More Trees and Seas

 We are home now, having arrived back late Saturday afternoon. I spent much of Sunday watching sports: Seahawks victory, Mariners victory, Sounders very disappointing loss. We had take and bake pizza for dinner.

Now it's Monday afternoon. I just finished folding the laundry. Tom did housework and is now outside beginning the tidying up after Saturday night's big rainstorm. We could do without the mess, but we're very glad for the the half inch if rain, the most since April. 

My last post featured our walk to the big cedar last Wednesday. On Thursday we mostly drove to some of my favorite places in the central Oregon Coast.

Cape Meares has a magnificent giant spruce, but the trail is rough and I was not up to it this time. We settled for views and a walk to the Octopus Tree. 

The trail to the Octopus Tree leads through a much younger stand of Sitka Spruce, the dominant tree species right on the coast, and an area that was reforested after the original old growth was logged of many years ago. The Octopus tree was spared, obviously not good for lumber. 

On to another favorite place, Oceanside, and a stop just for the view. No beach hiking today, but many times we hiked through the tunnel in the headland, in younger days. 

On to Pacific City and lunch at the Pelican Brew Pub at Cape Kiwanda.

There were lots of trips slowly up and flying down this dune, first me as a kid, then my kids, and then my grand kids. Memories. 

In the evening, back at the cabin, we walked the beach road to this trail to the beach through salal and shore pines.

Then we enjoyed another beautiful sunset. 

Friday was Rockaway day. We walked through the town to see if anything was new. The building that was once an arcade was now a coffee shop. We got lattes and sat at the Wayside to enjoy the view and just being free to be.

I spent time sitting on the front porch reading and occasionally looking up to this view.

We took a beach walk and the tourist train came by.

There were interesting jellyfish. 

\The fog began to move in and Tom took this interesting photo of the "ghost rocks".

It was good to be on the beach, if even for a much shorter walk than I used to do.

We went out to dinner in Garibaldi, ordering our favorite razor clams, Yum.

Saturday was packing up and cleaning up day, and then we set off north for Astoria for a walk along the river, lunch at The Wet Dog, Astoria Brewing Company, a stop in Chehalis to visit my sister Laurie, and then back home.  

It was a good little getaway and always fun to be by the sea. 

The Autumnal Equinox

 Yes, Fall has officially arrived.

You can enjoy pumpkin spice everything and watch leaves color up and welcome rain ( had some last night!) and watch football and wear sweaters, or whatever your heart desires.

We are home from our trip to the sea, and the list of tasks here grows longer, but we'll ease into it. We have grocery shopping to do and I have sports to watch, a double header of Seahawks football, then Sounders soccer, while keeping track of Mariners baseball. 

Here is my official Autumnal Equinox photo, not from this trip, but from eight years ago, when I walked down the beach to just the right spot, at just  the right time, on just the right day, to see Summer sinking into the sea. 

I'll have another post from our trip, but right now, there is stuff to do.

Happy Autumn!

Coffee, Columbia, Coast, Cabin, Cabbage, Colossal

 We set out on our getaway to the Oregon Coast on Tuesday morning. It was getting hot in Seattle, an usual return to summer for a day.

After my 1.5 hour shift of driving we stopped at a Chehalis Starbucks for coffee and a break.

At the mouth of the mighty Columbia River at Astoria.

We arrived at the cabin on Rockaway Beach in time to hook up our technology to watch the Sounders play Miami. It was not a victory for Seattle this time.

Then we got take out chowder and fish and finished up as the sun was setting.

Our family cabin.

Wednesday we went to visit the Rockaway "Big Cedar" located right off HWY 101 in an old growth coastal bog.

There was a 1.20 mile boardwalk to carry us over the ooze and the skunk cabbages and the rich biodiversity of undergrowth under big old trees. 

Skunk cabbages are giant here.

New trees grow on old stumps and nurse logs.

These Sitka Spruce are big, but not THE big tree.

That would be this one, a colossal Western Red Cedar, 154 feet tall, with a circumference of 50 ft, and 800 to 1200 years old.

Huckleberries way up high.

Somebody's house.

This big old cedar is just a youngster in comparison.

Then we started the walk back, taking advantage of benches along the way.

We did a little shopping in Tillamook in the afternoon. We needed to lay in a supply of Tillamook ice cream.

Now the sun has set on another day. We'll decide what adventure is next as we settle in.