The Oregon Coast

Since our departure, we've driven 1,000 miles north and a little west to where I finally write.  We are just south of Lincoln City below Despoe Bay on the Oregon coast staying in a beautiful, warm beach cottage.  The sun has just set (20:41) and it has, at last, stopped raining.

Until today it had been raining since we arrived in San Francisco on the 15th and we were lucky enough to spend two of the first three nights in homes.  I have an aunt and uncle in Berkeley whom I don't see enough. We stayed two nights with them, spent a day with my cousin and a friend and shipped out after eggs and bacon on the 17th.  With the San Jauquin Valley, SF and $4.45/gal behind us, we followed the Sacramento River north towards Oregon.  Then we left I-5 to follow the Rogue River northeast before turning back to Redford and Eugene, still in the rain.  We spent that night outside Eugene.  This morning we drove west to reach the coast, then up RT 101 to Newport.

Boats in the Newport Harbor

Cliff along the OR coast north or Florence

Newport's a great fishing town on either side on the Big Elk River.  On a recommendation we had chowder and Fish & Chips at Mo's down by the water.  We saw the seals at the harbor and stopped by the Rouge Nation World Headquarters on the south side of the river - highly recommended.

Rogue Nation World Headquarters, Newport, Or

This makes me giddy

When we had seen enough we  followed the coastal cliffs north to this cottage.  I've been in absolute awe of the Oregon coast since we hit it, almost all of Oregon in fact.  A friend of Conrad has lent us her beach cottage for the night.   So we'll be here for the night and then somewhere north of here tomorrow night, perhaps Portland or Washington.

Low tide in  Lincoln City, Or

Our cabin for the night

Oregon has some of the biggest names in fly fishing, and for good reason.  The McKenzie, the Rogue, the Deschutes, and a countless number of other streams, rivers and lakes produce world class steelhead, salmon and trout year-round.  Maybe we can afford another day here and head east to wet a line.