Covid Days: Off to Crater Lake National Park on an RV (again!)

F&F
Sep 12, 2020
22 min read

Updated: Sep 14, 2020

We're a family who are constantly in motion, especially during the summer months. We basically thrive on travelling to places, exploring new areas, and re-visiting areas that we have been to. And all of a sudden, this summer the entire world is shut down, and so are our usual travel plans. Amid everything, we are desperately trying to keep those travel dreams alive by slightly alternating our travel plans and trying to make the most lemonade out of the lemons life is giving us…

Our very first highly successful RV camping trip to the Glacier National Park prompted us to explore the possibility of another RV trip, this time to the south, towards the Crater Lake. Although the ultimate destination was near the Crater Lake National Park, we decided to spend some of our time during this trip on the gorgeous Pacific coast.

Follow along our amazing 7 day road trip below, day by day, adorned with some of my captures of the beautiful scenery…

Day 1: From Redmond to Long Beach, WA

By this time we were RV pros (or at least we believed so ;)), so we were ready to start our adventure right after we woke up (a little later than usual) in the morning. We took care of the very few things remaining - loading the refrigerator and freezer and loading our bikes behind the RV, and we were all set to go by 9:30 am.

On deciding our route, we were thinking about the best spot to stop for our first overnight break. The quintessential seaside town of Long Beach along the highway 101 came to mind, since we had some really precious memories from our trip there back in 2013. Looking no further, we decided to make a 2 night stop-over at the Long Beach RV and Camping Resort, planning to do some sightseeing and biking around the Long Beach and Seaside areas in Washington.

On our way to our first destination we made a quick lunch stop at Linda's Fish and Chips, a food truck at South Bend, WA. The fish, clam strips and the shrimp were fried to perfection and tasted amazing, but the fries were a big letdown. This was a big disappointment for the kids, who were looking forward to having some great tasting fries. Later we also regretted not ordering the fried oysters since they have raving reviews on every online site - maybe next time. We had the option of picking up the food, and sitting in one of the outdoor picnic tables, on our picnic mat on the lawn, or inside our RV. We started with the picnic mat option and quickly switched over to the indoor option, since the scorching sun was a bit too much for the Pacific North-westerners…

By 3 pm, we were at our destination in Long beach. The journey was pretty uneventful without any more stops along the way. The campsite at Long Beach, however, was a tad bit disappointing. We felt like it was a bit over-crowded, with not much room to spare around the RV. However, we managed to secure a corner spot, and the 10-minute walking proximity to the beach was a big plus, especially for the kids, so we were pretty excited.

Once at the campsite, we went through the usual motion of setting things up - connecting the water and power, unloading the trunk, and setting up the picnic table at the campsite. We had a quick snack - the delicious and super sweet white flesh nectarines we had brought along. I also took this opportunity to marinate the steaks for dinner, so that it would be ready to go on the grill right on time before we all got hungry.

Having prepped everything, we were ready to explore around the campsite and also check out the beach. From the campground, the walk to the beach was pretty short, as advertised in the website. A short, relatively narrow trail led from one end of the campground first to the discovery trail, crossing which led us to down to the beach. Within 10-15 minutes, we were on the beach! The seemingly endless stretch of the beautiful sandy beach blew our minds away. The first sight of the foamy waves crashing on the shores felt so refreshing! The kids immediately wanted to run to the water… which unsurprisingly was chilling but not enough to deter their enthusiasm! My husband and I, on the other hand, took the more conservative approach and opted to walk around and take in more of the unparalleled sights and the fresh sea air. We also saw a few cars driving along the beach, which is another main attraction for many - Long Beach is actually an official Washington State highway with a 25 mph speed limit. Obviously this wasn't an option for us this time around, with our heavy 25 ft rig.

It was getting late, and our stomachs started sending hunger SOSes… so we started heading back to the campsite. The steaks were well marinated by now, so we started setting up the grill. Soon enough dinner was ready to be served - the perfectly browned, tender and juicy rib-eye steak, the sweet and crunchy grilled corn on the cob, paired with some cauliflower risotto (store bought frozen ones that we heated in the RV microwave - tasted okay). To the utter disappointment of the kids, this campsite did not have a provision for campfires, so they made their s'mores in the camping stove, which not unexpectedly did not come out as good, but was still better than not having them…

Pretty tired from the drive and all the beach explorations, we were ready to retire for the night.

