We never tire of our days on the coast of Oregon with all its beauty including this beautiful walk to a waterfall near our campsite in Tillamook. Just down the road on highway 101 was Munson Creek State Natural Site, and a lovely secluded walk to a small waterfall. A few miles on a gravel road with some turns and twists and totally void of other visitors. Nice!
It wasn't much more than a trickle at this time of year but the ferns and lush trail was a perfect start to the day.
As we headed north into the little town of Tillamook we saw more of the Quilt Trail, the patches of color on dairy barns.
I loved the huge lettering on the nearby Air Museum. We didn't stop to tour but you sure couldn't miss it from the road.
A childhood memory for me was touring the Tillamook Cheese Factory many decades ago. Yes, it's still a thriving cheese making business and STILL provides a look at how the tasty cheddar cheese is made. The day we were there the cheese was already made into bricks and being packaged in all sizes. Its a self guided tour with an observation area and lots of historical displays and nibbles of cheese to taste.
A left turn out the driveway of the cheese factory and just down the road was the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center, a museum featuring exhibits of amazing quilts and weavings all housed in a converted 1930s schoolhouse. PK stayed in the car and enjoyed a rest while I wandered through all the displays, picking up the map of all the locations for the Quilt Trail. The map not only showed the stops for the quilt designs but also told the history of the properties, the families who owned the farms, ranches and businesses.
The afternoon was warm and lovely for a convertible ride back out along the Three Capes Scenic Drive. We stopped to see the Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery, maintained by volunteers who help raise more than a quarter of a million Fall and Spring Chinook salmon each year. No one was around but we fed the hungry critters and walked this part of Netarts Bay. Guess the most interesting part was reading about the fin clipping done each spring by hundreds of volunteers of all ages.
The Scenic Drive is 38 miles long running along the coast with spectacular views! It passes through some tiny fishing towns from Cape Meares and on south to Cape Kiwanda and Pacific City.
It was too hard to resist another gorgeous sunset at Pacific City, so we stopped once again to hang out as the sun gave us this lovely view.
Back at our cozy Elks Campground Paul got a campfire started and we called it a day. Next destination: Astoria.
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