Day 8: The Southern Oregon Coast! (again, sort of)

So I think I mentioned yesterday that we asked Andy to set his alarm for 7am. Did I mention that the alarm was the sound of a duck quacking? Well, at 5am Steve is telling me that Andy’s alarm is going off. I am trying to explain to Steve that I think it’s a duck nearby, but he is having none of it. Finally, I find Andy’s phone and sure enough, there was no duck. It’s funny what you think when you’re awakened from a deep sleep!

Once the alarm was shut off, I looked up and noticed it was dark. It was at that moment that both Steve and I realized Andy had set the alarm for 7am HOME TIME, not PACIFIC TIME! Ugh. So, the duck squelched, we went back to sleep with no alarm set. So glad we’re having a dry run before tomorrow!

We finally woke up around 7:30 and the timer was running! Steve and I jumped into action while Andy and Emily crawled into action at best. Peter disappeared to the campsite next door where I found him playing trains and having breakfast with his new friend. So glad someone is watching Pete!

Breaking camp was tricky as moisture was everywhere. It was like it had rained, but it wasn’t falling, it was just in the air. Once again we were in the clouds and it was very foggy. We did get the sleeping bags and tent put away, but everything was wet. We knew we’d have to just wait to dry out until tonight. Our total breaking camp time (including Andy having a shower and all of us but Pete having breakfast) was 1 hr 30 minutes. That makes for an early morning tomorrow, but we can do it! (if the duck doesn’t go off too early)

We headed south to get ice when I had an inspiration. Since Emily had missed her chance at tidepools at Seal Rock, I asked Steve to backtrack to Seal Rock (about 10 miles north of us) so that she could have her tidepool time. While it went against everything Steve believes in, he did it for his daughter. And I’m so glad we did! The tide was out, and we saw all sorts of sanemone (as Pete calls them) as well as fish, mussels and huge barnacles. We got our feet wet, but didn’t care as it was an awesome opportunity to experience nature on her terms in her environment.

Seal Rock and Tidepools!

After Seal Rock, we headed back towards Yachats. We went to a drive thru espresso shop, which is the size of those old Film processing places from my youth. They are everywhere out here, and the coffee they sell is really really good! Both Steve and I got a chocolate coffee bean on top of our cups. I had a white chocolate/dark chocolate espresso and Steve got a hazelnut latte.

It was 11am, and we found ourselves passing our campsite from the night before. So much for making good time today! We headed south on 101 until we got to our next destination which was the Heceta Lighthouse. I considered just stopping and taking a few photos, but Emily convinced us all to take the walk up to it, and once we got there, to take a tour. I was glad we did! The tour guide told us that the glass was made from the purest glass in all the world at the time (in England) while most light houses are made from French glass. This glass is so clear, that the beacon can be seen 21 miles out to sea on a clear night. He said the only reason it can’t be seen farther is because of the curvature of the earth! It was a fascinating tour. The old caretaker’s house has been turned into a bed and breakfast, and the Coast Guard manages the light from elsewhere, but it is still a working lighthouse. I wish we could have seen it at night!

The most surprising thing during this visit was that the clouds pushed off the coast! WE SAW THE SUN!! It was so exciting. We finally got some beautiful views of the coast that we weren’t able to see before now. The guy who had filled up the car with gas earlier in the day explained that when it gets hot inland (central Oregon is having record breaking heat…over 100 degrees!), the cool Pacific meets up with the heat and forms clouds. We could actually see them cascading down the mountains. It was really nice to finally have sun.




It was a short drive (like 5 minutes) to our next stop which was the Sea Lion Caves. For way too much money, we took an elevator down 200 ft. to an area where we could watch (and smell) sea lions hanging out on rocks, barking, sleeping, swimming, and doing whatever else sea lions do on a summers day. It was really fun to watch them for awhile. We headed back up the elevator and over to another lookout area where we saw them sunning themselves on rocks. They really are funny creatures!

Good thing this wasn't photographed in "smell-o-vision". STINKY!!

After buying popcorn and drinks in the gift shop, it was back on the road for the short drive to Darlingtonia Wayside Gardens to see the insect eating pitcher plants. What cool plants! And there were so many of them. We tried to explain to Peter that the plants ate insects, but I’m not sure he understood. After that quick stop, we headed into Florence where we saw great sand dunes. Apparently there is not basalt from old volcanos to keep the sand at bay, so the ocean breezes have created great sand dunes. Our neighbor from the previous night’s campsite had recommended taking a buggy ride as it was the most amazing thing she’s ever done. Since we were tight on time, we made a mental note that we’ll have to do that another time when we come back (and we DO want to come back some time!!)

We headed inland towards Eugene, and then turned south towards Crater Lake National Park. It took us about 3 ½ hours, but we finally made it to the campground and set up our wet tent from the night before. We knew we were running out of time, so we got it set up, laid out our sleeping bags on the picnic table and the mattress pads on the bear boxes, and then headed back to Union Creek for dinner to a place I had read about on the web called Beckies. It’s known for it’s pie. This was probably a mistake.

It took awhile for us to get seated, and then it took FOREVER to get our dinner! We tried to be efficient. While we were waiting for a table, Steve went across the street and bought ice for the cooler, and I made sandwiches for tomorrow as I know it’s going to be an early morning. Nonetheless, we found ourselves leaving Beckie’s at 9:30pm, knowing we still have a 20 minute drive back to the campsite and we still had to set up the tent inside. Oh well, what can you do?

Everyone pitched in and we were in our sleeping bags by 10pm (ish). We set Andy’s alarm for 8 CHICAGO time, which means we’re getting up at 6 Crater Lake time. I sure hope we hear that alarm…