Day 2: Biking on the Discovery Trail

We had big plans for today - biking during the first half of the day, and then spending time in the water in the afternoon when the temperatures get warmer… we started the day with a hearty breakfast that would fuel us along for most of the morning till lunch - Eggs and bagel with cream cheese, paired with some milk for the kids and tea for the adults.

Fully loaded for the morning, we mounted our bikes right from the campsite to head over to the trail of our vivid, fond memories from the past…

The 8.5-mile Discovery Trail weaves through the mesmerizing sand dunes along the beach between Cape Disappointment State Park and Long Beach, following the path of the early explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, whose overland expedition ended near the Long Beach peninsula in 1805. This insanely scenic trail is an ideal one for walking, jogging, bicycling or skateboarding - we chose to explore this on 2 wheels, just like we had done back in 2013. The only difference this time was that all 4 members had their own bikes, each riding independently at their own pace :) - the bike trailers were gone with the passage of time. Most of the trail is paved, making it really easy to enjoy for riders of any age or skill level - although this was not of particular concern for us since both our kids are pretty strong riders. No words can describe the unparalleled beauty of this ride through the grassy dunes and forest groves, with amazing peak-a-boo views of the ocean, and the soothing sounds of the waves gently crashing on the sandy beaches. Pure bliss…

To add to the beauty, the skies were ablaze with vibrant colors from the spectacular kites of different sizes, shapes and patterns. Coincidentally, it was the week of the Washington State International Kite Festival 2020 - and we lucked out being there at the same time (completely unplanned)! Although the actual festival was officially cancelled due to Covid-19, I guess people decided to bring along their kites anyway and fly them as they had planned to before the cancellation. The largest and the most spectacular kites did not look like traditional kites at all - we spotted a Nemo (from Finding Nemo), a whale, crabs, colorful spinning geometric shapes, butterflies, and even a few manta rays. At one point, we parked our bikes on the sides of the trail to briefly step off the trail onto the Long Beach Boardwalk, to get a closer view of the vibrant colored kites…

Our legs were getting a bit tired, and it was almost lunch time…so we started heading back to our campsite. Lunch was simple pasta - tagliatelle with grilled chicken and portobello mushrooms.

Today we decided to skip our after-lunch siesta (this is one delicacy we try not to miss during vacation) in favor of catching the warm weather at the beach. But alas, nature had a different plan in store for us. The weather was even windier than the last afternoon, and we could barely even dip our feet! The kids were determined - so they ended up in the waves after all, but we could not stay for long unfortunately. The weather was getting increasingly chilly and uncomfortable, and the kids were getting cold in their wet clothes, so they agreed to head back for a warm shower.

It was somewhat a blessing in disguise - we finally got our golden opportunity to take a brief afternoon nap! Refreshed, my husband and I decided to head over to the trails again with our bikes (kids decided to stay back), this time head to the South end towards Cape Disappointment State Park. Once again, we were treated to some of the most exhilarating scenery the Pacific Coast has to offer.

It was almost a quarter to 8 when we reached the campsite. The kids were busy on their screens, but both said they were hungry. We quickly set up the grill and started grilling the chicken (which I had marinated from home). By the time dinner was ready, it was almost dark, so we quickly ate and wrapped up everything in preparation for the night.

After a couple of rounds of board games (Sequence was the pick of the night) we called it a day…

Day 3: Off to Crater Lake

Today would be a long day of driving from Long Beach to our final destination near Crater Lake National Park. We started from Long Beach around 9 AM in the morning. The point to point map on google showed an arduous 6 hour drive… and we decided to make it even longer by making a couple of stops along the way, to enjoy the magnificent Oregon coastline. The array of diverse landscapes and scenery along the route was simply breathtaking. The crossing of the Washington-Oregon border via the Astoria-Megler bridge, towering over the western end of the beautiful riverside town of Astoria, was an experience in itself...

Our very first stop was our favorite Ecola State Park - a wildly popular park along the Oregon coast located in the heart of Cannon Beach. The 20 minute long, winding drive through the lush green, thick forest that brought us to a fabulous view high atop a ridge with a second-to-none scenic overlook was totally worth it! . The views of the rocky coastline from here was simply breathtaking. I took the opportunity to get some spectacular photographs of the coastline, Haystack Rock, and Cannon Beach from the viewpoint. We spent some time taking in the spectacular sights before heading on our way…

Our next stop for the day was for lunch - at a city called Albany in Oregon. There we had southern style barbecue for lunch from a popular food truck called Big D’s BBQ. We tried brisket sandwich - and steak - reactions on the food were mixed - some in the family loved it, some not so much. Since the raving online reviews raised our expectations too high, I must admit that we were a bit disappointed with the quality of the food.

