North Coast

KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  Another beautiful day today.  We headed north up the coast since when we leave on Monday we’ll be heading inland to Portland.  So we drove north on the 101 and then took the Three Capes Scenic Byway which hugged the coast.  Not a great road but fantastic views.  Drove all the way up to Cape Meares and checked out the Cape Meares Lighthouse.  Had lunch in the little coastal town of Oceanside at Roseanne’s right on the beach with a view of the 3 arch rocks.  And OMG the food was fantastic!  I had Pacific snapper and Mike had their clam chowder and a sandwich. He said their chowder was by far the best he’s had since we’ve been out here.  Left there pleasantly stuffed and headed back to the 101. Passed this cute house which was pretty close to the road and it had chain-link fence all around topped with razor wire!   Guess they don’t want anyone bothering them!  Went through the cute little town of Tillamook which sits in a pretty valley with mountains all around. We saw a bright yellow Lotus parked on the street there. Thought we were back in LA. The temperature was 82 here in the valley.  A veritable heat wave.  Back to Lincoln City and our park to rest, relax, and digest. 69 here in Lincoln City.

Little pond meets the Pacific.

Another amazing beach.

Sand dunes creeping up into the pine forest.

The three arch rocks.

Cape Meares

Cape Meares Lighthouse
We had to walk way down to this lighthouse. It's pretty short and squat.  Then we had to slog back up a long hill.

KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  This morning dawned sunny and pretty warm—for here anyway.  We got ourselves ready and headed back south to Yachats (Ya-hots) so we could stop and see some things we couldn’t while pulling the fifth wheel.  Yachats is a cute little artsy coastal town.  We checked out the beach and stopped at an amazing gallery.  Continued north through the little coastal towns of Depoe Bay, Waldport and Seal Rock.  Stopped at Newport and parked in the historic bay area and had lunch at a little place right on the water.  Checked out a couple of lighthouses and headed back to Lincoln City.  Relaxed the rest of the evening.  Mid-70s today. 

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Rugged Oregon Coast

Yaquina Head

Wide Oregon beaches.

No jackets!

Fishing boat coming in to Newport harbor.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.

Bridge over Newport harbor.

The Spruce Goose

KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  When we first opened our eyes this morning, the sun was out.  But by the time we actually got up it was drizzling and cool.  So, we headed to McMinville, OR, where the “Spruce Goose” now resides in the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.  This immense flying boat was designed and built by Hughes Aircraft Co.  Howard Hughes was involved in every aspect of its design and construction.  The government contract was for $18 million.  Even so, Howard Hughes spent $7 million of his own money to finish this one-of-a-kind flying boat.  The fact that Howard spent so much of his own money didn’t deter Congress to drag him to a hearing implying misappropriation of funds.  Howard was so incensed that in 1947 when he took this huge craft out for a taxiing test in Long Beach, he in fact took off and flew it for about a mile at 70 feet over the water.  Ya gotta love him!  I guess members of Congress didn’t think it would fly.  Take that Congress!  The drive over there was quite pretty.  Went through a beautiful national forest with huge, old-growth pines and a pretty mountain stream right along the road.  This opened up to a beautiful valley of neatly planted crops creating a patchwork of color.  Also a lot of vineyards in this valley.  Reminded me a little of Napa Valley in California.  Also passed a couple of amazing galleries—amazing because of the elaborate landscaping surrounding them; a work of art in themselves.  Stopped to check out a historic covered bridge and then continued back to our park.  Made chili for dinner.  81 in McMinville.  69 on the coast.

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
McMinville, OR

The Spruce Goose has eight Pratt & Whitney 3000 HP engines.
It's made out of wood.

We took a tour of the cockpit area.  Mike is in Howard's seat.  Our Docent, Vivian, is in the foreground.

Looking aft behind the cockpit.  There was room for 16 passengers in this area.  We even got to look down the wing section.

The SR-71 Blackbird--probably the fastest plane in the world.

My favorite--a drone.  Looks like a big grey whale.

Both of us in the cockpit.

Historic Drift Creek Covered Bridge--1914.

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR, to KOA, Lincoln City, OR:  Left Coos Bay at a little after 9 this morning and headed north on the 101.  Drove over that way high bridge just outside of North Bend…pulling the fifth wheel.  I was driving and it didn’t bother me too much.  I drove to Florence and then Mike took over.  After Florence 101 rose to breathtaking heights above the Pacific. Very twisty, turny and a tunnel with a pretty low clearance.  Drove through one cute little coastal town after another.  The KOA we’re staying at is just across the road from Devil’s Lake, which is really pretty big and has nice lake houses dotting the shore.  The KOA here is really nice—each site having shrubs on both sides, affording lots of privacy.  Got here and were set up by 1:00.  Then headed out exploring.  Stopped along the beach and walked for a while.  Pretty cloudy all day.  But it reached 71.  Had dinner at a seafood grill on the beach where the D River empties into the Pacific. It's the shortest river in the world and is the outlet from Devil's Lake.

After Florence, the higher we climbed the denser the fog/marine layer.

The Pacific was churning pretty good.

Sculpture on the beach.

A bunch of harbor seals sleeping on the beach.

Three ladies on a log.

Our site.

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  Well, they’re still holding the truck hostage.  So, we’re here for one more night.  It’s almost 4:30 and they’re still not done with it.  Not sure what’s wrong.  It’s a waiting game.  I hate waiting games.

Barns of America

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  Another drizzly day.  We just lazed around reading most of the day.  Were planning on trying our luck at the casino one more time and have dinner there.  Got all ready, headed out and the truck wouldn’t start.  So we called Road Help and they sent someone to jump the truck.  Then we went directly to the GMC dealer in Coos Bay and they kept the truck so they could work on it first thing in the morning.  They had someone drive us back to our park.  My mouth was all watered for a nice steak dinner.  Oh well.  We were supposed to leave tomorrow for Lincoln City further up the coast.  We’ll probably still be able to—depending on what they find wrong with the truck. 65 today.

The Oregon coast between Coos Bay and Florence is mostly wide beaches and large sand dunes.  Pictures by Mike.

Midway RV Park, Coos Bay, OR:  This morning we awoke to the pitter patter of rain on the roof.  Drizzled all day.  We did our laundry here in the park.  After finishing that we had lunch and then went grocery shopping.  Got that onerous task out of the way and then went for an early dinner at the High Tide Café.  I had pasta with shrimp and dried tomatoes and Mike had sea food jambalaya.  Came back and relaxed the rest of the evening.  The sun actually came out, but there were ugly clouds all around.  67 today.

Face Rock
Picture by Mike

Gold Falls
Picture by Mike