Be it desert, ocean, rivers, lakes, mountains or farm country, everywhere I travel there are breath-taking sunsets, sunrises and rainbows. This blog post is about many of them that I have been able to capture on camera. No photo does any of them justice but will give an idea of their beauty from the Pacific Northwest to the Ohio Midwest and from Wyoming to Arizona. Enjoy the regal sunshine!

Early fall sunrise on Lake Erie, Ohio

Sunset On The Sonoran Desert, Arizona

Sunset in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon Coast 

Spring Sunset Clouds Over Lake Erie, Ohio 

Rainbow On The Nebraska Farm 

Pacific Northwest, Oregon Coast Sunset

 Lake Erie Sunrise At The Cottage, Ohio 

Misty Sunset At Umpqua River Haven, Oregon 

 Sunset At The Huron Lighthouse, Ohio 

Sunrise On The Nebraska Farm

 Wyoming Sunset Over Laramie Peak

 Thanksgiving Day On The Oregon Coast

 Sunrise On The Huron River

 Sunset On Lake Macatawa, Michigan

 Sunset Over The Crab Dock, Winchester Bay, Oregon

 Sunset At Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon

 Sunset On Lake Erie From The Pier At Huron, Ohio

 Sunset, Desert Mountains, Arizona

 Stormy Day Rainbow Spouting Over The Freighters, Huron River, Ohio

 Sunset Winchester Bay, Oregon

Sunset On The Nebraska Farm

 Stormy Sunset Rocky River Beach, Ohio

 Sunset Neskowin, Oregon

Sunset Winchester Bay, Oregon Over The Fishing Fleet

 Dawn On The Huron River, Ohio

 Winchester Bay, Oregon Sunset

 Sunset, Old Homestead, Huron, Ohio, Lake Erie

 Full Rainbow Over Huron River Great Lakes Freighters, Ohio

Sunsets, sunrises and rainbows are awesome to catch and not all that tough if you are watching. But moonrises in the dark night are almost impossible to snap without special equipment. We leave you with our Umpqua River Haven summer moonrise through the Douglas Fir trees. Come visit us and see for yourself!

The very best place to tide pool on the Oregon Coast is at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

Come prepared for the long climb down the steps. More importantly be prepared for the long climb back up the towering staircase from the rocky tide pools. Sturdy shoes with good traction are recommended by this family. When the tide goes out it leaves a field of rocks the size of baseballs that have been tossed smooth in the ocean and are wet and slippery.

We woke up at 3 am one morning, left Umpqua River Haven and headed to Newport about 4 am to catch the 6 am low tide that leaves hundreds of pools stranded in the rocks. We traversed the winding stairway and tread carefully upon the slippery rocks. It is well worth the effort and early summer hour. Here are some of the treasures we found in the tide pools.

Sea Urchins, snails and mussels, oh my!!!

The purple sea star is our favorite.

There is a nice interpretive center that has much information and is a great place to take the kids before heading to the tide pools and lighthouse. Our youngsters had never seen a tide pool or the creatures within and were fascinated with all of it. And then we went to the lighthouse.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is the tallest of the Oregon Coast lighthouses at 93 feet. Originally it was named the Cape Foulweather Lighthouse. Its Fresnel lens was made in Paris in 1868 and first lit in August, 1873. The light was automated in 1966 and is an active light on the Oregon Coast guiding ships in the night.

17 military personnel were stationed here during World War II watching for possible enemy invasion. This lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. As with other Oregon Coast lighthouses, storms and lack of access to this remote site caused delays in building it.

There just can’t be a lighthouse on the Oregon Coast without a ghost and Yaquina Head is no exception. In 1921 a Second Assistant Keeper died in the execution of his lighthouse duties and is credited as the ghost of Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Between 1932 and 1945 Keeper John Zenor reported encounters with the ghost. “Someone unseen would come in and go up the spiral stairs,” Zenor stated. “After the war (WWII) we never heard him again.”

Strange happenings still occur like the dog that fell off the cliff onto the beach below. As rescue workers were getting ready to rappel down to the pooch, he suddenly appeared next to one of the fire trucks unharmed. It is still a mystery how he got up the steep and slippery cliff.

If you’ve never been atop a lighthouse you are in for a real treat. I am always awed by the views when I reach the upper area of any lighthouse. It’s that much better 93 feet off the ground.

