Coast Run 09

Monday after winter solstice dawned cold and foggy; understanding weather patterns in Oregon, we decided to see if any whales were close in and to warm up with the best fish and chips on the coast.

After the first hill in the coast range, the fog disappeared, the sun dried the pavement, and we had the road pretty much to ourselves.  An hour later we headed down the hill into Newport under a bright sun and balmy sky.

We headed north and turned into Yaquina Head, a high point of land jutting into the Pacific that we had not visited since a parking fee was instituted 20 some years ago.

Surprise, my Golden Age Passport got us in free.  We skipped the Informational Center and drove straight to the lighthouse.  Second surprise, unlike years ago the light house was open.  We climbed 114 cast iron steps to the light.

 The lookout at 93 feet is the tallest on the Oregon coast, the light can be seen 19 miles out to sea.

Once an oil light, it is now electric, some 130,000 candlepower, with a unique pattern: 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on, 14 seconds off.  The view through the windows at the top is sweet.

We wandered the headland, watched gulls, looked for spouts but were told by a docent that the whales were 20 miles out, probably enjoying the fine weather too.

We stopped at the visitor's center and looked at a model of the lighthouse.

Then on to South Beach Deli, scallops and chips.  Yum.

December Morning

The weather has been clear and cold in the Willamette valley, 20s at night with frosty mornings.  Unusual for Oregon, a pleasant change from the rain but it makes feeding and watering animals more time consuming.  This morning, an eagle circled some hundred yards overhead, higher than the eagle some years ago that soared thirty feet over the barn peak, then turned east toward the river.  Today's eagle stayed in a holding pattern over the pasture next to the barn long enough for me to get the Leica.