September 3, 2015 Heceta Beach and Florence, Oregon

A part of the Oregon coast is all about SAND, and includes the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.  The dunes are massive, and the town of Florence has dunes right up to its edges....  We went to town for supper and enjoyed time in downtown Florence on the Siuslaw River.  We also got to watch the sunset on Heceta Beach while the tide was out.

Viewed from on high, they don't look so big, but they are!

Sand encroaching on a road in Florence, Oregon.

Waterfront park in Florence.

Siuslaw River.

Mr. Heron who lives on the old ferry landing.

Other towns named Florence....
It's a LONG WAY back to Florence, Louisiana!

Sun is down, tide is out.

September 2, 2015 Heceta Head Lighthouse

The Heceta Head Lighthouse is one of our favorites, because its lens is unique.  It's a first-order Fresnel lens, made in England.  Pretty rare.  The thing is HUGE, 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide.  The whole area is breathtaking, and includes a wonderful view from on high.  There is also the historic Cape Creek Bridge built back in the early 1930's.  While we were there the tide came in, and we watched ocean waves come into the creek....  What a fantastic place! 

I hope you can read this....

Cape Creek Bridge.

The bridge and the little beach, as the tide is coming in.

Cute guy!

Bubba having a meeting.

September 2, 2015 Sea Lion Caves, Florence, Oregon

This is our second time here and it's still fascinating to see such a gigantic cave.  Sea Lion Caves is worth the cost and the time, hands down.  Click the link to read about it.   We didn't see any whales, or orcas, but we did see plenty of cormorants and seagulls, and a few pelicans.....

Full size statue of sea lions.

The sea cave.

Sorry, no sea lions in here today, they are all out fattening up for the winter....
But wait!  If you enlarge this picture, you will see one solitary sea lion, left center,
it's the tan blob splayed out on a rock with it's back to us.

From the whale viewing platform, you get a nice view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Oh, look!  There's a few out in the water!

Western (main) entrance to the cave viewed from way up high.

Ledges along the rocky coast where the sea lions meet, mate, and raise families.

September 1, 2015 Coastal drive down to Heceta Beach, Oregon

Today we drove down the Pacific coast from Ocean Park, Washington to Heceta Beach, Oregon.  Here are a few random images from along that drive.....

Bye bye, my sister!  Til next time!

BIG bridge over the Columbia River.

Good place for lunch......

Need any cheese?

We think this looks like a marshmallow farm.....

August 26, 2013 Crater Lake National Park, Day 2

     Day 2 at Crater Lake was bright and sunny, the opposite of Day 1.  Today we finally got to see the intense blue of the lake.  We drove the Rim Drive in the opposite direction as yesterday, going down the east side first and back up the west side.  The first thing we did was stop at Cleetwood Cove, where folks can hike down to the water and board the tour boat for a 2 hour ride.  We decided against the boat tour, but we did hike down to the water.  Oy!  The hike down was great...  but hiking up was not fun.  We didn't have enough water, and we had not eaten lunch, and that is one steep climb!  Took us over an hour to get back up top, hearts pounding and panting, but we did it!  How fast could we get to the truck and our water and lunch!  Whew!
     Then we drove around the lake and enjoyed seeing the same sights as yesterday, only in bright sun and brilliant colors.  We stopped at a few more places on the south side of the crater, and had a lovely lunch at the Mazama Campground headquarters.
     We ended the day with the ranger-guided sunset hike up Watchman Overlook.  We got there late so hiked up by ourselves, and loitered at the top (8013 ft.) watching the sun going down. Eventually the ranger led us all up to the outdoor walkway around the fire station and we enjoyed the final colors of the evening.  What a wonderful way to end our visit to Crater Lake!

p.s.  These posts come to you courtesy of my sister, who is allowing me to use her wifi.  Thanks, Roofie!

Here is the Official Park Sign picture...

These colors are not modified - that lake is an amazing shade of blue.

Snow poles in place around the roads & parking areas - notice the reflectors are way up at the top.
This place gets a LOT of snow....

This is an elevation marker.  (pant-pant)

Our first hike of the day; 700 ft. elevation change.  WHAT were we thinking?

Downhill was great....

Protecting my head from falling rocks!

Lakeside.

Another group prepares to board the tour boat.

On top of Watchman Overlook; parking lot is waaaay down there.

Fire Tower on top of Watchman Overlook.

Sunset over the Cascade Range.

Crater Lake at sunset.