The Oregon Coast

We finished our minor repairs yesterday at Guaranty RV, so we had today free.  We've allowed an extra day here and there in our schedule for unexpected situations, or just for fun.  Today was one of those. Guaranty provides free "camping" spots for service clients and previous customers, so we decided to stretch their generosity a bit and stay one more night.  Can't beat the price, right?

We left Junction City this morning about 9 and headed north in Gus, our Jeep tow car.  We bypassed downtown Corvallis since we had been there yesterday and turned west toward Newport, OR.  The road is very nice, well maintained, and goes through beautiful terrain, also.

We got into Newport about 90 minutes later, and drove north on Highway 101 looking for RV parks and beach access.  We came across the most impressive "Motorcoach Resort" that we've seen in a long time.  The lots are privately owned and are in a gated community of some 225 or more lots.  When the owners are not present, the lots are rented. Several of the lots have ocean views and are priced appropriately ($90 a night).  I decided not to take any pictures for fear of being charged a fee, but you can google "Pacific Shores" if you wish to see more.

The most impressive thing about Newport as far as we are concerned was the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

The views from the headlands are super impressive:

As you can see, when we got there the weather was clear and sunny, although there was an 18-20 mile and hour breeze blowing.  We didn't get out of the car very much, but did take a few short walks.

The fog began to come in as we were looking down at the surfers below.

Yaquina Head was built in the just after the Civil War, along with many others along the Oregon Coast.  It remained staffed until 1966, when it was automated.  This is a beautiful area of the coast and is well recommended.

One last pic:

I told you the scenery was beautiful!

We were starting to get a bit hungry, having had a small breakfast and some Dutch Brothers coffee, so we found the historic district and scouted somewhere for lunch.  Mo's looked like a likely spot for chowder and chips, so in we went.

And a wonderful lunch was served.  Donna and I each had a cup of chowder and we split a plate of fish and chips.  Hey, it's the Pacific Coast, right?

After lunch, it was south on Hwy 101 along the Pacific Coast to the town of Florence.  On the way we stopped at Heceta Head, another of the preserved lighthouses along the coast.  

This is the caretakers house.  Again, we didn't walk to the lighthouse due to the weather. This lighthouse was commissioned in 1894 and was reputed to be the most powerful of all the lighthouses, claiming that its beam could be seen 21 miles out to sea.

At the entrance to the Heceta Head park, we saw one of the most photographed bridges of the entire coast highway.

The left side rolls down from a mountain, and the right side (as we look at it here) goes immediately into a tree shrouded tunnel.  What a wonderful example of arch construction!

Our trip through Florence was uneventful, and we stopped at another Dutch Brothers Coffee stand and took our drinks down to the beach to soak up a little more of the ocean.  We enjoyed putting Gus into 4 wheel drive and cruising a bit out onto the dunes.  The trip back to Junction City took us through some more beautiful forests and green farmlands.  The road was again typical of Oregon: well maintained and easy to drive on.

Back at the motorhome, we nailed down a few things in preparation for leaving tomorrow. All in all a nice days trip through some of the most awe inspiring scenery in the entire world.