SALT WATER CREEK CAMPGROUND.

From our stay in Sequim, we drove to Salt Creek Campground, just for one night as we head West.  We drove to nearby Joyce to see an old 1911 General Store, continuously in business for over 100 years. The old gas pump is no longer working, of course.


All old-time stores had a resident cat, I expect. This one did.


The town was named for Joe Joyce and it was the center of all news and activity with a post office, still operating, and a bank, not operating.


The old wood floors creak appropriately, with goods both modern and old.


Old iron cookware.


And, the latest magazines and rental movies.


From there we drove out to look at Crescent Lake,  the deepest in the state. Formed by a glacier and not a soul boating or swimming.


Back to the campground which sits right on the Straits of Juan De Fuca, we checked out the tide pools. Not much in them.


Some kelp and a few snails clinging to it. The algae growth around here is a bright neon green.


The tide wasn't at its lowest. So we'll check again this morning at about 8:30.

.


It was fun to try and catch a big wave breaking over the rocks.


Or a bird in flight.


The rocks are steep here down to the water.


Climbing back up to the top of the bluff, a tree balances on a protruding rock and feeds from the bank.
At dusk, two deer were posing in the campground.


It is tempting to call this a black tailed deer, but it is in fact a mule deer.

They are pretty tame. 

YAQUINA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE AND TIDE POOLS

Interesting that this small town of Newport  has the tallest remaining lighthouse,  and the smallest remaining lighthouse in Oregon. Yaquina Head Lighthouse is  the tallest, at ninety-three feet, and 114 steps. In fact, if you put a dollar in the tank at the top, you get a pin declaring you survived the climb. The keepers had to be in good shape after working this lighthouse carrying oil cans up those stairs to the lense. This lense is one of the first Fresnel lenses and did not rotate.
The small building next to the lighthouse is the oil house. The keeper’s residences were removed over a period of years when no longer needed.
The oil supply containers remain from the old days. Imagine hauling oil up this steep rocky point with just ruts for a road in the 1800′s. Its not easily accessible even today. It requires a 12 minute walk to get there on a nicely provided even surface. The point is 162 feet above sea level.
The keepers desk remains as well. The keepers were instructed to record everything about them, whether it was windy, raining, foggy, sunny,  the temperature changes and times, ships seen, ships lights seen,  but also such  mundane things as debris on the beach. If there were lightening strikes, an inspection or a ship smashed on the rocks, things got exciting. The logs were kept partly to alleviate boredom. Keepers were provided  a boxed library to encourage them to read and better their education.
Waiting in line to get up to the top, I recognized this woman I know from my neighboring town of Sonora. She is Dr. Ralph Retherford’s secretary, my own family practice physician. What are the odds?
Below the lighthouse the beach is rugged, rocky and attractive to seabirds that feast on the mussels at low tide. The tide pools are available for sightseeing by traversing eighty-six well built, safe steps to the bottom of the hill. Walking across the volcanic cobblestones that make up most of this beach was a bit challenging for those in good physical shape.
The cobblestones were formed when lava hit the cold ocean and made instant stone droplets of all sizes. The tide pools had fat, green sea anenomes some round and some oblong. Kelp strands unfamiliar to me and starfish.

It would have been nice to pick up some mussels for dinner but no harvesting was allowed. Instead, we had lunch in town around the once famous Nye Beach resort area. Lot of neat shops and galleries to look through.
The BLM handles Yaquina Lighthouse site with an excellent interpretive center. Maintaining an old quarry on the grounds for tide pool viewing for people with disabilities is another unique feature of this particular park, which surrounds the working lighthouse. Of course, the lighthouse is only valuable to fishing boats and pleasure craft and people like us who love to dip back in time. If you find yourself near Newport, don’t miss it.