Depoe Bay, Oregon

After leaving Yaquina Head Light House we headed back north to the small town of Depoe Bay to explore and, hopefully, catch a glimpse of a gray whale from the OPRD Whale Watching Center.
Picturesque town of Depoe Bay

Bridge over Depoe Bay Harbor
We are not the only ones mesmerized by the crashing of waves on the rocks!

 As we were driving up Highway 101 a large golden eagle flew over our car and landed in a nearby tree.  We pulled off the road, parked, and walked a few feet along a trail to catch a better glance at this magnificent creature!






Once the eagle flew away we headed into Depoe Bay, parked, and spent a few minutes visiting with the nice volunteers at the OPRD Whale Watching Center.  
Ocean view from Whale Watching Center

Whale Watching Center with view of Horn Public House across the street

 Whale watching is a year-round activity on the Oregon Coast with gray whales by far the most commonly seen. Gray whales migrate South from their feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas around Alaska from mid-December through January. They are heading to their breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico, where warm-water lagoons become nurseries for expectant mothers. Then from late March to June the whales migrate North back to Alaska. On each trip, approximately 18,000 gray whales pass close to the Oregon Coast. We followed the volunteers instructions to scan the horizon for spray from the whales blowing but didn't see a thing.  We also watched a whale watching charter boat bounce around in the turbulent sea only to give up and then attempt to reenter what Depoe Bay claims is the smallest natural harbor.
Whale watching boat re-entering the harbor through two jetties, it seemed touch and go for a moment!

Pacific Coast Highway Bridge at Depoe Bay.  The bridge is the entrance to the harbor.
Whale watching boat entering harbor


Smallest natural harbor at Depoe Bay.  Notice how calm the waters are in the harbor vs. the ocean.

Fifteen miles from the world’s shortest river, along the Oregon Coast, lies the world’s smallest natural navigable harbor.  And it used to be even smaller. Until it was expanded 45 years ago, its rocky, twisting entrance was just 30 feet wide, and at low tides the fishing boats at the docks tipped over and lay on their sides in just a few inches of water and mud.

All this whale watching made us hungry so we headed across the street from the Whale Watching Center to the Horn Public House and Brewery for a delicious lunch of fish and chips and a cold pint.  This public house seems to be about three stories high and offers beautiful views of the harbor. 

With bellies full we headed to our next adventure of....Cape Foul Weather.



POPULAR DESTINATIONS >>

Image

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
Image

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.  
Image

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,