We emerged this morning from very special lodgings. When I was making reservations, it turned out that the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park only had a deluxe yurt available for us, so we stayed in this posh supersized yurt that went beyond the simple space heater and a light. It was fully ADA-accessible, featuring a refrigerator, microwave, TV, and VCR (VHS tape only), shower, toilet, even a kitchen sink.
Update in February 2023: I’ve been adding images to some old posts where a visual deficit once existed. Regarding this wonky panorama, this was a work in progress for Caroline that was never finished. Back when I originally posted it, I liked the idea that others might be able to see that there are approximately a dozen images used for building this photo. While I could have rebuilt it using Lightroom, which would have likely done a great job, there’s something warm and fuzzy about the memory of how much work it once took to build up panoramas.
Let the Umpqua Lighthouse guide the way for our absurd 150-mile drive north that will see us needing to turn around and drive south to Newport today for the yurt we already have booked. Why would we do such a thing? Meeting a friend and learning about the effectiveness of oven bags in containing smells, pungent smells.
Good thing we enjoy these crazy long drives; at least they leave us with indelible impressions and a passion for return visits.
That’s Heceta Head Lighthouse in the distance and the keeper’s house on the right.
I can only wonder about how many times over the years I’ll write about this spot on the side of the road once known as Sealines Nautical Shop. When it was open, and we could have stopped by, we figured we didn’t have enough time or enough money and that we’d catch it on another trip; well, it closed down.
Even though it was closed, the figures that first drew our attention stood outside for a number of years…and then it was all gone besides the shop that has never been reoccupied. The shop was just south of Yachats.
This is The Lookout at Cape Foulweather in Otter Rock, south of Depoe Bay. It is here and available to us visitors due to the generosity of Wilbur S. and Florence Badley, who back in 1928 gave the land to the state of Oregon with the stipulation the land not be developed and remain for public enjoyment; what great people they were.
This is the view south of Cape Foulweather.
I have no real idea where it was when we spotted these sea lions on a narrow shelf trying to catch some zzz’s as the waves washed over them.
Over the years, I’ll photograph these three rocks in Siletz Bay from all angles, and rarely do they look the same.
We went as far as Tillamook to pick up some cheese and marionberry pie ice cream cones. Unfortunately, our favorite Tillamook cheese manufacturer and shop, Blue Heron, was closed due to recent flooding, so there were no sandwiches with smoked brie for us today.
One detail neglected in the original post was that we traveled this far north only to turn around as we were meeting with an old friend who was paying back a debt with a certain kind of green currency, so to speak. This is where the oven bags came into play.
The image above was taken on Cape Meares Beach just off the Three Capes Scenic Drive, where half a dozen sea birds dart back and forth with the waves as they forage for a morsel late in the day.
The Cape Meares Lighthouse.
While listed as being in Tillamook, this wayside is south of Oceanside and is another example of the generosity of someone who saw the value in keeping views like this unobstructed by the greed for individuals to own something so rare that should remain for all of us. Thank you, Percy Symons, for your donation.
We stopped by the Lincoln City Glass Center in Lincoln City. The seed has been planted, and now we must return one day for Caroline to make something of glass for the two of us.
It was rather late when we arrived at tonight’s yurt, but not so late that the raccoons here at Beverly Beach State Park in Newport weren’t happy to see us. Have I shared yet that we love yurts?
