This morning, I woke up at Klootchy Creek State Park and drove straight to Ecola State Park. At Ecola State Park, I parked at the Ecola Point Trailhead. From there I walked 1.5 miles to Indian Beach, hike the Clatsop Loop Trail (2.6 miles), and then retraced the steps back to Ecola Point (1.5 miles). The total amount of hiking at Ecola State Park was 5.6 miles. The scenery was so beautiful. The beaches throughout Oregon are very scenic and quiet. In some places, it even looks and feels like Big Sur.
After visiting Ecola State Park, I drove to the Tillamook cheese factory in Tillamook, OR. The factory is a joint manufacturing and marketing partnership of over 100 dairy farmers located in Tillamook and the surrounding areas. The company manufactures milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, and other dairy products.
While visiting the factory, I ordered a “3-scoop-sampler,” which consists of three junior-sized scoops. The flavors I ordered where Oregon Mudslide, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Oregon Hazelnut and Caramel. The ice cream was very thick and heavy, and tasted great.
Next, we stopped by Cape Meares State Recreation area. When it was operational, this lighthouse could be seen from over 20 miles away, using a lighting/flashing pattern that identified the lighthouse’s location and identity. This lighthouse was initially shut down in 1963, at which time the public didn’t have any interest in the lighthouse. During the few years after the lighthouse was closed, hippies and vandals broke the outer glass of the lighthouse and caused other damage throughout the structure. In 1968, a volunteer-staffed public entity was created to oversee access, maintenance and tours for the lighthouse building. Since then, the organization (and its volunteers) have been maintaining the lighthouse and slowly making improvements to permanently preserve the historical structure.
The Octopus Tree is accessible through the same parking lot as Cape Meares. The octopus tree is about three hundred years old and is named the Octopus Tree due to its tentacle-like branches from the bottom of the tree.
Oceanside Beach is another quiet, scenic beach along the northern Oregon coast. Through one of the bordering cliff walls of the beach, there is an access tunnel which takes people to a private, rocky beach near Oceanside Beach.
From Oceanside, I merged onto the Three Capes Scenic Drive (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1438848-d563323-Reviews-Three_Capes_Scenic_Drive-Oregon_Coast_Oregon.html) which would run parallel to Highway 101 for a few miles before eventually meeting back up with Highway 101. One of the stops along Three Capes Scenic Drive is Cape Lookout Park. Cape Lookout Park is a campground and a trailhead with three popular trails: North Trail, South Trail, and Cape Trail. Because it was already 3PM, I decided to just stick with hiking the 4.8 mile round trip Cape Trail. The Cape Trail extends from the Mainland about two miles onto a peninsula stretching out into the ocean. It was a very unique and enjoyable hike, especially since there wasn’t very much elevation gain and we were walking at a high elevation overlooking the ocean below and the mainland becoming increasingly distant behind us. The hike ends at a lookout point facing West and providing unobstructed, unending ocean views ahead.
After merging back onto Highway 101, I decided to head toward Lincoln City, OR to spend the night. While heading into Lincoln City, I noticed a sign for Cape Kiwanda which sounded familiar, so I thought it’s probably worth seeing. From what I saw, Cape Kiwanda is a recreational area including Haystack Rock and beachfront sand dunes. At the bottom of the sand dunes, I met Angela and Joey, 21 and 20 year olds, respectively, from Ventura, CA. According to Angela, they met one year ago, both recently quit their jobs, and are now on their 8th stop on a 6 month road trip. They’re expecting to spend only $10,o00 during the next six months, saving money by sleeping in their car and staying with friends around the country. This sounds like such an amazing/interesting/inspiring adventure and I’m looking forward to receiving updates from their Facebook Page over the next six months (https://www.facebook.com/groups/234238543601527/). It takes a lot of courage and a unique person to put there life on hold for six months, especially at the age of 20-21 to travel, adventure, and see the country. I admire them a lot for their adventurousness and free spiritedness.
After hiking the sand dunes, I took a shower at the Cape Kiwanda RV Resort across the street. After showering at the RV resort, I drove to the main part of Lincoln City where I saw a sign for Chinook Winds Casino and Resort. Chinook Winds Casino has great amenities including overnight RV parking, WIFI, free coffee, restaurants, and anything else anyone would need on a road trip. In order to qualify for free overnight RV parking, I had to earn 40 reward points, which I was able to accumulate by playing blackjack for about an hour (and luckily breaking even). I’m looking forward to continuing hiking and exploring South on the Oregon Coast tomorrow.
