How could I forget to blog about the Port Orford Headland, thank you Astrid for reminding me. If you have limited time while travelling along the Oregon coast, I recommend 3 stops: 1) Cape Perpetua, 2) Heceta Lighthouse and 3) the Port Orford Headland. Originally a coast guard station, today there are walking trails, a coast guard museum, sea lions and beautiful vistas.
The Coast Guard Station operated from 1934 to 1970. Lookouts manned a 37ft tower on the headland point watching the ocean for distress signals. When one was seen, the ‘surfmen’ would run down 532 slippery steps to the boathouse where they would launch their 36ft boat into the often raging waters. Their motto was, “You have to go out…you don’t have to come back”.
Drawing from a display board showing the boathouse and sea wall in Nellie’s Cove, 300ft, or more than 530 steps, below the crew’s quarters and operation headquarters.Nellie’s Cove today.One of the 36ft boats used by the ‘surfmen’. It looks too small for a calm ocean, imagine going out during a raging storm?The Port Orford Harbor is right around the corner.The view is spectacular.
I remember my first camera. It was one of those long black rectangular ones, probably a Kodak, and most likely a treasured gift from Christmas or a birthday. I can still picture myself opening the back, putting in a self contained roll of expensive film, adding a square flashbulb to the top, and viola, for the duration of the next 24 pictures, I was a photographer. At the end of the roll, I’d rush to Hale’s Drugstore, drop off the film, wait an agonizing week, pick up the film anxious to see the masterpieces so carefully composed. I’d sort through the envelope of glossy 3×5 pictures…of my hand, the ground, the side of someone’s head, and oh joy, a few of what I actually meant to take…I’d be ecstatic!
Fast forward ahead 30, or perhaps it is 40+ years, and photography has changed dramatically. I now have a digitial camera that fits into the palm of my hand. It has more buttons than I know what to do with, has a built in telephoto lens, takes hundreds, or is it thousands, of pictures, AND videos, before I have to change the film, I mean card. I can look at each picture as I take them, deleting the ones of my hand and the back of someone’s head. But, the wonders don’t end there! I can then put them on my computer and edit them. The water isn’t blue enough? There’s a button for that. The builiding is a little tilted, no problem, I can fix that. Want the picture in black and white, click, done. Wow! What can’t I do! This is fantastic!
The pictures below of the Cape Arago Lighthouse are a product of this modern digital era. I took about 30 pictures of the lighthouse from all different angles and hiking trails over several days, put them into my digital editing software and came out with very different compositions of the same subject. What fun!
Walking along a particular steep cliff section in Shore Acres State Park, we met a young couple and struck up a conversation. They mentioned the locals accessed the beach below via a hkle through a trees root system just up ahead. Of course, Darrin had to check it out.
Tidbit: They also told us about a rope the locals used in another spot. We peered over the edge at the skinny blue nylon rope and even Darrin agreed it wasn’t an option without climbing gear.
We spent five days exploring the Cape Arago area of the Oregon Coast. This includes Sunset Bay State Park, Shore Acres State Park and Cape Arago State Park. As usual, we hiked almost every trail, at least once, stopped at every view point, climbed down to every beach and out to every rocky area we could find access to, and enjoyed ourselves immensely, as usual.
Purple Sea Urchin condo complex, pool included in HOA fees.And up close. We were told that each little urchin slowly creates the hole they are currently sitting in. This unit is more along the townhouse type. Notice the large ocean front window…that costs extra.Gumboot Chiton. This cute little squishly, slimy looking guy was the size of Darrin’s hand. Rules of tidepooling are no picking up any thing, like there was any possibility I was going to touch this guy.Coffee, or tea in my case, break to enjoy the view. The only other people around were a couple fishing off the rocks to the right. I could have sat there all day.The Red Sea Urchins seemed to like deeper tide pools so a wavy watery picture.Really cool rock formations were everywhere. Okay, one more beautiful picture!
Tidbit: During our travels, we have observed many people zip into an overlook, jump out of their vehicle, snap a few pictures, jump back in, and zoom away. It has made us immensely thankful that we have the opportunity to spend the time to really immerse ourselves in an area.
Many harbor towns have some sort of memorial to those lost to the sea. Charleston harbor’s statue was striking in how it captured the love of the sea in the old Salt’s face, as he mans the helm, while the storm waves are crashing over and taking him down.
I love the inscription on the bottom.The face of someone who loves what he is doing until the very end.Today, a tugboat safely guides the larger boats across the bar and into the harbor.Habor security keeping an eye on us. Charleston has one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in the state of Oregon.
Tidbit: We think of shipwrecks as being something from history, but in 2016, the Eagle III, a 40 foot crabber fishing boat, sank off the entrance to Coos Bay in 30 mph winds and 10 foot waves. Three sailors were lost that day.
One of the good things about spending extended time in an area is the ability to see some of the cool hidden spots. John and Candy, our awesome Airbnb hosts for the week, told us about a hidden seacave nearby. Melissa, being the brave one, really wanted to check it out, just like when she really wanted to go in the sandrail on the dunes. We found the obscure trail and followed it to the cliff. It felt a bit like we were hiking into a favorite rock climbing spot, until the little hole at the base of the rock wall could be seen. We crawled in through the small hole to a house sized room. It was the type of place you would almost expect to see a pirate’s treasure!
Darrin slashing his way through the dense understory to the mouth of the cave.Backing our way down the muddy entrance to the mouth of the tunnel leading into the cave.Down we go!Hey! It’s pretty big in here.This is pretty cool. A house size room of solid rock in the side of the hill.We survived our first caving expedition!!
Tidbit: I let Darrin go in first so he could feel like Indiana Jones.
The Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is part of the Siuslaw National Forest. It has 26 miles of hiking trails, the highest lookout on the Oregon coast that people can drive up to and ocean front tidal displays like Thor’s Well and the Spouting Horn (shown in earlier blogs).
An easy 2 mile round trip hike brings you to this giant Sitka spruce, the largest in the Cape Perpetua area. This tree is nearly 600 years old and started as a small seedling on top of a fallen tree, thus the raised trunk that allows these young ladies to sit comfortably inside.A fallen tree on one of our hikes. We don’t grow trees this big back home.A 4 mile round trip hike with 700 ft of elevation gain on the Saint Perpetua Trail goes to this stone structure that had its begins as a CCC project, became a WWII look out and is now open to the public. (It is also accessible by car, so a bit crowded.)On clear days they say you can see 70 miles of coastline and 37 miles out to sea from the stone hut. A quiet vista on the Saint Perpetua trail where we stopped for a snack. The views were amazing. Western Trilliums were in full bloom. Please don’t pick them, each flower has been years in the making.
Tidbit: We hiked almost every trail at Cape Perpetua. They each offer something unique from water spouts to giant old growth trees to amazing vistas.
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.
The Amanda Trail in Yachats is a memorial to the Native Americans who were forced to march to the reservation. Amanda was a blind old woman who was forced to leave her husband and daughter behind and walk to the reservation. It is not known what happened to her after she arrived.
Tidbit: The hike on the Amanda Trail was beautiful and sad.