Come stay with us at Umpqua River Haven and take a ‘don’t miss’ day trip to Newport and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and the tide pools below! This is one of the Oregon Coast’s major adventures!

In line with our previous blog about boats along the Oregon Coast we have encountered additional and different boats along the shores of Lake Erie in Northern Ohio. While touring the Vermilion River on the Mystic Belle we discovered a variety of boats often with unusual, interesting or even humorous names.

The Mystic Belle is well worth the small fee. There is a lot of history on this river and our tour guide, Capt. Don Parson, knows every bit of it and narrates as it goes with enthusiasm and great knowledge. http://www.donparsonsmarina.com/MysticBelle.html

The Vermilion River is unique with its Cape Cod Lagoon housing where the boats are out your front door, additional housing up and down the river, a history of industry and restaurant seating out over the river. Watching the boats can be a full time occupation.

Sailboats race out on the lake past the mouth of the river.

On the lake you can find very small boats but only on a calm day. This one is coming in for a better view of the Vermilion Lighthouse replica.

On the Black River in Lorain, Ohio at the Black River Landing the ferry will take you out to tour the “Jewel of the Port,” the Lorain Lighthouse. Tour guides and ferry drivers are all volunteers from the local community.   http://www.lorainlighthouse.com/tours.shtml

The Huron River in Huron, Ohio has a variety of marinas and a yacht club along with a very nice boat basin. 

The Huron River and the City of Huron have also been host since February, 2015 to two Great Lakes supply freighters that pulled in for extended maintenance. They are moored directly across the river from the Huron Boat Basin.

While hiking along the Huron River to the pier one evening it was exciting to come across this beauty – the 129 foot yacht Unity. Built at a cost of $19 million dollars, this luxury boat belongs to the great-great-granddaughter of Henry Ford (that would be Ford Motor Company!), Elena Ford. She pulls into Huron occasionally to gas up. With a fuel capacity of 10,000 gallons it gives new meaning to the term “fill ‘er up!” I could live on this one.

Out on Lake Erie now at the destination Cedar Point Amusement Park you can find small pleasure craft fishing, anchored or just enjoying a boat ride. 

It would be hard to miss the boats up around the Lake Erie Islands near Kelley’s Island.

There’s a great restaurant on South Bass Island in Put-In-Bay, The Boardwalk, which is up a flight of stairs and right out over the water. The views of the boats, Perry’s Monument and Lake Erie are breath-taking.

Being from Umpqua River Haven in Oregon where the salmon and tuna are great, we especially like the fresh-caught Lake Erie perch sandwich here.   http://www.the-boardwalk.com/pdscms

This last photo epitomizes Lake Erie boats for us conjuring up dreams of just sailing away…..

One of Oregon’s unique places sits out on a precipice between Depot Bay and Newport. Discovered in 1778, it was given this name when Capt. James Cook first arrived here on his third voyage around the world. His travels nearly ended here due to the unexpected storm as he arrived. In his own words:

“The land appeared to be of moderate height, diversified with hill and Valley and almost everywhere covered with wood. There was nothing remarkable about it except one hill….At the northern extreme the land formed a point which I called Cape Foulweather from the very bad weather we soon after met with.”

 The building is the Lookout where the views are almost mind-boggling.

Looking East

Looking Northwest

Looking West

The sites you can see from the windows inside the Lookout are vast and diverse including breaking surf on the shore, all varieties of sea birds flying and nesting, diving sea lions, salmon fishing fleets, barking seals, ocean liners on the far horizon with smoky trails, traveling whale pods, stunning sunsets that take your breath away, and the storms. As Capt. Cook described the storms are frightening to be in but magnificent to watch and followed by a peaceful calm that surrounds the soul with feelings of warmth and joy.

The Outlook was a gift shop with many unique items to choose from. Beautiful jewelry, glass fishing net floats, T-shirts, books, toys and so much more. It was always a treat to visit inside for the view but also to peruse the gift shop for new items.

In 2013 the Outlook was purchased by the State of Oregon and converted into an interpretive center, whale watching and observation room, plus a smaller gift shop with a smaller more focused inventory. the T-shirts are great! It’s an even greater treat to visit and be able to enjoy the views even more.

