From Lincoln City, we headed north to explore the area around Tillamook. Of course, the cheese factory was not to be missed. I certainly was not expecting such a large scale operation. They managed the crowds of tourists well and we learned a lot about Tillamook Cheese.
David was the only one of us that was willing to pose, so Katie worked a little magic for me.
For example, who knew they process more than 1,700,000 pounds of milk every day! It takes 10 pounds of milk (about 1 and 1/8 gallons) to produce 1 pound of cheese. Each vat below holds 53,500 pounds of milk and will make 3 batches of cheese per day.
This octopus looking machine was sealing bricks of cheese for final packaging. It was spellbinding watching all of the operations zipping down the line.
These two had their arms twisted to pose for a picture with ole Bessie.
There was a mile long line for the cheese tasting. When it was my turn you know I sampled some of everything.
The tasting line dumped right into the gift shop where I couldn't resist some sharp cheddar aged more than two years. Joani and Katie were fans of the Squeak cheese (cheese curds) and smoked cheddar so they went into the basket as well. It would have been nice to get a little break on cost since they had no shipping but with the cheese buzz we had going from the sample line, price was no object.
I like the way they printed the recipe upside down so you could read it while you wore the t-shirt.
We even ate in the deli that was doing a booming business. I rationalized we could have gone someplace else, but then we would have had to return for some of their world-famous ice cream. I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of any of our food. As I looked around I was pretty sure that everyone had ice cream. Two giant scoops in a waffle cone for 5 bucks - that was a no-brainer!
As we headed out to Cape Meares, we spotted a few of the famous Oregon sea stacks. We stopped along the roadside and by the time we got back in the car, there were probably another half dozen cars that decided to do the same thing. These three stacks, just out from Oceanside, are (from right to left); Shag Rock, Finley Rock, aka Three Arch Rock and Storm Rock.
The same rocks viewed from the north.
A short hike through the woods took us to the "Big Spruce". It was certainly bigger than the other trees in the neighborhood but we will see bigger when we hit the Redwoods NP in another month.
The lighthouse was situated at the top of a tall cliff so it did not need to be tall, but it had a huge light. The docent explained it was a first-order Fresnel lens (1st order being the largest at approx 6 ft diameter). As it rotated the light was white then a flash of red then white again. The pattern and duration let sailors know what lighthouse they were seeing so they could fix their location.
Joani was most impressed that the whole structure was built in Paris as a kit that was shipped to the site. All of the lighthouse window rails and stiles were numbered to make sure it could be easily reassembled.
It had to be one of the easiest climbs to the business level of a lighthouse. You can see Katie at ground level maybe 20 steps below us.
Another short hike at the cape took us to the Octopus Tree. It was a pleasant hike, maybe a little cooler than one might like, so a big reward was not necessary. That was good since I can't say the tree made much of an impression. It certainly was different and why it grew this way was a mystery. The Sitka Spruce had no central trunk while its branches spread to a 45-foot circumference before turning up more than 100 feet. It was estimated to be 250-300 years old. I guess it was just late in the day or maybe my cool tree quota had already been filled by the Big Spruce.
We took the scenic route back and noticed this lonely rock, called Chief Kiawanda Rock, just offshore near Pacific City. I thought the fog and the lighting made it rather striking.
