Cape Meares and Oceanside

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

January 19, 2015

We had wonderful Oregon weather the day we toured Cape Meares. It changed at least every five minutes. We had beautiful blue skies with sunshine, then rain, then partial clouds, occasional wind, soft mist and everything in between. It was as though we were in a weather bubble in a Children’s Museum and someone was gleefully flipping the controls back and forth leaving it on one setting only long enough to view the effect before choosing something else. We may be nuts, but it was kind of fun. We had our fleece and rain jackets so we didn’t care.

Cape Meares Lighthouse

Cape Meares is a State Scenic Viewpoint. It has Oregon’s shortest lighthouse (38 feet) which sits low down on the cape placing it below the fog line. This is the first lighthouse we walked DOWN to. You actually see only the light as you approach and you have to circle down the path to see the house portion beneath it.

Approaching Cape Meares Lighthouse from above

Approaching Cape Meares Lighthouse from above

If you look below and to the left of the lighthouse, you can see a rainbow. How neat is that?

Cape Meares Lighthouse

Cape Meares Lighthouse

The park has a few hiking trails and several nice overlooks for viewing the wildlife and surrounding shoreline. This wildlife could include whales (nope, still didn’t see any), sea lions, dolphins and porpoises as well as the shorebirds that nest on the cape and on nearby rocks such as common murres, pelagic and Brandt’s cormorants and pigeon guillemots. They have a peregrine nest on a facing cliff that should be getting put to use before too long but nobody was home when we were there.

We had a beautiful view of Three Arch Rocks off to the south. These are the same rocks we nicknamed the Kissing Turtles because that is what they look like from the beach near our campsite. From Cape Meares, we can see three separate rocks and three distinct arches. It helped that the sun was glinting behind them so it lit up the openings for us.

Three Arch Rocks

Three Arch Rocks

There are two observation platforms right next to the parking lot so hiking is not required to get a decent view but you do have to walk a paved path down to see the whole lighthouse. A short hike back up through the woods behind the parking lot will take you to the other star of the park, the Octopus Tree. This is a very large Sitka spruce that has no central trunk. All the branches reach straight out from the middle, only a few feet off the ground and some go for a distance of more than 15 feet before they take a right angle turn and reach toward the sky.

Octopus Tree

Octopus Tree

Oceanside Beach

We decided to stop for lunch at Oceanside and see if we could find the tunnel we read about. Lunch was at Roseanna’s Cafe. The food was good and the view was awesome. We felt the portions were a bit small for the price but it is a beach resort town. The dessert menu set us to drooling as soon as we got in the door. John considered skipping lunch and going straight to dessert (yes, that would be my corruptive influence), but I talked him out of it. I almost regretted this when he decided he didn’t need dessert. The meal was saved though when I talked him into taking something home for later.

Oceanside looks to be made of a whole lot of beach rentals. I’m sure there are full time residents there but most of the people we saw on the beachfront were not locals. The town appears to be rows of houses lined up one above the other, stair-stepped up the side of the cape, and all looking out to sea. There was a hotel across from the Cafe that had full glass walls facing the ocean. I’m not talking large windows, I’m talking floor to ceiling, wall to wall glass. It was like an aquarium for people. It would be an awesome place to watch the winter storms, and the sunsets, and watch for whales, and just generally hang out and go zen.

The beach is nice but the really cool thing here is a tunnel that a local resident dug and blasted straight through Maxwell Point. You can see the tunnel entrance toward the lower right and Three Arch Rocks off to the left.

Maxwell Point

Maxwell Point

After a small landslide they shored up the one side closest to the town with concrete but the rest of it is rough rock. You have to go when the tide is out but it is a very neat thing to do. We walked through the tunnel, stumbling on rocks until our eyes adjusted, and popped out the other side about six feet above the aptly named Tunnel Beach.

Tunnel

Tunnel

This is a cobble beach where people hunt for agates and stroll down for a close look at Three Arch Rocks where the Stellar Sea Lions haul out and numerous shore birds nest.

Agate Beach

Agate Beach

Getting back to that landslide. We originally planned to go up near Tillamook then follow the Three Capes Loop across the bottom of Tillamook Bay, check out the spit at the mouth of the bay where once a whole beach resort was built then faded away as properties were reclaimed by the sea and thus approach Cape Meares from the north. This would have let us complete the full Three Capes Loop Scenic Drive. We found out that the section of road between Cape Meares and Tillamook Bay was closed indefinitely due to landslides. Checking online we discovered that the road we had planned to drive had shifted nine feet… NINE feet! This was over many years but the majority of the slide was in the last few years.  We read where Oregon DOT explained how they had patched this road and that road after slides as part of their general road maintenance. As we hiked along the beaches with steep cliffs we saw signs of recent and not so recent landslides where chunks of land just peeled away from the bluffs and slumped to the beach. As we wandered the park we spotted abandoned blacktop roads that just drop off into rubble as the ocean eats away the land beneath them. This seems to be commonplace on the coast but is fairly new to us. And it definitely makes us think… and keep a little bit farther back from any edges than we normally would.

It was a good day trip and we enjoyed it but after we returned home we realized there were numerous geocaches in all the areas we had been and we had just forgotten to look for them. Ah well, it gives us an excuse to return.

H

Posted in Parks, Restaurants | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hiking Trails at Cape Lookout State Park

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

January 16, 20 and 21, 2015

Netarts Spit

We weren’t in camp very long before we snatched our camera and headed for the beach a stone’s throw from our campsite.

All I can say is…WOW! Big sun, big sky, big ocean. Absolutely gorgeous. Driftwood abounded on the beach. Entire trees were half buried in the sand. Others rocked, rolled and twisted in the surf. It was fun to watch.

Cape Lookout from north beach

Cape Lookout from north beach

We walked north along Netarts Spit toward Cape Meares. As we walked we got a closer view of a rock formation just off the point. What should we call it? Holly voted for Kissing Turtles, which is exactly what they looked like. We later learned that they are actually called Three Arch Rocks. I don’t know about you, but Kissing Turtles gets my vote.

Kissing turtles

Kissing turtles

On our beach walks we’ve encountered some interesting debris, like this float that looks strangely like Kermit the Frog. If a human turns green when they’re seasick, what color does a green frog change to?

