We decided to start today's sightseeing by driving to Ecola State Park, a beautiful day-use park perched on cliffs just north of Cannon Beach. It was another cloudy start to the day but at least it wasn't foggy.It was quite the narrow, windy road to the park...
We had the 5-day park pass that we had purchased yesterday at the Lewis and Clark Historical Site so we did not need to stop at the pay machine to buy a parking pass. The views from up there were incredible. I can only imagine what it would be like on a clear sunny day!
Haystack Rock in the distance...we'll get a closer look at that later...
Cannon Beach in the distance...
That's Tillamook Rock out there in the distance. Tillamook Lighthouse served as a beacon to ships for 76 years before being decommissioned in 1957. With people gone, seabirds soon reclaimed the rock and Tillamook Lighthouse. Today Tillamook Rock accommodates both wildlife and humans. The old lighthouse is a privately-owned columbarium, harboring the cremated remains of people's loved ones. Outside the lighthouse steps and rocky terrain is a wildlife refuge, where seabirds return each spring to nest.
A Coast Guard helicopter flying over the lighthouse...
And one final picture from up top, near the parking lot, before we leave.
We made our way back down the windy road and then went into the city of Cannon Beach. After taking a cursory drive through the downtown area, we parked at the RV parking lot and headed off to take a look at this very popular tourist spot.
We walked down the main street...lots of shops, galleries and restaurants.
We walked down this side street, also full of shops and vacation rentals...down to the beach...
We "found" Bill's Tavern and Brewhouse along the way...and, of course, had to go in and test their wares!
Once finished our beer, we wandered a bit more and then headed back to the truck to continue our drive through Cannon Beach. The road took us to the beach we had been looking for...Tolovana Beach State Park...
A nice fellow walking by offered to take our picture...
People must have to continually wash their vehicles and windows with all that sea mist floating ashore...
It was a fairly busy beach for a Friday afternoon in October. After our walk on the beach down to the rock and back, we were in our truck heading north.Seaside was our next stop. We ended up driving down the main street...where we probably shouldn't have been given how narrow and busy it was.
We ended up finding the Fresh Cab (rodent repellent) at the Ace Hardware on the left...
The turnaround at the end of the road was rather dicey given our size and the three kabuki type pedal cabs that were parked on the road...
We drove around trying to find RV parking but didn't have any luck so ended up parking on a side street not far from the downtown area. We walked down the main street (Broadway)...
The beach at Seaside, like Cannon Beach, is absolutely beautiful but personally I liked Cannon Beach far more. Seaside is much more commercialized with arcade-type businesses lining the street...perhaps to keep kids busy when they tire of the beach??
Back at the park, we thought we would go down to the beach to see the wreck of the Peter Iredale again...the weather was much better this afternoon.
After another walk on the beach (much shorter this time), we were on our way back to our site. Steve stopped and took a picture of the Yurts in the campground. They also have cabins for rent.
It was late afternoon by the time we got home...another full day! What a beautiful area...and this is just the northern tip of the Oregon coast!
you are managing to see all the highlights along the northern tip of the coast!..we had our picture taken in that very same spot at Ecola State Park two summers ago and the weather was the same :)..nice to see the two of you are meandering slowly and stopping to indulge in beverage along the way!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you are having a great time in the Astoria area. Boy do we miss it (sniff, sniff!). I have a great picture of one of our granddaughters climbing on the Peter Iredale. Wonderful memories. We'd love to go back but it won't be the same since they transferred to Missouri. :c(
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