Highway 101 - Gold Beach to Yachats

I have no idea how to pronounce Yachats. I think it is Ya-ats. The entire middle of the word is silent.

Yep, this is leaving Gold Beach. The weather was cold, windy and rainy and ever changing.

One of our first stops was at Horsfall beach, the Oregon Dunes.

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It is a pretty place. The ATVs have a grand time out here. The few brave ones out there zooming when we drove around, but for the most part it was too cold, windy and rainy.

mmmm, ice cream. We stopped at a Myrtle Wood Factory, got some nice spoons, and the ice cream for Lon.

Umpqua River Light. Yes, I made us stop at every single lighthouse we could going up the coast. I like Lighthouses.

The view from the light.

The Umpqua Light Museum. Lon loved all the fake food stuffs. He counted all the apples, all the pears and wanted to pour out the coffee beans and count them, but I told him that would not be a good idea.

Going into the light for a tour

The stairs up to the light. Yes, we walked them all. Lon walked down but we carried him up.

Inside the actual light

Lon inside the light.

The weather changed, again.

We stopped for lunch at an A&W drive in. I vaguely remember these from my early childhood. I certainly know we have a plethora of A&W rootbeer mugs. My mother used the tiny ones to hold angel food cakes upside down as they cooled. Didn't A&W have a theme song for the rootbear? It was a tuba type thing... I have to go look that up.

The Sea Lion Caves. Again, it was cold, windy and rainy.

Hecta Head Light as seen from the Sea Lion Caves.

Once you pay the fee, you walk down the ramp, past the scenic view for Hecta Head, get into an elevator. It goes down 200 feet and this is the cave! Very nice, lots and lots of sea lions. What the brochures and everything else doesn't mention is that sea lions are stinky. Lots of them in one place are very stinky, and loud. They are very cool to watch barking and swimming.

Another beauty shot of the light.

This is the actual view to the sea lion cave. I took the earlier pictures up close and through on the holes in the mesh.

March is just a lion all month long. There was no lamb in this March.

Surf!

The beach in front of the hotel in Yachats. Lots of pea gravel, no sand at this beach! Very nice little rocks.

Sunset from our hotel balcony. This hotel was just a nice plain hotel. No hot tub. Lon kept saying as he fell asleep, let's go back to the brown hotel and the hot tub.

We were having a wonderful time on the coast. I am so glad we FINALLY got around to doing this!