Beach Archives -

31 Days in Oregon: Three Capes Scenic Route

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 23:56:17 +0000

One of the best scenic drives in Oregon is the Three Capes Scenic Route. It starts near Cape Meares, ends near Cape Kiwanda, and includes Cape Lookout. It’s a beautiful drive along the Oregon Coast.

Along the Way

Cape Meares

Gorgeous view near the Cape Meares Lighthouse.

Oceanside

One of my favorite beaches is a hidden gem in Oceanside.

Netarts

Netarts is popular for fishing and crabbing, both with humans and harbor seals.

Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery

Cape Lookout

Cape Lookout State Park has a day use area and also a campground. I remember camping here as a kid, but haven’t been here in a long time.

Anderson Viewpoint

Anderson Viewpoint gives a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean, Three Arch Rocks and Netarts Bay. It is a popular spot for hang gliders.
It’s still pretty, but not quite as impressive on a rainy day.

Sand Lake Recreation Area

Sand Lake is a highly popular place to ride atv’s on sand dunes.

Whalen Island

Whalen Island used to just be a small county campground. But now includes Clay Meyers State Natural Area. We haven’t camped here in years. We would dive at Whalen Island usually for special events such as taking a Rescue Class. We also did our annual pumpkin carving dive at Whalen Island. It’s harder than one would think. Pumpkins like to float, so you quickly had to pull out the guts. Also, using a dive knife to carve with is not easy.

Cape Kiwanda

And last, but not least, along the route is Cape Kiwanda.

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31 Days in Oregon: Netarts and Oceanside

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 01:01:15 +0000

About 15 minutes outside Tillamook via Hwy 131 are the small coastal towns of Netarts & Oceanside. One is popular with fisherman, the other with beachcombers.

Netarts

Netarts is where you take your boat for a day of fishing or crabbing. We’ve also gone scuba diving in the Bay, seen bald eagles fly overhead and harbor seals on the spit.

Netarts Bay

Where do we eat in Netarts? The Schooner.

Driving around Netarts & Oceanside

Three Arch Rocks in the misty distance.

Netarts Bay and the spit

Driving into Oceanside

Oceanside

The city of Oceanside

Oceanside has a great beach that is usually not crowded.

My favorite part of Oceanside is hidden in a rocky cliff. A tunnel takes you through the rock to the other side.

Entering the tunnel is easy. It’s a short tunnel, so daylight is enough to be able to see the whole way. Coming out the other side and climbing down the rocks to the sand can be a bit tricky, though. It’s doable, just something to be aware of.

The view from the hidden beach is amazing. It’s one of my favorite places.

Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge located a half mile offshore.

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31 Days in Oregon: Cape Kiwanda

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 23:24:28 +0000

Cape Kiwanda is the southern most cape along the Three Capes Scenic Route. It is home to Haystack Rock. However, it is not the well known Haystack Rock that is in Cannon Beach.

When I think about Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, this is the view that automatically comes to mind.

Across the street are stores, a hotel and an rv park.

Cape Kiwanda

Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area
People love climbing the sand hill on the right. It’s an awesome view from the top

The tip of the cape.

It can get pretty beat up by the waves.

The Dory Fleet

This is a popular place for dory boats to brave the waves and launch right from the beach to head out for a day of fishing.

I have a whale of a tale about this rock.
In my previous adult life prior to children, I was a scuba diver. The plan one day was to dive at Haystack Rock. As divers, we used zodiacs, not dory’s to cross the surf. I’m not going to lie, it’s scary flying through those waves in a tiny, inflatable boat. We reached the rock and my hubby & I hopped in the water descending into murky, rough water. We couldn’t see much past our hands. We were hoping to see a sunfish, but we did not. I don’t remember seeing much of anything except krill. We cut our dive short due to the conditions, got back in the zodiac, & headed back to shore. Once on the beach, we looked back at the rock to see a whale spouting right where we had been diving. We had to have been near that whale, but since we couldn’t see more than a couple feet neither one of us saw it. I wonder if the whale saw us?

Vehicles can only drive a little way up the beach before getting to a sign prohibiting them from going further.

The Beach

There is a lot to see while walking in the sand.

Birds at Haystack Rock

Fun in the Waves

Oregon beaches are often not sunny & warm. We jump in the waves anyway.

Pelican Pub & Brewery

There are other options for food in Pacific City, but I’ve only eaten at the Pelican Pub & Brewery. Apparently, I am a creature of habit. The food is good & the view is nice. I’m not a beer drinker, so I can’t comment on the brewery.

One Last Glimpse of Haystack Rock

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31 Days in Oregon: Tillamook

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 20:45:52 +0000

The coastal town of Tillamook sits just inland from the Tillamook Bay. It’s not a large city, but it’s big enough to have everything you will need for a trip to the beach.

In and around Tillamook there are many outdoor activities available: boating, golfing, riding atv’s, & hang gliding just to name a few. It seems the middle of all the action is in Tillamook.

Driving around Tillamook County you see many dairy farms.