Kermit the Frog float

Kermit the Frog float

We had a lot of fun watching these wading birds running to and fro searching for a morsel under the sand. They ran so fast their little toothpick legs were a blur. They usually went in different directions. But when the surf came too close, they lined up and ran up the beach. Based on my (brief) research, I’m going out on a limb and say these shore birds are sanderlings, a member of the sandpiper family.

On your mark! Get set! Go!

On your mark! Get set! RUN!

North Trail

The North Trail starts at the Cape Lookout State Park day use parking lot and ends at the trailhead for the Cape Trail and South Trail which is on the Cape Lookout ridge. One way distance is 2.3 or 2.6 miles depending on which trail sign you want to believe. Let’s just call it 2.5 miles one way or 5 miles round trip.

One fascinating thing we saw was this tree (among others) that appears to be standing on its tip toes. It’s not as odd or mysterious as it seems. A tree falls and dies. Seeds sprout and seedlings grow on the now decaying log. So do mosses, ferns, lichen, and other plants. The seedling’s roots reach around the log, seeking a foothold on firm ground. Once established, the young tree continues to grow while the log continues to decay until there’s nothing left. The dead tree “nursed” the seed and the seedling, giving them nourishment. These dead trees are called nurse logs. Appropriate, don’t you think?

Tree on tip toes

Tree on tip toes

The picture below is another great example of what a nurse log begat, two trees whose roots intertwine. Very cool.

Nurse log trees with entwined roots

Nurse log trees with entwined roots

We encountered some man-made features too, like this neat swinging bridge over a stream

Swinging bridge

Swinging bridge

and this not-so-neat “detour” around a drainage sluice. The trail runs to the left of the raised area, a “curb” of rocks held together by chain link-type fencing. Not very pretty, but I understand why it’s there – to prevent erosion of the trail and, more importantly, the hillside.

Trail around drainage sluice

Trail around drainage sluice

Once in a while, we got a peak through the trees. One of those peaks gave us this view of several waterfalls cascading down a cliff. Cape Lookout is in the distance to the right. Although the ocean appears to be encased in light fog, it’s really just sea mist blown off the wave tops by the wind.

Waterfalls

Waterfalls

Cape Trail

The Cape Trail leads you to the point on Cape Lookout a hundred or so feet above the ocean. One way distance is 2.3 miles or 4.6 miles round trip.

The day we hiked the trail was very muddy and slippery in spots. Of the three trails that converge at the trailhead (North Trail, Cape Trail, South Trail), this was by far the most strenuous hike. The mud didn’t make it any easier. I slipped quite a few times and I’m (usually) sure-footed.

There were quite a few places where you got good looks at North Beach, Netarts Spit, and Cape Meares, but it was windy and the sea mist kept us from getting a good, clear view.

We had to stop when we got to Pirate’s Cove where we watched the surf crash into the cliffs below. Our final destination was the top left. The trail did not go all the way down to the water.

Pirates Cove

Pirates Cove

Sometimes, it seemed like the vistas were endless, like this one. The clouds just kept going and going and going. As did the coast and the ocean. Makes you feel kinda small.

Endless vista

Endless vista

South Trail

The South Beach Trail follows numerous switchbacks from the trailhead on Cape Lookout down to the beach south of the cape. One way distance is 1.8 miles or 3.6 miles round trip.

It was a nice cool, sunny day – a good day to take a hike.

The grade on the first mile or mile and a quarter wasn’t too bad and the switchbacks were pretty far apart. It was pretty easy going. But then the trail got steeper, more rugged with lots of tree roots to trip over, and the switchbacks came closer together. The folks maintaining the trail built a bench on a nice overlook where we could rest, especially important on the way back up! As our granddaughter Chloe would say, “This looks like a nice spot to sit and have a snack!”

On the way down, Holly spotted a small stream flowing from the base of a tree. It’s pretty amazing how accommodating nature can be. Instead of fighting for the same piece of dirt, they shared it.

Stream flowing from base of tree

Stream flowing from base of tree

On those occasions where there were breaks in the trees, we got spectacular views of the beach and Cape Lookout. No wonder I keep being drawn to the ocean in these parts.

View of beach and Cape Lookout from South Trail

View of beach and Cape Lookout from South Trail

When I reached the beach, I noticed some trash. Because the North Beach can be reached from the campground, I figured camp hosts and other people picked up trash along there. Because South Beach is more remote, I figured there were fewer people to collect the trash. It didn’t look so bad at first so I started gathering it up into a pile. I planned to put it in a trash bag and carry it back with me. But no sooner did I start collecting than I started seeing more and more trash, too much to stuff in one trash bag, much less lug back up the hillside. In the end, I hauled up about 10 pounds of trash which barely made a dent in what was along the beach. Much of what I found was to be expected – plastic and Styrofoam floats and bobbers, fishing line, plastic bottles (way too many of those), and lots of bits and pieces of hard plastic (some as small as a fingernail, some a large as a picnic cooler). But I also found a golf ball and pancake turner.

Still, the view of the beach and cape were awesome. Just look at that sky. Since we hit the Oregon coast, we’ve had as many, if not more, sunny days than cloudy ones. Even on mostly cloudy days, the sun will usually make an appearance. If you look closely at the cliff, you can see lighter areas where the rock face calved off the cliff. We saw the results of a fairly recent rock slide which you can’t see in the picture. The rubble formed a mound beneath the slide. Over time, the sea will erase the rubble.

View from beach looking north toward Cape Lookout

View from beach looking north toward Cape Lookout

On all our beach walks we found dead birds, usually nothing more than a clump of feathers and bones. Quite often, we’d find 4, 5 or more dead birds clustered within a 20-30 foot radius. But while walking along South Beach, I found an intact dead bird, probably a Cassin’s Auklet or a Common Murre. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the birds they’ve examined have been “extremely emaciated, likely related to exhaustion and starvation caused by exposure to cold temperatures and heavy wind.” The one I found did not appear that way to me. One more mystery served up by Mother Nature.

On the way back up we did a little geocaching, locating 5 caches. That we did this on our way UP had nothing to do with the fact that we had to stop quite a few times to take GPS measurements and hunt for caches. Catching our breath was just incidental. Riiiiight! If you don’t know what geocaching is, you can learn more here.