Cape Foulweather is a must stop for us when traveling that direction from Umpqua River Haven. We never tire of the beauty of the Oregon Coast and especially here at the cape.

Take a leisurely walk around this scenic area and you will find friendly squirrels waiting to be fed, chipmunks and sea birds close enough to touch if only they would let you. You can also see the west beach area where many brave souls come to surf the ocean waves.

Be sure to put Cape Foulweather on the schedule for your next trip to the Oregon Coast and stay with us at Umpqua River Haven! We leave you at the west overlook to enjoy the awesome view on a day when the weather wasn’t foul.

Remember applying contact paper to your cupboard shelves? There were various but rather boring pattern choices. Meant to keep shelves clean and provide a smooth surface, in time contact paper developed cuts, nicks, stains, and markings and had to be replaced.

That may be a thing of the past with ShurTech’s Duck Tape products. Recently we went on a tour of the world headquarters for Duck Tape in Avon, Ohio.Handy to Highway 90, Just Imagine Way takes you into the spacious parking lot near the front door. We received very friendly greetings as we entered the facility. Situated on 211 acres, which we were told is one acre more than where the competition’s factory is perched, the facility itself encompasses many thousands of square feet.

Along with the six of us and a family of four, this tour included about ten young children from a nearby daycare center. We all marveled at these kids as they were some of the best behaved children we had ever encountered. Amanda Pasenow, who is also an in-house artist, handles all of the tours. She normally plays with Duck Tape all day long. Her enthusiasm for these products and sharing her knowledge knows no bounds. Her manner with these children could not have been better and she had their undivided attention from the git-go.

The tour starts with three videos and questions and answers. We were amazed at the very pertinent questions the children asked. And then it was onward and upstairs to the office area where there are also a variety of displays,

               Display in Office Area                                                 Trust E Duck                   Duck Tape Sheets                                        New Duck Tape Prints

ShurTech is very much into kids and assisting with school needs. Plus they have a campaign dealing with the issue of school bullying. These displays spoke for themselves.

Duck Tape sponsors an annual “Wear It To Prom” promotion. High School students from all over the country are encouraged to create their own prom clothing from Duck Tape. Then wear it to prom and submit photos to the contest. ShurTech gives away $50,000.00 in scholarships for this event. And the creations are amazing. The winners creations are on display in the facility.

This display was especially fascinating with creations by students and also real design artists. The blue dress by a designer was especially beautiful. Designers use an under fabric and sew while students usually wrap, cut and stick. But they all turn out lovely.

 When we worked in daycare we played “Duck, Duck, Goose” with the little ones but we’ve now revised that to “Duck, Duck, TAPE” as there are so many things that can be created out of this fun product. And there are displays showing the variety of fun inventions.

This was about our favorite creation. It was hard to believe that it was wholly made from Duck Tape.

Here and there we found flowers. One of our family members creates beautiful rose pens so we were very interested in the flowers.

Duck Tape creates with Disney characters and one display that interested the kids was this one for “Frozen.”

We toured the plant area where the big rolls are cut into many smaller ones, boxed in displays, wrapped and shipped out. Although the tapes are actually made in another plant in another state, we did learn how one product is made. There are no photos because they weren’t allowed. Always cautious of the competition, ShurTech graciously hosts tours but asks that their secrets not be shared.

We completed our tour in the video room where everyone was given the opportunity to make something fun with Duck Tape. We also spied this around the corner.

My talent with Duck Tape is non-existent but, remember the family member who creates rose pens? She says they are never the same but we think they are perfect.

Everyone went home with a sack of goodies including a 2” roll of Duck Tape in the color of your choice and one smaller roll. Plus key chains, pens and pins all with Trust E. Duck on them. Thanks Amanda and ShurTech! All in all it was a ducky day.

The Oregon Coast is the perfect place to fly your kite. The breezes flow most of the time and the beaches are long and wide. There are kite stores, kite clubs, kite flying lessons and kite festivals. Lincoln City on the north coast holds one indoor kite festival every March. Rockaway Beach has its beach festival in May and Lincoln City just had their summer kite festival on the beach in June. Brookings on the south coast holds one in July. The only places whales can fly!

The kite festival we will visit today is coming to Lincoln City in October, depending on the weather, on the beach in the center of town. Lincoln City has a large, unique public beach right in the middle of town so you don’t have to go far to find this oneAnd, oh, the kites! Big ones, little ones, funny ones, pretty ones, strange ones and very unique ones.

