down with some of that nice local red while the Abiqua quietly burbled past below us.
In a quiet moment of contemplation hanging over the deck rail, I even managed to see a bald eagle fail in it's attempt to snatch a duckling away from it's mum.
Leaving our little cabin on the Abiqua, we cruised back to the coast at Newport, checked out the Devil's Punchbowl, some passing whales, the local seals, and even some surfers. I wandered over to a guy pulling on his wetty, and all the other paraphernalia, and asked him about the water temperature. "Ah, about 52, not too bad." he said. That's about 11 in my language. Not this little black duck!
We found our AirB&B joint at Bandon Beach, right opposite a company advertising septic pump outs in a novel way. Surprisingly quiet and comfy.
Finished the day off with a great dinner at a local restaurant with Don and Bonnie, old friends of P and H's.
We hooked up with Don and Bonnie again in the morning for a bit of a tour of the local area.
First, Point Blanco Lighthouse, at a place where 3 tectonic plates meet. The road to the lighthouse has serious subsidence issues! Did a tour of the lighthouse - pretty good.
Watched a couple of grey whales cruising and blowing no more than 10 metres from shore at a steeply shelving beach we were overlooking.
In the arvo, we climbed yet another local peak. This time Mt Humbug, another steepish climb of about 1500 ft, and finally knocked off a pretty good meal at a rustic seafood joint called Griff's on the wharf back at Bandon.
Now the beach at Bandon is seriously pretty, with rock stacks everywhere, so that's where we headed next morning for a wander and a few pics before saddling up for our drive to another rustic, but comfortable cabin on the shore of Klamath Lake, not far from our next major target.
Crater Lake. The stats are unbelievable. Born of a 12,000 ft volcano blowing it's top 7,700 years ago and then the caldera collapsing to ultimately form the 7 mile wide lake. The deepest lake in North America at over 1900 ft deep, and the water amongst the clearest and purest in the world, which gives it it's incredible blue colour.
We drove up there, and arrived on the crater's edge to see.... nothing. Nothing but fog. But feeling optimistic, we drove around the rim to the other side of the lake, and waddaya know, we could actually see the water below. A bit of luck saw us buy some just cancelled tickets for the 1:15 boat tour of the lake which started right below us, 700 ft down.
We weren't dressed for winter weather, or persistent rain, but that's what we got! The wind blew, it rained intermittently, and the temperature dropped to 42F. That's about 6 degrees C. I had on a thin wool t-shirt, thin long sleeved shirt over that, plus an unlined rain jacket and thin long pants. Susie was dressed similarly, and we froze. In the uncovered boat we ended up sitting in freezing pools of water as the rain ran off our jackets and down into our groins - but, we really enjoyed the 2 hour trip. The fog lifted enough to give us a good look at the towering caldera walls around us, so we were able to get a few pics in between wiping water drops off the lens!
By the time we climbed off the boat the rain had stopped, and we were almost dry by the time we finished the climb back to the top. Then, it was back to our little cabin on the lake for dinner.
Our final day in Oregon was driving, driving. We left the cabin and headed for Pam and Howdy's home in Ogden Valley, Utah. A long drive - we finally arrived at 10pm after leaving the cabin at 7:20am. The plan was a couple of rest days at P and H's, then off north again to Yellowstone NP.
And that's the next story....
