Thursday, April 7

SEARCHING FOR ELK & WHALES.

Day 178 – Another beautiful day before rain and a cold front move in. We took a drive south to visit some places that were supposed to be good for spotting Roosevelt Elk, watching for Whales, and visiting a Lighthouse.

We drove to the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area, east of Highway 101 near Reedsport, OR. This area stretches along a 3-mile section of Oregon Highway 38 with two designated viewing areas and several observation pull-outs. It is the year-round residence for a herd of about 100 Roosevelt Elk. A mild winter climate and abundant food allow the elk to remain at the Viewing Area. Roosevelt Elk are Oregon’s largest land mammals, weighing up to 1,100 pounds and standing as tall as five feet at the shoulder. We also saw plenty of birds, flowers, and beautiful scenery.

Then we drove to the Umpqua River Lighthouse on Winchester Bay, 3 miles south of Reedsport off Highway 101. The first lighthouse on the Oregon coast, the Umpqua River Lighthouse was built on the north spit of the Umpqua River in 1857. However, it was destroyed just 4 years later by a severe storm. Today’s lighthouse has a 65-foot tower and sits on a hill 100 feet above sea level on the south side of Winchester Bay. Its lens emits distinctive red and white automated flashes, the only colored signal on the Oregon coast.

Across from the lighthouse was a Whale Watching Station. Along the coast Oregon has areas to stop and look for whales – places where they’ve been viewed before. Most of the whales are seen during their migration, heading south for the winter to bear young, and heading back north for the summer. There’s an area north of where we are, between Yachats and Depoe Bay, where you are just about guaranteed sightings. We are working our way there. We spent some time at this Whale Watching Station. We did not see any whales but got a few other pictures, including the Dunes below with the inevitable ATVrs.

We drove back north towards the campground, taking a couple of dirt roads just to explore. We stopped and got a few scenic pictures on the way back to the RV.

Back at the RV we spent some time looking out over the Siuslaw River. We may not have spotted any whales, but a Seal basking in the sun on the dock got its picture taken. The high today was 66 degrees. It was partly cloudy and it might rain tonight.