On Sept. 9, 2009 we left Sunriver, OR and headed west to the Oregon coast and Cape Blanco. We traveled to the Umpqua River and the Steamboat Springs Lodge to have breakfast. Here, there is a 90 mile stretch of the Umpqua that is only open to fly-fishing. A big highlight was to visit the steelhead pool on Steamboat Creek, 11 miles from the lodge, and see the many fish that had fought their way up to this point. From there we traveled to Cape Blanco which is on the Oregon coast about 25 miles south of Bandon, OR.Cape Blanco is the most western point on the Oregon coast. The Cape Blanco lighthouse is the most southern on the Oregon coast. This lighthouse was proposed in 1864 and had it's first lense in 1870. We stayed at Cape Blanco State Park for two nights and had beautiful weather. We hiked, geocached, and enjoyed the remoteness of this area.
We left Cape Blanco and headed north to Depoe Bay, OR. Our friends Gene and Josie Whisnant have a cozy condo just back from the ocean where we stayed 2 nights in TREK. We had a great time visiting the area with Dorothy Blanchard and our friends. We saw the spectacular coastline and introduced our friends to geocaching. We enjoyed a cup of hot clam chowder at Mo's and a great dinner at the famous Tidal Raves restaurant.
Depoe Bay is the world's smallest navigable harbor. It has been carved and shaped by powerful natural forces. Waves run beneath lava beds creating spouting geyers that spray 60 feet into the air. Depoe Bay is also known as "The Whale Watching Capital of The Oregon Coast". We saw many whales in our short stay. Depoe Bay is also home for many different types of sport and commercial fishing.Upon leaving Depoe Bay we continued north to Astoria, OR and crossed the Columbia River into Washington. We traveled to Long Beach, WA and found ourselves in a parade of antique cars. After exiting from the parade, we decided to head to Bay Center, WA which is at the mouth of Willapa Harbor. We spent the night at the KOA campground and had a cold beer at the local tavern and some delicious oyster dressing.
CLICK HERE to watch the slideshow of several pictures taken in this area. You can change the viewing time by increasing the seconds once you launch the slideshow. You can also click on the pictures above to enlarge them.