Now that our tummies were full, it was time to head out again. Our rig was running low on gas, so we decided to make one final stop at Costco to fill up the tank. We also were running out of propane for the BBQ grill, so picked up some propane gas tanks from a nearby Fred Meyer. While there, kids asked for a few more things to munch on - corn nuts and Magnum ice cream got appended to the list and picked up as well… Finally, we started again for our destination at around 2:30 PM.

We reached our campground at Crater Lake around 6:30 pm. The Diamond Lake RV Park was simply fabulous - we fell in love with this campground at first sight! The RV spots were well-spaced with lots of privacy created by the tall trees surrounding the sites. The location of the campground is also superb - close to the Diamond Lake recreation area, Crater Lake National Park and also the scenic byways with the gorgeous waterfalls. The staff was very helpful and friendly and the check-in process was pretty streamlined with the staff guiding us to our site.

By now, we knew the drill - we quickly hooked up our RV and unloaded whatever we needed for dinner. Since we had a late lunch, we were not that hungry yet, so decided to explore the area a bit. The access to Diamond Lake was through a short trail, across byway 138. We decided to quickly take a first look...

Once back to the campsite, we started setting up the BBQ grill for dinner. The kids wanted to have pizza, so we brought some frozen pizza with us, hoping to bake it in the BBQ grill. Turned out that getting a perfect pizza on the grill was harder than expected - and we ended up with partially burnt pizza. From the reception, we bought some firewood, since there was a really great setup here for campfires. While my husband and I were busy preparing the grill the kids enjoyed the campfire. We all devoured the burnt pizza - tasted delicious to the four hungry souls! The kids took out their marshmallows, Honeymaid crackers and chocolate in preparation for smores. The night ended with some peaceful family time around the campfire… what could be better?

Day 4: Hazy Crater Lake and Gorgeous Falls

Our tentative itinerary and plans for each day were set before we started on the trip, as part of our detailed planning, but life seldom goes according to plan. Our initial plans for today were to head out to the Crater Lake National Park, and hike down to the lake (via the Cleetwood Clove Trail), since we missed the opportunity the last time we were here.

Shortly after breakfast, we got ready to head out for the day. We had a little bit of a sewer fiasco at our campsite, so some time was wasted figuring out a new campsite to transfer to. The ground staff at the campground were really helpful resolving the issue to our satisfaction (the experience at the front desk was not as pleasant, however, things worked out in the end) but we did get a bit delayed in heading out. Around 10:30 ish we were taken to our new site - this once was also a big and spacious one, with ample privacy and shade all around. Once backed in to our new site, we were now okay to leave, and finally at about 11 am, we were able to head out. One of members of the staff did mention that Crater Lake could possibly be hazy and gray due to the massive wildfires burning in California, and suggested we hit the waterfalls instead. This conversation was the best thing that had happened to us so far - we cannot be thankful enough for this suggestion (read along to see why...).

We first decided to check out the current conditions of Lake Majesty (as Crater lake is fondly known). Formed by the collapse of an ancient volcano Mt. Mazama, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in America, reaching a depth of 1943 ft. Once we entered the park through the North entrance, we started our drive clockwise making it convenient to stop (especially for our relatively huge vehicle) at different overlooks since most of the stops are on the right. Once we got our first view of the lake we were really disappointed - the awe-inspiring deep blue waters we had seen 16 years ago when we were first here, was nowhere in sight. Instead the skies and the waters were different shades of dull gray and light blue, covered in smoky haze all around and needless to say, most of the grandeur was simply missing. We made a few stops at a couple of viewpoints, and once we got to the Cloudcap overlook, the highest road-access overlook on the Crater Lake rim, sitting at an elevation of 8,065 ft, we decided that turning back at this point made more sense than trying to complete the entire rim, so we started retracing our path back.

Disappointed, we decided to follow our campsite keeper's suggestion and check out the falls along the Rogue Umpqua Scenic byway. Truly deserving the nickname of the “Highway of Waterfalls,” this byway meanders through the Umpqua National Forest with more than 15 cascading waterfalls along the way.

