Day 63, Monday June 4, 2018, Yaquina Lighthouse again, Puffins at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

** A mis amigos españoles, gracias por seguir el blog. Yu puede encontrar mealos en Face Book en Jim Strohmer. Encantaría oír de usted.
 -----
 We did get to the Oregon Coast aquarium in Newport today. With a very good light from the morning sun, we stopped at the Yaquina Lighthouse again to get some bright and sharper photos of the birds on the rocks and the seals there.

The Aquarium is divided into some six or seven sections, so getting around you have choices , and we chose the birds first as we wanted to see them feed the Sea Otters at 1:00 Pm.  In the ponds where the birds were,... were these:

The Tufted Puffin (there are two kinds)

A Pigeon Guillemot

The female Murre is a deep brown.  They are nesting on the rocks now.

 At One o'clock we headed to the Sea Otter feeding where the handlers were feeding the Otters. There was a running monologue by one of the naturalist at the same time.

Fun guys these Sea Otters. Intelligent as well.

They have huge pouches that can be filed with clams, oysters, etc from the ocean bottom and brought up to eat.

Not asleep, just resting. (Reflections through the glass.

The rest of the exhibits are indoors and concern three main areas of sea life. The rocks, the deep ocean and the sand.

Many sea creatures that are helpful in keeping a sea balance of food.  If one gets out of balance (+) it eats the food of others  and they move or die.

Many tidal creatures

An anemone

The touching tank is great for children to learn.

Darnell gave the  monologue about the otters.

A replica of a ship found under the sea. Fresh and salt water affect the ships differently

In the Great Lakes is a good example. Cold water  helps preserve them.

The Parrot fish eats coral and munches all day long.

Finally we returned to the Yaquina Lighthouse for some more photos of the birds whales and seals.

A little sharper in the sunshine, but still very active.

We add a gray whale today, as they were coming up every once in a while.

Here it is just getting ready to dive.

The Common Murres are the dominant bird .  There are more than 10,000 of them here on these rocks.

Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks below.

These are Brandt's Cormorant's .Notice the blue under the chin on some.

The lighthouse as it was in the beginning in the late 800's

More of the thousands of Murres. The Guillemots were lower down.

Finally a fee photos of the surrounding area in Newport and the Yaquina River.

The Yaquina Head Lighthouse

The Bridge at Newport over the Yaquina River is called the Yaquina Bay Bridge. It was designed by Conde McCullough.

Another angle as the road to the Aquarium goes under the bridge.

Yaquina Bay at Newport, Oregon

Eriophylum Lanatum ...The Siskiyou Daisy.

Tomorrow we visit friends that live in Bend Oregon. I taught with her in Alaska, and we will meet half way in Sweet Home ,Oregon,  Look that one up and see where it is. It's a one hundred mile drive for both of us .

Day 62, Sunday, June 3, 2018 Whales, 10,000 birds, Bald Eagles, and Marbled Murrelet.

The Oregon Coast. What descriptive word could you come up with that would describe it's beauty and wonder adequately? I cannot think of one, as there is not one that could do it sufficiently. The journey today sent us south on the coast from Lincoln City to just north of Newport, where we hope to be tomorrow at the Oregon Marine Aquarium...  for starters.

So chronologically... we stopped first  at Devil's Lake State Park. Don't get idea that all of Oregon's state parks are for camping. No,No!!!  Many are for day use only and can be very small. This one was  a boat launch and that was about it.  (see below) Not much was moving in the woods there , and neither was there anything moving on the lake. So that took us  to...

The Siletz River/Kernville NWR. Here we could stay by the side of the road , see the marsh on one side and the river on the other . Some VIOLET GREEN SWALLOWS  were active, and we did spot a MARSH WREN which was singing it's head off and a BELTED KINGFISHER. They are furtive and seldom are seen so that  was a good find. A woman was coming up the side of the road toward us, with a large bag in her hand and a "picker  upper" pole in the other. We engaged her in conversation as she neared and found that she was trying to get herself back on track after she had lost her wallet , which was returned with no money in it, So she took to collecting cans and turning them in for cash, The $23.00 she said she got yesterday helped her get through some days. One wonders what the whole story might have been. Prayers for her tonight.
Here are a few photos from those spots.

This is a portion of Devil's Lake NWR. Many homes are here as it is just outside Lincoln City.

The marsh at Siletz River where we saw the Marsh Wren

A map of the area of Siletz River.

Continuing south led us to Boiler Bay and Rocky Creek  lookouts at the Ocean.  Both steep inclines to drive there but only a 1/4 mile off of US 101.

