Observations of the Oregon Coast

Today we packed up and left Seal Rock, Oregon.  A mild weather front came through, and it got significantly 'cooler' by about 10 degrees.  At this point, I can confidently say winter has arrived on the Central Coast of Oregon.  Coincidentally, the temps in Sun City dropped below 90 this week - thank heaven!  I've actually liked the overcast skies and the intermittent rain of the Oregon Coast.  When the sun does peek out, the rains have cleaned the air and the blue sky looks pristine and delicate.  My favorite quote about the rainy weather is this:  "If you don't like the rain, move somewhere else!"  The only stone in my shoe about lots of rain is having to always have/wear/deal with rain gear. I'm pretty sure I'd go bananas in a climate with real winter where you always have to wear coats/sweaters/hats/gloves/boots.  Note to self:  Avoid winter.

Breakfast is just not going to be the same.  For the past 9 weeks, I've eaten my oatmeal while watching the waves break over the Seal Rocks.  The ocean view changed each day.  The color of the water was different each morning depending on the amount of sunlight.    The waves sometime barely lapped against the rocks.  Other days four foot waves crash ashore washing over the gaping string of lava rocks visible out the dining room window.  Every morning I got to see gliding formations of brown pelicans skimming over the tops of the waves and diving into the ocean for their breakfast.  The gulls as well as a murder of crows also swirled around each morning.

To get to the beach, all we had to do was to walk across the street.  The rocks are even more exposed during low tide, and you can find some mighty interesting creatures clinging to the rocks patiently waiting for the ocean to come back and cover them over.  Every time I went to the Seal Rock beach, there was always a new revelation.  The last trip to 'our' beach revealed a pair of black oyster catchers and other birds I'd never seen before.     

Gradually, we became so picky about our beach walks, we only went during low tide when the nooks and crannies holding animals, shells, and rocks revealed themselves.  Each beach we walked had its own unique characteristics.  We walked one beach barefoot.  (For the record, this was Drake's idea.)  This entire beach was one smooth stretch of sand with almost no rocks, or shells for miles.  

My favorite beach was Quail Creek because their rocks were filled with small tidal pools.  When I first saw these, they captured me completely.  I had never seen a wild starfish or an amenome in the ocean.    These animals seem to be plants since they don't have arms, legs, paws, eyes, ears or other accouterments we expect when we think 'animal'.  

The obvious mammals at the beach are the seals.  They became Drake's passion.  We had a small group of gray seals that hung around the Seal Rocks.  Some place names do have their origin in fact.  The seals like the rocks at low tide.  They can clamber aboard a certain set of rocks as the ocean recedes, and Drake delighted in watching them through MY binoculars, his Christmas gift to me.   

  All along the coast there are largish creeks that flow down the small hills and straight into the sea.  Most beaches are bisected by a stream of fresh water bubbling into the sea.  Often the only way to cross over the fresh water stream to the other side of the beach is at low tide.  When we went to the Oregon State University research facility, Hatfield Marine Center, they had a chart showing how the salt water penetrates an amazingly long way up the creek.  They also had a Pacific octopus.  There is significant ocean research going on in this area of the Pacific Coast.  This is a place where Oregon State does marine research, and is an NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration) station.  The Coast Guard is also stationed at Newport with both boats (no surprise) and a spiffy orange helicopter. 

Beaches are only one of the smooth spots of the Oregon Coast.  I really loved the food.  You only really get fresh seafood at the  ocean.  We ate in many places where they had the name of the boat that caught our lunch.  In towns like Newport, Lincoln City, and Florence you have to enjoy the tourist scene.  Vacationers come to the beaches in droves.  We missed the real season arriving after Labor Day.  I tried to cut a bit of slack for the locals since we met them at the end of a tourist season and they were tired, but overall their public behavior toward outsiders was pretty atrocious.  It was small stuff:  rudeness, mild road rage, exasperation and tiny snubs.  Gradually, I became acquainted with individual people, and each of them validated my not so favorable impression of the people inside the community.  They explained it as an insider/outsider thing; a way to preserve their identity in a sea of strangers.

The Pacific Coast at Oregon is striking, and beautiful in the extreme.  We have loved this place.  It has enriched my life, and my pictures allow me to relive it.

    There are lots of them, but you're welcome to see this place through my eyes.

https://picasaweb.google.com/jalyss1/2012OregonCoastAndSealRock?authkey=Gv1sRgCKGYjJek9smMcg