We start the day with a hike at Cape Perpetua State Park, south of Yachat. It’s a 6.5 miles loop on the Cook ridge trail out and on the Gwynn and Oregon Crest trails on the way back. We go through a spooky old growth forest with giant sitka spruces and enormous firs and cedars. Even the ferns seem to be oversize despite the unusual fall drought.

The rangers said that we were too late for mushrooms but we luck out on a handful of chanterelles. This means that we are not completely skunked this year despite the lack of mushroom on Vancouver Island.

Shortly after that we stop at a view point to get a picture of the Heceta light house and get surprised by the roar of the sea lions on a rock below our bluff.

Perched atop 1,000-foot-high Heceta Head, the lighthouse is one of the most photographed on the coast. The light atop the 56-foot tower was first illuminated in 1894. Its automated beacon, seen 21 miles from land, is rated as the strongest light on the Oregon coast.

Highway 101 south magnificent, we enjoy the steep cliffs, the long sandy beaches and the small towns. In Florence, we see giant sand dunes and from 4 to 6, we are delighted by the colours of the sunset. And by the time we arrive at Gold Beach, it’s no longer golden, everything is ink dark. No light pollution in Oregon. In fact no lights at all.