Our first stop along the byway was the double-tiered Toketee Falls. The parking spot at the falls was pretty tight, and there were already quite a few cars, making it almost impossible for us to park the 25 ft RV. However, we managed to squeeze in somehow right beside the Toketee pipeline (don’t ask me if the parking spot was a legal one ;)). At this point, we were all starving, so I decided to whip up a quick meal inside the RV using the cooktop, before embarking on the 0.8 mile hike.

Having satiated our tummies, we decided to start the climb. A series of up and down steps through an old-growth forest of Douglas fir, big leaf maple, western red cedar, and Pacific yew led us to an elevated viewing platform overlooking the two-stepped, majestic falls, created as the North Umpqua River makes its way down a 28 feet drop, creating an alcove of water at the end of the upper tier of the falls, followed by a much deeper plunge of 85 feet into the larger body of water. The falls with the backdrop of volcanic basalt created a captivating scene - truly deserving of the name Toketee - meaning "pretty" or "graceful" in Chinook. We saw a few adventurous and intrepid people hiking down all the way to the bottom of the falls, exiting the deck from the side, where some of the fencing had been taken off. While tempting, it definitely did not feel safe to try out, so we opted for some simpler adventures - a few pictures before starting to head back.

The next stop on our fall venture was Watson Falls, a 293 foot waterfall located on Watson Creek. Unlike at Toketee, we were pleasantly surprised to find ample parking space tucked inside the forest just off the pavement, right where the trailhead was. The trail to Watson Falls is another easy 0.8 miles roundtrip, and unlike the previous one, this was a steady climb along the trail and did not have any stair climbing/descending involved. Along the path, we had spectacular views of the stream flowing on the alongside the trail through the shaded forest. After about 0.3 miles of steady climb, we crossed a wooden bridge that gave us an amazing view of the falls as it plunged over the basalt lava cliffs. We could not wait to get to the end, expecting an even more impressive view. Watson falls did not disappoint us - the windy mist created by the crashing water dropping almost 300 feet was simply mesmerizing!

By this time, the kids were already tired of walking, and bored of hiking to see waterfalls at the end :), and they simply refused to hike to any more falls. Luckily the last two falls we visited were super accessible from the parking lot - literally you could walk a couple hundred steps to get to them, so they agreed to come along. Our third stop along scenic byway 138 was Whitehorse Falls, a 15-foot waterfall tumbling into a punchbowl. The viewing platform was just beside the parking area for day users of the Whitehorse Falls campground. We decided to even try out some adventure and climb down the 100 steps (that's some adventure, right? ;)) to get closer to the water.

Last but not least, we stopped at the Clearwater Falls. A short walk from the parking lot led us to the 29 foot drop of the Clearwater River onto the moss covered boulders in the pool below. Although not a large drop, the segment style waterfall was impressively spread out across a broad area of soft and thick moss, creating a hypnotic scene that captivated us for a while. We took the opportunity for a few more pictures here before heading back to the campground.

Once back, the kids immediately started making arrangements for the campfire, which was the biggest attraction for them.

I started heating up food for dinner, menu today was rice, lentils, fish curry and squash curry, cooked Bangladeshi style. After a relatively long break of 4 days, we really enjoyed the desi-style dinner and ate our fills.

We spent some really precious family time around the campfire in this magnificent setting before we headed inside to bed.

Day 5: Crater Lake Rim drive, and activities on Diamond Lake

It was another new morning, full of natural beauty and magic around us. The early morning sunbeams were gleaming through the clouds scattering a warm golden light on the campsite. I headed out of the RV to take in the beauty all around and sniff the crisp morning air… felt awesome. For the first time I noticed the magnificent Mt. Thielsen peeking from behind the trees, basking in the warm morning sunshine.

The kids were still fast asleep, but me and my husband started prepping breakfast… some of it indoors, some outdoors, maximizing the stove capacity… Breakfast was the usual - bagels and eggs, paired with tea or milk. Kids slowly started waking up, maybe it was the little noise from the clanging pots, spatulas and plates… or maybe they were just done sleeping. We all enjoyed breakfast outdoors, at the camping table, and started cleaning up, to get ready for the day ahead. We had big plans - biking and boating all day today. We inflated our raft (much more convenient to inflate at the campground due to the power source available), and put it inside the RV, so that we were ready.

The skies looked much clearer this morning, and we started wondering - what if the views at Crater Lake have cleared up today? We simply couldn't resist the temptation of checking out one more time if the gorgeous views of the lake were peeking out today… we adjusted our plans in a whim - yes, we are heading out to Crater Lake again. If we don't get a chance to bike, it is okay, of course cutting boating from the plan was out of the question, since the kids were eagerly looking forward to it… Back we go again - to Crater Lake Rim Drive.