Tillamook Cheese Factory

My favorite place to go in Tillamook is the Cheese Factory. Cheese samples, ice cream & pepperoni sticks!

Tillamook Quilt Trail

A fairly new activity in Tillamook is following the Quilt Trail. This trail is the first of its kind on the West Coast & I love the idea. It is meant to make visitors aware of the heritage of dairy barns and other buildings in the area. It is a self guided tour.

We haven’t completed the entire trail, but we have seen many of the quilt blocks around town. There are also a number of geocaches & letterboxes based on the trail.

The trail begins at the Chamber of Commerce with a large Oregon Star pattern block. When we saw it, it was displayed on the ground.

Blue Heron French Cheese Company

Just down the road from the Tillamook Cheese Factory is the Blue Heron. We don’t go here near as often as the Cheese Factory, but it is a nice place to visit. They offer fancy cheeses & wine. They also have many animals to look at on their farm, which is a lot of fun for the kids. There just happens to be a quilt block on the store.

Oregon Coast Scenic Railway

We have taken the trip from Garibaldi to Rockaway on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railway. It’s a quick train ride with fabulous views of Tillamook Bay.

Tilamook Country Smoker Outlet

One of our other favorite stops is grabbing pepperoni & jerky from the Tillamook Country Smoker. Technically the outlet is not in Tillamook, but it’s just north in Bay City.

Garibaldi

About 15 minutes north of Tillamook is the little fishing town of Garibaldi. From here you can fish in the bay, head out to go deep sea fishing, go crabbing in the bay, launch your boat to go on a scuba adventure or stay on land raking clams.

This is only a short list of things to do around Tillamook. There is so much more. Hopefully, I’ll be sharing more with you in the future.

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31 Days in Oregon: Tillamook Cheese Factory

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 20:26:28 +0000

We can’t drive through Tillamook without stopping at the Cheese Factory. We’ve been there a thousand times & I’m sure we’ll go a thousand more times.

The factory makes cheese. Fabulous Tillamook Cheese! From a viewing area upstairs, cheese lovers can watch how it is made. I have peeked through those windows many, many times.

Cheese Samples

Let’s get right to it. We have visited the Cheese Factory a thousand times because of the cheese samples.

There are a few flavors out to try including extra sharp or pepper jack. My hubby likes to try them all. I, however, am there only for the cheese curds.

Cheese curds, aka squeaky cheese
We always have to buy a bag or two (or three). They’re wonderfully cheesy, salty, and squeaky!

Upstairs

Upstairs is where you view the cheese preparing & packaging process.

There is also historical information on cheese making in Tillamook.

Making Cheese

1. Milk + Starter Culture = the beginning of cheese
2. Stir
3. Separate Curds from Whey
4. Curds turn into Cheddar Cheese
5. Add salt

Curds are pressed into a 40ish pound block.
The blocks are vacuum sealed.
The sealed blocks head up to be aged 60 days to 3 years.

Packaging the Cheese

After aging, the blocks of cheese get cut and packaged.

If a block weighs too much a bit gets sliced off. Those extra pieces are in the 2 bins at the bottom right.

Packaged cheese

Heading out to be shipped

The kids watching the cheese packaging process.

Ice Cream

Another must when visiting the Cheese Factory is getting ice cream. I rarely eat ice cream, but I do get a small cone here because their ice cream is delicious.

Yay for Tillamook Cheese! Good ol’ Tillamook cheddar is my favorite. When we’re out of cheese, I say we’re out of food because most things I eat include cheese. My love for cheese I’m sure is a big part of why I {heart} the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

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31 Days in Oregon: Barview Jetty

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 19:12:55 +0000

About 45 minutes south of Cannon Beach & 20 minutes north of Tillamook is Barview Jetty.

You don’t come here for carousels or fancy boutiques. You come to enjoy the beauty of the beach, go fishing & play in the sand.

The Jetty

Top: The North Jetty
The jetty is a large man made rock structure built to protect Tillamook Bay. The waves can really get crazy here, especially at the end of the jetty. So, be careful.
Middle Right: The dark blob near the bottom of the photo is a sea lion seen from the jetty. We don’t see them every time we’ve gone to the jetty, but we have seen them often.
Middle Left: The Tillamook Bar is known for it’s rough crossing.
Bottom: On calmer days, starfish, mussels & barnacles can be seen in the rocks.

Tillamook Bay

From the jetty, looking toward Tillamook Bay.

The Beach

Barviw Jetty Campground

The campground is nice with both RV & tent sites. There are even a few sites right at the beach, in the jetty parking lot. However, this area does get quite windy.

Top: The kids love playing on the big sand hill in the campground. This is the view from the top. The south jetty is visible in the background.

Bottom Left: The kids (& my hubby… and my mom) like to ride bikes around the campground.
Middle Right: Fire pits for roasting marshmallows, of course.
Bottom Right: We’ve cooked many bushels of oysters on those fire pits, as well. To go with the oysters, we cook steamer clams in the trailer. Mmmm…. Mmmm…. Mmmm. We typically get our seafood from Pacific Oyster Company in Bay City.

