Oregon Coast...Fabulous!

Behind on the blog...I've been socializing with friends.  I'm actually up in Victoria right now, but this post will just concern the Oregon coast.  Spent five nights there...could have stayed a month or more.  The driftwood here at Gold Beach blends in with the sand and sky.

Believe this is called Conflict Rock, in Port Orford.  In 1851 a group of white settlers found a band of unfriendly Indians, and had to retreat to this rock for several days until reinforcements arrived...the rock is on the beach, partly in the ocean, with steep, difficult access, thus defendable.  Notice the golden eagle on the tree at far right.

Face Rock, in Bandon.  The face is on the right, looking upward.

Clouds, grass, and dunes, near Florence.

The windswept coast.  There are barchan dunes just inland from the sea.  Go over the Sahara Desert on Google Earth and you'll see identically shaped dunes.  Blow the pic up for better resolution.

Heceta Head lighthouse.

Surf spraying up through a blowhole at Yachats.  Yachats is a particularly beautiful town about halfway along the coast between Oregon and Washington.  It is situated on an especially scenic stretch of shoreline that I am trying to visit more.  When I lived in Portland, I usually didn't come this far south, and now that I live in California, I normally don't get this far north.  But either way Yachats is worth the extra drive.

Sunset from my motel in Yachats. 

There is a fine coastal trail that runs right by my Yachats motel, the Fireside.  It's a pleasant spot for a morning stroll when the sun tries to disperse the fog. 

Vivid light caused by sun and fog just north of Neskowin.

The coast stretches far to the north from Cape Lookout.

Yes, the Lizards are on the trip!  Here they are marveling at the Octopus Tree, near Cape Meares.

Oswald West State Park is a fine place, enjoyed by hikers, surfers, campers, and picnickers.  This is a sea cave at the far north end of Short Sand Beach.

It rained over an inch over the two days before I tried to hike to Cape Falcon.  The Russian Front trail was much in evidence.