Beverly Beach State Park -Second Attempt- June 3 – June 11, 2013

We departed Bend on a gorgeous Spring day, and had a beautiful drive over Hwy 22 to our Champoeg “pit stop”.  The following day was just as nice, and we were anticipating a warm respite as we drove Hwy 18 into Lincoln City.  We made a quick stop at the Safeway for a few last minute essentials... and donuts of course!  But, golly, it’s kinda windy here... and cool (uh oh...)

We continued the drive down Hwy 101 towards Newport and Beverly Beach.  Even though the campgrounds were sunny, this is what awaited us at the shore...

I couldn’t believe that the short, half-mile walk from the campground to the beach could result in such a drastic weather change!  Unfortunately, the cloud bank that created this foggy condition remained off-shore all week, blowing in just far enough to affect the shoreline for most of each day.

I had fun watching the children, who always seem impervious to what I myself would consider inclement weather.  These photos beg to be transformed into a painting...the dreamy haziness of the sea and the innocence, wonder, and joyfulness of youth....

Fortunately, our first day out rewarded each of us with a nice agate discovery, but that was the last we would find any.  We tried for the next three days, and got our exercise, but no agates.  The wind was so cold on this day's walk that we had to tuck in beside an abandoned lean-to built by a former beachcomber to get a bit warmed up...

  

 

Each day during our beachcombing, we would pass this odd structure tucked up against the cliff wall (and even scurried up it once to avoid a sudden high wave!), but were perplexed as to its origin. 

 

I was certain it had to be man-made...the design and layout was so calculated.  It looked to me like a battle bunker, with divots for placing weapons or ducking for cover.  But Norm thought it was natural, from the sea battering and the run-off of the water from the cliffs.  It looked as though each stone had been carefully placed and mortared in, but they were big and heavy!  --who could do that?!? --besides aliens???  Turns out, according to the Ranger at the park office, that it is a natural grooving of the rocks from the cliff run-off.  Not as imaginative as my explanation, but a bit more likely.

On the last day, it was just too cold and windy to even attempt the shoreline, so we just walked the campground and looked at RVs!  We saw some of this same plant-life while we were at Cape Lookout (previous trip), but it was nowhere near this large. 

It’s call cabbage-weed or skunk-weed because it supposedly has an offensive odor, but we never noticed any.  The ones we saw at Cape Lookout had been in bloom, with a beautiful yellow flower reminiscent of a cobra's head.  No blooms here, though.  Just gigantic leaves.  I imagine it was quite something to see when all those dense masses of foliage were spiked with hundreds of yellow cobra heads!

The state park entrance to Beverly Beach coincides with the mouth of a large creek.  Before reaching the sand, we passed another ancient tree stump like the one we saw near Otter Rock (previous trip).  This sign was posted offering the explanation of their origin...

It would have had to be a heck of a storm to wash something this large and heavy up to shore!

Abstract sea art?... No, just washed up sea vegetation.

You’ll see these signs at every coastal state park, and all along Hwy 101... 

...but what should you do in an impending disaster?  I think this is a great suggestion....

Ha-ha!  That’s from Sarah’s blog, and I just had to copy it!!  She and Barry photographed it at a museum on the Washington coast, and it looks pretty official to me (my twisted sense of government-at-work).  It isn't bad advice, though!

So after enduring another six days of cold and windy beach weather, we headed back to sunny "shampooey" ...and home.  Shortly before reaching Bend, we passed Detroit Lake State Park on Hwy 22, another of Oregon's parks that we had yet to explore.  We decided to take a drive through, just to check out the layout and get an impression, and were quite pleased with what we saw.  So we thought, aw heck, let's stay the night.  It gave us the opportunity to get in a long walk, as we explored the camping loops and lake shoreline.

 ...and Gracie was entertained by the other park inhabitants as she gazed out her camper window!

However, we think this park will make a nicer destination after mosquito season!  I'm glad we only stayed the one night.

Cape Lookout State Park, Tillamook, Oregon, April 22 - May 3, 2013.

Frustrated with an endlessly cold and rainy spring, we were anxious for some sunshine, warmth, and walks on a sandy beach.  Gracie had cabin fever from being self-confined to the house (she’s averse to the cold and wet!), and was more than ready to pack up and hit the road.  Watching the weather reports, Norm got the prediction of sunshine and 70° for most of the upcoming week of April 21st.  “Diane, how quickly can you be ready to leave?”   --and within three days, we were on our way!  

