Choosing what looked liked a longer route but which google assured us was going to be quicker, we left Crater Lake bound for the coast again and Seal Rock.
The drive mostly along Highway 126 this time, was pleasant and not as winding and we made good enough time to take a small detour to Westfir.
Oregon’s longest covered bridge
Westfir is the home of Oregon’s longest covered bridge at nearly 55 metres. Many years ago we first saw covered bridges in New England and when I discovered that there was one in the vicinity couldn’t resist dropping by.
Inside the covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber trussed bridge which is completely enclosed except for windows on the side, this process typically extended the life of the bridge by 10-15 years by protecting the timber from the elements . They also offered protection from weather for pedestrians and were not as slippery or scary for horses!
We took a few snaps, missed out on the picnic area which had been commandeered by a large fishing club and stopped instead a little out of town by the river for our morning tea.
An unknown young man had thoughtfully cut the bottom of his jeans off and left them on the riverbank and they saved our bums from getting dusty 😁
Back on the road and eventually we reached Florence on the coast and rejoined our old friend Highway 101 north. Eventually arriving into the lovely little village of Yachats (“yackets” I think?) at 3.30 we just managed to tag onto the lunch menu for Ona Restaurant and Lounge ensuring we reached our vacation rental well fed if slightly weary.
Heceta Head Lighthouse
The coast after lunch was beautiful again and we stopped briefly just after the large car park for “the worlds largest sea lion cave.” My research had advised that the paid fee and trip down by elevator offered no better view than TV monitors in the visitor centre so we skipped this and instead saw many sea lions on the rocks below and even glimpsed another whale as well.
Sea lions
Seal Rock wasn’t much further north and our hosts directions were spot on, we had no trouble finding our cliff top home for the next six nights and OMG did it have the wow factor!!
Beautiful floor to ceiling windows in every room that faces the sea, fresh flowers, beautifully furnished and decorated and a kitchen well stocked enough to rival ours!
Russell settling in
And then he found Le Tour on the TV … perfect 🚲
What a wonderful spot to wind down (and not wind around) for the next six days…..
Tomorrow, nothing planned!