Ok, I spoke too soon my friends, this morning “An Italian Across America” woke up surrounded by “cumulonimbus” on what I thought was going to be a very cloudy day.
We left the hotel around 10AM, with our first stop being only less than a mile away, the Tillamook Cheese Factory and County Creamery Association.
There’s a self guided tours visitors can enjoy, who takes you upstairs where through a glass window on a corridor, you can “supervise” the employees downstairs on the main operation area, dividing, and packing the different kinds of cheese.
All around are big posters describing the various steps in the production line, and a courteous lady voice who also explain with spoken words what the posters on the wall are all about.
On the way back downstairs, visitors can enjoy a gift shop (how come I’m not surprised?!?!) and a cheese shop with included an area where you can stand in line to try all of their different cheeses. We didn’t do that, but we did buy some cheese, and tried their “gelato” as I had previously heard raving reviews about their local, artisanal production. People were right, their ice cream is really good, and will make you long for more (unless you get the three giant scoops like I did who basically lasted until dinner this evening).
Our visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory lasted for about 90 minutes, after which we were ready to hit the road, starting from Tillamook downtown area on 3rd St. following the signs for Cape Meares and Cape Lookout State Parks on the “Three Capes Scenic By-Way”.
This scenic route is 39 miles long, and it takes roughly another 90 minutes to drive and possibly stop at some of the “off the road” attractions that the Oregon Coast has to offer.
Our first stop was Cape Meares with its magnificent stacks coming out of the water, and its curious, to say the least, Octopus Tree, an old Sitka Spruce that thanks to its singular location, has developed in a very different (I would say unique) way, from the other trees of the same species surrounding it.
Here’s a picture that best describes what I’m really talking about:
After some pictures of the two explorers with the stacks of Cape Mears in the background, we hopped back on our horses to Oceanside, OR, another cozy, little town on the Northern Oregon Coast that deserved to be visited and explored.
Oceanside Beach has everything someone could ask for, except the sun, well, that was this morning, I’m sure tomorrow is going to be better (or at least that is what the weatherman said!).
We left Oceanside, and apparently the clouds, to head south to Cape Lookout, where we found our first rays of sunshine, and what is even more spectacular, the first sand dunes of the day, which at that point sounded like a prelude to what we were going to be up to in the last part of our trip, that took us through the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
The last, but not least stop on the 39 miles “Three Capes Scenic Route” was Pacific City, OR with its splendid and colorful red and yellow sandstone cliffs of “Cape Kiwanda”.
We then continued driving through other minor coastal towns, and some very picturesque spots like this one for example:
After about 70 miles we started at Yachats, OR, the last part of our daily adventure, another 70 miles, 2 hours drive on the Central Oregon Coast, with Coos Bay as our final destination.
A few miles after you enter the city of Yachats, you will enter the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, and right after that you will find on your right (west side) a large lookout point that you can use as a stop to take some pictures at Devils Churn, a hole in the rocks that when hit by water resembles to a whale squirting the water to its blow hole.
Unfortunately, we haven’t been lucky at our passage, because, as you could probably imagine, one of the necessary conditions for this phenomena to happen, is the presence of water, and I’m sorry to say we hit Devils Churn at low tide!
Oh well, next time, right? I should toss a quarter (oh well, maybe with gas prices nowadays, a dime, or even a penny might be better).
One thing that I shouldn’t forget to mention is the temperature that today, throughout the scenic drive has always maintained itself around 58 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, ruling out from the start, the chance for us to put the top down to admire the beautiful Oregon Coast around us.
The next stop has been another famous one, the “Heceta Head Lighthouse” and its scenic view points.
There’s an administration fee to visit the lighthouse, and we figured the temperature was too low for two Floridians to venture out there in the “blistering cold”, so we just admire the beauty of the scenery itself, and then being a good Italian, found a nice spot on the road to take some extra good pictures of the lighthouse from a different perspective.
Here is one of the pictures I took:
Next on the road, about 1 mile away from the Lighthouse, visitors who are willing to pay $10, can enjoy the world’s largest sea caves, natural habitat of a large colony of Sea Lions. I don’t know about you, but I really thought I could pass on this one (and in fact I did), but if it is your cup of tea, then you should definitely stop; beware of the cold, and the strong winds while going down the stairs on the cliffs, that is no joke.
The next stop is instead another one for whom I was really waiting for, the “Darlingtonia Wayside” and Botanical Garden.
Are you asking yourself why I was so anxious to see this place? It’s simple, because it is the natural habitat of something I have never seen before in my entire life. A carnivorous plant, called “Cobra Lily” because of its natural resemblance with the world famous snake.
The trail is basically a loop that takes you back, through an elevated wooden path, to the parking lot. In between, right at your feet, off the wooden path, an oasis of Cobra Lilies, with two different big wooden boards explaining to ignorant people like me, how carnivorous plants lure insects into their openings for then digest and absorb them through their enzymes as food.
Here is a pictures of the Cobra Lilies I thought you might enjoy:
The last stop of the day before getting to Coos Bay has been as I said already before, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. The park is really interesting, and runs for miles and miles off the Pacific Coast Highway, but most of the dunes are covered by thick vegetation, that often confuses the visitors, making the dunes appear as they’re regular hills.
To really enjoy the area, one should probably be able to take some time and stop at one of the many Off-Roads vehicles rent places that are on the side of the road or in several other different locations.
I really wished we had the time to do that, but again, one other big issue today was certainly the not so clement chilly wind blowing from the Pacific Ocean.
Tomorrow we have another 200 miles drive to Eureka, CA.
Yes, tomorrow is going to be the day I’ll finally set foot in California for the first time, and once again, I’m going to feel like a kid in a candy store for many different reasons.
Ahead of us there are still many things to do, many places to see, and many people to meet on our way back to South Florida, it’s going to be awesome.
With these thoughts now I leave you, it’s 11.30PM here in the West Coast, 2.30AM at home in Florida, and 8.30AM in Sardinia, where my roots are, and where I still have some of the most important persons in my life.
To all of you, I wish you a goodnight,
Nico
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