Cape Lookout had been on our list of parks to visit for quite some time, so we thought we’d stay for about four days.  We spent our first night at Champoeg State Park (pronounced “shampooey” by the Oregonians), which has become a “pit stop” for us on treks to Portland or the coast.  The ride over from Champoeg was beautiful and quite enjoyable, until the last leg of the road off of Hwy 101...the condition of the pavement was horrible!  I attributed it to the high coastal winds and sea-salty water, but Norm insisted it’s plainly lack of funding for highway maintenance coupled with bureaucratic indifference (I like my “glass half full” explanation better).  

The camping area at Cape Lookout is full of oddly shaped trees, Sitka Spruces, which can grow over the stumps of dead trees and create some intriguing shapes and sizes.  Either this one grew over a stump which has since deteriorated, or it just had the need to “stretch its legs.”  You could set up a tent under there!

And how’s this for size???  --(the tree limbs remind me of the feet of a prehistoric pterodactyl!)

 

An old, once-logged stump shows the horizontal “incision” that was made in order to insert a springboard for the cutter to stand on.  How many years ago was that?

Cape Lookout beach offers a long stretch of open shoreline, great for walking.  There’s an enticing four-mile hike out to the lighthouse, but I didn’t want to chance it with my bum knee.  As it was, we needed to rest our weary bones from time to time.

We sat patiently night after night waiting for a gorgeous sunset, but to no avail.

This was the best Mother Nature could provide, given the cooler weather and cloudy skies. 

 

But we still enjoyed just being there, as we always do.

After four days at Cape Lookout, we decided to drive on down to our all-time favorite park, Beverly Beach State Park, just north of Newport.  Norm had told Barry about the park, and he and Sarah decided to try it, too!  We were happy to meet up with them again, and shared a lovely few hours in their RV, where they treated us to cocktails and snacks while we talked and talked.  The following evening, we had them over to our place for dinner, and of course, more delightful chatter.  Someday, if we ever get to Australia, we will be excited to look them up!

Our first day at Cape Lookout had been super sunny, and I had simply refused to cover up because it felt so good.  Not having had any sun on my face for longer than I cared to remember, I ended up with a major burn!  On our way to Beverly Beach, Norm took me to the store and insisted I buy a hat to shade my face (a bit late, but good advice for the future).  I loved my new, colorful sombrero...

Unfortunately, the wind was so bad it wouldn’t stay on my head!  Instead, I had to bundle up in a winter coat and baseball cap, and use a T-shirt to block the gusty wind.  Whoever predicted that 70° weather was nuts!  I was freezing!

In spite of the cold, windy weather, we had fun looking for fossils in the rock washes that come down off the cliffs.  The pieces were too large to lug home, so I had to “save” them in photo form instead...

   

 Strolling northward, we set our sights on the end of the cove, about 2 miles from the park.  As we approached the base of Otter Rock, we came upon a giant, ancient tree stump tucked away alongside the cliffside.  Its roots created some gnarly, imaginary creatures...

In the mood to enjoy some of Mo’s clam chowder (a popular seafood chain along the coast), we decided to climb the steep cliffside stairway to the restaurant above...

  

Whew!  --time for a break! 

But the view from the top is breathtaking! 

And here’s the famous Mo’s!  (Mo’s West, to be exact... a small satellite of the full-sized restaurant)...

But we were five minutes too late!!  They closed early in the day because it isn’t “the season” yet.  Now what are we going to do???  We were hungry and thirsty from our long walk and steep climb.  The only thing open was a winery/gift shop next door, so I went inside and asked the proprietor if he also sold deli items (meats, cheeses) as some wineries do.  No, he didn’t.  I noticed some cans of tuna on the shelf, so I asked if he had a can opener in the back.  Yes, he did, and he even provided some plastic forks and napkins... so out came the credit card for the best darned can of tuna we ever ate!

We enjoyed our “lunch” on a park table, then continued on to view “Devil’s Punchbowl” (the remains of a collapsed sea cave) at the edge of the cliff.  The waves whip in and out on windy days, and the cliffside is a good place to view whales and otters.

The following day, we headed south along the beach, and came upon some unusual rock protrusions in the sand...

 

...and a tidepool which had been revealed during very low tide.  We learned how to hunt for agates from a couple of friendly folks, and even found a few our first time!

That night, we finally viewed a sunset up to par for the Oregon coast...

 

It was the finishing touch to a delightful (albeit cold) trip to the beach, and we headed for home the next day.