Day 3: Highway 101 to Newport, Oregon

After leaving Cape Kiwanda and Pacific City behind in the last of the sunset Saturday evening, we continued south in hopes of finding a dog friendly hotel in the Newport Oregon area.  I wanted to get a little farther south, as I had a BIG day planned for Sunday (a reoccurring theme here on Katie Wanders).  My strategy thus far for hotels and lodging has been all Motel 6's because they are all dog friendly at a reasonable price without any extra dog fees. And I figured this was the "off season" so it wouldn't be a problem finding places.

It was also a part of my strategy not to book anything ahead of time because my schedule was aggressive, and I wanted to leave a little leeway in how far we had to travel each day, not stressing over making it to a hotel reservation.  Well this plan slightly backfired when we were trying to find a dog friendly hotel room on Saturday night.  Most hotels were sold out, or sold out of dog friendly rooms.  The ones that were available were outrageously expensive or didn't allow dogs.  After some long days of traveling and hiking, while we had our camping gear just in case, we wanted a bed and a shower.  

Finally we found a no frills place in Depoe Bay that was probably close to being condemned (or should have been), but nonetheless, offered a bed, a shower, and allowed black labrahounds.  It was so old and rundown that I could not even figure out how to lock the door as it hadn't been replaced since the 1940's.  It was only a place to rest and recharge and in the morning, we were up bright and early ready to explore Newport, Oregon. 

Devils Punch Bowl State Park

On our way to Newport, we stopped at "Devils Punch Bowl State Park" five miles south of Depoe Bay, one of Oregon's MANY state parks.  I do have to note that the State Parks of Oregon are very different than most.  They are just tiny tiny little areas along the coast that mostly serve as a quick stop or destination.. but there are SO many (roughly 361).  They aren't like Utah or Connecticut's State Parks which are few but large in size.  This area marks a "bowl" where waves violently crash, waves spraying and clashing in this bowl, hence the name.  Here you can walk the small path, picnic on the grass, and stretch your legs before continuing down 101. 

Devils Punch Bowl State Park

Devils Punch Bowl State Park

After leaving State Park number 5673, we arrived in the coastal town of Newport, Oregon just as all the shops were opening up for tourists on a sleepy Sunday morning.  At first, my impressions of Newport were similar to the rest of the Oregon Coast. Beautiful, historical, but kind of more run down unpretentious version of the California coast which in its own way had a lot of perks.  Oregon seemed to preserve the mid 1900's feel of its coastal towns and their history, Newport included. 

Salmon Nation sign, Newport, Oregon

Lighthouse in the cement sidewalks of Newport

Newport was one of the areas I was most excited about, as I have commonly heard of this little town being called the "Woods Hole of the West".  For those of you unfamiliar with my line of work, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and it serves as a mecca of research and passion in the field of Marine Science.  

U.S. Coast Guard Boats at the dock in Newport, Oregon

Newport Oregon is home to some of the best research, education, and fishing on the Oregon coast.  Here you can find the Oregon Coast Aquarium, a U.S. Coast Guard Station, Hatfield Marine Science Center, and what gets me all jazzed up, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Operations Center, a home base for two if its boats and support for the Pacific Fleet. 

Fishing Boats in front of the Yaquina Bay Bridge 

"The ships in NOAA’s Pacific fleet collect data essential to protecting marine mammals, coral reefs and historic shipwrecks, managing commercial marine fish stocks, understanding climate processes, and producing nautical charts that help keep mariners safe. NOAA ships also deploy and help maintain buoys that gather oceanographic and weather information and warn of tsunamis."  So basically some of my dream jobs branch from this little Oregon coastal town.  

Watching the California Sea Lions from the pier

Don't worry if marine research isn't your thing, Newport hosts more of the touristy attractions such as Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Nye Beach, shops, restaurants, a pier of sleeping sea lions, Ripleys Believe It or Not (those are still around?!), fishing charters, whale watching, museums, and Rogue Ales- Rogue Beers home base.  While you can do all of these touristy things, we were short on time and ended up avoided most, except for watching the California Sea Lions take over the docks. 

California Sea Lions Newport, Oregon 

California Sea Lions Newport, Oregon 

We walked around Newport for a while, grabbing coffee, walking the docks, and wastching fishermen either unload their catch, or get their boats ready for a full day of fishing.  The large scale of the fishing operations here are quite impressive, and you will be greeted with the smell of.... welll.. a large scale fishing operation.  Diesel fumes, a fishy odor, and of course, the awful smell of rotting bait that I am all too familiar with from my job working on the back of commercial lobster boats.  But of course, it made me feel like I was right at home. 

Fishing Fleets of Newport, Oregon

The town is full of local seafood shops where you can buy live crab, or the days catch right off the dock.  The trend of the Oregon coast seemed to be that most of the high quality seafood was shipped off for sale, and a minimal amount lingered throughout the coast for tourists, locals, and shops to fight over.  But if you are in the mood for seafood, Newport seems like your best best for fresh local fish.  While Oregon has this old town coastal charm, the food has left a lot to be desired as we made our way down the coast.  The locals and individuals we talked to confirmed out suspicions that for a state bordering the Pacific Ocean, the amount of quality seafood that stayed on the shores of Oregon was pretty limited. 

Fishing Fleets of Newport, Oregon

Fishing Fleets of Newport, Oregon

After spending a long morning in Newport, soaking up its sunshine charm and fishing culture, we continued on, back to 101 to continue our trip down the coast.  We had seen the beautiful bridge from the docks of Newport, but were excited to see another angle of the bridge.  We drove to a viewing point of the Yaquina Bay Bridge, one of the most recognizable along Highway 101 down the coast of Oregon.  This gorgeous bridge is also on the National Register of Historic Places. What the Oregon Coast lacks in seafood, it makes up for it with its beautiful bridges.  

Yaquina Bay Bridge 

We also saw a sign for something called the "Yaquina Head Outstanding National Area" and pulled into the park for more information.  

Now that is a serious title National Park Service.... is it really an OUTSTANDING National Area?  I would like to be able to tell you yes or no, but in all truth, with our National Parks Pass expired, a strict itinerary and $7 fee to enter, we decided to continue on down the coast.  If you chose to stop here, you can tour the lighthouse, view nesting shore birds, and hike some of the trails (dogs are even allowed on leash).  But like I said, a strict schedule had us continuing down the coast instead.  

If I missed something outstanding here, please feel free to tell me all about it in the comments and I promise to stop on my next visit to the Oregon Coast.  Overall, we enjoyed our short time in Newport Oregon and like nearly every other place we visited, we just wished we had more time to explore all of the ins and outs.  Just like our California Coast Road Trip, this was a quick sampling of the Oregon Coast.  The town had a more historic feel that I was expecting, but I loved the low key charm of the place.  A quick stop for lunch and further south we went, making our way to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.