Morning of Day 4 found us in a usual spot along the river in South Bend, Washington.
After a cruise through town to check the e-mail and post the last update we headed south again.
Before long we were at the mouth of the Columbia River, and the Washington/Oregon boundary half way across the bridge.
The remains of this old boat was beached on the north shore of the river.And, the 'low' Washington end of the bridge. The other end is high enough to handle ocean-going cargo ships.

Big blue took on fuel just south down the coast in seaside, and this carving was photographed out the window while waiting for a light to change.
The first of many spectacular views is just a bit further south.
Notice how happy the truck and camper look when not covered in snow and ice!

Then it was on to Tillamook, Or, home of the huge blimp hangar(s) from the second world war - and the Cheese Factory. I had read that it was worthy of a stop, and it is rated as one of the top ten tourist attractions in the state.So I did! And it was fairly impressive. You can watch much of the production line from big glass windows above the floor, and there are many interpretive displays and free samples.
The cheese comes out in big 50lb blocks and then is sliced into the various sizes, where it is separated and individually weighed. If a block is below weight, someone adds a slice of two, and if it is too heavy, a bit is cut off the end.


Okay, I even recorded a movie of some of the action for you.





Spent the night out on the dike - in the right side of the photo below, that was once the community of Bayocean, until the sand it was built on eroded away. In the morning I toured around the Cape Meares area .
It features the shortest lighthouse - at only 38 feet!
Just offshore, Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is home to the largest concentration of tufted puffins along the coast.
Cape Meares is part of the 3 capes drive which also includes Cape Lookout and Cape Kiwanda.