Seals, Dunes & Lighthouses: The Pacific Coast Southward

Thursday, June 28

At half past nine we leave the Coho Oceanfront Resort. The sky is slightly overcast, but the temperature is okay and we have breakfast somewhere outside. We only have to drive 80-100 miles because we want to stay overnight in Florence or somewhere south of there on the Pacific coast.

The coast south of Lincoln City, where we spent the last few days, is dramatically beautiful. Sometimes we are high up among crooked old pine trees while far below us the Pacific rolls onto the beach in long, wide waves. Then there are wide beaches that alternate with cliffs and gray rocky beaches made of lava rock.

Black Pacific Beach

We briefly stop in Depoe Bay, the city with the best whale watching opportunities. However, only 200-400 gray whales are here in the summer. Their year-round feeding grounds are here off the coast as they, unlike humpback whales, prefer shallower water and are not deep-sea divers. Unfortunately, no whales are in sight during the short stop and we continue driving. The weather is misty, humid, and extremely uncomfortable, as there is also a strong breeze. We don't get more than 60 degrees Fahrenheit (about 15°C) today.

At Yakina Head Lighthouse, which at just over 92 feet high is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon, we briefly stop and look at the rocks below the Yakina Head peninsula.

Yakina Head Lighthouse

There are dozens of sea lions lying there, thousands of seabirds on the rocks, and a relentless wind from the water is blowing around us, making it difficult to hold the camera steady for photography. Then it starts raining again, and we see the breathtaking coast in monotonous shades of gray.

In Newport, we turn off to Walmart and I find two pairs of Lee jeans for under 20 dollars. Would I ever buy jeans in a supermarket in Germany? Definitely not. But Lee is Lee and it's unbeatably cheap. We also equip ourselves with cheap T-shirts with the US flag for the 4th of July parade and spend $3.88 on them. This thing only has to last for a day.

So instead of groceries, I have new pants, and therefore tonight I can get rid of two of the old ones from home. From tomorrow on, I will start wearing the new clothes from the shopping tours on this vacation. Everything previous has really ended up in the trash, and I don't have any dirty laundry in my luggage yet - and that after almost 2 weeks!

In the old town of Newport, which is called Nye Beach, there is a wealth of beautiful old wooden houses with lots of maritime decoration in the Historic District.

Some of the houses are incredibly close to the edge of the cliffs, but you have an unobstructed view of the endless beach and the expanse of the Pacific. We stroll through the quiet little streets and grab something to eat and a hot coffee at a bakery. The other part of Newport is located on a bay, Yaquina Bay, and we see hundreds of fishing boats that have already landed their catch of the day in this sheltered harbor.

Colorful lobster traps are lying around everywhere, and not far away there are great fish shops offering huge crabs. As it starts to rain again (what else?), we quickly jump back into the car, drive under the pretty Yaquina Bay Bridge, and head to Yaquina Lighthouse. 

Yaquina Lighthouse

We sprint up the stairs to the museum in the pouring rain and take a look at the living quarters of the lighthouse keeper who lived here in the late 19th century.

In Yaquina Lighthouse

Being a lighthouse keeper...

On the drive further south towards the "sunny" south, we pass Waldport and Yachats, and it's pouring rain without interruption.

At around 4:00 p.m., we reach the Sea Lion Caves near Florence, where over 100 Steller Sea Lions live. The Steller sea lion, also known as the northern sea lion, is not only one of the most aggressive of its kind but also one of the largest. They are considered predators and belong to the eared seals. These sea lions are found exclusively in the North Pacific between Japan, Alaska, and the northwest coast of the United States, and males can weigh up to 2,400 pounds and grow up to 9 feet long. The females, on the other hand, are much smaller, weighing up to 660 pounds. They can dive up to 590 feet deep and are threatened with extinction.

With an elevator, you descend about 98 feet from the street level into a rock, and you can see the cave pretty well where several of these sea lions are. Fortunately, access is fenced off; otherwise, you would probably have to worry about tourists posing for selfies among the predators...

In particular, the behavior of the males seems quite combative. They are not cuddly toys... However, the animals are incredibly agile when they haul themselves out of the water and crawl over the rocks. On the other side of the cave, you can see the Heceta Head Lighthouse and the adjacent bed and breakfast.

It must be great to live up there, but currently the lighthouse is under renovation for 2 years (until about 2014) and hidden behind a tarp. Just before our sea lion stop, we stopped at a parking lot below the lighthouse, and in theory, we could have walked up there, but at around 55°F and rain plus wind, it doesn't make sense, and the view is accordingly limited.

Florence, a place that I have seen described as "cute," "beautiful," and "historic," is somewhat disappointing to us when we arrive there. There are only a few wooden houses, but we have seen nicer ones elsewhere, so we only get a hand-brewed coffee at a small colorful booth, and we start looking for a place to stay between here and Coos Bay. We drive towards Reedsport, where a Best Western offers us a smoking room (but pet-friendly!) in a desolate setting located on Highway 101. So we continue. The next two motels are not great either, and we quickly leave Winchester Bay, which is "a nice place and a good starting point for the dunes."

Before we check into a motel in Lakeside, we have seen the dunes of the Oregon Dunes National Park at two points. It's a shame that it's raining again as we briefly photograph one of the many lakes from above. While there are forests and dunes to the west of the highway, we have forests, dunes, and lakes to the east. By chance, we find a secluded hotel that has a room for us with a view of a lake and only charges $86. We eat briefly in the hotel restaurant, which wasn't great because, once again, the fish was completely breaded. Outside, we hear the frogs croaking, and the tranquility is wonderful. Goodnight!

View from the hotel balcony in Lakeside

Driving distance: 127 miles