J

Posted in Hiking | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Tillamook and the Cheese Factory

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

Thursday, January 15, 2015

We needed to pick up some packages from the post office so we headed into Tillamook. It was a nice drive along bays and forests, across a few rivers and past quite a few dairy farms. Tillamook is located on a lush plain that gets over 90 inches of rain each year (that’s ninety inches – NOT a typo).

Mountains flank the area on three sides and the ocean and bay lie to the west. The number one employer in the county is the Tillamook Cheese group. They employ over 25% of the people in the county. They make lots of cheese. Literally tons of it. Cheese is made from milk. Milk comes from cows. There are tens of thousands of cows in Tillamook County munching away on all that lush grass and generally doing what cows do. Which brings us to…

It was a cool day so our car windows were up but we noticed it was getting more and more stinky as we neared the town. It wasn’t until we opened the car doors at the post office that it really hit us though. And it hit us. Hard enough that John blurted out “we are NOT going to live here”!  We don’t know if they had just spread a few tons of manure on the nearby fields or if Tillamook always smells this way but it is definitely off our list of places to live. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not against a little cow stink. I rented a place on a cow and pig farm way back when I was in the army so I know that you eventually get used to it and do not even notice the smell. I explained this to John but he was hearing none of it. I’m OK with that. It’s a big country and I’m sure we can find somewhere with a few thousand fewer cows.

Since we were in town, we decided to roll up Hwy 101 and check out the Cheese Factory. They have a huge parking lot with space for RVs and buses. It was pretty empty when we were there and that’s good because we got to spend our time and read everything and watch massive amounts of cheddar cheese being made and packaged.

The factory has the upstairs viewing areas, a cheese sample counter, little deli shop, large gift shop, restaurant type counter, dining area and a huge ice cream counter… because it isn’t just cheese that is made out of milk.

We started with the free, self guided tour. First up are lots of signs downstairs explaining the farmer-owned status of the company, what it means to be a dairy farmer, how much milk a cow gives, etc. They also have a few looping videos with benches to plop on to watch. We watched and read everything they had then headed up to the observation areas.

I think we did the tour backwards. If you turn left at the top of the stairs, you see the first part of the process. We, of course, turned right and got confused. Here’s the order we should have seen it in:

First you encounter an ice cream counter. If it is open, buy some. They hand make their waffle cones right there (you can watch them do it downstairs). Yes, I know it is expensive. It is also very good ice cream and the waffle cone was so light and crispy, I was in ice cream heaven. I had the Tillamook Mudslide: “rich chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge chunks and decadent fudge ripple”… oh yeah. I tell you to buy it here because it would have been nice to munch while we watched the cheese being processed. The upstairs ice cream counter was closed when we were there so we bought our ice cream downstairs after we ate lunch. I should have skipped lunch and pigged out on really creamy, really chocolatey ice cream in the crispy waffle cone… mmmm. Wow, nice memories. We may have to stop again on the way out of town. After all, they have room to park our motorhome. Not many ice cream shops have that… I mean cheese factories.

OK – Back to the tour. The first part was not really exciting the day we were there. There are lots of closed vats with hoses and dials and we assume milk or cheese curds were in them but all we saw were the vats. This part of the cheese making process is pretty much all automated. A few humans monitored the equipment and tested things periodically but all we saw was gleaming metal and steam. Hmmm. There is one big open vat down on the floor where they make their flavored, small batch cheeses but it was all clean and shiny. Apparently we were not there on specialty cheese day.

Separating curds and whey

Separating curds and whey

It took us a bit to read all the signs, watch more videos and and figure out what was going on in the far right side of the cheese making room. There are tall square metal towers that we figured out are full of cheese curds (which were made in those shiny vats a few feet back). They get compressed into big forty-some pound blocks of fresh cheese which then drop out onto the conveyors. A human bags each block and sends it to a huge vacuum sealer. The cheese is sealed and rolls away to be boxed before going to the warehouse where it waits to be old enough to be labeled “aged cheddar”.

Pressing Towers

Pressing Towers

The other side of the observation walkway has windows opening onto the packaging room. To “follow” the cheese process you have to tear your eyes away from all that cheese rolling around on all that machinery to first peer past the packaging room through the doors and windows on the other side. There you will see people unboxing the aged cheese that has been brought out of the aging warehouse. They strip the plastic off it and put it on the rollers where it rolls on into the packaging room.

When you first look in the packaging room you’ll think Wow! that’s a lot of cheese. We watched dozens of 40 lb blocks of cheddar roll in from the aging warehouse. They were sliced and weighed and trimmed into smaller blocks before they rolled down the line.

Cutting the cheese

Cutting the cheese

One machine bagged them and the really cool looking octopus machine heat sealed them. Then they rolled along to be trimmed, heated again, cooled, then up the spiral roller thingy to the packing room. This was cool.

The Octopus

The Octopus

We walked back and forth and watched block after block of cheese get processed. When we finally figured out how everything worked, we headed downstairs for some cheese samples, lunch and ice cream.

John and I are a bit plebian when it comes to “tastings”. We can’t discern the undertones, overtones, dial tones, nose, toes, etc. of wine, beer, chocolate or cheese. Tillamook is supposed to be very good cheese. We did not do a direct taste test but my samples didn’t make me think, “best cheese ever”. I DID enjoy the squeeky cheese sample. This is basically the cheese curds before they get pressed into blocks and aged. It has a softer “tooth” to it and actually squeaks when you chew it, which was fun and why I liked it. It actually has very little flavor. Ironically, this was higher priced per pound in their cheese store than the aged cheddar that has so much more processing time. Go figure. We checked the factory price for cheddar against one local food store and it seemed that the factory was a tad cheaper but not discount priced. They cut out the middle man and kept their share of the profit. Oh well, we had just bought cheese anyhow.

We had an OK lunch there (a tad expensive) and I got the wonderful ice cream mentioned above. We got to watch them make those yummy waffle cones too. They have six or eight waffle irons going at one time. The attendant opens the waffle maker, quickly rolls the waffle onto a metal cone mold and moves to the next one. She cycles back to take all the waffles off the molds and drop in more batter before starting over at the other end. It was fun to watch and it smells sooooo good.

