Cannon Beach P N W

Thursday (Arrive in Cannon Beach, OR)

After checking in at our hotel, we set off to Seaside for some food and to find our first beach.

Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach, OR

Lai admiring the sunset.

Patience rewarded. Some nice color for waiting in the wind and cold.

Side Note: If you see a sign that says DON'T DRIVE ON DUNES, you should abide. I saw a little SUV get stuck out on the beach. It wasn't until a group of people came together to push were they able to get out. Heed the warnings in life.

Back to Seaside

Something about this shirt caught my eye. But the store was never open the entire time I was here in Seaside. Shame.

The cool place to be in Seaside it seemed. Each night we were here the traffic was fine up until this intersection. It seemed everyone in the town flocked here like moths to the flame.

Cannon Beach

Haystack Rock at night. Possibly the latest sunlight I've ever seen (10:05).

Looking the other direction down Cannon Beach.

Friday

First stop of the new day, Fort Stevens State Park and the Iredale Shipwreck.

Seaside

Waiting for the food @ Pig 'n Pancake.

Strawberry & Apple Crepes.

Fort Stevens State Park

Iredale Shipwreck.

Inside of the hull.

Just enjoyed the colors & layers here.

Same with this one.

After visiting Fort Stevens and the Iredale Shipwreck we headed across the Columbia River, north to Washington to visit Cape Disappointment.

Cape Disappointment, WA

One very big tree on the trail to Deadman's Cove.

Deadman's Cove hike.

The cove from way above.

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse.

Touching things makes them real.

"Yes, I have a dream... I want to own a decommissioned lighthouse. And I want to live at the top. And nobody knows I live there. And there's a button I can press and launch that lighthouse into space." - Stanley Hudson

Deadman's Cove

A little closer.

Driftwood cemetery

While we were already in Washington, we decided to explore just a tad and went north to Long Beach, WA. We stopped in the one street town to get a bite to eat, but what we found was far from savory...

Long Beach, WA

Some of the weirder things I've come across on my travels.

NOT FOR SALE (i wanted it, i wont lie)

Half-Alligator Half-Human

And with that, Megler Bridge (the longest truss bridge in North America), take us back to Oregon!

Time to head to Ecola State Park!

Ecola State Park

A young fella, with velvety antlers.

A view down Cannon Beach.

A hole in a rock.

When we got back to the hotel after leaving Ecola, both my phone and watch battery were dying. I decided to just charge everything I had for the night and disconnect for a bit on the beach. No screen, no phone, no camera, no notifications, it is scary how long we go without really disconnecting. It really was a pleasant experience, really "being" at the beach at night.

Saturday (morning)

Now we head toward Tillamook. While they have a very renown creamery there for their cheese company of the same name, I wasn't going to wait in the line hundreds of people long for a scoop of dairy-free ice cream. So we pressed past this, and got to Cape Meares.

Cape Meares

The Octopus Tree

Back up top at the overlook.

Lai enjoying the view.

Who thinks to carry quarters out here?

Cape Meares Lighthouse.

Saturday (afternoon)

One stop on the way back from Tillamook, Oswald West State Park. There was a sign at the trailhead warning that the trail was not easy or for beginners. As i mentioned earlier, heed those warnings in life. This trail worked me hard. By the time i got back to the car i was fully spent and ready to call it a day.

Oswald West State Park

Oswald West State Park.

The last beach we would visit would be to see Haystack Rock, this giant island size rock sticking out of the ground. Pictures do not do it justice.

Cannon Beach @ Haystack Rock

Haystack Rock.

Courtesy of Lai.

Saturday (evening)

Back in Seaside for some dinner before the beach.

Seaside

It's not often you see a Komondor, but when you do, you take a picture.

Cannon Beach @ Tolovana Inn

Beach fire.

Getting to this point was work. Considering all of the hiking and driving, I was ready to just relax. Carrying wood across the beach and digging a fire pit were not things my body wanted to do. But my mind was willing.

Once the fire started it really set the tone for the next couple of hours. It was a lovely juxtaposition between the crackling and burning embers against the crashing and crushing waves. It felt as if there was a natural balance there, that I rarely find in the city.

We let the fire burn, feeding it until we had only a few pieces of wood left. Feeling somehow for the first time kind of loose, rejuvenated, it was time to call it a night. Sacramento beckoned us return home the following morning.

Until next time, Oregon.

Appreciate

Credits:

@sixty6th A Carr