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.
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?
The Florence laundromat was clean and affordable. It even came with showers for travelers. See the orange cushion on the chair? Emma, the cat, was supposed to be on duty, but she was off gallivanting. We didn’t even get to meet her.This wall was covered with well wishes and thanks from patrons, and a memorial to the owner’s father who once ran a laundry service. Very sweet.
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.
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.
Purple Sea UrchinSpiny ChitonNorthern Striped DogwinkleSea Star, Giant Green Anemone, and Goose BarnaclesThere were about 30 Sea Lions lounging on the rocks of their own little island. They were soaking up the sun on this beautiful day.This little one kept an eye on me. I think he was worried I might dive into the ocean and swim over for a visit.Now this is a rare species for Oregon, Hominum Scotus, from the northwestern edge of Scotland. I wonder how he ended up on the Pacific coast?
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.
Everywhere you go, there are maps of evacuation routes.And signs on the benches reminding you.And signs on the roads letting you know when you are enterring or leaving tsunami zones.Even the places we stay have maps or directions on how to get to 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.
A bridge chasm on Yachat’s 804 Trail.The Spouting Horn at Cape PerpetuaThese 2 young ladies were lucky to only get drenched a few minutes after I took this picture.These 2 young men were not so lucky.Ocean Spray (cranberries not included)
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.
Giant green anemone Aggregating anemone Giant green anemones closed and drooling and Ochre sea stars (starfish)Ewwwwwww….
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.
