It's another beautiful day in The Beaver State. And what do you do when the sun is out here? Why, you go to the store!! The thing is, though, that as you're traveling to the store, you get to pass some great scenery.
And so, a trip to the store becomes an adventure along the coast. Hahaha, it's EZ - PZ, y'all. Let me go back a bit and explain. We've been kinda sedentary the past few days and today we were feeling a bit antsy; ready to do something, anything.
And so I gave Carol a choice of what beach, wayside, park or recreational area she would like to visit. Hahaha, I was secretly looking for an excuse to drive down to the Walmart in Newport. It's the closest one to us. We have a Bi-Mart here in LCO and that's the nearest thing to a retail store that we have. Other than that you have to go to a specialty store if you need something here. So when we want to do our big shopping all under one roof and for a relatively inexpensive price, we head down south to Newport. They have a Walmart AND a Fred Meyers there. Lucky guys.
So my plan was to be a gallant hero to Carol by giving her a chance to visit the park, etc., of her choice and I would have an excuse to, well, keep on driving down afterwards to the Walmart and return that doggone tripod I bought that just didn't fit my needs. Hahaha, I am clever and good-looking. OK, clever. Sometimes.
But before we hit the road, I hit the front yard to play with my little Canon PowerShot SX170 IS camera. I had noticed the many different options on my big camera to affect the color and so I casually looked on the 170 to see if they had the same options. And they did. Mostly.
So I wandered out this morning to the beach overlook to try out some of the options and see what they do.
And got these. The first option available was one titled, "Positive Film - Recreate the vivid colors of shooting with film'. Woo, woo!! Who wouldn't want to do that!! Hahaha, I hadn't realized that I wasn't getting the vivid colors of shooting with film.
Hokay, so I plugged it in and took a couple shots. Plus, I am always intrigued by the clouds as they lay off the shoreline. I realize it has to do with the curvature of the earth's surface but, doggone it, it's cool. When I see this I always think of some Monster Movie like The Fog. Evil is rolling in with the next tide kinda thing.
Hahaha, I know. I have way too much time on my hands and a mind that is, well, still stuck in 6th grade.
But here's the shot I got this morning with the cloud bank in the distance.
And a little closer. You can see the tide is out. There's not much in the way of tide pool activity around these rocks but if you go a bit further to the north, you can see lots of starfish, anemones and such.
So I had some fun shooting with the Red, Green and Blue Filters. Subtlety is lost on me as I wasn't able to discern any real difference between these controls. I deliberately chose a predominantly green, blue and red subject with each filter and .... wasn't able to tell what the big deal was with any of them.
But I like the idea of shooting and recreating the vivid colors of shooting with film.
Eventually, we got ourselves ready and took off. Carol decided that she wanted to go back to Beverly Beach. And we were off!!
I've got the local weather bookmarked on my little computer and knew it was suppose to be cloudy in the a.m. but that, honestly, is a pretty much everyday kind of thing here in the Great American Pacific Northwest. We can deal.
And they weren't wrong, either.
The beach. There weren't too many people out and about this morning. Truth is, I'm still looking for the huge influx of touristas that are suppose to inundate the Central Oregon Coast every summer. It's gotten a bit busier but nothing too onerous.
And, honestly, one beach here is pretty much like the other. The only real difference is in how close this beach or that beach is to a bar, restaurant, gift shop or bathrooms. There's a campground at this beach, set back in the woods about 300 yards from the beach. Along a creek.
From the entrance to the beach looking north. You can see that it is a nice beach, plenty of room to lay your blanket down and grab some, uh...er...sun. But here it is, the 18th of June and for many the first week of Summer Vacation and this beach is, really, empty.
I'm not complaining, mind you. Just observing.
Looking south, through the coastal haze, is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
For this guy, an empty beach is made to order. He's a wind surfer .... on land.
He steers with his feet, pushing this way or that to turn the front wheel and let's the energy of the wind, and there's always wind on these Oregon beaches, pull him down the beach.
There he is, the tiny dot to the right of center, being pulled by his kite.
Plenty of space to ride along with the wind.
I took over 250 pictures today. Yeah, I know. Wha....!?!
But I mention that because I asked Carol to select the pictures for today's blog. Except for the first two, she's the one you can blame for today's offering.
Hahahaha, it's not easy, folks. Having to pick among all those wonderful pictures wasn't an easy job, y'all.
But we were talking about wind and here's a good example of the power of this force of Nature.