Tide Pools

Located right off 101, not too far south of the Barview Jetty Store is a tide pool area to explore at low tide. There is no parking lot, you just have to pull off to the side of the road. We love it here.

Rockaway Beach

If you’re in need of a little souvenir shopping or local dining, less than 5 miles north is the town of Rockaway.

We’ve seen the Kite Festival in Rockaway. It’s pretty spectacular.

When I was a kid we used to watch fireworks at this beach on the 4th of July.

As a kid, Flamingo Jim’s was my favorite store. It has all kinds of shells & tshirts & taffy. I’ll admit, though, now that I’m the parent I rarely shop here. Neither my kids nor I need that stuff. But, it’s still a great store and I have fond memories of it.

There is nothing wowing about Barview Jetty, but just the simple beach and camping atmosphere make it one of my favorite places.

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31 Days in Oregon: Cannon Beach

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 18:53:51 +0000

Cannon Beach is about a 15 minute drive from what I would guess is Oregon’s most visited coastal city, Seaside. Cannon Beach is popular, too. But is more trendy & upscale than Seaside.

When people think about Cannon Beach, they right away envision Haystack Rock. It is 235 feet tall and is seen in many photos representing the Oregon Coast.

To make things confusing, there is another Haystack Rock further down the beach about 65 miles in Pacific City. Although, this one in Cannon Beach is the Haystack Rock that most people think of.

Haystack Rock is made from basalt, being formed from lava flows.
At low tide, you can search the tide pools at Haystack Rock.

The tall rocks are known as the Needles.

This section of beach was used in the opening scene of the movie Goonies during the truck race.

Looking north towards Ecola State Park
This section of beach is a great place to play, in part due to Ecola Creek flowing into the ocean.

Sometimes while walking along the beach we find beautiful shells. Other times we find blobby jellyfish washed ashore.

The main area of town is known for its small town feel with boutiques, souvenir shops and restaurants. I’m not a shopper, so I couldn’t tell you the must see shops.

I can tell you, though, that I love the restaurant Mo’s.

Mo’s is famous for their clam chowder. However, it’s not my favorite. I do love their steamer clams, though. The garlic parmesan bread is also fabulous.

Mo’s is located right along the beach, making it that much more delightful.

View of Haystack Rock from Oswald West State Park

Another view, looking south, while on a hike at Oswald West State Park.

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31 Days in Oregon: Seaside

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 18:14:00 +0000

Seaside is a very touristy coastal town about an hour and a half from Portland. It’s not a place we go to often, but living in Oregon my entire life I’ve been there a number of times.

The Beach

The Promenade

The promenade is a concrete boardwalk built in 1920.

Along the promenade, is a small aquarium that has been around since 1937.

The Turnaround

Broadway, the main street through town, and the Promenade meet at the turnaround. From here there are stairs down to the beach.

The turnaround also marks the end of the Lewis & Clark trail.

Portland to Coast

Every year the Portland to Coast walking relay finishes in Seaside.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in it. So, I did. I’m smiling in the photo, but this relay was rough. I didn’t train at all. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Fun Stuff Along Broadway

At the center of the Seaside Carousel Mall is a carousel. Inside the mall are many gift shops, a couple restaurants, and an Old Time Photo studio.

Bumper cars, Tilt-a-whirl & Mini Golf are next to each other along Broadway. They’re the same ones that were there when I was a kid. As a kid I don’t remember the bumper cars being so jerky and uncomfortable. However, I rode them a few years ago, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

The Arcade is another fun place to play.

We typically choose to visit other beaches, but Seaside is worth checking out if you’re traveling along Highway 101.

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Birds of 2013: Weeks 48 – 49

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 09:53:43 +0000

Over Thanksgiving we went camping near Newport. One day we took the kids to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. While there, I snuck a peek at Yaquina Bay to look for birds. I know there was much more to see than what I saw, but I still managed to add 2 new birds to my list.

Lots of birds. Mostly American Coot, American Wigeon & Northern Pintail.

Northern Pintail, male

Northern Pintail, female

*new bird!* Golden-crowned Kinglet

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Song Sparrow

*new bird!* American Pipit

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 95 of 100

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Birds of 2013: Week 24

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 06:12:14 +0000

The birds for this week are from a beach trip. We saw a ton of birds including many bald eagles, an osprey, cormorants & peregrine falcon babies.

Double-crested Cormorant

We were able to look through a telescope at a Peregrine Falcon nest with babies

My camera couldn’t zoom in far enough. But, the tiny white thing in the top middle of the grassy area is a baby Peregrine Falcon

House Sparrow

Pigeon Guillemot

Pelagic Cormorants nesting on the rocks.

The white dots on top of the rock are all birds.

Common Murre

Tricky Bird of the Week:
I’m terrible at telling the different gulls apart. I don’t know what exact species these are.

I was able to record 5 new birds this week. Yay! It’s getting trickier & trickier finding new birds as the year goes on.

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 75 of 100

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