Some gorgeous photos from Mother’s Day 2015 at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area on the Oregon Coast near Newport – text and photos by Bob Wick, BLM:

Today was a busy Mother's Day at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area with families walking around with their laminated identification charts viewing the diversity of inter-tidal life in the area's amazing tide pools. An extra low tide made many areas accessible to view the plants and animals (anemone, red urchin).

It is seal pupping season along the coast and one mother was teaching her pup how to haul out onto the rocks -- the pups hang on to their mother's backs as they learn to swim.

The Yaquina Lighthouse itself is very well preserved and received a fresh coat of paint last fall. Visitors can climb the tower to view the lens. The workshop at the base of the tower has numerous tools laid out but my favorite feature is the portable "library," which was a wooden suitcase full of books. When the light keepers received supplies their library would be switched out for a new one.

More photos from Yaquina Head: www.flickr.com/photos/blmoregon/sets/72157625392020039