And driftwood. I'm still trying.
Hey, ya gotta give me something for perseverance.
Letting a little of my Zen out here.
Are you feeling like chanting a couple sutras here? Hahaha, I already feel more enlightened.
"Our enlightenment is timeless, yet our realization of it occurs in time."
Huh?
Looking along the beach you get an idea of how the elements have shaped this coast.
And a shot of our Wind Surfer.
Party on, Garth!!
Ummmmmmmm, Ummmmmmmm.
Seriously, I was trying for some artsy-fartsy here. And, no. I didn't stage this picture by placing the rocks here or there.
And growing along the side of the cliffs were these foxgloves. These are slowly climbing the ol' ladder to being one of my favorites. Daisies are still the Leader of the Pack but I'm not seeing them as often a I did in Seattle.
Annnnnd, some kelp. Gives you an idea of how large and grainy this beach was. More artsy-fartsy crap. Bear with me.
Hahahaha, 'bear with me'. Reminds me of this funny that I saw on the Internet yesterday.
I've been looking for an opportunity to use this on FB. Still looking.
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There was a persistent mist coming off the ocean today. There's the lighthouse on the right in the distance.
More driftwood!?!?!
Hahahaha, suck it up, Soldier.
And there were some kids out there. See how warm and comfortable they look?
I think the neatest thing about these beaches are the small creeks that drain down to them. They create a small, and safe, fresh water playground for the Littles. Seriously, I'd rather have my little kids playing in the creek than in the ocean.
A stand of trees along The 101. I was thinking again, today, as I was driving down how beautiful a drive this is. I mean, it's 25 miles to get to the Walmart in Newport but it seems to go by so quickly. Oh, to be clear, for this picture, I am on the beach looking up at the area where The 101 would be.
OK, I was playing here. I held the camera at waist level and just pointed up at the sky and shot. It's not all that unpleasant....kind of eerie.
Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?
The Shadow knows.
But I had had enough fun on the beach. Hahaha, since I've been here I haven't gone in any further than to my knees, maybe.
They also have fun who only stand and wade.
I got these shots as I slowly meandered back to the parking lot. It's the small creek, Spencer Creek, that flows through the park to the beach.
I tell ya, it is a kick in the pants!!
And one last look back to the beach and the backside of the cliffs you can see from the beach.
Since we were passing by and since I have an America the Beautiful Senior Pass. Hahaha, it's great!! I paid a one-time $10 fee and now have a pass for the rest of my life-time.
Woo woo!!
"What's that? You want $7 to enter? I think not, my dear."
Hahaha, I am so petty .... and cheap.
But, why not!?! If you got it and you have nothing else to do that afternoon then stop in and say, Hey, to the good folks at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
We found out what it takes to get a tour of the lighthouse. The Park itself opens at 0800 and they start taking sign-ups for the Lighthouse Tour at 1000. They only have four tours a day and can only accommodate 16 people at a time for each tour so it is limited. Once you've signed up, you get a temporary pass that you use to claim the real pass when your tour is getting ready to start.
Whew, I can see where I'm gonna have to be there rather early to ensure we get on a tour.
While I'm waiting, I can window-shop in the gift shop.
And now for the real reason we stopped today. Oh, I mean we were heading down this direction anyway on our way to Walmart and we headed down initially to see Beverly Beach but, Carpe Diem, y'all.
We were there. We had the pass. We had the time. And we had the inclination soooooo, we stopped by. You see, we've been here before and while we were there we saw several Peregrine Falcons dancing, literally dancing, in the sky as part of their mating ritual.
We decided to stop by and, y'know, see what had developed from that dance.
We were in the parking lot for the Interpretive Center and we spotted their nest up on the cliff wall. See it? Right there where the arrow is pointing!?!
And in this aerie, or falcon's nest, we saw some of their brood.
Fun Facts: Peregrine Falcons (PF) prefer to nest on cliffs and bluffs. Their nest site consists of a shallow scrape that can hold from 2 to 6 eggs. Generally they use the same nest site year after year. PFs don't breed until they're about 3 years old. Each egg is incubated for 28-29 days. The female closely broods the young but the male assumes an increasingly important role as they get older.
Fun Facts Continued: These young birds will fly when they're 35 to 42 days old, but they'll stay with their parents for another two months before they finally leave.
