Fact: I LOVE Whales
A few years back when I visited Hawaii for the first time I was awestruck by the Humpback Whales that congregate off of Maui in the winter months. From our hotel room we could see the mist of spouts and splashes from breaching whales. From then on I have been obsessed. Not with Hawaii, but with whales. Humpback whales, gray whales, blue whales, sperm whales, narwhals. I love them all.
There are whales on our walls; pictures of whales, paintings of whales, a shelf the shape of a whale. Heck, last year I saw a chainsaw carving of whale on the side of Highway 101 at an old roadside stand, tracked down the artist and practically begged him to sell it to me. It lives in our yard now and those two wooden whales are very happy. You could call me a collector. Or a weirdo. Whatever.
When we moved to the Oregon Coast, the prospect of whales was more than a little exciting for me. Would I see them? Would it be like Hawaii? Would I not be judged as the “crazy whale lady” for collecting whale memorabilia now that I finally lived near the beach? So many questions.
I quickly found out that while Oregon Coast whale watching wasn’t quite like Hawaii, it has it’s very own allure.
Gray whales are the species most commonly spotted off of the Oregon Coast. Starting around December, you can spot gray whales as they migrate south from Alaska to the warmer waters of Baja, Mexico where they mate and birth their calves. This was my first experience with catching a glimpse of whales as they cruised past Oregon’s coastline. On a chilly December day, from the overlook near the Umpqua River Lighthouse, heart-shaped clouds of mist rose above the water as the occasional gray whale swam by some distance off-shore.
They were here! Whales! I lived near whales! This was a big day.
As the winter migration died down, I again waited for the whales to return. As the days got longer and the sun shone brighter, whales began to again appear along the Oregon Coast. This time, however, they were closer to shore and not in nearly as much of a hurry as they made their way back toward Alaska and took their time to dine on Oregon’s ocean delicacies as they travelled. Amphipods…delicious!
Oregon Coast whale watching in the summer months has become one of my very favorite things to do. In a few very special spots, certain whales stop their journey, stay awhile, and are highly visible from the shore. To say it is breathtaking to hear the air blow out of a whale’s spout as you stare at the ocean is no exaggeration.
Last August, while on our way home from school shopping in Lincoln City, I was hopeful that a few of Depoe Bay’s summer resident whales might be up for a visit, and thus convinced my husband that it would make the most sense to stop for lunch in Depoe Bay. Because they have great restaurants there. And whales.
As we approached the bay, from Highway 101, I spotted a spout. And then a tail. People pointing. Boats nearby. There were whales here, alright! I yelled (somewhat maniacally) for Luke to stop the truck. He insisted we find a parking spot. His logic annoys me at times, quite frankly, but he was right. We lucked into an empty spot along the highway, parked the truck and impatiently waited for a break in traffic to allow us to cross.
When we reached the rock wall bordering the sidewalk and looked out over the relative calm of Depoe Bay, it was no time at all before we spotted the curve of. a gray whale back below us, very near to shore. Further out, a spout rose above the middle of the bay, and over by the harbor entrance a fluke popped above the water as the whales enjoyed their own weekend lunch. In all, six or seven gray whales hung out in the waters near Depoe Bay that day – an exceptionally good day for whale watching and a solid reason for Depoe Bay to forever be ranked as one of my favorite places on the Oregon Coast.
And now, every year, I wait with great anticipation for my fluked friends to make their journey back past the Oregon Coast. Why? Because I love whales. It’s a fact.