We had never been in a cheese factory so it was interesting and well worth our stop. It would be cool to see them actually hand make cheese in their specialty vat. We tried to see this at cheese factories up in Vermont and New Hampshire last summer but never seemed to be in the right place on cheese making day. If this is something you really want to see, a call ahead may help you plan your trip.

Otherwise, go and check out the cheese… and get the ice cream!

H

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Independence

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

We’ve had a few small Oregon coast winter storms roll over us now. One monster wind gust could be heard in the distance rumbling and roaring across the ocean as it advanced upon us. It smacked us along one side then was gone. WHOA – that was different.

As I lay in the bed listening to the storm I started to think of all the things we used to do to prepare for power outages in the old house, because those frequently came along with the storms. Gather flashlights, batteries, emergency drinking water, fill tub with water for flushing toilets, get out extra blankets, charge cell phones, etc. As each potential problem popped into my head, the answer popped back out. Power outage – no worries there, the lights run off the house batteries and they are charged. If campground water runs on a pump and it goes out, we switch to our onboard tank – our water pump runs off the batteries. When the electric heat goes out, we switch to our propane furnace. If our cell phones run down, we charge them off the house batteries or the truck batteries. If our batteries run down, we  fire up the generator and recharge them.

No worries, no worries, no worries. All the potential problems would be solved without leaving our beds. John can reach the controls to switch to propane heat and everything else switches over on its own.

Hmmm, I thought “this is nice” and snuggled down into my bed to enjoy the storm.

H

Posted in Random Thoughts | Leave a comment

Hatfield Marine Science Center

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

Saturday January 11, 2015

While the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) has a few kid-friendly exhibits (which are fun for grown ups too), it’s really more for adults interested in research being done in the area of marine science. The exhibits and research vary from the microscopic to the macroscopic.

Just outside the entrance is part of a dock that was torn from its moorings in Misawa, Japan during the March 2011 tsunami that hit Japan. The dock “landed” at Agate Beach north of Newport on June 5, 2012. Scientists were astounded to find 118 invasive species clinging to the dock. This piece of dock outside corresponds with two exhibits inside. One exhibit explains the dangers of invasive species, how many of them got here, and what you can do to help reduce the invasions. The other exhibit that references the dock deals with Tsunamis and ocean currents. The Tsunami exhibit has an area where you can build lego houses then test them out in the Tsunami wave tank. A boy of around ten or twelve was engrossed in his experiments on how to reduce damage caused by Tsunamis.

Part of dock from Misawa, Japan

Part of dock from Misawa, Japan

Another outdoor/indoor exhibit described research being conducted on generating electricity from waves. The buoy shown below can generate electricity. The yellow disk rides up and down on the waves while the center post is stationery. How this all works was explained inside along with examples of several other type of wave energy devices.

John liked how the displays went beyond just the science and explained what’s involved in getting the science out of the lab and into the real world. It’s a complex process involving many stakeholders (government agencies (of course), commercial and recreational fishermen, developers, shippers, etc.), ecological considerations, wildlife considerations, and the like. It makes you realize that, no matter how beneficial something might be, making it a reality takes a lot of hard work and cooperation.

Part of wave energy generator

Part of wave energy generator

Another project involved monitoring undersea volcanoes. The Rumblometer shown below was actually trapped in the lava from an underwater volcano way out in the ocean… actually, not so way out in the ocean, but far below the surface where the tectonic plates are moving apart and the magma is flowing to the surface. They rescued this equipment and put it on display. You can see where the lava burned one edge of the device.

Under sea volcano monitoring system

Under sea volcano monitoring system

Holly’s favorite exhibit was the GPS unit. They have a whole display explaining GPS and showing how scientists use it to track the movement of the tectonic plates. The plate the west coast is sitting on is being pushed in and scrunched (creating the coast range of mountains as well as other land features) as another tectonic plate is pushed down beneath it. The two plates sort of snagged creating the drag. The display states that at some point that snag will let go and the top plate will bounce back… OK, so what happens to the mountains? They probably won’t just flatten back out. Besides the enormous earthquakes, how exactly does a tectontic plate rebound? We’re pretty sure we don’t want to be sitting in “bounce back” zone when that happens.

The center has a timeline on the floor that gives a great visual showing that the earth really is moving beneath our feet (just very very slowly). The plate tectonics are explained very well showing where the earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes come from. An interesting question they ask and answer is “Why are the volcanoes lined up in a row so far in from the coast?” The short answer deals with one tectonic plate being pushed under the other. The west coast of the United States is riding on that top plate. When the bottom plate reaches a certain depth, water is expelled from the rock and the conditions become right for the magma to rise to the surface. The plate dives at about the same rate all along its edge. The coastline parallels the edge of the plate so the line of volcanoes parallels both the coastline and the edge of the tectonic plate.

The center also has a theater that showed a movie about the search for sea “monsters”. We learned something about the pseudo-science of cryptozoology, the search for and study of animals that have not been proven to exist – such as the Loch Ness Monster. These scientists’ proof usually consisted of fuzzy photos and videos, drawings, and eyewitness accounts. Given that billions of cell phones are out there, John’s surprised that there aren’t lots more images of these sea monsters. After watching the movie, neither one of us was convinced of the existence of these sea monsters. However we think there are lots of undiscovered species out there. Given the vastness of the oceans, why would we think we’d found everything there is to find?

This is gorgeous country and we still think we want to live out here but there are a lot of natural disasters just waiting to get you. It makes you think.

J&H

Posted in Museums, Science | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Oregon Coast Aquarium

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

Friday January 9, 2015

We spent a very enjoyable day at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. There was lots to see and lots of volunteers to talk to. The volunteers we did talk to were very knowledgeable and passionate about their aquarium. We went on a cloudy Friday and almost had the place to ourselves, at least for the morning. A few more people showed up by afternoon but never enough to be considered a crowd or block our view of the feedings.

We knew life was different on the west coast as soon as we paid for our tickets and headed into the main aquarium… I mean out of the aquarium. You enter through what I would call the administrative building with the ticket counter, offices, coffee bar and cafe.

