Sights along 101

Sometimes I'm asked how I find all the interesting (at least to me) things to do in an area. Well we stop at state visitor centers, use the AAA book, and take the advice of people who live in or have been to the area. But on the drive down US101 known as the Coastal Highway, it's even easier. Oregon has put together a mile by mile listing of what to see and do along this road. Genius! The following are some of the things we saw between Tillamook (mm 65) and Florence (mm 190) along this very scenic road.

Oregon was very generous when they built viewpoints along the coastal road. It appears they even pay this gull to pose for visitors at one of them.


We saw the world's shortest river, the 'D' river. A whole 120 feet long, it connects Devils Lake to the Bay in Lincoln City.
(Hey, I don't just make these things up - it's in the Guinness Book of Records.)

And Depoe Bay claims to have the world's smallest navigable harbor. It is pretty small, but what amazed me was the entrance to the harbor. How would you like to navigate a boat through this?


This is the view through the gift shop window at Cape Foulweather. The gift shop is the only way to see it.


We didn't stay long at Yaquina Head lighthouse because the flies were sooo annoying. We understand there had just been a hatch.


I quickly snapped another picture from a little farther away. You can see why they needed a lighthouse there.


The same structual engineer, Conde McCullough, designed most (maybe all?) of the bridges on the Oregon coastal road. This is the one in Newport over Yaquina Bay.


Newport was one of our stops and we stayed at the Port of Newport Marina and RV Park. It was expensive at $17.68 a night to boondock in their parking lot, but this was the view out the front window of our rig.


One day we stopped for lunch at a wayside where we read that a short walk would take us to a beach where beachcombers find agates. So Ron and I trotted right on down to see if we could find any. When we arrived at the beach we realized that we don't know what agates look like. Oh well, we just picked up a couple of pretty rocks and were happy.
Since then I googled agates and even saw some in a gift shop although I'm still not sure what they look like unpolished.

We stopped at the Heceta Head lighthouse viewpoint because the book said it was where all the calendar pictures are taken from. See the lighthouse?


Let me crop that for you. As you can see, we have had some fog/clouds along our way.


And at Darlingtonia State Natural Site, you can see these terrific giant carnivorous plants. I wanted Ron to put his hand next to one for size, but he was afraid he could lose a finger.