Traveled further down the coast on HW 101. Stopped at Cape Perpetua Lookout to snap a view photos. Also at a beach about 3 miles further south where Mikey discovered the stinky carcass of a dead seal lion - they are humongous, even when dead. Then stopped briefly to see the Heceta Lighthouse, supposedly the brightest light on the Oregon coast. Looked down and saw a huge colony of seal lions, part of the group that hangs out at Seal Lion Caves, something we did not stop to see (just about the only thing we didn't stop to do this day).

Southwest from Cape Perpetua Lookout, OR	Medium on the left, extra sharp on the right.......
North from Cape Perpetua	Beach just south of Cape Perpetua, OR
Heceta Head Lighthouse, OR	Outside Seal Lion Cave, OR

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We reached the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and are set up at the Jessie M. Honeyman State Park, just south of Florence, OR. Golden Age passes don't work here (Dad replaced his for $10 at the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center). There are three fresh water lakes within walking distance. And the dunes are right across the park to the west. The place is packed tonight, with wall to wall campers. Most are in RV's or RV-tent combinations, with only one site I saw that consisted only of a car and tent. The setups reak of money, with a few having more than one 4 wheeler off road vehicle (read souped up dune buggy). The fire fog that develops each evening is amazing from the massive number of campfires in close proximity. And stinky too. When we rolled in around noon, there were only a couple of more full hook-up sites left. We then took off in my car for the afternoon in Eugene. Unfortunately, there was a celebration festival ongoing, which meant little parking, lots of crowds and tons of booths of stuff people really don't need to buy. We didn't stop anywhere except at the closed information center, and then on the way back out, at the local Wal-Mart. Mom got the newest version of the infamous Rand McNally national atlas which includes site info for all Wal-Marts and Sam's Clubs. Even the "super Wal-Marts" are noted!....wooo-hooo! The drive to-and-from Eugene on state 126 is gorgeous, expecially between Florence and Mapleton. The route parallels the south fork of the Suislaw River, deep into the Siuslaw National Forest. When we arrived back at the site, Dad took off to try his luck at fishing in Cleawox Lake, while I took Mikey for a long walk on the dunes, just west of our campsite. Fantastic work out (read cardiovascular) walking up the dunes. Mikey acted as a sled dog for short bits......the ocean is about 2 miles further west and could be seen from the top of the tallest dune I could find. Full moon out tonight. Learned from Dad how to set up the satellite dish to get TV....pretty cool technology actually. Speaking of which, I bought the DVD for Monster, Inc. and watched most of it on my new laptop. Talk about cool technology. We're staying here tomorrow night, so we'll have some time to dune walk, fish and explore Florence (for either a Wal-mart, Fred Meyer, or Safeway for Mom).

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Last updated 10/23/2005
copyright Wendy Atkinson, 2002