ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
I thought that the prohibition against abalone fishing in California many years ago would spell the end to the most delicious mollusk steak ever to cross my lips. I remember when I was a kid, my father, brother and I went fishing for them around Monterey where my father grew up. My mother would steam... Continue Reading →
Sea stacks, those lonely rock sentinels off the coast that punctuate the seascape, are Oregon's distinctive shoreline features that draw admiring tourists and photographers. They are the remnants of millions of years of erosion of headlands that have unevenly given way to the forces of water. They are no more picturesque than the Three Graces... Continue Reading →
Hug Point used to be used as a trail by stagecoaches. Its name derives from how closely the carriages had to "hug" the point, even at low tide, to get around. Now it is part of a state recreation site for public day-use. The tide was getting higher when we arrived, still low enough that... Continue Reading →
Being the largest sea stack off the coast of Oregon, Haystack Rock stands like an intertidal sentinel just south of Cannon Beach and is responsible for much of the tourist industry here. We approached it from the south on foot, after parking our car in a neighborhood and finding a public access path to the... Continue Reading →
Whenever on the Oregon coast, we seek out fried razor clams, especially in season. Down the street from our lodging (Garibaldi House) was Pirate's Cove, a seafood restaurant that happened to have the clams on their regular menu but featured them on the specials board as well. The menu has a long list of seafood... Continue Reading →
North of Redmond, rock climbers flock to Smith Rock State Park to scale the spectacular vertical walls of hardened volcanic tuff. We made a brief stop here on the way home, even though I was under the weather with chills and body aches. Probably against better judgment, I decided we should take the brief hike... Continue Reading →
One of the most visually striking areas in the Pacific Northwest is one that looks strangely Southwestern. In the arid deserts of eastern Oregon, there are formations that are as unusual as anything in Arizona. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is also a mother lode for fossils from the Cenozoic era when ancient mammals... Continue Reading →
Sharks Seafood Bar alone would be worth a trip to Newport, Oregon, even if the town has many other virtues. The interior doesn't have a very big space, with only a few tables and a sitting bar toward the back. Their cioppino is justifiably famous, named by Sunset Magazine in 2003 as having the best version... Continue Reading →
One of the most spectacular areas along the Oregon Coast is the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. It also is the highest viewpoint of the ocean accessible by car in the state. Over 2,500 acres, the highlights include a geologic blowhole (Spouting Horn), a long, narrow crack cleaved in the coastal basalt (Devil's Churn) and a... Continue Reading →
Once in a while, you get surprised by a meal that you didn't expect much from. We stopped in Bandon to stretch our legs and get a little lunch before resuming our road trip. First, we visited a confectionery, Cranberry Sweets & More, where all things cranberry are made into candies, and then walked around... Continue Reading →
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