Adler's Fall 2013 Northwest: Nov. 1, 2013 Depoe Bay & Newport OR

Nov. 1, 2013 Depoe Bay/Newport OR

Today was our travel day and it was a short distance that we went, because we wanted to see the two lighthouses in the next region that we were passing through. The ocean is stunning! We were excited when we first saw it in WA State, but the surf here is so much higher and they have ‘spouting horns’ where the waves hit the shore so hard, that it shoots them upward. We’ll see more of that tomorrow when we go geo-caching. The trip south to see the lighthouses, lived up to their reputation. They are Yaquina Head, which is federally managed, and Yaquina Bay, which is at a state park. Yaquina Bay gave a tour today, so we took it to fulfill our Earthcache at that location. We had to send in how many steps there are up the spiral staircase to the top. It’s 114! It was low tide, so we walked out into the region of the tidal pools, and we saw all sorts of sea creatures out there. Amazing! There is also a colony of Harbor Seals lazing on the huge rock formations near the shore, and we could see the little pups, as well. The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is on the southern end of Newport, OR and it was closed when we got there, but we got to see it anyway. It is the only wooden lighthouse on the Oregon Coast, and the only one with living quarters attached to it. It was lit from 1871 until 1874, but in 1996 became a working lighthouse again. We were also in a good position of seeing the Yaquina Bay Bridge, which has a soaring steel arch and it makes for a very photographic shot! We met a family at one of the lighthouses and they advised us to eat at Rogue’s on the wharf in Newport, so we had their fish and chips and their amber beer. They started out as a microbrewery in 1988, but are now a full-fledged brewery! We are to get wind gusts to 60mph tomorrow, so that might curtail our activities a bit. We're glad that we don't have to go any place with the motor home with winds that high.