Flying to the Vegas area has always been one of my favorite flights because of all the scenery along the way. I stay glued to my window while flying over deserts, canyons, and other captivating terrains I can't even name. I hadn't gone above Utah until this flight and oh my goodness was it gorgeous on my way to Oregon.
On my first full day in Oregon, my friends Vidur, Rachel and I set out for Florence, a coastal city about 60 miles from their home in Eugene. They've only been in the state for a few months but from my experience are already expert tour guides, and had planned a stop on the way at Sweet Creek Falls to break up the drive.
We stopped and hiked around a bit, first mistakenly in the wrong direction, then we turned back and found the top of the falls, and finally made it to the bottom. The water was SO cold.. I would have told you it was an ice bath from the feel of it if I hadn't been able to see that there wasn't any ice in the water! We waded around for a bit and their dog Finley even tried it out.
I was amazed that despite riding in the front seat, the mountain roads we drove on got me carsick! We quickly discovered that that must be the case for many visitors of the area because the gas station we stopped at was out of Dramamine. We went down the street to a convenience store and they were out of the non-drowsy kind I insist on.. but had the regular kind, so I bought that. Once we reached Florence, we found a grocery store and checked yet again for non-drowsy Dramamine... totally out! They didn't even have the regular kind. I was a bit fascinated while we drove up to the grocery store--there were HUGE sand dunes behind it! As though it was built at the start of a massive desert.
On our way to our first destination in Florence, we stopped at a scenic overlook for a gorgeous view of the coast, dunes, and we got to PICK BLACKBERRIES! I was SO excited, not sure why picking fruit (like my apple picking in 2019) fascinates me.. but it does!
After our quick roadside stop, we drove over to Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint for some even more gorgeous views and (drumroll please)... more blackberry picking along the way! There was a nice concrete trail along the cliff that was built in the 1920s to replace a wooden boardwalk. Once we got to the top, the lighthouse was understandably short, being on a cliff, and what a stunning view. The Fresnel lens of the Heceta Head lighthouse is the largest English lens of its type and brightest light on the Oregon Coast, seen as far as 21 miles at sea.
Once we were done taking pictures and taking in the gorgeous view, we headed back down with a quick stop at the gift shop. Our next destination was Sea Lion Caves, America's largest sea cave, and one of the largest in the world having a floor that covers two acres and height as high as 125 feet.
Unfortunately, the sea lions aren't there this time of year, but it was still fascinating to see. The cave was created by fractures in molten rock from volcanoes twenty-five million years ago.
From there we found a busy downtown Florence with a long wait at the restaurant where we had planned to grab dinner, so we tried another place. After dinner, I was elated when we decided to go see the dunes I had quietly been wishing we would see since spotting them behind the grocery store. We followed a random "dunes" sign and were oh so happy with what we found. We climbed wayyyy up the dunes to reveal a gorgeous beach sunset on the other side. Rachel and Vidur stayed put but I had to run down the dunes to see the view of it all from the water.
Once the sun went down, we headed back to Eugene where I would try Crumbl Cookies for the first time--YUM!