We got to the park entrance pretty early, around 10:15 in the morning. The haze had not completely disappeared overnight (Oh I wish!) but something really magical was waiting for us on the rim drive, in the still of the morning… the entire lake surface had transformed to a nearly perfect mirror - reflecting the not-so-blue skies on the pellucid waters, with the towering rim walls around creating a spectacular, picture perfect scene. A picture cannot capture the invigorating experience of the moment but hopefully with some of my captures you can step into the moment and partially enjoy the spectacular beauty…

We decided to complete the loop today, soaking in the beauty of the morning reflections at the different overlooks, from different angles. One spectacular spot along the rim was the Phantom Ship Overlook, a viewpoint overlooking the Crater Lake's "Phantom Ship" volcanic rock ridge, resembling a small sailboat. The ridge is made of erosion-resistant lava, and at 400,000 years old, it’s the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.

The views on the North side were much more promising than yesterday, but the south side was a bit disappointing, so we finished our drive without many additional stops…

At about 3:30 in the afternoon, we reached the Diamond Lake recreation area, found a suitable street-side parking spot for our rig, and started heating up a very-late lunch for the 4 starving souls (we did have some snacks during the Rim drive to keep us going).

The kids were getting really anxious to hit the waters, so soon after lunch we set them free on the lake with the inflatable raft… Me and my husband had been eyeing the kayaks for rent for a while, and decided to take the chance of renting one (our concerns were Covid19, but it felt pretty safe, since there were tons of kayaks that no one had rented for a while). We got a tandem kayak for an hour and hit the sparkling waters of Diamond Lake right away… we had an amazing time, especially since we had not kayaked for a while. The dramatic and majestic horn-shaped peak of Mount Thielsen created an amazing backdrop on the sparkling waters of the lake. We kayaked for the whole hour rowing to different parts of the lake, enjoying the spectacular scenery all around and the perfect sunny day.

After an hour of intense kayaking, we were exhausted, and so were the kids… we were ready to head back. We returned our kayak and oars, and took the soaking kids back to the RV for a shower. While they were busy taking showers, me and my husband decided to do some quick exploring of parts of the John Dellenback bike trail with an access point conveniently located right around the corner. This fully paved biking trail circles around the entirety of Diamond Lake, and took us on an amazing journey through some spectacular campsites right on the waters, and through some forested paths. A soft breeze was blowing, creating a calm, rustling sound through the leaves of the trees, with the late afternoon sun exposing an array of vibrant shades of green, yellow and orange. The views were simply stunning… and we immediately decided that one of the lakeside campsites at the Diamond Lake Campground would be our home the next time we are in the area (kind of regretting a bit why we did not consider it this time - oh well).

The sun was quickly descending towards the horizon, and the lights were starting to fade away. The bright orange hues of the setting sun reflected off the calm ripples in the waters of the lake. Alas, time was running out, and we had to get back to the RV and head back to the campsite before it got dark.

We had some pizza for dinner and played a few rounds of Sequence (our favorite board game of the trip) before we were ready to go to bed (of course after the usual family chitchats).

Day 6: The spectacular Rogue Umpqua Scenic byway on our way to Yachats

Today it was time for us to wrap up at Diamond Lake RV campground and head over to our last overnight stop for the trip in the beautiful seaside town of Yachats in Oregon. We had a quick breakfast to rush things a bit, so that we could spend more time on the road and also at our new ocean-side campground, where we were scheduled to camp for the night. We bade farewell to our home for the last 3 nights and started around 9 am.

Google maps routed us through the ultra-scenic Rogue Umpqua Scenic byway again, and once again we got lucky to soak in the dramatic scenery and magnificent landscapes of this beautiful byway, running side-by-side with the wild North Umpqua River with its vibrant flow of emerald green waters.

We were simply mesmerized by the magnificent surroundings of the gushing river, driving through a meandering byway passing through rolling hillsides of mixed oak, conifers, Douglas-fir, sugar pine, cedar and hemlock trees.

For lunch, we stopped at the Honeyman State Park, 3 miles south of the city of Florence in Oregon. The park is a really nice one, with a few sand dunes, and also a lake nearby. While I heated up the food, the kids went out exploring the dunes, quickly returning though, complaining of the heat :) (PNW kids!!)

