Having been overwhelmed by the Olympic National Park we made our way South once again toward Oregon eager to see what the coast had to offer us. We were not to be disappointed.
We stayed the night on the edge of the beach with a gale blowing from the South East rocking the RV all night. In the morning, storm abated, we ran down across the beach to the white capped surf to discover that the water was freezing and immediately headed back to the RV and on our way.
The shear size of the Columbia River is somewhat breathtaking especially at its estuary where we crossed to Astoria and into Oregon State. (See Photographs)
We turned of 101 to the first Park that we saw and followed the steep and twisting road to Ecola State Park. When we emerged from the forest into the large car park what greeted us was breathtaking. We waited until sunset and just took in our first experience of this stunning coastline. (See Photographs)
We stayed the night at a RV Park just off 101 and in the morning headed into town to have a walk on the beach and see the town. A very tourist orientated town even in the off season. (See Photographs)
We headed a short way down 101 and spent the night in Nehalem State Park with the local deer, and had a short walk on the beach. (See Photographs)
We decided to deviate from 101 at Tilamook and take a coast route to view Cape Mears, Netarts Bay, Symons Beach, where 3 surfers braved the cold and then onto Cape Lookout. (See Photographs)
We spent the night beside the beach in the State Park. The following day was wet and wind and we headed to Lincoln City to get the web pages up to date and find an Internet Cafe and get them loaded to the web page. This we did finishing at midnight. (See Photographs)
We deviated from Highway 101 and went along the old 101 which runs alongside the coast, albeit a slower and rougher road it proved to be a very good decision that took us to some wonderful views of Boiler Bay, Rocky Creek, Otter Rock, Yaquina Head Lighthouse and Seal Rock. (See Photographs)
We set of intending to get to Florence, a gentle run out for a Sunday, however we came across Strawberry Bay after about 10 miles and then spent the next four hours photographing the harbour seals and wildlife in the glorious sunshine. (See Photographs)
We set off mid afternoon to find a headland teaming with sea lions. That took another three hours and it was too late by then to make Florence so we parked up on the edge of Florence Beach. (See Photographs)