Even monster ones!

And then there is the running of the Bols! Teams of three pull the Bols across the sand racing to be first to the goal line.

The Bols come in a variety of colors and geometric patterns. Music plays and the crowds cheer!

 And the kite flying never stops.

Sometimes multiple kites managed by a lone flyer are in the air.

And unusual patterns take place over head.

And what about kite boarding out in the Pacific Ocean??!!!

It’s hard to know what to look at and for first!

 Sometimes a kite is just a kite!

Treat yourself this fall. Come stay with us at Umpqua River Haven and spend a day on the beach in Lincoln City enjoying the kite festival!

Thanks to Umpqua River Haven friend, George, for this video!

The video below shows Oregon commercial fishing boats returning to port with their catch. They are crossing the Columbia Bar where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.

The Columbia Bar is stamped one of the most dangerous ports of entry anywhere in the world. Eight to ten deaths occur here every year due to boats attempting to cross that are not designed for this kind of what amounts to abuse of a vessel.

The fishing boats are self-righting, have a low center of gravity with sealed engine compartments, bullet proof glass, and double steel hulls. Made for the beating waves. Additionally the captains of these vessels are well seasoned at piloting through the bar.

Due to the 35 to 45 foot waves the Coast Guard has closed this crossing to any boats other than the commercial shrimp and fishing boats you will see here.

What a ride!!!

Boats are everywhere along the Umpqua River and Oregon Coast. At Umpqua River Haven some of our residents have their own boats used mostly for fishing. There are also boats everywhere along the shores of Lake Erie when I travel to Northern Ohio. Big boats, little boats, sailing boats, fishing boats, working freighter boats and even wrecked boats. Remember the Bella?

Boats dock in a variety of places but usually clustered together in a harbor or port. Winchester Bay, Oregon has as variety of docking places for pleasure and recreational fishing craft.

And sailboats.

We particularly like these boat docks, er, ducks?

Some individual boats are interesting like this houseboat.
We like this one and keep hoping we’ll receive it at a gift!

Then there are the commercial fishing boats. A fleet of them hangs at Windy Bay when they’re not out catching our favorite fish—tuna!

Some fishing boats are quite beautiful!

And don’t forget the Coast Guard boats.

Just who takes care of all these boats, especially the big ones? In our neck of the woods it’s Fred Wahl Marine in Reedsport, Oregon. Our neighbor at Umpqua River Haven, Fred Wahl, has been at it a long time.

Here you will find the facilities to dry-dock any boat for maintenance and repair. Our friend, Mark, use to work here and the knowledge he learned repairing and painting boats was very helpful to us at Umpqua River Haven for some of our repairs and painting.

When Fred is done with the boats they become a thing of beauty!

And don’t forget the tall ships from an earlier blog. One of our favorite tall ships is at Shore Acres during the winter holiday season. Watch for more about Shore Acres later in the year. And watch for more about boats from the shores of Lake Erie coming soon.

Wherever you find yourself the 4^th of July on the Oregon Coast you will find fireworks! Great, spectacular displays of bursting, colorful light. From Astoria north to Brookings south there are many firework celebrations on the coast. Out over the ocean or on the rivers you will see a diverse variety of pyrotechnic entertainment. 

And more. We like Winchester Bay for a 4^th of July celebration. You can spend the day here swimming in the ocean, fishing in the bay, riding on the Dunes, visiting the gift shops and eating in one of several great restaurants. For desert there is an Umpqua Ice Cream shop. Take in all the boats including the fishing fleet.

Dining at Bedrocks Pizza you might see one of these:

There is really endless fun and relaxation in Windy Bay. Whatever interests you can be found here. And then when the sun has gone down the fireworks go off!

And they continue for a long period of time with each more spectacular than the previous ones.

It is Independence Day celebration at its finest!

Some years there is a bonfire in the Bay and you can stand nearby to warm up.

It does become chilly at night in Winchester Bay so bring a jacket to enjoy the show. Stay with us at Umpqua River Haven and you will have just a short drive home to our very quiet park after all the excitement of the bay for a really good night’s sleep. If you are out our way, don’t miss our country’s celebration of freedom and don’t forget to thank a soldier/vet.