Depoe Bay, Alder House glass blower, Mossy Creek Pottery, Cobble Beach Tidepools, Yaquina Head Lighthouse, and Yachats

-- Depoe Bay --

I woke up around 1:30 am this morning with an uneasy feeling that I should change my location. I can't explain why, but I follow my gut feelings, so I moved from the lookout parking lot to the side of the road below some apartments or condos, and went back to sleep. I took photos of the old and new locations after I got up in the morning.

Depot Bay claims to be the smallest navigable natural harbor in the world. Another claim to fame is that it was the site of the fishing trip scene in the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

-- Alder House --

Depot Bay is just South of Lincoln City, where my sister Claudia enjoyed watching a glass blower on an earlier trip of hers. She told me the name of the studio, Alder House, so I drove there and watched the glass blower. Anyone can drop by, and he explains what he's doing to anyone who is watching.

Four glass blowers work at the studio, but only one is usually there at a time. It was fun to watch him work. The studio has some beautiful pieces for sale.

The pieces are usually topped with a thin clear coat of molten glass before they are slowly cooled overnight in an oven. He explained that paperweights and similar items are easier to make because the glass is not blown. The interior design is created and then covered with thicker coat of clear molten glass, without doing any blowing.

-- Mossy Creek Pottery --

Alder House is on a quiet, wooded street south of town. Mossy Creek Pottery is a few houses away, so I also stopped there to admire their work.

I'm not in the accumulating stage of life, so I didn't buy anything at either place, but I enjoyed the experience. Below are a few of the pottery pieces I liked.

These pottery whales serve as pots for air plants.

-- Cobble Beach --

Next on my agenda was to visit some tidepools. I checked the tide tables, and visited Cobble Beach, located north of Newport, Oregon, by the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Cobble Beach must get its name from the beautiful grey rocks on the beach.

In the tidepools, I saw sea anemonies, a crab, and something I had never seen before -- an orange Gumboot Chiton! The ranger had some handouts, or else I wouldn't have been able to identify the Chiton.

I also saw mussels, gooseneck barnacles, and sea lions on distant rocks, as well as other things like hermit crabs.

The Yaquinta Head Lighthouse is on the same road as Cobble Beach.

-- Yachats --

I kept driving south until I reached the small town of Yachats. Tonight is dark and rainy, and there town is quiet. There aren't any "No Overnight Parking" signs, so I found a parking spot at the curb, near some other cars in downtown Yachats, and will spend the night here.