Coastal Wanderings: Tillamook Bay

Late this summer I finally made it to one of the areas

I'd been wanting to see for a very long time:

the beautiful Tillamook Bay area!

Tillamook Bay is located between Cannon Beach and Lincoln City on Highway 101.

Unlike these towns though, Tillamook (the largest town in this area) is located inland of the coast--don't worry, the coast and the famous Three Capes are not far away at all:)

Tillamook is known for the big dairy industry there--

the gorgeous green pastures of the area keep the local cows happy and I love to take photos of them with the coast range in the background!

BTW--this particular photo was taken from the Blue Heron Cafe parking area, where we picked up some goodies, admired the beautiful flowers and made plans to come back sometime and have lunch there (more on them at a later date)!

Notice the wonderful low clouds on the mountains?

I never get enough of the low clouds/fog on our Pacific NW natural features--our waterways, mountains, beaches...it just makes things seem romantic and mysterious!

Highway 101 skirts the gorgeous bay as you head north. After Tillamook you will pass the small communities of Bay City and then -- our destination this time--Garibaldi!

The day was particularly pretty as we had a mixture of clouds and sun...

the route we took went through a bit of the Siuslaw National Forest.

Mountains, rivers and trees--I loved it!

Birds abound all along the bay--we saw seagulls (of course) and also some Blue Herons in this area. BTW---where is that ZOOM lens, Aimee...?

Another thing I never get tired of is the rock formations along the coast and bay. Some day I will post photos of Cannon Beach and you can see one of the most famous ones--Haystack Rock. Actually, there are several Haystack Rocks---one not too far from here...but the most famous is north of here.

Another view -- a bit different lighting conditions. Now this, despite the absence of fogs or low clouds, this scene seems romantic to me too.

A bit inland--a gorgeous church we passed; I have been looking for its history on the web tonight with very little luck thus far. Once I find historical sites I am the type that wants to know all I can about their history.

Since It is after 0200 Thursday AM and since I haven't finished processing them all yet and since I am now exhausted--I will leave you here with a sunset at the coast. More later:)

- Blessings, Aimee

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Soon: More Tillamook Bay and nearby areas...