Cape Meares Lighthouse on the Oregon Coast

The beauty of the Pacific coastline is something I really can't downplay. We drove out to Cape Meares twice on our road trip. Our first visit was later in the day when fog was covering the coast. It crept between the moss covered trees and created a rather mystical and eerie scene. In addition to this, the winds off the ocean and sound of the water hitting the cliffs only made the scene more dramatic.

The second visit was earlier in the morning when the sun was shining. The contrast between the two trips gave us a completely different perspective. With the coastline clear we finally got a look at the impressive cliffs that surrounded the area. We also timed our visit better the second time around as the Cape Meares Lighthouse was actually open and we were able to go inside (more pictures to come). 

Built in 1890, the Cape Meares Lighthouse is now a fairly popular site along the Oregon coast. It was deactivated in 1963 and sat vacant for several years before the park was established. Recently, the lighthouse has been receiving some renovations after vandals damaged the building by shooting bullets into the lens in 2010. Thankfully, they were captured and the repairs are underway. It's clearly a building worth preserving, and the park was a lot of fun to explore.

Palouse Falls, Washington

As our Pacific Northwest road trip continued between Spokane and Portland, I brought up the idea of heading off the interstate to find Palouse Falls in Washington. About a week before our road trip kicked off I saw a picture of the falls online and became curious about whether we could make it happen. I did a bit of research and realized that it would only be about an hour or two out of our way to see them. In the end, Palouse Falls were well worth the detour, and Mike and I had a lot of fun exploring the site.

We left the main trail that faced the falls to walk closer to the edges of the cliffs and see Palouse Falls from above. Some of the vantage points were fairly precarious, and Mike was more eager to test his luck than I was, but I captured some amazing shots of the falls and surrounding cliffs. 

What's amazing about the location is that the surrounding landscape looks like fairly common prairie, so the reveal is fairly dramatic when drive down to enter the canyon along the river. You then walk up to the edge of the cliff to see this 198 foot waterfall spilling into this picturesque basin with people swimming below. It was an awesome surprise, and completely surpassed my expectations.

This post was featured on Washington State Park's official blog, Adventure Awaits! You can see that post here.

Me taking Mike's picture from the far side closest the falls.

Mike taking my picture from the other side.

My view looking down from where I snapped Mike's picture.

This is the view right above Palouse Falls.