 More 2021 Adventures |
Portland, OR → Depoe Bay, OR → Portland, OR 224.0 mi (360.5 km) |
 More 2021 Adventures |
Whale hello there, everyone!
Welcome back to the Oregon Coast, particularly a humble hamlet with a huge history! This is Depoe Bay, also known as the whale watching capital of Oregon! I’m spending a week here with some friends, which leaves plenty of time to explore the local sites!
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Misty Depoe Bay takes its name from “Depot Charlie,” whose Tutuni name has been lost to history. The family name was later known as “DePoe,” and that’s the name that stuck with the town that rose up on the land allotted to his family in 1894 under the Dawes Act. Today, it is a quiet seaside town with a famous spouting horn, black, rocky beaches, and plenty of sea life!
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Like any rocky seaside town, sometimes its relationship with the sea has been rocky on its own. You can see traces of past disasters in a wall built from boards that were salvaged after the tsunami of March 11, 2011, and in memorials like this one, which honors Roy Bower and Jack Chambers for attempting a rescue mission on October 4, 1936 but not returning.
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Despite these struggles, the ocean makes up a big part of Depoe Bay’s identity. That’s because of its whales! Gray whales in particular spend all year in the food-rich waters around Depoe Bay, making just about any day a great day to look for them!
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One great place to look for them is at the Nationally Registered Depoe Bay Ocean Wayside! Originally built to house public restrooms, this building was designed by landscape architect, Harold Spooner, and completed in June of 1956! Today, it’s an interpretive center and lookout to give visitors some context to the whales they’re watching!
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At the end of my history walk, I found a sign pointing out Depoe Bay’s place in the record books. It’s home to the world’s smallest natural, navigable harbor, at 6 acres in size! It’s only accessible by a 50-foot side channel, so fisherfolk and charter boats have to be helmed by a very skillful crew!
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Spanning this channel is another Nationally Registered structure: the Depoe Bay Bridge! Designed by Conde B. McCullough, this 312-foot concrete bridge was completed in 1927 and widened in 1940 because its popularity as a lookout became a traffic hazard!
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Today, this tiny harbor is a big jumping off spot for rock fishing charters and whale watching excursions. You might also recognize it as the backdrop of such movies as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but for me on this day, the only show I was watching was the flopping and floating of baby harbor seals!
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This pretty much sums up an entire week of slow-paced enjoyment of the Oregon coast, but I’ll be back to my usual madcap racing to explore history, beauty, and wonder. For now, I’m going to kick back, enjoy the view, and plot my next adventure.
Spouting off!
More 2021 Adventures |
Total Ground Covered: 224.0 mi (360.5 km) |
More 2021 Adventures |