From this the entry hall/admin building, you step through the doors into a courtyard with a covered walkway on one side leading to the gift shop and the first of the exhibit buildings. We were quite surprised to be back outside. The gravel courtyard was raked smooth in a very Japanese Garden, Zen sort of way. We were reluctant to disburb the pattern at first but eventually tromped all over it in search of awesome marine animals.

We studied the map and quickly got our bearings. The aquarium consists of three indoor exhibit buildings plus numerous outdoor exhibits for the octopus, sea otters, seals and sea lions, and a seabird aviary. They also have a very neat fourth building called Passages of the Deep where you walk through three tunnels running through huge aquariums filled with sharks, rays, and other sea life. The fish glide over you and beside you and some hover at eye level and stare back at you. This is their world and we were the ones in the “cage”.

The day we were there the aquarium staff scheduled eight programs where they fed the sea lions (twice), sea otters (three times), seabirds, the fish in the Coastal Waters tank, and the sharks in the Passages of the Deep tank. We caught each program once.

While wandering around inside the main buildings, we watched a diver cleaning one of the tanks. This sure beats those little magnetic scrapers people use on their home fish aquariums.

How to clean a fish tank

How to clean a fish tank

We spent a lot of time checking out all the interesting animals in the wall tanks and their touch pool. Most of their exhibits were accompanied by signs that provided interesting facts about one or two creatures in the exhibit. That’s how we found out that the Wolf eel is not really an eel. That’s because it has flexible fin spines (eels have spineless fins) and large gill openings (eels have small gill openings). Wolf eels also have buck teeth. Who knew?

Wolf eel

Wolf eel

They had quite a few small tanks that showed off one or two particular species of sea life, such as this Oregon Cancer Crab. We watched as he did little crab push ups and shifted that rock back and forth over him. They like to hide in crevices and apparently he hasn’t figured out he isn’t big enough to fit in this one anymore. Those little pink sea anemones must have thought there was an earthquake.

Oregon Cancer Crab

Oregon Cancer Crab

A larger tank held these Japanese spider crabs, which are the largest crab species in the world. The lighting in the tank gave them an other worldly feel.

Japanese Spider Crabs

Japanese Spider Crabs

One of the volunteers came up to us and excitedly told us that the giant octopus was active. Boy was it ever. We watched it “walk” along the glass for about 5 minutes. We passed later in the day to see people peering into an empty tank as the octopus stayed hidden in its cave. Thank you volunteer! We are glad we didn’t miss this.

Giant octopus

Giant octopus

The sea otter has to be one of the cutest, most adorable animals on the planet. The only thing separating us from this grooming sea otter was a couple inches of plexiglass. We spent a long time watching these animals eat, groom, and play. They eat 25% of their body weight every day so the aquarium does three public feedings a day. You can stand with your nose right up against the glass to watch them. The truly sad thing we learned is that the three male sea otters in this tank are the largest raft of sea otters in Oregon. They were hunted to extinction for their super plush fur and Oregon has not been successful in reintroducing the species. Judge is their most famous otter (with his photo on billboards and everything). He was rescued as a baby and released back into the wild. They were keeping track of him and saw that he didn’t do well, so they took him back, tried to rehab him again, then released him again, then took him back, then released him again. They finally gave up and Judge will live out his life in the aquarium.

Sea otter feeding on clams

Sea otter feeding on clams

Grooming sea otter

Grooming sea otter – pedicure anyone?

The aquarium staff spends a lot of time training the sea otters, seals and sea lions. Much of their training revolves around getting them to cooperate with their medical exams. The animals seem quite motivated to follow the signals. Probably because the payoff is a nice fish, clam or lobster.

Trainer taking her sea lion for a walk

Trainer taking her sea lion for a walk

The aquarium’s seabird aviary had half a dozen seabird species including the common murre, pigeon guillemot, tufted and horned puffins, rhinoceros auklets, and black oyster catchers. We were lucky in that some of the seabirds were changing from their non-breeding season colors to their breeding season colors. The eyebrow tufts on the tufted puffin below will turn bright white within the month. Several of the bird species have totally different looks for the breeding and non-breeding seasons and go through an extensive molt during the changeovers. Some of the birds had started their mating rituals, which seemed to include a lot of loud vocalizations.

Tufted Puffin

Tufted Puffin

One thing we learned was that most of these birds are in the auk family and auks are considered to be the penguins of the North, even though auks are not that closely related to penguins. That may be true but they sure act a lot like them.

Auks

Auks – not penguins

One of the coolest exhibits was the Passages of the Deep. These tunnels pass through huge tanks containing five species of shark (seven gill, leopard, dogfish, smoothhound, and soupfin), bat rays, Chinook salmon, Pacific mackerel, Northern anchovies, and many others. One of those helpful volunteers told us they only have one female seven gill shark… named Miss Piggy. We got to see her glide over us a few times.

Passages of the Deep

Passages of the Deep

Besides the exhibits, the aquarium has a little walking trail along the Yaquina Bay estuary with deck overlooks and informative signs. It was very nice but we were a little surprised when the trail wound back through a really cute play area for kids into a picnic area and then straight into the cafe. Well, that’s one way to make sure people know it’s there. We did eat lunch at the cafe. John had a tuna melt while Holly had a personal pan pepperoni  pizza. The food was good and reasonably priced.

The gift shop is quite large and well stocked with books, stuffed animals, jewelry, souvenirs and some really beautiful artistic pieces. We left with a beautiful little fleece throw with sea otters and puffins on it. It will keep Holly warm on those chilly mornings in the motorcoach.

If you ever get to the Newport, Oregon area, visiting the Oregon Coast Aquarium is a must. If you can go off season when the crowds are nonexistent, all the better. There is ample parking including a separate RV/bus lot and they have a bus stop for local transportation. If we had been motivated, we could have walked from South Beach State Park to the Aquarium… but we weren’t.

J&H

Posted in Museums, Nature Notes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Back to the Coast

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

Thursday January 8, 2015 –
Wednesday January 14, 2015

No more clown car rental. We are back to driving our Phoenix and it feels so good to be back on the road with her. We are both in high spirits as we roll out of Silverton in moderate fog.

