When we left Cannon Beach we headed down the coast, hoping to catch some views of the Pacific Ocean scenery before turning east toward McMinnville, a town in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine region.  We didn’t get many long-distance views, but we did manage to see some interesting things along the way, including the ferocious prehistoric creature I posted about previously. 🙂

What looks like fog in these photos is a combination of actual fog and smoke from the wildfires farther inland and some drifting north from northern California.  Thanks to the magic of white balance adjustment, these look mostly like fog, while the original files have more of an orangey-brown cast to them.

We spent a bit of time exploring the marina in Garibaldi, a small town of 800~ on Tillamook Bay along US 101. The marina provided us with some visual stimulation, and the addition of the smoke/fog allowed for some interesting photographs.  Garibaldi is home to a scenic railway – which was not operating – a maritime history museum, also closed and a US Coast Guard station.  It might make for a good destination on a return trip, as there appear to be a number of quaint looking inns nearby!

We had hoped to visit the Tillamook Creamery, but it had closed just prior to our arrival due to a combination of the virus and the heavy smoke.  So we moved on to Cape Lookout (home of the dinosaur) and Cape Mears to check out the lighthouse before making our way to McMinnville.