Newport, Oregon

After traveling all day and taking in many sights we headed for the town of Newport, Oregon, which would be our home-base for the next two nights as we continued exploring the Oregon Coast.

Newport is home to two lighthouses — including the tallest in Oregon,(We'll save the Yaquina Head Lighthouse as a separate post)and beaches prime for spotting whales, bald eagles and agates in the sand. 
History of Yaquina Bay


Remains of the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse

 Perhaps Newport’s most iconic landmark is the gorgeous Yaquina Bay Bridge. More than just a way to cross the bay, the bridge is an ambassador for the city and a magnificent piece of art-deco architecture.
Yaquina Bay Bridge looking towards the Bay

View of Yaquina Bay Bridge from the bay
In Newport you can learn about marine life at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and OMSI’s Coastal Discovery Center. 
This greets you at the Oregon Undersea Garden
Newport's colorful bay front buildings and docks
The wooden sea lion docks at Port Dock One on Newport’s Bay Front have provided a haul-out for sea lions for over 18 years. These docks provide a unique opportunity for the public to observe these amusing and interesting (and stinky) animals close up. For many, this is the quintessential Newport experience and one we had to see for ourselves!
Sea lions at the sea lion docks in Newport

These two were.....how do you say......courting?

She posed for our camera!
We decided to stay at the Hallmark Resort in Newport.  This hotel is located along Newport's beach front and our room had an amazing view of the beach where we could see the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in the distance. Our room had been newly renovated and was fresh, clean, and spacious.  We were not disappointed by our accommodations! 
View of Hallmark Resort from the beach
After checking in to our hotel we headed to the Rogue Ales Bayfront Public House for a late night dinner and an exciting game of trivia offered by Mr. Bill's Traveling Trivia Show.  All of Rogue’s brews and spirits are produced in South Beach at the brewery and distillery at the foot of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. 
Rogue Ales Public House
With bellies full of delicious grub and spirits we headed back to the hotel to get a goodnight's sleep and prepare for our next destination....Depoe Bay!


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Ballard, Washington

Leaving Pike Place Market we headed to the neighborhood of Ballard . Ballard is located in the northwestern part of Seattle. To the north it is bounded by Crown Hill, (N.W. 85th Street); to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont (along 8th Avenue N.W.); to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. The neighborhood’s landmarks include the  Hiram M. Chittenden Locks  (known locally as the "Ballard Locks"), the Nordic Heritage Museum, the Shilshole Bay Marina, and Golden Gardens Park. Entrance to Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens and Hiram M. Chittenden Locks The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, or Ballard Locks, is a complex of locks at the west end of Salmon Bay, in Seattle, Washington's Lake Washington Ship Canal, between the neighborhoods of Ballard to the north and Magnolia to the south. We wanted to know and followed the fish but didn't realize it was across the locks until we were on our way
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Caddo Lake State Park, Texas

While visiting the historic town of Jefferson we could not pass up the opportunity to make a short visit to Caddo Lake State Park .  The park sits near the small town of Karnack, in east Texas.  The name of this park is a bit deceiving as the park doesn't sit on the shores of Caddo Lake (the only natural, fresh water lake in Texas) but on Big Cypress Bayou. Entrance sign Entrance signs to Caddo Lake State Park Big Cypress Bayou from boat ramp (west) Big Cypress Bayou looking east.  Follow the bayou east to reach Caddo Lake. Like most Texas state parks the structures within Caddo Lake SP were built by the  Civilian Conservation Corps . Company 889 began the work, in June to November of 1933. Company 857 continued construction from October 1934 to March 1937. One of the cabins that can be rented at the park CCC workers converted 15 U.S. Army barracks and an Army mess hall into the nine log cabins and group recreation hall that can be used today.  
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Twilight Eagle Santuary, Oregon

Sadly, we left Astoria and traveled east on the East Columbia Highway (Highway 30) back to Portland to catch the red eye back home.  When we passed the sign, we knew we had found what our trip had been missing so we turned the Blue Devil around and headed to the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary. The Twilight Eagle Sanctuary is located within Cathlamet Bay , 2.5 miles east of Astoria, Oregon , and just downstream from Settler Point.  This wetland Sanctuary was established in 1992, and along with Columbia Land Trust acquisitions in 2009, now totals over 100 acres of old growth forest, tidal wetlands, and shoreline, and stretches nearly a mile along the Columbia River. The Sanctuary is just off of U.S. Highway 30. A viewing platform overlooks acres of mudflats, tidal marshes, open water, and islands. It is an excellent location to observe birds and other wildlife living on the lower Columbia River estuary. The viewing area has several interpretive panels about the wetlands, bald eagles,