Okay, we may not be from Wisconsin, but we sure love any and all types of cheese! Smoked, Cheddar, Muenster, Longhorn, Feta, Gorgonzola, are all included in our list of "good to eat" although they are also included in my "not good for cholesterol" list.
It was time to ignore the premise of only eating what is good for you. Man does not live on bread alone. He needs cheese with it! Off we headed to Tillamook, Oregon. It was close enough for a day trip and I can't think of a better way to support the local economy than to try and then buy some of their cheeses!
Jerry, Sandy and Don are ahead of me as we proceed through the cheese tasting line. There was not one I didn't like, but I was partial to the smoked cheddar. Mm, mm, good! We not only came out of there with different cheese blocks, I also found a delicious chocolate candy bar with bits of espresso beans! What more could I hope for?
On our way back to the campground, we visited the Cape Meares Lighthouse. It's 10 miles west of Tillamook and a bit out of the way if you are driving the 101 coast highway. No big deal to the 4 of us. We've gotten good at going off the beaten path, even though it sometimes is not planned that way!
You can just see the top of the lighthouse as Don walks down the path ahead of me.
This is the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast, since it has only a 38 foot tower. The Fresnel lens was from France and was transported around Cape Horn by ship. It was first lit in January, 1890. Sadly, in 2010, vandals shot bullets into several prisms of the Fresnel lens. Although the were caught and were sentenced to prison time and a $100,000 fine, the lens is still not repaired. There aren't very many people around who have the knowledge to do that kind of work any more, and it will take almost half a million dollars!
View out on the the ocean from the walk back to the parking lot from the lighthouse.
Also in the same state park is the Octopus tree! This unique tree measures 46 ft. in circumference and has no central trunk. Instead, all the limbs extend horizontally from the base by as much as 16 feet before they turn upward to the sky. It is over 105 feet tall and estimated to be between 250 to 300 years old. 
Our last stop before getting back to the campground was Cannon Beach. We were here 5 years ago and it was on my wish list of stops along the way. On the beach were roses and rose petals (in addition to all the sand). The wet, dark sand gives a wonderful background to the deep orange and yellow colors in the rose.
I am thinking of naming this "Rose and Rock Reflections". In the background is Haystack Rock.
As I turned around to capture Don, Sandy and Jerry in the distance, I also got the trail of rose petals on the beach in front of them.
The fog and cool mist gives almost a surreal feeling to the coastline. This is a place where I could spend days just walking up and down the beach, listening to the sounds of the ocean and smelling the wonderful salty air. We sure don't get much of that in Arizona!
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