Seals hauled out sunbathing at Pirate Cove, at the south end of North Point at Depoe Bay today. It was 81°F when we left at noon!
Where there's boats there's usually whales nearby. Depoe Bay has a few charter companies that can take you out to see the gray whales up close. (I believe that white spot to the right of the boat is a whale.) We saw 3-4 in this area just today. They love the kelp beds for the microscopic krill that they eat.
We just park nearby and watch from the basalt flow just north of the bay proper. There's several park benches along the path to watch from!
Along Hwy 18 at about milepost 25.5 you can faintly see the smiley face on the hill that the nearby lumber company planted in the trees. The circle contains deciduous trees that lose their color and the evergreens form the smile and eyes. It's much more noticeable later in the fall. But we got a glimpse of it today!
<click to see the smile>
Better view of Pirate Cove with the WorldMark Depoe Bay timeshare hotel on the other side. (Front row seats for whale watching there for a fee!)
It's a huge complex of timeshare units. Many many buildings built there. Plus they're adding on.
@kismatt
Awesome. And North Point in the middle of the picture on shore. We could hear the whales blowing from there.