10th wedding anniversary trip: from Pacific waters to mountains in Cascade Range
by Rhonda Dedyne
So much fantastic scenery, so little time.
That’s pretty much the tale of a 10th wedding anniversary trip to Oregon – or more accurately, a small portion of the state in the Pacific Northwest where Native American tribes hunted and fished millenia before the land was traversed by the Corps of Discovery and pioneer pilgrims in the 19th century.
Our trek was miniscule in comparison, but it did provide ample opportunities for walking the beaches along the mighty Pacific Ocean, and hiking the trails on cliffs and capes overlooking that immense body of water; picking our way across rocky lava fields, and viewing majestic mountains and flowing rivers in the Cascade Range; and discovering the beauty of the Columbia River gorge with multiple waterfalls and lovely vistas of Oregon and its neighbor to the north, Washington.
We managed to cover a lot of ground – and take way too many photos (over 600) – in our Pacific Northwest adventure that began and ended with flights in and out of Seattle. Our travel itinerary included multiple night stays at five stops along the route: Astoria, Pacific City, Yachats, Sisters and Hood River. Here’s a brief recap.
Astoria/Ft. Stevens
Crossing the Washington/Oregon state line late in the evening via the Astoria-Megler Bridge was a grand entrance for our mini-loop of the coast and northwest central region of the state. Our hotel located by the bridge provided a view of the Columbia flowing past where large merchant and military ships come and go, and a boardwalk along the river was a great platform for photographs. The walkway also offered easy access to downtown Astoria with its abundance of coffee houses, unique eateries and shops – very much enjoyed this city on the river.
A day trip to nearby Fort Stevens State Park included plenty of photo opportunities: the Peter Iredale Shipwreck where only a rusted skeleton remains of the English sailing ship that ran aground on the Pacific shore in 1906; tidal pools with lots of sea critters waiting for their return to deeper water; and a view of the mouth of the Columbia visible from the rocks of the South Jetty – a massive structure that helps hold the ocean waves at bay.
Pacific City/Three Capes Loop
There were lots of roadside stops for photos of the rugged shore with steep cliffs covered by varieties of evergreen trees on the drive south along Hwy. 101 from Astoria to Pacific City. Seabirds nested in lofty perches on the cliffs, and sea lions were being lazy on the rocks below while the Pacific pounded a steady song. We discovered that Pacific City is the place where dory fishing originated in the 1920s. Wayne enjoyed talking to guys, and gals, who are part of today’s Dory Fleet – fishing boats running full steam ahead onto the beach from the Pacific at the protected cove with its sand dunes by Cape Kiwanda It’s quite a sight.
Cape Kiwanda is the southernmost part of the scenic Three Capes Loop, a “must do” drive-with-stops-for-hiking adventure that produced many more photos taken from Cape Lookout and Cape Mears Lighthouse with spectacular views of the 3Arch Rocks and shoreline at the northern end of the loop.
Yachats/Cape Perpetua
Although it’s hard to spot a whale “spouting” from the cliffs above the ocean, we did manage to see several “blowing” near whale-watching boats far below us in the Pacific waters near Depoe Bay. It’s even harder to capture the moment in a photo. At least we tried.
Without a doubt our favorite spot on the trip was a cozy cabin, OceanHaven, on the Pacific coast a few miles south of Yachats. Blue, blue water as far as the eye could see from our little deck overlooking the ocean, and miles of sandy beach where the ebb and flow of the tide is truly calming. We took photos of a brilliant pink starfish in a tidepool – named him Patrick in honor of Sponge Bob’s friend, and txted pics to the grandkid – and captured the red sun setting, producing its glorious shades of red, yellow and mauve.
A day hike on a variety of trails at Cape Perpetua Scenic Area was a wonderful bonus to our stay in the Yachats area.
Both the ocean and forest sides of the park located along Hwy. 101 yielded amazing views and photos of special “sights” with some equally unique great names: Spouting Horn; Thor’s Well; and the Giant Spruce where I crawled inside the hollow space at the base of the huge tree that’s over 500 years old – a good place for a Rhonda Lee portrait.
Sisters/McKenzie Pass/Metolius
Our drive on Hwy. 101 south from Yachats to Florence marked the southern terminus of our Oregon mini-loop tour. A final stop on the Pacific for a photo of Heceta Head Lighthouse was a fitting conclusion to the seaside part of our anniversary trip – goodbye to the blue water, ocean breeze and temps in the 70s, and welcome to dry and increasingly warmer air as we headed east from Florence through Eugene where the Cascade Range appears in the distance. Next stop was the town of Sisters, appropriately named for the Three Sisters Mountains south of the McKenzie Pass and its Observatory.
Our hike on trails of lava rock at the Observatory was a most interesting experience. It’s impossible to imagine covered wagons travelling through these desolate spaces as part of their journey on the Oregon Trail – how did they do it? Mt. Washington and Mt. Jefferson frame the northeast horizon from the viewing platform at the Observatory that was constructed in the 1930s – one of many CCC structures we encountered on hikes at every location we visited.
One might ask why we chose a relatively obscure town like Sisters as a destination stop. The answer is simple – fly fishing. You see, the Metolius River that’s located nearby is a “mecca” of sorts for fisherpeople like Mr. Wayne. He spent on evening fishing solo on the lovely stream with its glacial blue waters – and I was invited to join him the following afternoon on our anniversary day. Fortunately, sitting beside flowing waters and reading a book works well for yours truly, so a good time was had by all.
And, by the way, Sisters turned out to be a wonderful town where we again enjoyed some great food – and a hazy sunset with a view of the Three Sisters after the fishing expedition.
Hood River/Columbia River Gorge
The drive east from Sisters through Madras enroute to Hood River took us away from the green of the mountains and streams into a landscape that resembles the high desert of northern Nevada or Utah. Mt. Hood loomed larger and larger as we approached, before hiding itself from view on the elevated, curving drive north through the aptly named Mt. Hood National Forest. A stop at the Hood River Ranger Station produced valuable information on what to see and where to hike in the Columbia River Gorge area.
A combo drive/hike day tour was filled with more spectacular photo ops: Mulnomah Falls and numerous other waterfalls on the drive west along the Historic Columbia River Highway; views of the Columbia River from Crown Point Vista House; and a great viewing area for the “5 Mountains” from the Sherrad Viewpoint at Larch Mountain. My less-than-professional-grade digital camera produced less-than-professional results of three peaks – Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens – looking north toward Washington; and Mr. Hood and Mt. Jefferson to the south. Blurry photos or not, the climb up to the viewing area was well worth the effort, and we did score good pics of Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens on our final driving day back to Seattle.
Even good photos cannot do justice to the beauty of the scenery we saw each day on our trip – everything crafted by God’s Hand. Still, we offer these few as examples of the natural wonders He provides for our benefit.
Mountains and forests, rivers and the Pacific Ocean – enjoy the slideshow.