Day 12

Started off this morning in a hunt for seals and whales, we found the seals pretty easily at Cobble Beach, the whales proved to be more elusive. After several stops along the way, we finally gave up and moved on down US101. We stopped for a snack of fresh crab and smoked salmon. YUM!! We visited the "Devils Punchbowl", which is a hollow rock formation shaped like a punch bowl that gets filled by the ocean at high tide. Since we caught it early we were able to walk into it. Later in the afternoon we came upon the Oregon Dunes where there was a Off Highway Vehicle (known as 4-wheelers in NC) recreation area . We really wanted to participate, we had helmets, but no 4-wheelers, so we snapped some pics and continued on. The dunes were as high as 100 feet in some places and went on for miles and miles. Later we stopped in Port Orford for a cold beer and iced tea at Pitch's Tavern. After a short break we saw a sign for the city port and came upon a crab shack and had a sampling of local shellfish and fish. While we were there, chatting with some locals, they pointed out some whales in the harbor. We sat for a while watching in awe. You'll have to look closely at the pics to see the whales blowing and rolling in the harbor. The wind was blowing at least 30 mph so we put on everything we had and continued on. Mark made fun of me packing winter gear when it was 100 degrees, but we have used it all!! We are currently in Gold Beach, about 30 miles north on the California line. Tomorrow we continue south to the Redwoods and whatever else we happen to stumble upon.

Hope everyone is enjoying tagging along.

Don't forget that you can click on the pictures to enlarge!