Mega Road Trip - Day 13

Today we drove from Grants Pass, OR (on I-5) over the Coast Ranges to US-101 near Coos Bay.  US-101 is the scenic highway that runs up the Pacific coast.  Weather along the coast was alternately overcast and partly sunny, incredibly windy, and around 58-60 F.

Here's a picture of a tree along the coast.  It grew in this manner due to the constant winds off the ocean (they're called "flag trees").

The coast was beautiful but nicer to view from inside the car!

The main stop we made today was Sea Lion Caves, a commercial operation located at the largest sea cave in North America and which is host to a large colony of Stellar sea lions.  The visitor's center is located 200 feet up on top of a basaltic sea cliff.  There's a walkway which overlooks some rocks far below where the sea lions hang out and then an elevator down to the cave where you can view the sea lions on the rocks inside.  The roar of the waves and bellowing of the sea lions echoing in the cave is incredible.

A few pictures (both outside and in the cave).

After a few more stops along the coast, we drove back inland to Portland and are spending the night in Vancouver, WA (just over the Columbia River from Portland).