Oregon Coast to Newport

After a late morning, we started our drive to Newport with the intention of going to their Farmer's Market. But along the way we were sidetracked several times with scenic pull overs, loop drives and one lighthouse.

In Otter Rock we found a couple of scenic areas with great views of the Pacific Ocean rolling into high tide. The waves were crashing with big swells pushing them onto rocks and sand. Cape Foulweather aka Otter Crest was first discovered by Captain James Cook in 1178. It is reported that winds can blow as high as 100 mph along the coast, thereby its name. On one side of the point was a large beach where we watched surfers riding the waves, well, one or two actually caught a wave, the rest were just floating in the water. But there were a lot of them and maybe the waves would get better.

We then drove a short way to Devils Punch Bowl. This rock formation had two huge arched openings into a bowl like area that spouts the water into the air during storms and high tides. Again, there was a large flat beach that soon filled up with people from the nearby state park.

Our third stop was at Yaquina Head Lighthouse. It was the seventh of ten lighthouses built along the Oregon coast in the early 1900's and was used to not only warn sailors of rocks but to keep tabs on the weather, report forest fires, and during WWII, look for submarines or other incursions by Japan. Today it is electric and run by the US Coastguard.

We finally made it into Newport and to the Farmer's Market just as they were getting ready to close but I did get some great produce including cherries and Marion Berries. These berries are a cross between blackberries and raspberries and can only be found in Oregon and are very sweet. We had lunch on the bay front at a highly recommended restaurant so we had to wait for a table but that gave us a chance to explore the nearby shops.

We took another route home, happy for a chance to explore the inland area. We followed the Yaquina Bay River for about 20 miles inland before turning back toward the 101 Hwy. It is very densely forested and in fact, we came across a huge paper mill. The wind is not nearly as bad inland and it warmed up to almost 68°! Back at the RV it is only 60°. I'm ready for some warm inland sunshine!