Looking hard in the upper left you could see a Gray Whale spout...

Or... the Gray whale just descending at the right in this photo.

Zoom in for a look at a Black Oystercatcher, the only kind on the West Coast.

Boiler Bay lookout shows the  rugged coast.

Looking downstream (Siletz R) toward the US 101 bridge. Swallow boxes on pilings. Pilings from old logging operations in the early 1900's

The last two stops were suburb. Devils Punch Bowl and Yaquina Head and the Lighthouse. On the large rocks at Yaquina there are 10,000's of Common Murres nesting on the any rocks . Some at Punchbowl but not nearly as many. There are also MARBLED MURRELETS,  BRANDT'S CORMORANTS, and a  few PIGEON GUILLEMOTS. At Yaquina Head we saw two AMERICAN BALD EAGLES, sitting , waiting for their next meal to appear, With all these birds around them,  they will not get hungry. The Brandt's Cormorant has a unique blue patch under the chin especially during breeding season, a few other birds have this same feature as the GREAT EGRET  does. See also a RAVEN that landed just next to us at the lighthouse.

The Raven flew up quite close with a mouthful of nesting material.

Devil's Punchbowl that the water has created over the millenia.

Dogs and puppies were quite an attraction at Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Not functioning at this time. Established in 1873 it had three lighthouse keepers (Head,1st Asst and 2nd Asst.) The First Order Fresnel Lens was made in Paris .Two of the three buildings are no longer there. It has a range of 37 nautical miles and stands at 93 feet the tallest on the Oregon Coast.

A few of the birds. These are the Brandt's Cormorants . Can you see the blue on a few of them under  the beak?

Some of the 10,000 Murres on these rocks.

More of the 10,000 Common Murres on the rocks. Q. Why is the word 'Common' used in connection with birds? A. The bird must be  common to North America and Europe both.

Two American Bald Eagles keeping watch.

More of the Common Murres on another rock.

Tomorrow we hope to get to the Oregon Marine Aquarium. This will be indoor photos so a different slant.

Day 61, Sat, June 2, 2918, The Oregon Coast toTiillamook and Ice Cream! Truck is fixed!

Mark, the man at Car Care called me at 8:10 and said my truck was ready.  He sent a taxi to pick me up and I was there at 8:30.  He explained to me all that had happened to the brakes and that was not good. With out going into detail I cans say that two of the brakes had to be cut out in order to get them free as they were bent. Many parts of three brakes were rusted beyond use. But the good news after repair, was, it was operating and road worthy.  I left and got the truck back to the trailer which jumped for joy on seeing it coming down the street.

Ruth had packed a lunch and we were off for  some adventures after a two day hiatus in the trailer. Heading north with Tillamook as the daily goal, we stopped at three roadside pullouts and two National Wildlife Reserves that were small but had potential. The first one was just past the Salmon Creek and was very quiet, but we did see a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT there.  The second one had two levels , a parking lot, then a short road to a trail head which led by trail,  to an overlook 0of the Pacific  Coast. We elected to stay at the first level avoiding the trail walk.

That was a good idea as we began to pick up some birds in the area especially at a house that was just off the parking lot. Here we saw BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, STELLAR'S  JAY, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, BLACK HEADED GROSBEAK, PURPLE FINCH,  and a  BAND TAILED PIGEON. It pays to search near the parking lots. We have seen many a bird species , and one time in the back of a McDonald's. The view from this Parking lot of the NWR was good .(See).

Can you see the farmer baling hay on his tractor? Note marsh in foreground.

Essentially the same place but a different angle.

Along the coast there were many opportunities to view the "Haystacks", rocks and birds on the rocks. At one site there were visitor guides offering looks at the wildlife through telescopes.  This road winds around the coastal mountains and some of the small towns along the coast like Seaside, Yachats, Pacific City, Bebo (on US 101) and Netarts.

Where a small fresh water lake empties into the Ocean

The lookout where the volunteers showed the birds on the rocks. Cormorants (3 kinds) C. Murres and Pigeon Guillemots

An interesting look at a "cave" in the rock.

The same hole without the trees.

We also visited the Meares lighthouse . It was a long walk downhill,  but a longer walk back up. The photos and the historical one show the transition since it was built in the last years of the  1800's. Meares was the first white man to explore this area and placed many settlements here.  These posters also explain about geese.

Yes,  there are (atl east ) 7kinds of Geese.

Study this for information.

