Cannon Beach, Oregon.

LOOKING FOR THE HAYSTACK

A gorgeous, warm misty morning on Cannon Beach.

A band of fog hung over the beach, enveloping the view of the ocean and the famous Haystack Rock .
Crashing waves could be heard but not seen. Shadowy people could be barely seen, like ghosts on the sand.
We were told that the rock was a leisurely mile long stroll southward along the beach.

If you did not know that this gigantic rock was out there, lurking in the fog, you would completely miss it.
As we got closer, we could make out a dark shadow on fog. At first I wasn't sure if I was just imagining I could see it , by wishful thinking.
There was something mystical about this pilgrimage to the rock.
Then suddenly, it jumped out right in front of us by a combination of the fog lifting and our closer proximity

Then, we could also see out to sea, finally able to see the crashing waves that moments before could only be heard.

All around it were smaller rocks, making a great place to view tidal pools.

Long Beach, Washington State, USA

EXHILARATION!

The wind blowing

The surf pounding

My heart beating

Feeling so alive!!!!!

The one wet day on this trip. It wasn't actually rainy so much as very misty. There was such dense moisture in the air, that it would bead up on surfaces, leaving everything feeling wet.

It was so very windy that the flags were flying straight out and the sand was blowing along the beach. Earlier that week there had been a Kite Festival here. I can see why that would be a successful event in these parts with the unrelenting wind.

The town of Long Beach is a nice little touristy village. With brightly coloured shops filled with touristy souvenirs. This was a kite and wind sock shop. We ate a fabulous lunch of Fish n Chips made with rockfish which was delicious. Washed that down with the most incredible fresh chowder I have ever tasted.

On the beach and dunes we ended up having to bundle up as the wind got so strong and was blowing sea spray on us.
We saw pelicans huddling on the sand.

Cars were permitted to drive on the beach. Something that I have never seen where I live.
I wonder how often they get stuck?

The Sitka Spruce Burl Trail

We have recently returned from our trip down the coast of Washington and Oregon, USA. We left the Vancouver area, headed south of the boarder down the I-5 as far as Tacoma. After crossing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, we went north on hwy 16 to begin our drive around the Olympic Peninsula.

Our first glimpse of the open Pacific Ocean. No more Juan de Fuca. No more islands to block the view or tame the waves. What a wonderous experience to smell that fresh ocean air and hear those crashing waves! But this location was too high up on the cliffs to even attempt accessing the beach from here!

A short distance to the South, we pulled over again to walk to the beach. A short hike through the Sitka Spruce Burl Trail to Third Beach. I have never seen burls this big! They are thought to be a benign sort of tumor. The cause is not truly known, but is thought to be triggered by something wafting up from the sea on the wind. Perhaps a virus?Once they get too heavy, the burls sometimes fall off, or if they develop on a limb, it will sometimes cause the branch to drop off.
After a short walk, the trail ended at a gorgeous, misty beach!
A bit of a magic forest, if I do say so!