Datos Mas Diversions: PFs are almost worldwide and on every continent except Antarctica. This fierce raptor has inspired awe thought history and has been trained and used by man as an aerial hunter for centuries. In the Middle Ages, only royalty could fly this bird from the fist.
A once common cliff nester in North America, they experienced a dramatic population decline between 1950 and 1965, mainly due to pesticide use and habitat loss. Nesting pairs were essentially exterminated east of the Mississippi and the species was expected to go extinct in North America by 1980.
Thanks to environmental laws coupled with captive breeding programs and aggressive release programs, this bird has made a successful comeback and again inspires awe when seen stooping on another bird or streaking across a beach in search of its prey.
Noah Mehr Wissenswertes: PFs are aerial hunters, seeking their favorite prey of domestic pigeons and many other bird species. Their horizontal flight speed, ranging from 40 to 60 mph, is not particularly fast, but their amazing speed in a stoop has been clocked at over 200 mph.
Faits Encore plus de Plaisir: PFs are occasionally used to scare away birds at airports to reduce bird-lane strikes and improve air-traffic safety. I didn't know this, but they were also used to intercept homing pigeons during both World Wars.
The Ranger told us that there were six eyasses (that's what they call baby falcons) in this brood. We only saw the four but the Ranger also said they had started flying recently. Maybe two of the guys were out having some fun with Mom and Dad. Learning to fly.
And, since I had the zoom all the way out as far as it could go, I got this shot of some daisies along the base of the cliffs about 200 feet away. Can you spot the fly?
Amazing!!
After I had snapped maybe a hundred or so pictures of the eyasses, we headed out to the lighthouse.
This lookout was right in front of us when we parked and as I looked down, I saw this sea cave down there.
Here's the wide view. You can just see a bit of the cave in the formation on the left. There was a lot of avian activity going on down there.
There were a number of cormorants there hanging onto the side of the cliffs.
Fun Facts: Cormorants are colonial nesters, using trees, rocky islets, or cliffs. Their eggs are a chalky-blue color and they usually have one brood a year.
They feed their young through regurgitation. The young have typically deep, ungainly bills, showing a greater resemblance in this regard, to pelicans to which they are related. This resemblance, with the bills, is less obvious in the adults.
And, then, on the south side of the Head, we saw these guys. Everywhere!!
Common Murres.
Fun Facts: The Common Murre (CM) spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.
They're capable of fast direct flight but aren't very agile in the air. They're more maneuverable underwater, typically diving to depths of 98-197 feet. (Uh, wow!!) Depths of up to 590 feet have been recorded for this bird. (Again, Wow!!)
More Fun Facts: CMs breed in colonies at high densities, nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbors. They don't make a nest, their single egg is incubated on a bare rock ledge. Eggs hatch after about 30 days of incubation.
Their chick is born downy and is ready to leave the nesting ledge and head for the sea after about 20 days. They don't necessarily fly but they glide for some distance with fluttering wings accompanied by their male parent. Chicks are capable of diving as soon as they hit the water. The female stays at the nest site for some 14 days after the chick has left.
And we saw these slugs. Harbor seals.
#isitlunchyet
From the viewpoint this is the coast looking to the south. Also from here, there are steps leading down to the beach. There are 105 steps, to be exact.
And we took'em all. Every single, blasted one of them.
They were rather direct about not taking anything off the beach and so as parents discover the small treasures their children have found they have them leave them along the bottom of the steps.
There's some cormorant eggs, crab claws, shells, and some vertebrae. All kinds of treasures there.
When the tide is out, you can easily get to the tide pools here. They've helped the conservation of this area a bit by loading in piles of rocks for the beach.
And, as we started out onto the beach, I couldn't help looking back up at the steps and thinking, 'Oh, crap!!'
Hahaha, I am one lazy sum-gun.
Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult walking on all these rocks. Fortunately the sandals I was wearing had a strong sole. Even here in this protected (from the sea) area there is still driftwood to be found.
Please, no snide remarks about me and driftwood.
Thank you.
A Cormorant drying its wings among all the Common Murres.
I remember first seeing these murres up at the Cape Meares Lighthouse and wondering what the heck those penguins were doing in Oregon.
I are not smart.
Ah, here's something I would be good at with these seals.
Snoozin'
There was a lot of small pieces of driftwood on this beach. Among all the rocks. And, yes, I got several pictures of the small pieces of driftwood but only posted this one.
Hahaha, driftwood is quickly becoming my second 'Gulls' addiction when taking pictures.
