Sea Lion Caves, Florence, OR.

                                      Friday 6/29/2012

Honeyman State Park is located just one block from the campground, Lakeshore RV Resort that we stayed at in Florence.

We drove into the State park to get a better look at Woahink Lake. We just couldn't find a spot that gave us a good view of the lake.

We headed for the Seal Lion Caves that are located north of Florence. En route we crossed the Siuslaw River Bridge, which is a bascule bridge that spans the Siuslaw River on U.S. Route 101 in Florence, Oregon. It was designed by Conde McCullough. Hwy. 101 in Oregon, has a lot of historic bridges.

 Four Art Deco-style obelisks house mechanical equipment as well as living quarters for the bridge operator. The total cost of the bridge built in 1936 was $527,000.

Entering into the business district of Florence, OR.

It started to drizzle as we entered into the Sea Lion Cave entrance.

The cost was $12 for adults and $8 for ages 3- 12. The Sea Lion Cave is the world's largest sea caves. We first went down a walkway to view the sea lions that were on a ledge outside the cave.

View of the walk back up to the gift shop.

The seals and sea lions are just dots, without binoculars and a zoom lens.

In the spring the bull sea lions gather up a harem of cows ( female sea lions) from 10 to 20 each until the breeding season is over in early July.

This seal swam ashore only to be fought,

and had to retreat to the ocean once again.

A cow and her pup. Cows weigh up to 500 to 700 lbs. ( For the size of this cow, maybe it's a bull instead).

Bulls weigh up to 1200 to 1500 lbs.

Two bulls protecting their harem.

The sea lions are very loud.

A big wave came in to cool off these two confronting males.

The Steller Sea Lions roar like a lion.

Some of the strongest males swim 4000 miles to winter in Alaska and then return back to this area to breed in the spring.

We went back up the walkway to take the elevator to the sea cave.

You can not take pictures of the sea lions or seals in the sea cave. This is a picture of Heceta Head Lighthouse from a viewing spot in the cave.

Unfortunately the Heceta Head Lighthouse was under construction while we were there.

It is said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

You can also see all the birds that rest off the Oregon coast from the inside viewing point in the cave.

I think most of these are Cormorats.

While standing at the north lighthouse viewing hole, I turned around and took a shot into the cave. At the bottom of the cave you can see where the seals, sea lions rest. The seals, and sea lions winter in the cave, as well as when it storms. For being spring, there were a lot of them in the cave. Not a spot was available.

An elevator was install in the cave in 1961. Before that, there were a lot more stairs to climb down and back up.

Joe forgot our umbrella in the cave, so I waited for him to retrieve it at the entrance of the elevator.

Views from the top of the elevator. Also the sea entrance into the cave below.

View of the Heceta Head Lighthouse from the entrance of the elevator.

The light keepers home is now a B & B.

Because the lighthouse was under construction, I took a picture of a picture of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Views while on our 11 mile drive back to Florence.

It was kind of a miserable day, but who can complain when you don't have to go to work.

Sandland Adventures, Florence, OR

Thursday 6/28/2012

Our first day activity in Florence, OR. was the Sandland Adventure.

There are two different rides. a slow ride and a fast ride. If you have neck and back problems, the fast ride is not advised. Because I definitely have neck problems, we paid for the slow ride. There are two sand dune buggy ride business in Florence. We chose this business, because we didn't have to wait for 40 minutes, and got on a buggy right away.

We entered at the South Jetty of the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area.

We sat at the very back with another couple. Every one else on the ride were a big group family.

The National Recreational Area stretches 40 miles from Coos Bay, OR. to Florence, OR. From the top of this dune we could see the Pacific.

Then we went through a sand road through the trees,

and crossed a stream.

On the other side of the stream we saw this RV and SUV. How he got there I do not know!

We took another sand road through sea grass to the ocean,

and then traveled 2 miles on the beach. I was glad it was only 2 miles because it was very cool that day, and the wind was very strong on the beach.

These guys and gals were dressed prepared, so it didn't seem to bother them much.

Most of us on the buggy were not as prepared.

Thank God we headed back inland, where it was warmer.

This sand road in was very bumpy.

There are so many roads in the recreational area, one could easily get lost. They do have road signs to help you find your way back.

We got back to the interior of the recreational area again.

You can also rent individual dune buggy.

Looked like a lot of fun, but more expensive and you needed to know what the heck you were doing.

Our first big hill we descended. Those were our tracks as we came down.

we got high enough for another ocean view.

Another down hill, this one was bigger then the last. All arms up!

When we headed down this hill, our driver was moving fast and I heard my husband say "Holy Cow" as we headed down.

We and the buggy were completely vertical.

Another ocean view,

before we descended once again.

I razed Joe saying, "How come you didn't say "Holy Cow" as we went down that one"? He said because I razed him to much for the first one. He will never hear the end of the, "Holy Cow shout out".  I still get a chuckle every time I think about that moment it happened!

Our ride was for an hour and it was a lot of fun.

On our last sand hilltop, we got a view of Florence and the river below.

I would highly recommend the sand dune buggy rides, but pick a warmer day!

We left the recreational area a different way.

The hour long ride cost $14 each. Well worth the money!