Journeys: Pacific Coast - Highway 101

     It was morning and I was on the road again, finished with the beaches at La Push and Mora. Gray storm clouds were scattered along the coast, some were raining others were threatening. I thought it might be a poor day for landscape photography and was fortunate to find tide pools thriving with wildlife at Ruby Beach. I hiked around in search of the most interesting cluster of green sea anenome and ochre starfish. A dark cloud moved in and it started to rain. I returned to my truck and drove further south. I made a quick stop at Big Cedar, literally a giant cedar tree. It looked as if four massive cedar trees had grown out of one stump. There was an arched opening at the base of the tree and three or four people could have easily used it for shelter. My next stop was First Beach of Kalaloch, WA. First Beach was wide and sandy and stretched north past Kalaloch all the way to Ruby Beach. I hiked from First Beach to Kalaloch Rocks and back to my truck. I took one photo of a washed up rope that wonderfully contrasted the sand and the sky.

Tide pool marine life at Ruby Beach, WA.

Washed up rope at Kalaloch Beach, WA.

     I had no plans of further stops on the Washington coast as I drove south to Oregon. After leaving the Olympic Peninsula the vegetation thinned and I could more often see from the road the flat sand beaches stretching for miles and miles. I stopped on the north side of Gray's Harbor to stretch my legs and walked out a long jetty to photograph waves crashing. These were my last photos in Washington. Soon I was in Astoria, OR in desperate need of a beach to watch the sunset. I stopped in at a gas station and asked the attendant for advice. She recommended Canon Beach a few miles further south. There I could find Haystack Rock and other sea stacks. The golden hour was upon the landscape and I was frantically searching for parking at Canon Beach. Haystack Rock and its smaller sea stacks were excellent scenery and I now know that the rock is a well known place to take photos. The sun was setting and once again I was running to get to a good spot in time. I posted up near a Korean man from Hawaii and his wife who were also taking photos of the sunset. We talked of there vacation and my road trip. The sunset was finished and I returned to my truck to cook another tailgate dinner. I had no idea where I would sleep...again. Eventually I found a wide spot on Highway 101 without any "No Camping" signs.

Canon Beach, OR sunset.