Cape Perpetua..........

Just outside our front window at the campground is the bay. We've been enjoying watching the herons and other wildlife that calls the bay home. Every night, and some mornings too, these two cute sea otters come and play right outside our window. They are a riot to watch. Very playful!

oh hello!

doing the backstroke

the bay in our front yard...see the sea otter? There are two

One day,we headed out to Cape Perpetua Scenic Area in the Siuslaw National Forest to explore. For more information, click here. The headland is the highest viewpoint you can get to by car on the Oregon coast. The views are stunning. After a stop in the Visitor's Center to check out some hiking possibilities, we decided to take the hike to the oldest Spruce tree in Oregon. Its over 500 years old, and is situated in an old growth forest. The trees and leaves and just about everything were so green and big! There was water everywhere....streams, small waterfalls, etc....just babbling away as we walked. It was a cool hike through the lush forest. The trail wound through the forest next to a babbling creek, with a campground on the other side of the creek. Eventually, the trail gains in elevation and makes a turn into the forest.

the trees are giant-sized

its pretty wild to be in such a green lush area after so many months in the desert!

everything is so lush....and moss grows on everything

are you with me Susie?

okay...the start of the trail to the Old Spruce Tree

everything is supersized here

look at the size of these ferns!

and the trees! So tall!

you can't really see it, but the creek  is running alongside the trail so we hear babbling water - very refreshing!

having fun walking through these woods

fiddleheads

everything is so lush and green

a shot of the creek

and there are small waterfalls everywhere

Spruce trees grow on nurse trees when they are young, which is why they appear like this when they are older

so cool...I'm as tall as the root system here

we aren't even at the "Oldest Spruce" yet...these too are gigantic!

wow

using Tom for perspective...its a huge forest

'shrooms

Here it is...the Oldest Spruce in Oregon...over 500 years old!

a nice young family took our picture

we are so small compared to that tree!

woah

the crevice goes straight through to the other side

there's Tom now!

this tree started out as a little seedling once a long time ago

love the moss on everything

sweet

Back at the Visitor Center, we loitered on the deck for a bit to see if we could spot any gray whales. No luck, so we drove up to the top of the hill, to have a little lunch while looking down at the ocean below to see if we could spot any gray whales migrating north to Alaska. Its a little late in the season, but the ranger said she saw some the previous day, so we were a little hopeful. At the top of this hill is a stone "lookout" that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the '30's.

on the deck at the Visitor Center

enjoying the Oregon coast!

We no sooner got up to the lookout area, when someone spotted two gray whales puffs. How exciting! I was so busy trying to get photos and look through my binoculars that I forgot I was afraid of heights and stood right next to that very short wall. Yeah me! It was so cool seeing the whales right from land!

the overlook from atop the hill

a gray whale!!

actually there are two of them

fairly close to shore

just swimming along

spouting

another close up

side by side they go

again

After the whales went by, we got our lunch and went to find a good spot to eat. We were pretty hungry by then. We went to the stone overlook, where there is some great views and a nice  bench, and guess what? Someone spotted more whales! Wow...what a day!

walking to the stone overlook

bonus...the flowers were blooming

ready for whale-watching lunch?

its our lucky day....seeing whales!

another!

there they go

you can see the puff a little from here...that's what ya look for when whale watching from shore

they are huge

oh, and the views were really nice!!!!

can we eat yet?

Eventually we ate our lunch, and before walking back to the car, we took a few more pictures of the beach and the ocean before the fog moved in closer. Very pretty! Especially with the flowers in bloom!

looking down at the beach

the flowers were so pretty too

a real treat

again

we're going to drive a bit down there on the coast road

Later in the afternoon, we followed a few different trails to check out the tide pools, and the areas known as Devil's Churn, Thor's Well, and Cooks Chasm. As the names suggest, these are areas where the powerful ocean waves come crashing through the rocks and show you the power of nature.

Cook's Chasm and Spouting Horn (the water shoots up from that circular area in the middle of the photo

people just can't seem to get close enough!

there we go...that's the Spouting Horn....can get 40 feet high

lots of churning here

tidal pools.....

The trails are interconnected, so its really nice. You can just park your car and spend time walking and gawking at these ocean features, and the trails are a good workout! I had my fitbit on and logged 81 flights of stairs for the day....get the idea? Its a little bit hilly, but oh so beautiful.

taking another trail

so sweet!

the flora is as tall as I am

just cool

After walking through a lovely path through high growth, we came to a little hill on the edge of the cliff. The hill was formed by shells left by the Indians hundreds of years ago. They spent a couple of summers camped near that area, and all the shells from the mussels they ate were heaped in a pile. Over time, it formed the hill, which you would never know had a base of shells! In Indian terms, its called a midden.

nice beach view on the trail

the trees are interesting too!

the ocean is so alive!

lots of waves crashing along the lava rocks

Soon we were back down at the water level, and witnessed the power at the Devil's Churn. The waves  come into a narrow portion cut through volcanic rock and crash with quite a force...I can only imagine how it looks during stormy weather. Its mesmerizing to watch the waves crash and explode! A set of stairs takes you down to the sea level, so you can get even closer to watch the waves...or, you can watch from above.

Devil's Churn...the water comes rushing in here and crashes

you can see how turbulent this water is

so cool with the lava rock and the green right there at the ocean's edge

Tom heading down to the rocks

there he goes

Be careful!!

the water is pretty violent here

its really beautiful...

okay...I'm heading down as well

Tom exploring carefully

Devil's churn...an apt name

the sea looks so peaceful out there, until it comes crashing on the coastline

very cool

heading back along the trail to the other end of the park

The coast is stunning....you can see that the lava flow went all the way to the ocean, and right behind the lava is thick forest. The crashing waves are very dramatic, and combined with the thundering sound, just awesome to watch. Just beautiful...really!

you can see lots of action here

another view of the coastline....love the lava beach

On the way back to the car, we stopped again at Cooks Chasm to see the "spouting horn". It was spouting even higher than previously. We were told it can spout 40 feet! Another exciting day on the Oregon coast!

Another look at the Spouting Horn at Cook's Chasm

okay....just one more pic