Bandon - The Bonus Pics

As what usually happens, the final day of my Bandon trip dawned with blue skies and sunshine.  After enduring two gray, rainy days this sunlight was most welcome.  I just had to take one last walk on the beach to take advantage of the perfect photography conditions.

Early morning on the beach

The morning was lovely.  My friend Kim and I passed by the seastacks, now illuminated brilliantly, as I tried to capture them with my camera.

Table Rock and some wild iris

From the bluff above the beach, purple wild iris were blooming.  I tried in vain to include these lovely flowers as a foreground in my scenery shots.

Seastack view from the bluff

After walking the bluff path, I suggested to Kim we take the long wooden staircase down to beach level for a final stroll along Elephant Rock.

Wooden staircase

Although the tide was still quite high, we sauntered over to where the Harbor seals were sunning themselves on rocks the prior day.  And then we spotted a scene so cute it had me scrambling to put the zoom lens and extender on my camera.

Mama and baby seal!

A mother and baby seal were playing in the water right in front of us!

Tender moment between mother and child

As soon as I'd attached my lens, the mother-baby duo began swimming away.  I followed at a respectable distance, hoping to get a few more pics.

"Now where did Junior go?"

The seals swam up on a nearby patch of sand.  With my zoom lens, it was close enough range to get some great shots.  

A kiss from momma

The mother and baby appeared to touch noses.  A kiss from momma!  So very sweet!

Just chillin'

This endearing wildlife encounter was a lovely finale.  A perfect way to end what had been a great mini-vacation at one of my favorite places on the Oregon Coast.

Yaquina Bay bridge in Newport

I didn't want to go!  Both Kim and I agreed we wanted to stay longer.  I considered extending our motel reservation, but there were things I needed to do at home.  So in the end, we finally packed my car and headed up Highway 101 for home.  But we did make a stop at Newport for lunch and to get a good look at the lovely Yaquina Bay Bridge.

I'm already plotting a return trip to Bandon Beach in October.  Stay tuned.....

Day one:  Two Days in Bandon

Day two:  Bandon, Day Two