Tillamook Cheese
In 1984 renowned Canadian cheesemaker Peter McIntosh brought his cheddar cheese-making expertise to Tillamook County, where he taught the locals all he knew, earning the nickname “Cheese King of the Coast.”
In 1909 several small creameries joined forces to ensure all cheese made in the Tillamook Valley would be the same high quality. Each creamery contributed $10 to start the cooperative: the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA).
At the creamery today you can take a free self guided tour that shows the process of cheesemaking from start to finish. It’s amazing to watch the factory line where the cheese comes out of aged storage in big giant 40 pound blocks, gets cut into smaller blocks, wrapped, and inspected on the line. LOTS of moving parts.
We did it kind of backwards. After the tour you are funneled past the free sample counter but we got our free samples at the start. Yummy!
Cape Meares Lighthouse & Octopus Tree
Built in 1889, the Cape Meares Lighthouse stands 38 feet tall, perched on a headland more than 200 feet above the sea below. It’s the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast but the beam it emitted could be seen for 21 miles out to sea.
The “Big Spruce” stands 144 feet tall and has a crown spread of 93 feet, and is approximately 800 years old. The Octopus Tree has no central trunk but rather multiple trunks reaching upwards from its 50-foot base. The forces that shaped the tree are debated. Native Americans intentionally shaped trees and this may be one. Trail trees were used to designate trails, crossing points on streams, medicinal sites to find plants, and areas of significance like council circles.
Short Beach & Tunnel Beach
The Oregon coast has SO MANY BEACHES. From the Cape Meares area we could see little specks of people down by the water so we drove over to check out the beach. It’s called Short Beach and the staircase down is very steep and wild. Just at the bottom to the right you can see Short Creek spillway where the water cascades down. This is a mostly rock beach and visitors come looking for agates, jasper and zeolites (rock types).
Tunnel Beach was next up. Have you ever walked through a tunnel (besides a lame parking lot tunnel) to get to the because? Tunnel Beach in Oceanside, Oregon is a quirky place with rocky cliffs and multiple sea stacks. A man-made 90 foot tunnel carved through the base of Maxwell Point leads to a scenic coastline. This is an easy 0.8-mile round trip from the parking lot that will take you to a more rugged and secluded area. It’s here that we tidepooled and admired the sea stars and anemones.
We had a full day of adventure and there are a lot of pictures so enjoy.
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