DEPOE…PART 2

Tuesday, June 5 – We then walked across the street to the Whale Watching Center. The men inside were very informative and showed us where to watch for whales (much closer to shore then we thought) and gave us some interesting information on whale watching. We didn't see any Grey Whales here, but we did see several at out next stop – Cape FoulWeather.

Really neat to see these monsters. They are feeding on millions of tiny shrimp-like creatures. These Grey whales hang-out in this area, and according to the men in the Whale Watching Center, make-up about 1 % of the Grey whales that migrate between Baja California, Mexico and Alaska.

This is a zoomed in photo.

At Cape FoulWeather, we observed these tiny squirrels running all over the area. Not sure what type of squirrel there are, but they were sure cute and friendly. A fella was feeding them peanuts and let Paul join in the fun. Probably a no-no to feed these guys!

It looks like someone had fed them before. Look at his pudgy body.

Also in this area is the Flying Dutchman Winery.

Backyard area where they make the wine.

They are the only working winery on the Oregon Coast and the farthest winery West in the United States. They feature Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Riesling.

It is family owned and one of the owners, Dan, was our Steward today. They have free wine tasting, and we were free to walk through their wine producing area and even enjoy a bottle of wine on the back patio while watching for whales.

View from the patio.

We tasted several wines and purchased a bottle of Coastal Blackberry. As an additional bonus, they were having a clearance sale on rain jackets. Paul's been looking for a rain jacket and took advantage of the sale to pick-up a nice jacket for the rainy weather we've experienced lately

Our last stop for the day was Otter Rock and the Devil's Punch Bowl. Devil's Rock formation is named for it's resemblance to a punch bowl. Appropriately named, we must say!

Otter Rock

Devil's Punch Bowl

This would be quite a sight in rough seas. What a beautiful sight!!!

So ends our visit to DePoe. Next stop…Newport.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

 

 

DEPOE, OREGON..SMALLEST HARBOR IN THE WORLD

Tuesday, June 5 – We drove North on Oregon-101 to the Elks Lodge Wapita Campground in Lincoln City, Oregon. The Elks own a 40-site campground (Wapita CG). A very nice rural setting located on the Southside of town. We are in Site 31, having moved from site 34 after being unable to get satellite reception in the previous site. We have 30 amp electric service and water. There is a dump station we will use to dump our holding tanks upon departure. The sites and streets are gravel.

Love all the space!

Looking left.

Looking right.

Our BIG backyard.

Sun is out; life is good.

After getting settled-in, we headed into Lincoln City, to the Elks Lodge, to pick-up our mail, which we had forwarded there. We use the Escapee mail forwarding service and are very pleased with their service. We are only a phone call and a day or two away from having our mail forwarded to us. Our mail was there and ready for us to pick-up.

We then headed South toward DePoe, Oregon. Our first stop was the Chowder Bowl for another chowder taste test. We have a new front runner! This was the best we've had so far, and we believe the least expensive.

DePoe Bay is known as the smallest harbor in the world. It is pretty small and the channel getting there from the Pacific Ocean would be pretty troublesome in foul weather. This is one of the locations to look for whales that hang-out and feed in this area.

More on DePoe in our next post.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

FLORENCE DURING THE DAY…LIGHTHOUSE AT NIGHT

Sunday, June 3 – We finally took time to visit Florence. It is just a small town, but a nice, clean one.

We started our walk by visiting the Sweet Magnolia Bakery. Yummy! We had coffee and a couple of delicious pastries. We try to do our part in contributing to the local economy.

It was (as Marsha puts it) a cute little place.

They have a really nice gazebo and an area where visitors can sit and enjoy the water.

Art Deco 1936 Siuslaw River Bridge

A walk around Florence and talking with the locals confirms our thoughts that the residents are very proud of their town.

We returned to the Umpqua Lighthouse this evening to see it at night. A suited night for it to be shining its guiding light to sea.....cold, rainy, and the waves wiping against the Umpqua River jetty. We arrived before dark and enjoyed watching the beacon's transformation from day to night.

During daylight, the beacon appears as a reflector at the top of the lighthouse, but as darkness approaches it comes to life. First you see the light inside the glass dome, then the beams of light, shining laser-like out to sea, become visible as it becomes darker. Eventually, you can see the beams shining in all directions, bouncing off the near-by trees and shining their guiding lights out to sea. I bet it's something amazing to be out on the ocean and see the lighthouse welcoming you home.

Look at the trees with the reflection of the Lighthouse lights. Like being on a carousel.

This is the first time we've ever seen a lighthouse at night and is was a pretty neat experience. We could have used some of that “guiding-light” on our drive home up the twisting rain-soaked coastal highway. It took us a little longer, but we arrived home safe and sound!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!