Oh, hey!! There it is!! The Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
More Murres.
And cormorants.
And the lighthouse.
First lit August 20, 1873 and automated in 1966, it is still active with an identifying light characteristic of two seconds on, two seconds off, two seconds on and 14 seconds off.
I didn't know lighthouses had 'signatures' but it does make sense when you think about it.
Carol found the shell of a cormorant egg. We left it cuz we were both afraid of breaking the law. Wouldn't want to get a record at this stage of the game.
Hahahaha. We're both wusses.
"Look out!! I'm coming in hot!!"
Can you spot me in this picture?
Hint: I'm fat and I don't move too often. Keep looking!!
And even here, in this small cove, there's beauty literally clinging for life on the side of a cliff.
There's a metaphor, some motivational quote in there somewhere.
Whup!!
Hahaha, surprise!! Another picture of rocks and small pieces of driftwood.
I am soooooo predictable.
And then, reality set back in.
It was time to go.
Up the stairs.
All 105 of them.
Ratz.
During one of my many, many frequent and often breaks while ascending the stairs, I spotted these guys.
And a Bumble Bee!!
Oh, yeah!!
Score!!
And these gentle beauties.
All there just waiting for me to have an opportunity to appreciate them.
Keep your eye on the prize, Fat Boy. You can make it!!
And I did. It wasn't fun and it wasn't easy but, doggone it, I made it.
And my reward?
More sights like this one. That's one busy rocktop, y'all.
Ka-Busy!!
And these guys were still sleeping.
Hellooooo...
Hahaha, this looks very familiar. I think I've gotten this very same shot each time I've come here.
And, yet, it never gets old.
Didn't like the vertical? Here, try it in a horizontal.
Hahaha, soooooooo predictable.
And this. I have no idea. Any help?
Still, it has an elegance to it. Lookin' small, it's fun.
I have nothing to say.
The front door to the lighthouse.
It's always fun to see these lighthouses but I think it is even more fun to see them way back when; when they were working facilities with real people living, working, laughing, etc., there.
Here it is in the 1890s. You get a view of the Keeper's house. Really convenient to the lighthouse.
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And a larger view of the lighthouse from 1932.
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One constant for this place is the gulls.
And the murres.
Hey!! Did you see that?
What?
Mama is busy on her nest. Notice the egg behind her? I'm gonna go ahead and think it is a Common Murre egg and its Mama just stepped away for a minute. Remember, Murre's don't build nests, they just lay their egg on the ledge...or ground.
See the blue throat? It's only blue when they're breeding.
Soup's on!!
It's dinnertime for at least one murre.
And as many were on the rocks there were an equal number in the water. Just not so crowded together.
Look at all the nests.
What? Oh, yeah, we're here to see the lighthouse. There ya go.
Now, where are the birds?
One-Legged Pete.
You're not surprised, are you?
I swear, these Murres are not far off from a penguin in looks. These guys tend to live in Low-Artic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific.
My favorites. I guess it is because I identify with them so much.
Ahhhh, quiet now.
It's nap time.
There's a lot of these on the Head.
Fun Facts: Grinding and mixing the seeds with water, vinegar or other liquids creates the yellow condiment known as prepared mustard. The seeds can also be pressed to make mustard oil and the edible leaves can be eaten as mustard greens.
Hahaha, I always wondered if they made mustard from these plants. Don't laugh, I've already established that I'm not that smart. I just didn't know if Mustard got its name from the plant or the plant got its name from Mustard...y'know, because of the color. Mystery solved!!
Learning every day, y'all!!
Isn't it time to, y'know, clean up the area a bit?
I'm jes sayin'....
And, finally, a parting shot of the lighthouse in the window of my faithful Mini. It's interesting to try and see things in a different way.
So from here it was a short drive to the Walmart in Newport where I successfully returned the tripod. Thank you very much, Wally.
I think I'm gonna have to go and expend a few bucks on a good tripod. This was the second one I tried to buy on the cheap and it just didn't work out for me.
We always enjoy our shopping experiences. It's a real shame I'm not Uber-Rich. Hahaha, I would do wonders for the local economy.
We had a great day and driving home we saw THREE eagles!! One was resting in a tree along The 101....we'd seen him in the same tree just a short while ago. Then, while we were motoring along close to where Beverly Beach is, we saw two eagles flying along the shoreline.
Hahahaha, SCORE!!!
What a great way to end a great day.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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