Chapter 23 - South Beach State Park, Newport, Oregon

Wednesday, July 8th:
Joan's plan for us today is to drive south down the coastal highway around 35 miles and visit two very scenic areas, the first stop being Cape Perpetua, and the second the Heceta Head Lighthouse.  According to Joan the views from both of these high points along the Oregon coast are just incredible although she also warned us that we would be hiking some uphill trails to reach the high points "so be prepared."

Cape Perpetua has an interesting history as it was named by Captain James Cook back in 1778 when he sighted the 800 foot high steep bluff rising above the Pacific Ocean during his search for the Northwest Passage.  He apparently observed the cape on St. Perpetua's Day hence its name.

Fortunately we could drive much of the way up to the top of the bluff and the final section that we did have to walk was paved, not particularly steep, and was very lovely not only because of the views but also because of the natural and lush green forest plants and trees that surrounded the trail. The view from the top of Cape Perpetua is shown in the photograph of myself above sitting on a stone wall. It was breathtaking and impossible to describe in words. Hope the photo helps.

Incidentally much of the trail to the top of Cape Perpetua including the stone wall that I previously mentioned and the stone shelter shown in this photograph were construction by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in 1933 so obviously Kathy, Joan, and I were not the first to blaze the trail to the top of this high bluff.  No photograph and particularly not the one taken by my iPad camera can really capture the beauty and the scenery of this magnificent Oregon Coastline.

This photograph of Kathy and Joan which was taken down near the rocky Pacific Ocean shoreline shows in the background a view of just how high Cape Perpetua. rises above the ocean surface and it is no wonder that Captain James Cook was able to spot the cape from so far out in the Pacific Ocean.







After completing a long hike especially by my much younger sister Joan who agreed to walk back (uphill) to get the car and then come back and pick us up along Hwy 101, we continued heading south to reach our second objective, The Heceta Head Lighthouse.


The Heceta Head Lighthouse is about 15 miles south of Cape Perpetua along Hwy 101 and as everyone knows who has driven this highway, there are intermittent views of the crashing waves on the wide sandy and sometimes rocky beaches, there are many single and multi family residents overlooking the ocean from viewpoints far above the sand and water, there are numerous villages with tourist oriented businesses lining the highway, and fortunately there are many pull off areas where drivers can park their car to view the scenery. All of these varying views makes for an interesting drive down this winding mostly two lane highway. This is the life but I have now realize as I type this blog that our WiFi service in this public park is so poor that I can no longer download and add photos to this blog. Consequently, until we get a better internet connection we are going to have to delay publishing this blog possibly for up to one week. We will start again as soon as possible. We are headed tomorrow to a wilderness area in the Oregon mountains where at our campsite we will have no hookups for electric, water, and sewer, and most likely no WiFi service. A primitive life for sure, but, really primative without any an Internet connection to the outside world. Like the early pioneer settlers. So until the future and beyond the wilderness . . . .