We headed west on Hwy 20 and started seeing sun again as we crested the Pacific Coast Range. By the time we hit Newport, we had sunshine and fifty degrees and gorgeous ocean views. We returned to South Beach State Park and settled into site B-20 (B-19 was taken and we remembered that B-20 had been mostly dry the last time we were here – it IS storm season so we take little precautions). Side note – One of our booklets says that Highway 20 is the longest highway in the United States. It runs from the Oregon coast to Boston. From sea to shining sea! With a whole lot of America in between.

We set up camp, jumped in the car and headed back into Newport. First stop was more yummy chinese food at Lee’s Wok then on to Walmart to stock up. We threw away all those condiments that live in the refrigerator door and any uneaten food that required refrigeration before we left so other than dry goods, the cupboards were bare. Newport has a super Walmart but it was obviously converted from a regular, smaller, pre-existing store and selection was limited but we were able to get just about everything we needed. Next time we’ll curb our desire to get to the coast as quickly as possible and shop in one of the bigger cities along the way.

Once we got the cupboards and fridge all loaded up we started planning our play time.

Ahhh, it’s good to be back.

Nye Beach

We wanted to see some of the other sights that Newport had to offer. So on a cool, cloudy, misty day we drove to Nye Beach and wandered around that district for several hours. NW Beach Drive loops down to a small parking lot near the beach, which is where we parked. An honor guard of sea gulls greeted us, although several appear to have deserted their posts.

Nye Beach sea gulls at attention

Nye Beach sea gulls at attention

The district is fairly small but feels intimate with lots of small shops, restaurants, galleries and lodging. We didn’t eat there, but we did wander into quite a few galleries, many of which feature local artists. If I were an art collector – which I’m not – and had a place to display them – which I don’t – and had the money – which I really don’t – I’d definitely be tempted to buy some of the pieces I saw.

The Newport Visual Arts Center and Newport Performing Arts Center are both located in Nye Beach. The Performing Arts Center was closed. From what we could tell, the center hosts local plays and musical performances as well as real-time video performances of ballets and operas. The Visual Arts Center was open but we didn’t stop in.

Bayfront

Bayfront, on the north side of Yaquina Bay, is a 5 minute drive from Nye Beach. This area is the home port of Newport’s fishing fleet. Across the bay we saw several NOAA research ships.

Newport fishing fleet

Newport fishing fleet

We unexpectedly came across a Wyland Whale Wall on the wall of the Depoe Bay Fish Company. Robert Wyland is renowned for his life size whale murals which can be found all across the US and in many countries, such as Canada, Japan, Australia and France. Click here to see other Wyland Whale Walls.

Wyland Whale Wall #59 on Depoe Bay Fish Company

Wyland Whale Wall #59 on Depoe Bay Fish Company

It’s no surprise to find sea lions lounging in the bay given that the Bayfront is lined with fish processing plants. I’m not sure if sea lions have a government, but this big fellow sure seemed to be on his soapbox campaigning for something.

Seal lion on his soapbox

Seal lion on his soapbox

When we saw this next sea lion, we weren’t sure if he was alive or dead, until he poked his nose above the water, took a breath, and lay his head back under the water. He reminds me of our granddaughter Chloe’s dog, Chip, a 100 pound pit bull who loves to lie on his back and have his belly rubbed. I’m convinced Chip is part sea lion, except he doesn’t like to go out in the rain.

Rub my belly

Rub my belly

After meandering around the bay front and into and out of various shops, we decided it was time to get out of the cold and drizzle and eat lunch. We checked out the menus at a number of restaurants and settled on the Rogue Ales Public House on SW Bay Blvd. Our server was very friendly. Holly started with a Buena Vista Ferry, a yummy concoction of coffee, hazelnut spiced rum, orange zest, cinnamon, and whipped cream while I had one of the local Rogue Nation brews. Holly ordered her usual hamburger and fries while I asked for the pulled pork sliders and fries. Both meals were very good.

J & H

Posted in Restaurants, Walking Tours | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting back in the groove

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

We landed at Portland airport late on Monday, January 5th. We were beat but the hotel shuttle snagged us right away, the Radisson checked us in quickly and we were tucked into our bed within an hour of landing. You can’t beat that.

We slept in a bit the next day then headed south toward Silverton. We ate brunch at Shari’s in Oregon City. It was sooo good. We had eaten there on our way to the airport and swore we’d hit it on the way back. The food was good and the portions were reasonable, not big, but enough… especially since they sell award winning pies. We shared a slice of their Oregon Berry Trio pie the first time around and opted to take a whole one home on the return trip. The only problem with their pies is the huge selection. We had a really hard time picking which one we wanted to pig out on.

It felt so good to see our Phoenix Cruiser waiting for us as we pulled into the Silver Spur Campground in Silverton. They don’t normally store rigs but made an exception for us since we had stayed with them on our way into Portland and planned to stay there on the way back out. It is a nice campground with wonderful staff. It is more open than we usually like but the sun was welcome on those cool days we were there. The campground is very clean and well maintained. They have some long term residents in the back half and those sites were also clean and well maintained. No clutter or broken down campers in sight. We were told Silverton is an awesome town to check out but we didn’t make it into town except to shop for groceries. We plan to return some day to spend some time in Silverton and the nearby Silver Falls State Park where we plan to hike the Trail of Ten Falls. It was pretty foggy and dropping below freezing at night by the time we came back through so we were anxious to get to the coast and the more moderate weather.

We quickly moved our house to a regular site and started to dig out. We had stored stuff inside from our outside bins, car trunk, and overhead storage bin then tossed the bikes inside before we locked her up and headed east. It took us about an hour to toss everything back into it’s normal storage spot, hook up the power and water, make the beds, and settle in for a well-deserved nap. It felt so good to be home.

H

Posted in Campgrounds, Random Thoughts | Leave a comment

Cape Lookout State Park

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

January 14-23, 2015

This is a beautiful park mostly nestled in the forest right near water’s edge. It is a short walk over one dune to a beautiful, soft sand beach. There isn’t much beach at high tide but the slope of the land quickly creates an incredibly wide beach as the tide goes out. The park has a very nice day use area, a hiker/biker campsite overlooking the water, rental cabins with an awesome view of the ocean and cape, yurts, nature trail, amphitheater, Junior Ranger hut and huge campground.

