Our Travel Blog
One would think…..ohhhhh….life on the open road….exploring new places…..camping….new friends….and then there is laundry day. Laundry Day is right up there with Town Day. You all can relate, laundromats are the same everywhere. The smell, the soap opera’s on the old tv, the old magazines! Love it?
Tidbit: Enough whining already…back to hiking.
A few times we have pulled in to camp and Melissa has stated, “It’s creepy here, this place has a funny vibe!”. The first was Suwanee River where after swimming in the spring we discovered the site was an old chain gang prison where all sorts of abuse, and murders took place.
On yesterday’s hike on the 804 Trail in Yachats, M states, “It’s creepy here!”, so this morning I checked out the history.
Yachats, as the sign states, is the gem of the Oregon coast. It is a cool, artsy, eclectic, old hippy community with beautiful views and amazing hikes along the coast, but a number of years back, it was also the northern terminus of Oregon coast’s version of the Trail of Tears. Coastal native tribes were force marched, bare footed to prevent running away, to a reservation near present day Yachats. Once there, starvation and disease killed most.
While building the first roads, including Route 101, and putting foundations in, massive numbers of Native American burial remains were discovered. The remains were looted and paved over where they lay. It has all the makings of a horror movie: A quiet coastal town cut off from everyone built atop an ancient Indian burial ground.
Yachats is a beautiful gem, with the old buildings, the coastline, and river, but unfortunately, given one walks over the unmarked graves of tortured souls, it’s a bit creepy here.
Tidbit: The hike on the Amanda Trail was beautiful and sad.
Thor’s Well at Cape Perpetua is an amazing natural phenomena. We waited patiently for the tide to go out just enough so we could walk out and get this video. Somewhere far below the surface, the ocean sneaks in and out of this hole causing this really cool gem.
Tidbit: No shoes were dampened in the making of this video.
Tide pools are fascinating! We spent another day wandering around, peeking under rocks, peering into little pools and gawking at the amazing scenery. This time we were at Strawberry Hill, a little pull-off on Hwy 101. You can barely fit maybe 10 cars into this little lot, so we went early and enjoyed a picnic lunch and a thermos of coffee while we waited for the tide to ease on out. Our hunt was happily rewarded with some more pictures of the abundant life that lives at the edge of the rocks and the oceans, what a hardy bunch of little critters.
Tidbit: There is a very different type of pool in Colorado called Strawbery Bank Hot Spring. We highly recommend it if you ever get out that way.
In Vermont, we watch the weather for ice because it means travel will be dicey. When we go to a hotel, we always look for the exits, in case of fire. When we stay in a campground we look for the bathrooms, you want to be close, but not too close, if you know what I mean. On the Oregon Coast, we always look for the high ground. No, it isn’t because we are from the mountains and crave altitude, it is because of tsunamis. You can’t go anywhere on the coast without being reminded that you are in a tsunami zone. It doesn’t keep you awake at night, but all the signage certainly keeps your eyes searching for higher ground.
Tidbit: The last tsunami to hit the Oregon coast, that I could find, was in 1964. It was triggered by the great Alaskan quake in Prince William Sound.
I have always appreciated Mother Nature. Darrin and I both grew up outside. We played in brooks and forests, hiked mountains and paddled large lakes in the outback of Maine and Canada. We live in a state where 2 feet of snow at a time is normal and winter lasts 6 months, so you either go bat shit crazy (to quote our good friend, Jen) or you learn to spend a lot of time outside in the cold. Mother Nature has always been a part of our lives, and we respect her immensely. This respect was reaffirmed by our recent visits to the Oregon coast. Her rocky shores combined with the ocean’s rushing tides create incredible energy that can be felt, seen and heard. The pictures we took in no way do justice to the awe inspiring show Mother Nature displays, the rush of waves, the spouts of spray, the booms of the waves echoing through chasms, the vibration of the tides hitting the rocks under your feet. The pictures below are but a shadow of the true experience.
Tidbit: Never turn your back to the ocean, watch for sneaker waves and always carry a Snicker’s bar in your pack (unless you are in Grizz country).
A tidalpool that is. Being good Vermont kids we grew up playing in the woods, brooks, and ponds of our childhood. Well we recaptured that feeling today when we hit the Heceta tidepool at low tide and proceded to spend a couple of hours dodging waves, getting our feet wet, and peering into the tidepools for urchins, anemonies, and starfish.
Tidbit: On our way back we stopped at an overlook and saw our first spout from a Gray Whale as they pass on their northward migration to Alaska. We hope to spot more in the coming days. Maybe by fluke and we’ll even get a fluke pic!
Today, we hiked the grueling 1/2 mile trail to the Heceta Lighthouse:) One of many lighthouses along the Oregon Coast, it is a beacon of warning for ships, and originally land travelers, as well. The lighthouse is just north of Florence and was built in 1894. It stands 205 feet above the ocean and is only 56 feet tall, but its light can be seen 21 miles away. Originally, the lighthouse was faithfully manned by 3 light keepers and their families who tended gardens, hunted, fished and oh, kept the lighthouse running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to warn sailors of the treacherous basalt ledges and cliffs.
Tidbit: In October of 1910 a disastrous fire struck downtown Florence destroying 10 buildings. The fire could have been much worse because stored in a nearby warehouse was 50 cases of coal oil for the Heceta Lighthouse. Because of someone’s quick thinking the coal oil was loaded on a steamer and moved away from the wharf.
Miles and miles of Oregon beaches and only a few other souls around. A drive out the South Jetty Road south of Florence, a quick hike over the dunes and we are back on the beach. We walked for miles and only saw a few other people. We wandered out onto the jetty and watched 3 seals watch us. The waves roll in and out with their soothing rhythm, we could sit here all day watching the seals and the fishing boats.
Tidbit: The beach we were on is part of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area which stretches approximately 40 miles along the coast. Oregon really has done a nice job preserving the coast for all instead of the few.
Beautiful day, Beautiful hike! We traversed the Heceta Headlands and down the Hobbit Trail to the beach. We are getting our legs back in shape! Just under 6 miles today. We wanted to give a shout out to our friend Bundy who is on the mend from a pretty nasty fall down a winter Hobbit Hole; all the best and get well soon!
Tidbit: All of the little trails along the coast are part of the Oregon Coastal Trail, a long-distance hiking trail that goes from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border, similar to the Long Trail or Appalachian Trail back home.