Wreck and haystack on Oregon's north coast

The motel in Kelso, which offered us a frugal breakfast but served us a lot of plastic waste, was conveniently located on the main road that kindly woke us up with traffic in the morning.

The sky was gray and the desire for the rest of the tour was subdued. But, the plan must be followed and does not tolerate any whining... So, we packed up the car and hit the road.

The road led us to our last new US state that we visited: Oregon. The first town we headed to was Astoria. A port town, not beautiful but with a beautiful paddle steamer, "America's Pride" was written on it.

Okay, so on to the truly worth seeing places of today's tour, which concerned the northern part of the state. Always close to the Washington state border along the Pacific.

The first point of interest was the wreck of the "Peter Iredale". This ship has been stranded on the beach since 1906 and is slowly rusting away. We were lucky that it was low tide and so the wreck was mostly visible, although a part is deeply sunk in the sand and never comes to the surface. But for us, it was a beautiful photo motif.

We continued on Interstate 101 to Escola State Park, where you have a great view of the entire coast.

Next stop was the town of Cannon Beach. The coastal section here is particularly beautiful, especially as some rocks enhance the panorama. But the most outstanding rock is Haystack Rock. A very special rock that provides a home to many marine creatures. And here too, it was perfect that it was low tide again. So you could get very close to all the creatures. We saw starfish and sea anemones, crabs and small unknown fish. We were also impressed by the knowledgeable "Friends of Haystack", who explained everything to visitors if desired and also made sure that no one entered the fenced-off areas around the rock. The whole rock was covered with shells up to the waterline.

We were no less impressed by the town of Cannon Beach itself. Very nice houses, well maintained and all built in the same style. Low construction and almost entirely made of wood. We know similar beautiful towns from Provincetown, Carmel by the Sea or Sanibel Island.

Last stop on the tour along Oregon's Pacific coast was Cape Kiwanda. Here is the highest dune (about 100 meters) on the western Pacific coast. A steep path leads to the dune, from which you have a great panoramic view. But also the Cape with Chief Kiwanda itself was eye-catching... and the glittering sea with the slowly setting sun anyway.

When we arrived at the hotel in Lincoln City, there was a surprise waiting for us. Because they were overbooked, we were given a particularly large room with a balcony instead of the simple room. Perfect!!!