Cabins

Cabins

The following image looking north shows you all the great scenery surrounding the park. We took this photo at a pull-off between the day use entrance and the trailhead for North, South and Cape Trails. The campground is in the wooded area in the lower right quarter of the image. Netarts Spit stretches 5 miles toward Cape Meares in the middle distance. To the left of Cape Meares are what we called the Kissing Turtles, but are really known as the Three Arch Rocks. To the right of the spit is Netarts Bay. The towns of Netarts and Oceanside are on the far shore across from the spit. We visited and hiked our way all through this area.

Cape Lookout State Park, Netarts Spit, Cape Meares and Netarts Bay

Cape Lookout State Park, Netarts Spit, Cape Meares and Netarts Bay

Campground

Only two loops were open but we had a beautiful full hook up spot in Loop C. The sites are well spaced for privacy, have paved driveways and all are a short walk to a very nice bathroom with separate, private shower rooms.

Campground

Campground

We could see the dune from our site but not the water. This is probably a good thing because high tide came almost up to the dune so if it wasn’t between us and the ocean, we would be getting wet. The camp hosts were friendly and helpful and campground was immaculately clean. The roads are paved and level so this is a great area to get out on your bicycle for some exercise. Bikes are not allowed on the trails but there are plenty of loops and roads that they can go on.

This campground is a great base for exploring the area. You have the rest of the Three Capes Scenic Loop, Tillamook, Oceanside, and Netarts close by. There are several National Wildlife Refuges, State Wildlife Areas, National Forest Service sites and State Parks within ten or fifteen miles. Kayakers were playing in the bay, surfers were playing south of the cape, hikers were wandering the gorgeous trails and fisherman were just basically in heaven. There are rivers, streams, estuaries, and bays everywhere you look. There were some old growth trees scattered here and there amidst younger trees. And there is the ocean. Several spots along the coast are known for whale watching… not that we saw any… again. I think we don’t sit still long enough to spot them. But we did see other people watching for them. Lots of shorebirds nest near here and sea lions haul up on the offshore rocks up and down the coast. If you aren’t a camper, there a tons of beach rentals all along here and the camp has those nice snug yurts and cabins.

Beach and Netarts Spit

John is definitely loving the coast. We started our beach walking within an hour of arrival. We walked and walked and walked and didn’t make it but maybe a third of the way down Netarts Spit. We did walk slow and stop often to watch the birds, the sky, the sea, but that wasn’t the only reason – that spit is looooong. Being curious people, and wondering just how far down the spit we made it, we climbed up a sandy spot to the top of the dune to look on the other side. We could see Netarts Bay just a short bit of sand away. There is a service road on that interior side of the dune so bikes should be able to make it part way down that side of the spit. That road would also be an awesome spot to set up for some excellent bird watching during migration. The bay is a favorite stopping spot for many birds.

We spent nine very enjoyable days exploring this area and would love to come back to do some more. Our hikes and day trips will follow in their own blog posts.

H

Posted in Campgrounds, Parks | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Family Time

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Phoenix 2552

January 5, 2015

We had a great a visit with family and friends back in Maryland but also got tangled up in appointments and extra chores that we had not planned on doing. That’s just the way life rolls. At least nobody drove into us this year. I’m not sure we’d have fared well in the tiny little clown car the rental company considered a compact. It was small enough to hide behind every other car in those big, holiday shopper packed parking lots. We spent a lot of time looking for it. Its only saving grace was that it was bright red so it stuck out once you got close enough to spot it. It was fun watching my 6’4″ tall son fold himself into it. That only happened once, then he drove any other time we were all together.

Our visit started at National Airport where we surprised our granddaughter when she returned from a trip to Florida. We landed an hour before they did so we wandered around and got something to eat. John commented on the armed security wandering through and that was the first I consciously noticed them. They were uniformed and carrying M16’s. Huh. You know you’ve lived in the DC area too long when people wandering around with semi-automatic weapons doesn’t even really register. I saw them, but they were just more people moving around the airport. They weren’t hurrying and didn’t give the impression they were on high alert so my brain didn’t even blip. I DID notice the K-9 drug dog. He seemed to be off duty and was walking the airport with his human partner and some other people. He passed us several times but really came to my attention while we waited for Chloe to appear on our side of the security gate. We stood in a group of people with our carry on bags sitting against our legs. I had tucked a really cute little stuffed sea otter under the straps of my bag to surprise Chloe. I saw the dog start to pass us then his head snapped over as he focused on the stuffed toy. Boy was he giving off happy dog vibes. He angled right over to my bag and stuck his face down on the sea otter. I kept telling him NO, that is not a chew toy. NO, you can’t have that. His human partner finally heard me, looked over and pulled him in, laughing.

Stuffed baby sea otter

Stuffed baby sea otter – sooo cute but NOT a chew toy

Someone commented later that we were lucky they didn’t take the toy, the bag, and us for a little drug inspection. The dog didn’t give the “found drugs” signal so that was good. My sister said if he had been smart, he would have signaled for drugs and then maybe he could have kept the toy. Too late for that. Chloe was just as thrilled as the dog when she spotted the toy and snuggled it… then she looked up and asked, “Why is it wet?”… Welllll, a little dog spit never hurt anybody. Lucky it was snugged under the strap or that K-9 officer would have swiped it. I can just imagine his human partner looking down and saying “Hey, where did you get that?”

We made it back to the house without further incidents and had good quality family time. We made those cute little chocolate mice, decorated gingerbread cookies and went to the National Zoo to check out Zoo Lights.

Making gingerbread cookies

Making gingerbread cookies

Gingerbread cookies ready to eat

Gingerbread cookies ready to eat

Happy granddaughter and grandpuppers on Christmas morning

Happy granddaughter and grandpuppers on Christmas morning

Cocoa gingerly opening her gift

Cocoa gingerly opening her gift

Cocoa, the wonder dog, opened her gifts very carefully and was even will to open ours when asked. She wasn’t quite as excited about opening a package of socks as she was with the doggie treats but seemed ever hopeful that the next gift would be edible. Once more family arrived, we tested out one of Chloe’s gifts by getting into a cut-throat game of Mustache Smash. Chloe would give the order “Mustache UP” before flipping a card so we could all frantically whack at it with the suction cups on our mustaches. Good times and a few bruised knuckles came courtesy of a kid’s game.

