Oregon Beaches & Coast

Today was a long, long day but was filled with some pretty incredible sights! It was also the first day we've had that was not sunny and warm! We woke to a beautiful sunset, and thought it was going to be nice, but as we got closer to the coast it became cooler and quite foggy. Our first stop was at a Refuge for Columbian White-Tail Deer - a must when we say it on the map! It was just a quick drive-through stop, but we did see some deer. Continuing on, our route took us along the Columbia River (second time we've run into it) into Astoria, OR. The Columbia is a huge river that runs for 1,200 miles through seven states. It really is impressive! We drove across the Astoria-Megler bridge, and since it crosses a huge river the bridge itself is quite a bridge! It's 4.1 miles long and at it's highest point is 400 feet high.



We drove along the coast until lunch-time on Route 101, also known as the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. What a stunning coastline! There are places to stop along the way that overlook unbelievable views of towering cliffs, huge rocks, and the surf pounding onto wide stretches of sand. In some places the road travels along some insane cliffs, but after Hurricane Ridge they weren't too bad. We stopped at many of the viewpoints, and eventually drove into the town of Cannon Beach, a very cute "beachy" town of quirky shops, restaurants, hotels and cottages. We parked the car and walked down to the beach...and it was quite a beach! It went on and on for miles, and is very much like so many scenes we've all seen on tv or in the movies. We walked for a long way down the beach to Haystack Rock, a 250+ foot high rock rising out of the water that has become the symbol of Cannon Beach - you may have seen pictures of it. It was impressive! The weather was very chilly, windy and super foggy, but it actually added to the experience in my opinion. It was almost ghostly, and reminded me of so many movie scenes! I actually got my feet wet, too! Another highlight of this trip for me, and another item to cross off my list! After a while we decided it was time for lunch, and drove to Cape Meares for our picnic. There is a state park with huge cliffs, Oregon's shortest lighthouse (only 38 feet tall but it sits 217 fee above the water), and Three Arch Rocks (which are National Wildlife Refuges). It was a wonderful stop.

By then it was 2:00, so it was back on 101 and the end of sightseeing for the day. We still had a long drive to the hotel and we miscalculated the time it would take to meander along the coast.
Just before we turned inland to Route 5 toward the hotel I did get one last stop to look at the water. Cape Foulweather has a lookout building that sits 500 feet above the water overlooking more cliffs. I was sorry to leave the coast, but it was okay...I got to walk on a beach, put my feet in the Pacific, saw a lighthouse and spectacular scenery!