The Oregon Coast

Newport

The town of Newport is one of the oldest resort towns on the Oregon Coast. Our first visit here was in midwinter, a time when many people shun the Coast due to inclement weather. But winters on the Oregon Coast are fairly mild, with temperatures staying around 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit or so, and if you can put up with a bit of misting now and then you get the advantage of avoiding the summer crowds.

Besides all the fabulous hiking opportunities, Newport also offers two historic lighthouses, a modern aquarium and plenty of quaint shops that are an antique hunter's dream. The bay front offers plenty of commercial tourist attractions such as the Wax Works, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the Undersea Gardens, the Hatfield Marine Science Center and whale-watching tours. A number of historic museums and state parks provide plenty of diversion, and Newport offers more ocean view hotel rooms than any other city between San Francisco and Seattle. All in all, a great place to get away for a long weekend of alternately relaxing and hiking.

The Pacific Ocean - Always I have loved the sea, and our visit to Newport gave me my first opportunity to see an ocean sunset as opposed to a sunrise.

Antique Alley - Steve and I found a neat old rocking chair at one of the many shops Newport has to offer. For some reason my husband likes posing next to goofy wood statues on our trips. I have several of him next to Bigfoot.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium - I admit to being a bit disappointed with our visit here for two reasons: first, I was expecting an aquarium along the lines of the spectacular one in Baltimore that I had visited in high school; second, the place was jammed with shrieking children (note to self: always make sure to visit such places on a school day!). Still, nothing the Baltimore aquarium had could compete with the Coast aquarium's outdoor exhibit, which featured wonderfully clownish sea otters, charming seals (yes, Tim, I remember the one that scared the hell out of me that time at the Albuquerque Zoo - jerk!), and raucous sea birds. The photo features my husband - a physical trait most of us Eagens share is a rather unusually large cranium (which I personally feel is meant to house our unusually powerful brains). Whatever the reason for it, I did not dare to put my head into this early diving helmet, for fear I'd still be wearing it!

Basalt Beach - More fun than the aquarium, in my opinion, were the exhibits nature had to offer. Starting at the Yaquina Head lighthouse, you follow a winding stair down to a cobbled beach - the round, smooth, jet-black basalt stones are a result of underwater volcanic eruptions, and a bit slippery to navigate; I was thankful I wore my hiking boots. Islands off the beach, such as the one shown here, are home to brilliantly-colored cormorants, murres, puffins and seals (you can just make out the seals - they're the little white streaks).

"When the ebbing tide retreats along the rocky shoreline..." - More interesting by far (and much less crowded with annoying, squealing rug rats) than the aquarium were the tide pools along the beach. Here Steve and I had a unique opportunity to examine the local sea wildlife in its own natural habitat. Numerous small pools are filled with clams, mussels, snails, purple anemones, and starfish (follow the line of my finger to the orange speck in the pool; it didn't show up so well, but this is part of the arm of a camera-shy starfish). Local park rangers patrol the beach to provide information for those who are interested and to warn hikers to watch their step, lest the delicate creatures sheltering in the pools be crushed under heedless feet.

"Yaquina Head Lighthouse" - Located on a dramatic cape was the very picture my mind's eye would conjure when the concept of "lighthouse" came up. Run by lovingly dedicated volunteers, Yaquina Head lighthouse is Oregon's tallest, as well as its oldest, functioning lighthouse. Visitors can climb the 93-foot tower to the lantern room on a spiral staircase, where a two-ton lens of curved glass prisms endlessly revolves. The only time in its 130-year history that the lighthouse was not in active use was during World War II.

Yaquina Head - At the far end of the parking turnaround behind the lighthouse is a trail that switchbacks about half a mile up through wildflowers to a bird's-eye viewpoint of the entire cape.

Cove - Coves like this one provide homes for nesting gulls.

Yaquina Head - another great view of the lighthouse.

	The Pacific Ocean - Always I have loved the sea, and our visit to Newport gave me my first opportunity to see an ocean sunset as opposed to a sunrise.
	Antique Alley - Steve and I found a neat old rocking chair at one of the many shops Newport has to offer. For some reason my husband likes posing next to goofy wood statues on our trips. I have several of him next to Bigfoot.
	The Oregon Coast Aquarium - I admit to being a bit disappointed with our visit here for two reasons: first, I was expecting an aquarium along the lines of the spectacular one in Baltimore that I had visited in high school; second, the place was jammed with shrieking children (note to self: always make sure to visit such places on a school day!). Still, nothing the Baltimore aquarium had could compete with the Coast aquarium's outdoor exhibit, which featured wonderfully clownish sea otters, charming seals (yes, Tim, I remember the one that scared the hell out of me that time at the Albuquerque Zoo - jerk!), and raucous sea birds. The photo features my husband - a physical trait most of us Eagens share is a rather unusually large cranium (which I personally feel is meant to house our unusually powerful brains). Whatever the reason for it, I did not dare to put my head into this early diving helmet, for fear I'd still be wearing it!
	Basalt Beach - More fun than the aquarium, in my opinion, were the exhibits nature had to offer. Starting at the Yaquina Head lighthouse, you follow a winding stair down to a cobbled beach - the round, smooth, jet-black basalt stones are a result of underwater volcanic eruptions, and a bit slippery to navigate; I was thankful I wore my hiking boots. Islands off the beach, such as the one shown here, are home to brilliantly-colored cormorants, murres, puffins and seals (you can just make out the seals - they're the little white streaks).
	"When the ebbing tide retreats along the rocky shoreline..." - More interesting by far (and much less crowded with annoying, squealing rug rats) than the aquarium were the tide pools along the beach. Here Steve and I had a unique opportunity to examine the local sea wildlife in its own natural habitat. Numerous small pools are filled with clams, mussels, snails, purple anemones, and starfish (follow the line of my finger to the orange speck in the pool; it didn't show up so well, but this is part of the arm of a camera-shy starfish). Local park rangers patrol the beach to provide information for those who are interested and to warn hikers to watch their step, lest the delicate creatures sheltering in the pools be crushed under heedless feet.
	"Yaquina Head Lighthouse" - Located on a dramatic cape was the very picture my mind's eye would conjure when the concept of "lighthouse" came up. Run by lovingly dedicated volunteers, Yaquina Head lighthouse is Oregon's tallest, as well as its oldest, functioning lighthouse. Visitors can climb the 93-foot tower to the lantern room on a spiral staircase, where a two-ton lens of curved glass prisms endlessly revolves. The only time in its 130-year history that the lighthouse was not in active use was during World War II.
	Yaquina Head - At the far end of the parking turnaround behind the lighthouse is a trail that switchbacks about half a mile up through wildflowers to a bird's-eye viewpoint of the entire cape.
	Cove - Coves like this one provide homes for nesting gulls.
	Yaquina Head - another great view of the lighthouse.

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