Moustache Smash family photo

Moustache Smash family photo

We helped Chloe get started on riding her new “big girl” bicycle and somehow she sweet talked us into getting her “snuggly bed” out of storage (note: Grandparents are suckers – and the kids know this). The clown car was not going to cut it for transportation so our nephew and his fiancee brought their pick up truck up on New Year’s Eve and helped load everything up and get it back to our son’s house. Amazingly, we quickly found all but one little metal cam that we were able to get from Ikea (thank you Aunt Dawn for that lifesaving Ikea run). John and I finished assembling the bed just as the clock struck midnight. Happy New Year! We were actually awake for it and celebrated our bed-building success… just before we crawled into our own bed and passed out. Ah, celebrating New Year’s Eve isn’t like the old days. We’re both good with that.

Chloe told us that she really, really wanted the bed so she could set up the reading nook underneath but a few other comments clued us in on another reason – more room for sleepover guests. Poor Daddy. He’s in for some very long, noisy nights… and will probably be getting a lot of child-applied facials and pedicures. When Chloe returned from her New Year’s eve sleepover, she squealed when she spotted the bed and immediately grabbed a book and crawled into her special nook to read. Chip, her 100 lb love muffin pit bull, crawled right in after her and settled down for his bedtime story. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the picture of Chloe, Daddy, Cocoa, AND Chip all snuggled in for story time. THAT would have been an awesome family photo.

Chip and Chloe in their reading nook

Chip and Chloe in their reading nook

Aha! I heard some of you cringe at the words “pit bull”. Chip and Cocoa are both very good dogs. Chip is actually one of Cocoa’s puppies. They found him a good home as a tiny puppy but he wound up back at the pound when the (somewhat foolish) owner was told that her no-pet apartment did not allow dogs (well, duh – she thought she could hide him?) Our son bailed him out of the pound (several hundred dollars) and found him another good home. All was well for the next five years until Hurricane Sandy sent him to a shelter in Philadelphia and they detected a tracking chip in him with our son’s phone number (apparently put there by the first shelter). Long story short, our son drove to Philadelphia and bailed him out again (several hundred dollars). We searched online for his owner but he could have come from anywhere and we couldn’t find a lost dog listing for him. The shelters were shifting animals away from the devastated areas on the coast and there was no record of how he wound up in Philadelphia. The hunt began to find him a good home locally, but no luck. He’s a good dog, but he’s a big dog and since people do bad things to pit bulls, no random takers were considered. They had to be sure he would get a good, loving home and not some fighting pit. So, Chip has stayed and become Chloe’s snuggle buddy. He isn’t fond of the reindeer ears, princess tiaras and tu-tu’s that she puts on him but he takes it all in stride. His favorite girly game is tea party. He and Cocoa sit patiently in their tiaras waiting for the “tea” to be poured into their thimble size cups and the one little cracker to be laid on their plates. They sit drooling on the floor while they watch Chloe for the signal that they can eat before they slurp down the cracker. Cocoa is pretty good at getting her tongue into the tiny teacup for the water but Chip just doesn’t have that level of high society social skills. He sticks with the cracker… and maybe gets a little licky licky in on your cracker if no one is looking.

Snowless dog sledding

Snowless dog sledding

Now Chip has a very deep bark. He is a good watchdog and investigates any odd sounds around the house at night… like Grandma getting up early and going into the kitchen to make coffee. I heard Chip doing his “I’m going to eat you” bark as he flew down the stairs and around the corner ready to face down the burglar. He spotted me and hit the brakes so hard he slid. Then he hung his head and looked sheepish. It seems someone forgot Grandma was visiting. He quickly changed from the watchdog bravado to his favorite, friendly “rub my belly” posture. There was no more barking at Grandma after that one oops.

Chloe's snuggly bed

Chloe’s snuggly bed

Enough about dogs – back to the bed. For those parents or grandparents out there setting up a room for the children, the beloved bed is an Ikea bed named “Kura”. It reverses from a low bed for little ones to a not-too-high bunk bed that just might go to college with her. We took the bed apart for storage over a year ago and put all screws, cams, pegs, tools and the all-important instructions into a zipper baggie so we could easily reassemble it.

Chloe's bed

Chloe’s bed – the safe, comfy, snuggly zone

We added more Ikea goodies: mattresses for both levels, wire “curtain rod” with clips, pink curtain panels, bright pink duvet cover over a fiberfill comforter (top bunk has heart duvet cover and pillow case), and a string of LED flower lights I “stitched” along the slats using red cord to avoid having the electrical wires running between mattress and slats. We also have two large pink flower lights to go on the wall but those aren’t up yet. It is definitely girly overload.

Chloe's reading nook

Chloe’s reading nook

Both levels have a clip on pink reading lamp. This save batteries since she used to sneak a book into bed and read by flashlight anyhow. Now there is a reading light ready no matter where she lands. We throw a bunch of pillows and stuffed animals into the nook and Chloe has her “special place” for reading or hanging out. The whole bottom of the bed glows pink. The curtains and duvets come in many colors so you don’t have to go with pink overload like we did. As a side note, the shimmery curtain panels are inexpensive and make great play silks. We have pink, blue, purple, and black and have been transformed into butterflies, bats, caterpillars, princesses, villains and anything else a creative mind can think up.

Here are a few shots from Zoo Lights. Panda Clause was in shadow so we couldn’t get a good picture of him dancing in the dark. Several of the zoo buildings stay open late for this event so we got to see many of the nocturnal animals toodling around. The crowds were extra small the night we were there because it was raining early on. It turned into a beautiful night and we really enjoyed wandering the zoo.

National Zoo's Zoo Lights

National Zoo’s Zoo Lights

Chloe with her "magic glasses" at Zoo Lights

Chloe in 3D glasses and panda ears at rainy Zoo Lights in DC

The visit was a success. We had a good amount of time with our son and granddaughter. We did not spend as much time with friends as we would have liked but we did get to see most of them for at least a bit. We hope to do better next time. Less appointments, less holiday prep, less stress. That’s our plan.

I was inordinately pleased when John said he enjoyed the trip but missed our wandering life. He was ready to get back to our camper house, the woods, the ocean, the road, the wandering. That is so awesome because so was I.

H

Posted in Random Thoughts | Tagged | Leave a comment