We were back on our way, travelling on the All-American Highway 101, alongside the rugged shoreline of the Pacific coast, enjoying the magnificent beauty of the ocean at every turn.

We reached our final campsite at around 3:15 in the afternoon. When making the booking I had seen pictures of this campsite on the websites, but what we saw here simply took our breath away!

Each of the paved RV sites have a direct view of the ocean! And just 100 steps below was the most beautiful private beach to be enjoyed in complete privacy and seclusion. The staff at the site were unbelievably helpful, the sites immaculate, the ocean views simply spectacular, and the beach access - unbeatable - it just could not get any better.

The kids wanted to hit the beach right away, and got ready for some water fun. But alas, the strong gusty wind that afternoon made it almost impossible to spend much time in the beach. Nevertheless, we had to get the most out of the time we had on this amazing beach, so we ended up spending quite a bit of time here, wrapped snugly in jackets and all…

The winds were getting too strong for us, so we decided to head back to the rig… and have some yummy snacks (yes, we had daal-puris, a desi style snack). Kids also wanted to avail the wifi connection, which was non-existent for the past few days…

Right before sunset, my husband and I headed outside (the kids refused to leave the wifi) to witness the sunset on the western horizon… sitting on the wooden bench set right on the little cliff above the beach. We sat there in awe as the big fiery sun slowly began receding into the horizon leaving behind an assortment of vibrant shades of reds, and bright oranges in the sky. The waters below and the boulders on the beach mirrored this effect almost perfectly - the splashing waves had turned into a tinted vermilion, with the bright streaks of blue peeking from underneath, while the boulders on the sandy beach started to reflect a tinted orange shade from their surfaces. All we could hear was the sound of the waves crashing against the shores, and the seagulls squawking in the distant sky. It was a scene of pure bliss and serenity.

As it started to get dark, we started slowly trudging back to the RV, back to reality - dinner needed to be heated up…and consumed, before we retire for the night.

Day 7: On our way back home

It was a beautiful morning on the oceanside… Before breakfast, we decided to venture out to the beach to enjoy the early morning views of the foamy waves crashing on the pristine sandy beaches… My daughter opted to stay back, but the rest of us went for a short little walk. The unspoiled bed of sand on the beach appeared with a different magnificence and grandeur in the early morning. Thankfully the winds had subsided significantly, making the walk much more comfortable than last afternoon.

Today we had a long journey ahead… there were no more overnight stops planned, so we would go home for the night, ending the wonderful trip. But not so soon… The Oregon coast is home to some magnificent isolated beaches, rugged cliffs with breathtaking views of the Pacific and quaint little seaside towns, so we made a few random photo stops along the way…

We had originally planned to visit the sand dunes at Cape Kiwanda so on the way there we picked up some fish n chips from the Sportsmans Pub n Grub in Pacific City. To our utter disappointment, RVs were not allowed in the parking area for Cape Kiwanda! All this extra detour for nothing. Disappointed we decided to continue along the three capes scenic route all the way to Cape Lookout State Park, which added almost an hour to our already detoured route. The park was named for Cape Lookout, a rocky headland extending one and three-quarter miles into the ocean. The park was amazing, no doubt, but by this time, we were all tired and starving, and the aroma of the freshly fried clam strips, fish and shrimp and the fresh-cut fries did not help at all - we all dove in immediately! The food tasted simply amazing! All of us kept wondering how it would have tasted, had we had the food fresh right after we got it… hopefully next time.

After tending to our appetites, we decided to explore the area a bit. We headed over to the picnic area, from where we could see the gently sloping beach creating an ideal setting for ocean activities - there were many people swimming and bathing in the waters, but we purposefully avoided the crowds and headed on our way back. Sharing some pictures of the Cape Lookout…

We were in no rush to get home, so decided to go along further north, when we encountered a turnoff to Oceanside, a cozy little coastal village that is a popular stopping place to view the three Arch Rocks. We decided to make another "quick" stop and were so glad that we did!

The quaint little town of Oceanside is perfectly positioned in a picturesque setting along the hillside, overlooking the beautiful ocean with the 3 gorgeous arches proudly standing tall, and made us nostalgic reminding us of quaint European villages - mostly of Positano along the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

We decided it was getting pretty late, but could not resist making one last stop at the Cape Meares Lighthouse, standing tall at 38 feet only, making it the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast. An easy, short hike through old-growth spruce trees took us to the lighthouse area, and although tours inside the lighthouse were cancelled due to Covid, the views itself were magnificent, and we enjoyed every bit of it.