Al had read in one of the tourist pamphlets we picked up that there was a jam session being held at the Red Lotus Music store in downtown Newport so off he went to jam with some new people.

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We decided to take the 9-mile scenic drive up the Yachats River Road to visit the historic North Fork of the Yachats River Covered Bridge. What we found upon arrival was the skeleton of the bridge! The original bridge was built in 1938 with a Queenpost truss, one of the few of this type of bridge remaining in Oregon. It had been restored in 1989 and evidently is now being refurbished in 2014. We were pleased to see that they were rebuilding the bridge in the same way it was originally constructed.

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We had read that we would get to see Oreo Cows on our drive to the covered bridge. We were first introduced to this breed, the Belted Galloway, on our trip through New Zealand. It is a heritage beef breed of cattle originating from Galloway in the west side of southern Scotland that has adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and windswept moorlands of the region. Belted Galloways are primarily raised for their quality marbled beef and are called Oreo cows here in the United States because their color pattern looks like an oreo cookie.

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On our drive to Newport, I saw a post on Facebook from friends from Minnesota we met on our Scandinavia trip 6-years ago of a picture of the Oregon coast. When I asked her where she was, she told me Lincoln City which was exactly where we were at the time! We made plans to meet so we could show them some of the highlights of this area. We met at Depoe Bay and then began our adventure. One of our stops was at Devils Punchbowl, a large bowl naturally carved in a rock headland which is partially open to the Pacific Ocean. Waves enter the bowl and often violently churn, swirl, and foam.

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Yaquina Head is a narrow, coastal headland that extends one mile into the Pacific Ocean. Formed by ancient lava flows, Yaquina Head's hard basalt cliffs and coves have endured the pounding ocean surf for 14 million years. Standing as a sentinel at the edge of the head is my favorite lighthouse, Yaquina Head Light. The light was first lit on August 20, 1873. The lighthouse stands 93 feet tall and has a first order fixed Fresnel lens which was automated in 1966.

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The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was built in 1871 soon after the founding of Newport on the north side of Yaquina Bay, the most populated port between Puget Sound and San Francisco. It is a small 51-foot wooden lighthouse that had a fifth order Fresnel lens. This lighthouse was decommissioned in 1874 because the Yaquina Head light made it obsolete.

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While on the bay, I couldn't resist getting a group photo of Cheryl, Mark, Al and I with the beautiful Yaquina Bay Bridge in the background. This arch bridge is 3,223-feet long and is one of the eleven major bridges along the coast designed by Conde McCullough.

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Today found us at the mouth of of the Yaquina River along the south jetty. We were hoping to see some high surf brought on by the current storms out at sea but actually just saw small waves and the bridge off in the distance in the fog.

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We are having more rainy weather then we've ever had in Newport before so we were thrilled that the sun came out just in time to finally give us a beautiful sunset. I even got a picture of the green glow just as the sun went below the horizon though I didn't put it up here.

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I can never get enough of this lighthouse so we go back for another look just about every time we go to town. I've decided I can put numerous photos up just as long as they are a bit different!

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With all the storms passing through here we are getting to see some huge waves crashing onto the rocks. Some days the surf has been so high that signs are telling people to be extra cautious when on the beach.

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It seems like as soon as we get a bit of a break in the weather, we jump in the car for a little mini-trip just to get out of the house. Today we went down to Seal Rock, a small unincorporated community just south of here. The name "Seal Rock" appears to refer to the one large rock, about 20 feet above water, that was formerly where hundreds of seals and sea lions would rest.

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This basalt dike is a ledge of partially submerged rocks that parallel the shore for about 2.5 miles.

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One can go from watching the waves to visiting art galleries in the small community of Seal Rock. Our next stop was at Karls-Carvings, a wood carving gallery. The gallery was started in 1976 by the present owners father. It is mostly chainsaw wood carvings of bears but after asking the right questions, we were given a short tour of the backroom where they were using this duplicating machine to change blocks of wood into bear shapes that Karl then finishes carving by hand, stains and finally varnishes. According to Karl, he sells these bears all over the country.

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Continuing on with our gallery hopping, we stopped at Ocean Beaches Glass where Bob Meyer, a local glassblower, demonstrates his art. It was so interesting watching as Bob made a glass float from start to finish while narrating and answering questions. He not only does glass floats but also lampshades, bowls and other ornaments. What an interesting day this has turned out to be!

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Needing an indoor activity, we decided to go to the American Legion Bingo this afternoon. Not only did we have a few hours of entertainment, but we both won!

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Nye Beach is a small, historic beach area away from the hustle of Newport. It's a place to escape from the trials of the day has always been a kind of a secret. This colorful seaside community retains traditional charm and beauty and is the home of Newport's Performing Arts Center.

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From the sandy beach at the Nye Beach turnaround, one has an incredible view of Yaquina Headlands and her picturesque lighthouse.

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