April 16  More Oregon Coast, then Inland

40 degrees at 7 AM this morning.  We had a leisurely breakfast in camp and then headed north again along the coast.  The Devil’s Churn was our first stop.  Once upon a time there was a crack in a rock and time and weather has made it a deep gouge where the ocean pours in. Incredible power with lots of spray and thunder. (Only got wet once.)

We took a little detour along Yachats Ocean Road.  Gorgeous views and lovely houses taking advantage of it.  Saw a few seals in the surf and pretty flowers.   Beth walked while Greg did PT.

Next stop was seal rock, two huge rocks that are home to (no, not seals) many birds.

Time for some housekeeping, so we stopped at the Post Office in Newport and mailed some cards and asked where we could find propane, laundramat and a library.  A helpful mother/daughter who worked there gave us great directions for all three.  First stop the laundramat  where we stripped beds and I helped get things started.  I left Greg then and went to the library which had AMAZING wifi.  I finished two days of the blog before going back to pick up Greg and remake the bed and all.   We found propane and got back on the coastal road.  Stopped to see The Devil’s Punchbowl, a large bowl shaped hollow with a hole that lets in the ocean surf.

 DePoe Bay  has a nice group of shops and restaurants and such and lots of folks enjoying the beautiful day. 

The whalewatching center was closed.  There were spouting horns, lava tubes that the ocean entered from below and then spouted like a mini geyser. 

North of Lincoln City we passed the 45^th Parallel sign – midway between the equator and the north pole. 

Having heard recommendations and seen photos of Silver Falls State Park, we decided to head inland for a bit on 18 and 22.   Nice countryside with cattle, buffalo, llamas, etc.  Some signs of lumber clearcutting which is pretty ugly till the tiny new trees have time to grow.  Lumber is obviously a HUGE industry here.  As are Christmas trees.

 Planned to stop at a BLM site but they did not allow camping on the surrounding land, and the next BLM property had no access roads (but thousands of geese!)

  
So we headed into Salem, then north to Woodburn and Walmart. Greg exercised, we had dinner and slept.  Lots of 18-wheeler traffic both in the lot and on the adjacent highway.  Everywhere we go there are many Hispanics and the signs in Walmart were bi-lingual.