Oregon Coast 2011

6-21-11
We left Eureka at 7:15 AM and went up the coast on highway 101. The first hour we had fog.









When the sun came out it was a pleasure to drive. The flowers on the side of the road are so beautiful.
Doreen likes the Scotch Broom bushes with their yellow blossoms.
We stopped at an overlook, near Bandon, Oregon and had lunch.
At the Mill Casino in Coos Bay we parked for the night. They do not charge for dry camping.
After setting up the motorhome, and taking a nap, we drove to Charleston. The town is located on a peninsula and was totally fogged in.

6-22-11
We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Florence at about 9:30 AM. Half an hour later we were on our way to the Heceta Head Lighthouse. This is the most photographed lighthouse in the US.













Our next stop was the Sea Lions Caves.













On the way back to town we visited friends of Doreen. John and Betty used to live in San Diego.
We also stopped for a short time in Old Town.












6-23-11
Today we are staying at the Elks Lodge in Tillamook.
When we arrived it was raining for about an hour. In the afternoon we had sunny weather again.
After lunch we went to the Tillamook Air Museum. It is housed in a giant hangar which was built for blimps. The hangar is one of the largest all wood buildings. Six football fields would fit inside.












Eight blimps were stationed inside the hangar.












Now it is a museum and Navy airplanes and some other planes are on display.
There is also a Consolidated PBY, which was probably built in San Diego.












Outside the building they have a Guppy which was used for transporting missile sections to NASA.












Our next stop was the lighthouse on Cape Meares. It is the shortest lighthouse in Oregon.
The road to Cape Meares was very scenic.












On the way home we went to a thrift store. Doreen needed a shopping fix.

6-24-11
We had an interesting day. At 8:30 AM we were on the road.
When we came to a higher elevation it was foggy. Since we were almost alone on the highway it worked out fine.
Suddenly we saw flashing lights in front of us. I stopped and noticed a long line of vehicles in front of us.
There were flares on the side of the road.
We just happen to be at an outlook. I drove to it and set up the motorhome for a lengthy stay.












Then I walked towards the front of the line. The fire department had just finished extinguishing the fire in the motor area of a pickup truck. The cabin was burned out too.
The pickup was pulling a trailer. The trailer did not get damaged but the pickup had to be pulled on a flat bed truck.

>











This was a short camping trip for the owners. They had just started out.
We waited until all the traffic both ways was better and then continued our journey.
When we arrived at the Camp Clatsop County Fairgrounds we found out that there are no camp sites available.
We had passed the fairgrounds and found no gate open. In order to turn around we had to find a spot where we could unhook the car and then turn around. It had started to rain and I was not very happy.
I always check where the WINs stay on their trips. They stay at this fairgrounds. When I asked I was told that they only let groups to stay at their facilities.
We were told that there was a RV Park down the road. We attached the car again to the motorhome and looked for this place.
We ended up in the middle of nowhere. The place is in Olney, on highway 202.
There were three rigs in sites. A lady called across a meadow and asked what I wanted. I told her that I would like a site for the day. She told me it would cost $ 25.00. I asked for a dry site and she told me
$ 15.00. Everybody asks me why I want a dry site, this lady did too.
We took the site without hookups, had lunch and then went for a ride.
At Fort Clatsop Lewis and Clark National Historical Park is a replica of the fort the Corps of Discovery used for their stay from December 1805 to march 1806.
Guides in period dress answer question visitors have.












There is also a Visitor Center with a movie theater. We saw a very interesting film about the area, the Indian tribes and the journals of Lewis and Clark.
The weather had changed and it was a pleasure to go sightseeing.
Our next stop was the Astoria Column. It is 125 feet high and it takes 164 steps to get to the top.












The exterior of the column is done in bas-relief technique called sgraffito.
It combines paint and plaster carvings to decorate the column exterior with a frieze of 22 significant events that occurred in the region. It is a work of art.















6-25-11
In the morning we went to Seaside. This is a beautiful tourist town, south of Astoria.
We walked along Broadway Street, where a lot of restaurants and stores are located. This town is very clean.
Broadway ends at the beach. This is the point where Lewis and Clark had sent some members of the expedition to make salt from sea water. They were boiling water for two weeks
A statue of the captains is at the roundabout near the ocean.















In the afternoon we rode the trolley, in Astoria, along the Columbia River. Some of the museums are on the river front.
We had fish and chips in a small fish restaurant.