The Fresnel at the Meares Lighthouse

The long walk back.We paused a number of times.(There are benches)

 The eight-sided, one-ton, first-order Fresnel lens was manufactured in Paris, France by Henry LaPaute. The carriage, clockwork, weights, and other components weighed an additional ton. When completed, it was shipped around Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean, and then up to Northern Oregon, where it was hoisted up the cliff face with a hand-operated crane made from spruce trees cut on the cape.

Below is the light station when it was just completed. Today you see the trees and the walkway in the same place. Over the years it was vandalized , lenses pieces stolen and after many years finally returned. It had even been shot at  and the vandals arrested. It ceased being a lighthouse in 2014.

Meares lighthouse in the foreground. It is the shortest on the Oregon Coast. The lighthouse keepers homes and the oil housing are seen at the top. The photos above were taken from on top.

Tomorrow we will see south of Lincoln City along the Coast. On Monday we will visit the Oregon Seacoast Marine Aquarium.







Finally we heade for the Tillamook Creamery and Ice Cream.  "Mudslide" (doube) for ZRuth and "Mudslide" and "Marion Berry" and "Mudslide" for me.

IT was Saturday and the lines went fast.  There were about 25 servers  and four cash registers.

Lots of choices...27 that day.It varies.

The entry, and there is plenty of seating in and out!

The factory, and theyare adding a huge addition across the street.

Day 60, Friday June 1, 2018, Lincoln City --Stayed at the trailer today

It is a sunny day here in NW Oregon, the sun shined all day and the wind was irrelevant! Ruth and I stayed in the trailer while were getting work done on our Tundra. That meant some inside work and of course the laundry. First item was a long needed one and that was to vacuum the blinds in the trailer. A few years ago we had traded our Venetian blinds in for some that were easier to move up and down as well as to secure when traveling. Here they are in these photos in the living area of the trailer. Ruth held the blinds while Jim vacuumed.

The blinds are in the upper right corner of this photo. Yes we have a chiming clock, a new purchase this trip.

The blinds also show in this photo in the kitchen. The quiche is cooling on the stove.

Having finished with the blinds, we ambled, after lunch,  ( I had potato salad that Liz had sent me home with when I visited them two nights ago) up to the laundry room and even if is  quite small with three washers and three dryers, it was clean and efficient. We had done a laundry just 5 days ago so this was a "short load'" that will keep us for another 7-10 days. (We have  enough socks for that many days.) Washer and dryer costs are reasonable her at the Siletz Indian Casino RV Park. A load is $1.75 for each.  They made a good wash and a good dry.  A UPS mailed package had come that had been mailed from Phoenix containing some lotion from Ruth's niece who works for "Forever Living"  a lotion and skin care Co.  We awaited a call from Mark at the auto shop and he did call  saying that our truck would be ready in the AM. They will send a vehicle to pick me up in the Am. That was good news, that we now have a vehicle that is safe on the road. Bad brakes are not good, especially when pulling a trailer or any vehicle. You did not get a chance to see our campsite so here it is.

 Whoops , last night's sunset first!

Last nights sunset. The Ocean sunsets are rather "fluffy" as the clouds filter the light.

Our campsite #3 at the foot of the woods. All fir trees (Douglas)

A wider shot with the trailers up the row.

During the day Ruth kept hearing this bird in the bushes behind us. I looked twice but could not find it. After supper I went out again with camera in hand and did see two birds (a pair) that were either looking for a nest site or on their honeymoon. I went back into the trailer and got my camera hoping to take a photo of them or one of them. I was able after a few patient minutes to do that. This is  the SPOTTED TOWHEE.

Spotted Towhee hiding under Oregon Grape. Black head, and wings with orange breast and white spots on wings.

Still hiding! They were very furtive once they flew under the shrub.

The day ended with a call from the shop and Mark indicated that they had the brakes finished  except that the ABS light was not operative. He would order one with the hanger, if I wanted to install it. I  am going to "ponder"that one until Monday. I can see how it operates on Sat and  Sunday as we drive the truck  and make a decision. The truck will be safe without it , but will not have ABS.

Tomorrow after we get the vehicle back we will do some local sites for birds and get down to the Beach and seashore.  Monday we plan to visit the Oregon Aquarium  which is a tremendous venue for sea life of all kinds.  Wait until you see those photos. Seeing them in the wild is so much more exciting, but this place uses the environment to explain how the habitats work on the west Coast. It is divided up into 'stations' of interest. See you tomorrow  Thanks to those followers in all countries and  Spain especially who are growing in number each day. IT is  a contest between the USA and Spain for most followers each day.