January 6, 2020 Still living at the coast...

Higher than average high tides and some other factors, beyond my knowledge, have created enormous waves with waves that build on themselves to create "sneaker waves".  This will suddenly breach the boundaries that the tides had formerly obeyed.

Sound like a serious thriller movie?  Lol.  Well watching these waves from safety is an awe inspiring experience, getting caught in one...not so pleasant.

Here are some pics of these waves:

 

The sound of the waves moving the rocks is tremendous! It is like thunder.  The waves would change directions from coming straight at the shore to running parallel to the shore and flooding the area shown above.  There is so much water that floods into this area that when it recedes it creates waves which crash into the waves come in.

Thinking that I should be able to catch this on film, I found a safe spot.  Notice I am well away from the water line, up on a little hill.

 

This photo is zooming in just before I hit the video button.  You can above the waves starting to change direction and below them building up.

The video below shows my miscalculation.  Keep in mind that the camera was in a zoom setting as I was tracking the water from down shore to in front of me.

 

 

Fortunately there was a log perpendicular to the water that I was able to brace myself against was I got soaked and slightly pelted by small rocks.  My camera seemed to have died but revived the next day, yeah!! 

Further sights and scenes of the life at the beach:

 Sand Pipers have been gathering in large groups.  This group could be seen from far down the beach.

While most of the birds were napping there were a couple that just didn't want to nap.

So many little birds.  So peaceful...

 

Until something scares them. 

 Can you find the one little insomniac in this group.

This critter caught my attention with its wild feathers.  Not sure if this is the case with this bird, but when the Great Blue Heron starts breading it has shaggy plumes that form on the neck and back.  Quite the colorful birds when an opportunity to really examine them.

Another day...
Sperm whale are making their annual migration down to warmer waters in the South to give birth.  We have made several attempts to catch a glimpse.  A semi sunny day and a semi not.


While there was blue sky the mist in the air from the crashing waves made fro a hazy view.

Watching carefully that the waves were coming only so far as my companion snapped some shots.

The views were picturesque.

More beautiful shots.




Another day, storm waters were making it hard.  We tried another view point, but alas the whales were not giving us a peak.

The end of our day, still no whales but some beautiful skies and reflections.

 

The stormy seas continue, crabbing opened again and these little boats and stalwart sailors joined by seagulls are out in it.

The beaches are full of wood debris...

Whatever has attached itself too the wood that has landed on the beach has delighted the seagulls.

I saw this from a far off and could not make out what it could possibly be.  Trying to upload the picture came up with a lot of possibilities, like a bike helmet...well, pretty sure that isn't what it is. 

Finally happened up a picture entitled "Gooseneck Barnacle".  The long neck can grow to 31" long!  It seems that it is a tropical/ sub-tropical critter but can end up in cold waters because of currents.  Crazy!













Large piles of bull whip kelp are heeped on the beach, guessing this may cause an odoriferous experience in the next week. 

Well, in addition to the above was a "Bridge Out" sign, a corked bottle - no message inside, a splayed seal and an item that is not as yet identified.  Quite the adventure this beach life!

October 26, 2019  Trout Lake, WA

Back from adventures beyond.  The weather forecast was for clouds and rain...and for the most part it delivered.  Our cabin is listed as a partial mountain view...

Trout Lake Cozy Cabins are cute, with modern amenities and humorous accents which we played up...

The stuffed bear is mine, you may recognize him from prior posts, as you can see it was a budding friendship between these bears (the honey bear didn't quite make the cut).

 Our partial view, only seen one day, occurred at the break of dawn. Realizing that there weren't clouds as I looked up and out the window I jumped up with a gasp, opened the door, quickly shut the door, grabbed my camera and some shoes and was out clicking away.  We drove a mile down the road and already the clouds were moving in obscuring the very top of the mountain.

We had several adventures that 3rd day of our stay but the beauty of the mountain was definitely a highlight.








There was wine tasting...and more wine tasting...and more wine tasting...and then there was a move to harder stuff.  In between was a visit to Mary Hill's stonehenge, a museum and an animal sanctuary.

There was also appreciation over specialty made wine furniture made from wine barrels and definitely designed with a wine drinker in mind.  Curious as to the complete construction of the bench, a top to bottom examination was completed by one in our group.

Caught in the act!

An interesting place.  The purpose of the replica is a bit of a mystery.  The man, Sam Hill, who commissioned the work believed that it had been used as part of human sacrifices and was connecting it to the lives that had been sacrificed to the god of war in WWI.  But one of the plaques says it is a monument "erected in the hope that others inspired by the example of their valor and their heroism may share in that love of liberty and burn with that fire of patriotism which death can alone quench."  Would a man who is a Quaker and a pacifist, a man who likened those who died as a sacrifice to the god of war want to encourage patriotism?  Seems off.

Meanwhile, to the north, is a museum which houses an eclectic collection of works by artists in different mediums as well as antiquities and native American artifacts.

This was a fun one, two men on a stationary bike would generate electricity to dry 160 coiffures (hair dos) every day.  Quite fit young men.

 Also displayed was a number of dioramas featuring women's fashion.  Lot of time and effort to...?

No trip of mine would  be complete without a picture of feet.  This is in the Rodin exhibit room.

In the morning we had watched a video of Oprah and Dr. Oz talking about poop.  Yup, we went there.  He brought in a couple of samples of intestines and had Oprah and audience members feeling them.  We go to the museum and in the Eskimo display see this rain proof jacket... see display description in picture below. LOL!

There was a stop at a park near a river.  A rock that looked like a shark's nose has a hole that runs all the way through and water would spit out.  It is a place where a touching moment was shared, a treasure found, a story that is not mine to tell...

Some funny animal shots...I will let you come up with your own captions.

These little cuties were barely visible.



And there was plenty of fall colors to admire.

There was a beautiful large patch of this in a stand of trees off the road, we didn't stop to go investigate it but found this along our trail.  "Leaves of three, let it be" may indicate it is poison oak.  Regardless it is beautiful in the fall.

There is a wildlife reserve not far from town, we went the first day, it was misty and we went a little too late in the day to be able to hike to a viewing platform and then be able to hike back out in the light.  We only made it a little further than this bend and had some difficulty finding where the loop was indicated on the map.  Ended up crossing this field and walking out a driveway back.

 A morning of mist arising from the crevices above, and enjoyment of the sun paying us a visit.

Fall makes for a cacophony of color and textures.  This time of year has always been my least favorite as it signals the death of summer and the onset of winter with its grey and dreary skies that were a hallmark for the Oregon coast.  As I am in the fall of life I view it with a different set of eyes and an appreciation of the song it sings.