Yachats to Astoria, Oregon

Well, we made it to the Columbia River, the border of Oregon and Washington States.  Tonight we are on the Oregon side of the river under the Route 101 bridge in a Holiday Inn Express - fairly new, nice place to stay.  The sun was shining when we got up this morning - 100% change from the night before.  We had pulled in to the Adobe Resort, right on the beach, in the rain, with 45 knot winds!  The room had windows facing out on to the Pacific and it was an awesome show.

Here is a shot of Kathleen and I out in front of the hotel, basically with the view we had from our room:

The ride up to Astoria was full of beautiful scenery and a few lighthouses.  Here are some pic's for your enjoyment:

Above is a composite photo made of three individual shots, merged together to form this panorama.  Photoshop does a great job of this.

The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was put on line in 1871, but only served for three years.  It is the second oldest standing lighthouse structure on the Oregon coast.   It has been beautifully restored and we took the self guided tour through it today.  The volunteers are friendly and helpful and glad to explain life in a lighthouse and answer any questions.  The keeper and his wife had seven children living with them in this lighthouse when it closed.

As I have said too many times before, the scenery is beautiful and seemingly never ending as you drive up the coast.  Check out the waterfall in the shot above.

The lamp in the Cape Meares Lighthouse was first lit on or about January 1, 1890.   It's beam was visible on shop decks 15 feet above the sea and more than 21 miles away because it was projected by a first order Fresnel lens.

Below are some fun shots from yesterday - seals.  Used my 400mm lens to get these from shore:

My sincere thanks to my trusted assistant, Kathleen.  Without her, none of this would be possible.

Captain Ken