The south coast

We had sub-freezing temperatures again last night.  This morning we bundled up and returned to the beach.   I took a bunch of pictures but the light and the tide were working against me.  Nevertheless, we lingered for some time.  Nancy is finding herself unexpectedly drawn to the beaches.

This is Elephant Rock.  From this angle it is pretty easy to see why.

We finally headed south again around 10:30.  Our first stop was the Devil's Churn where incoming waves are funneled into a  narrow cut in the coastal lava rock.  Some of the waves break on the sides of the opening but those that make it all the way to the end strike the rock with a thunderous roar and shoot skyward to impressive heights.  Sometimes.  Today, the light winds and ebbing tide were generating whimpy little waves that lack the umph to put on a show.

Devil's Churn

A little further down the road, we pull off at Cook's Chasm, which is just a bigger version of the Devil's Churn with a better view from the road.  Here, naturally, the waves were no better but I took some pictures anyway.

Cook's Chasm

Hecata Head Lighthouse proved impossible to pass up.  The pull off was very scenic so I got out by myself and took this uncropped picture with the 840 mm setting on my mighty little point-and-shoot.  Nancy's new camera might have 16 mega pixels but it can't do this.

Hecata Head Lighthouse

South of here, 101 turns away from the coast into surprisingly mountainous terrain.  It makes for an interesting drive, but lacks much in the way of photo ops, so we didn't stop again until we returned to the coast at Coos Bay.

Coos Bay Bridge

At the other end of the bridge, in the town of North Bend, I missed the turn, and once again the Garmin got me back on track by sending me through a hilly neighborhood full of steep, narrow, crooked streets.  When will I ever learn!

Eventually, we did make it to the campground at Sunset Bay State Park.  We picked it just because we liked the name.

Sunset Bay

Day 80
Seal Rock, OR to Charleston, OR

Daily Mileage:  99.2
Total Mileage:  12,602.1