The Pacific Ocean

Today, after a leisurely breakfast, we got on US Highway 101 which follows the coastline of California and Oregon.  We left California and spent most of the day driving along the coast of Oregon.  Even though it was overcast, the day was very nice.

We had picked up an Oregon Coast Highway Mile-by-Milemarker book at the KOA office.  We read about a neat bridge and a short hike which would end up near the base for a great picture.   The hike didn't work out for us.  Parts of it was over roots and rocks down the side of a mountain.    We managed to reach the picture stop but the picture wasn't great.  In fact, I couldn't get a picture of the bridge. I had to settle for a picture of the ocean through the trees we hiked by.

All along the highway were pull-outs.  We stopped at this one and hiked down to the beach.

Another pull-over.

We stopped for a tour of the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.  It sits 256 feet above sea level and is on Oregon's westernmost point.  It is the oldest standing lighthouse, commissioned in 1870.

There are 63 steps from the bottom to where the light is up this circular staircase.  We made it!

The light at the top is still operational.  Automated equipment was installed in 1980.  On the tour we learned about the life of a lighhouse keeper and his family.  The first lightkeeper lived here for 40 years.  

View from the lighthouse.

We drove through this tunnel of trees on the road to the lighthouse.

More views along the highway.

It is hard to see in these pictures, but this is a staging area for those fighting the fires.  It is basically tent city with larger tents for meals and training.  We have seen so many handmade signs along the road thanking the firefighters.  We also saw a sign asking for volunteers to fight the fires.

When we got back in Crescent City, we scouted out gas stations.  We want to fill up tomorrow morning before we leave the area.  We have approximately 200 miles to drive on mostly two-laned highway and don't want to have to worry about getting gas.  We had wanted to load the car this evening when we got back to camp but it has been raining so it will have to wait until tomorrow morning.  We are thankful for the rain for the people living in Oregon.  Hopefully, it will help extinguish some of the fires they have been fighting.

We hate to say goodbye to this part of California and Oregon.  It is so beautiful and there are so many other highways we could take and see even more of its beauty and history.  We didn't have time to see everything we wanted to see.  For example, in Port Orford (we drove by it twice today), their dock is the only open-water port on the Oregon Coast and one of only six "dolly" ports in the world where both recreational and commercial fishing boats are hoisted into and out of the water daily.  The boats are parked in rows on the dock, cradled in custom-made trailers that are easily pulled around by pickup trusts.  We would have liked to see that but decided we didn't have the time.

Tomorrow we will head for Klamath Falls which is just outside of Crater Lake.   Goodbye tall trees and ocean views.