Pacific City

We didn't leave Seaside until Tuesday afternoon. Although it was only 71 miles to Pacific City Thousand Trails it threatened to rain the whole way. In addition much of the way we were riding the cliffs of the Pacific ocean. We were either in low clouds or fog and at times we could see no further then 10 feet in front of our truck. We took it slow and safe! By the time we got to Tillamook it started raining hard. We found out it averages over 90" of rain a year here.

Pacific City

On Wednesday we woke up to some drizzle, but soon the sun came out. What a beautiful day! About 65 degrees. We decided to drive the Three Capes Scenic drive and then on to Cape Mears lighthouse. You all know how much Patty loves lighthouses!

On the way in we saw a little island called Whalen Island. We decided to drive there first. It was on the way. 

Whalen Island

There were walking trails and a non hookup campground. We just drove around because we were going to be busy today. The campround is $20.00 per night which isn't bad considering you backup to an awesome riverview!

Whalen Island riverfront camping

We then continued our trek on the Three Capes Scenic Highway. We are not sure what these rocks are called in the distance, but they had a big arch in between the ones in the middle. It kind of looks like two rocks lying on each other, but it is actually one large rock with an arch.

Scenic viewpoint

We continued on the drive. It went through forest that had trees leaning on each side towards the middle and made a canopy over the road. It was really cool looking. But we kept getting closer to those rocks!

Getting closer

The Oregon coast is really pretty, and worth the drive! We kept moving! Notice how the the water seems to have a low lying haze or fog on it.

The middle formation is actually a huge arch

We found a beach we could walk down on. This is the closest we could get to the rocks.

The beach

We looked back the direction we had come from and you could see the fog on the beach. It was sunny where we were so it was kind of strange.

Beach fog

Patty said she wanted the house on the left on the top of the cliff. The view must be spectacular, but I'm guessing so is the price!

Cliff house

It was time to head towards Cape Mears and the lighthouse. We are on the Oregon coast so we can't go a whole week without seeing a lighthouse! 

Welcome to Cape Mears

The parking lot was packed, so we had to drive around a couple times before a space opened up. There was a sign pointing up the hill away from the lighthouse noting there is an "Octopus Tree". We figured we needed to see what that was first. We  hiked up a beautiful trail to see what kind of tree an Octopus tree was.

Octopus Trail

It turns out that the Octopus Tree is a 250-300 year old Sitka Spruce tree that has no central trunk. It has limbs that jut out and measures 46' in circumference. Scientist do not know if it grew this way naturally or if the local Indians were the cause. Anyway here is the Octopus tree!

Octopus Tree

After checking out the tree we headed down the 1/4 mile trail to the Cape Mears Lighthouse. There were some pretty spectacular views as we walked down the trail. Here you can see water pouring out of an arch at the bottom of the front large rock.

Views from the trail

We finally arrived at the lighthouse. We thought the light beacon was especially pretty.

Light Beacon

And I need to get Patty's picture at the Lighthouse whenever possible! We saw a postcard with the exact picture (Of course without Patty). I think it's a better picture with her in it!

Patty at Cape Mears Lighthouse

After we left Cape Mears we finished the Three Cape drive and ended the drive in Tillamook. We first went to the Tillamook Cheese factory.

Cheese Factory

You can do a self guided tour and watch as they make cheese. Tillamook cheese is one of the best cheeses you can buy.

Packaging  huge cheese blocks

They also make ice cream. Tillamook ice cream is extremely rich in butterfat so it is bad for you, but very good! Last time we were here with the kids and with Scott and Terri we had the ice cream. As a sacrifice for Scott and Terri in their name we decided to have some again. We shared a double in a bowl, White Chocolate Raspberry swirl and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. YUMMMY!

Yummy ice cream

We also bought some smoked cheddar cheese. After leaving Tillamook Cheese factory we went to the Blue Heron Cheese Company. We thought it was also a factory but turned out to only be a store. We bought some brie for breakfast.

Blue Heron Cheese Company

We had not eaten since breakfast so we went to a steakhouse called "The Rodeo" in Tillamook. They had a special 2 for $30.00 kind of like what Black Angus does. Pretty good and satisfied my steak need.

Did some grocery shopping at Fred Meyers and went home. All in all a pretty good day.

We barely have phone service at Pacific City so the blog has to wait for us to go to the lodge for WiFi. Having said the the WiFi is very good here. As you can see we are not updating everyday while we are here. Thanks for understanding.

We love and miss you all!

Brian and Patty