Trip Memories 2 – some previously unpublished pictures

Yesterday’s post we covered the first part of our Washington trip from the Port Angeles area through La Push.  Today we start with South Beach, were I will start with a panoramic sunset…nothing like a sunset over the ocean, and we had some real nice sunsets in South Beach.

South Beach where the campsites have no boundaries, camping is cheap ($7.50 with senior discount), and the campers are as friendly as can be.

   

Where people come to walk, fish, relax and just kickback listening to the ocean, basking in 72 degree weather.

And the sunsets can be out of this world…

And we have now exited Olympic National Park…but we have the rest of the Washington Coast and half of the Oregon Coast to go…

Our next stop was at a Casino in Ocean Shores where we were surrounded by Seahawk Fans, but it gave us a chance to do laundry.  Then we had an overnighter in Long Beach (above), and all of our stops from here on out are one-night stops until we reach the Sacramento area.

Besides, after spending all that time with the Seahawk Fans, EVERYONE else looked pretty friendly.

Our next stop was in Tillamook, and we had some nice ocean views…

….and some very nice taste buds explosions.

Next we went to Newport, and on the way, Marcia was surprised that we stopped at one of her favorite Ocean views…this little waterfall to the right off-set by the motion of crashing waves all around.

Even the birds enjoyed the view….

And Newport brought our last sunset along the ocean.

On our way to Coos Bay we got a dose of reality again as to what some Ocean Days look like.  Thank goodness we had seen this area back in 2012, but it would have been nice to enjoy to its fullest again this time.

Inland we find I-5 near Roseburg, and we find a couple of covered bridges in the Tri-City area.

And although we had not encountered smoke from the fires yet, we did encounter some helicopters which are fighting the fires.

But as we get close to Medford, and on into California, the smoke is thick at times…yep, the fires are bad, real bad.

There are many reasons we choose going to Washington and visiting Olympic National Park and cruising down the ocean shores.  We had not been up into Washington like this before, we knew it would be cool, we knew it was doable in four weeks, though five or six or even seven would not have been enough to get a full feel of it all.  But high on the list was that it would get us out of the heat, and had we known that so many fires were going to blow up in the areas, staying away from the fires would have been high up there too.  Along the ocean the fire dangers were there, but not as high as east of I-5 was. Overall, we enjoyed the trip immensely, and are in awe of that which has been provided to us for enjoyment.  Next trip will be a number of week away as we spend time with family, and with mom’s surgery next week.  But something tells me that our next trip might also be along the coast…because I am fairly sure these fires will still be burning….

Newport Oregon -- Marcia’s Favorite Oregon Coastal View

Isn’t is something how people see the same view, but they see it in different ways?  In 2012 we found this turnout on Highway 101 just north of Depoe Bay, south of Lincoln Beach,  called the Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint, and when you look north, this is the view (picture above).  

	Waves are crashing…
Birds are resting…
	People are on the beach

But what Marcia sees…is something most people overlook…

Can you see it now in the picture above????

It is this little waterfall…among everything out there, she spotted this little waterfall…and with that focus, she just loves this view of the crashing waves, the flying birds, the noise, the smell…and this little waterfall.

   

Above is what it looked like back in July 2012…it was a cold, foggy, misty day.  But she saw it…and today, as we drove down highway 101, unbeknownst to her, I knew exactly the spot…and I pulled in saying something like, “Don’t know if we ever have seen this view before….”  But this excitement IMMEDIATELY came upon her….”This is it…this is it, isn’t it?”   Unfortunately, no place to park…fortunately, it is only 16 miles from our RV Park, so we drove back later in the HHR. 

Newport has this very large RV park down at the marina…Port of Newport RV Parks…three RV parks, two full hook-ups, one dry camping.

…right near the Yaquina Bay Bridge right along the waterfront area.  We are in the park’s annex section, which is the older section on gravel/dirt.

They also have a dry camping area on pavement, $18 per night…but we sprung for full-hookups for $38 per night.

After having another seafood lunch/dinner, this time at South Beach Fish Market which Nancy Kissack had recommended (yes, it was good), I dropped Marcia off at the motorhome and I took stroll down Newport’s Fishing Pier, well within walking distance of the RV Park.

       

The seagulls are all over the place, and sit on the rail of the boardwalk…as you walk near, they fly away…making it easy to get a picture of the gull in flight.

  

A number of crab fishermen out on the boardwalk…and you can only keep them if they are so big.  This one on the right earned a trip back into the water.

And you get a pretty good picture of the Yaquina Bay Bridge at the end of the boardwalk…and if you wait a bit, you can get a gull flying into your picture.  Of course, it would look better if the sun was not shinning into your face.

Rogue Ales is a brewery which is headquartered here in Newport, right across from our RV Park.  They operate brewpubs in Oregon, Washington, and California, and micro distilleries in Newport and Portland.  We can see this building right out the front of the motorhome…and the fishing pier is just to the left of it.

The distillery is over toward the marina more, fairly close to the dry camping area.  Didn’t go into either, but they were open, and seemed to offer tours and drinks.

Here is a picture of Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, one of the two lighthouses which are in the Newport area.  We visited Newport back in 2012, and visited both lighthouses, and of course, Marcia’s waterfall ocean spot.  You can read that blog posting by clicking the link below:

Foggy, Overcast Oregon Day

Tomorrow we head on to Coos Bay.  A bit longer of a drive than we had the past three days by about 50 miles, but if the weather is like it was today, it will be a very pretty drive.  And as you could see by today's pictures...it was a very, very nice day, light breeze, low '70's.