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Writer's pictureMacey VanDenMeerendonk

Oregon Coast Pt 3

I woke to yet another grey rainy morning. The place I parked for the night ended up collecting a decent amount of vehicles for the night. I talked with a friend for a little bit before making my breakfast. I hit the road heading towards Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area. I was in a much better mood this day than I had been the day before. I felt refreshed after having a bad day. I felt like I was going into this day with energy and as a kind of reset. I was back in my groove.

The punchbowl was a cool formation off the coast where likely two underwater caves collapsed and created a beach within a hole. The rock was orange in places and the shore inside contained boulders. It was a cool little stop along the way. I also noticed that I was wearing all blue. Blue hat, jacket, pants, socks, and blue shoes! My friend told me that it was Earth week and that that day was actually Dress Blue Day apparently, so it was a weird coincidence that that happened!

I made my way north, listening to podcasts and talking to myself while making a few stops along the way. Somewhere along the way I saw some mountains in the distance, and it was a happy sight! At one point I sat at an overlook that looked out to a long strip of Oregon coast. The colors looked muted and the clouds hung low. I watched as the waves rolled closer to shore.

I had lunch at Arcadia Beach. I nice beach I stopped in at for a minute. It was off and on raining all day but I managed to see the beach before the rain came back and I sat in my van while I ate. Once I made it up to Cannon Beach, I hopped out and took a nice walk down the sandy shore. Haystack Rock stood magnificent and grand, high above the water and other rock formations nearby. It really was cool to see. I could see white birds circle the top and some spotting the surface.

The wind was something fierce. I was lucky to have it at my back the way out but it felt like walking on a treadmill on the way back; lots of effort but, almost, staying in one spot. I also caught this walk on the beach at a good time between rainfalls, but the wind blew dry sand across the wet sand and it looked rippled as it flew past me. It must sound like it sucked to walk on this beach but it actually made me laugh as sand whipped towards me.

I did a short drive up to Ecola State Park to see Indian Beach. I was quite excited for this beach because it was the filming location for La Push Beach scenes in the movie Twilight. The drive through the park to get to the beach was stunning. Trees were draped in this thick moss, like literally every tree. Bright and lively foliage took over the forest floor and made it look like everything was glowing green. The beach was a perfect little cove with big waves, a rocky shore, and tree-covered rock walls on either end. To the far left were more cool rock formations, and to the right, past the beach end was a lighthouse way in the distance. I walked the beach and saw big logs and branches linger along the shore, something familiar in the movie. I tried to picture the movie scenes with what I was actually seeing and decided I need to rewatch the movie within the next couple of days since this isn’t the only Twilight-inspired stop on this trip. The weather was beautiful for this walk on the beach, the sun even beamed behind some white clouds for most of it. When the waves pulled themselves back to the ocean the sound on the rocky shore was really cool. Thousands of stones tumbling at once.

I had a place for the night picked out. It was one of many pullouts along a logging road in a forest a handful of minutes off the highway. It wasn’t what I pictured though. There were areas with a lot of dumped trash and I didn’t see any other campers. Although I found a pretty good spot something in me didn’t want to stay there. I had gotten out of my van and stepped on what looked like an animal rib bone, and immediately felt creeped out. So, after some contemplating and a search for a new spot for the night, I followed my gut feeling and headed for a rest stop 30 mins away. I think I would have been totally fine there but I felt better at the rest stop and that alone made me feel like I made the right choice.

I cleaned up a bit before I cooked a really good burrito and had a beer. I relaxed by watching a show before calling it a night.





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3 comentários


warps
22 de abr. de 2022

Enjoying your photos and adventure! Stay safe! 🙏🏻

Curtir

jacquelynppulse
22 de abr. de 2022

Absolutely gorgeous!

Curtir

jacquelynppulse
22 de abr. de 2022

I love reading about all your adventures! Such beautiful pictures! It is like we are all there with you! ❤

Curtir
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