The coast

Wow. This place just keeps getting better! At the recommendation of a friend and the potential to see puffins, I headed to the coast Sunday. The Oregon coast is gorgeous. It was a picture perfect day. I got there too late to see many puffins, though we saw a few in flight. Apparently, they nap in the afternoon! I did see a Kormorant nesting in the rock through a seriously high-powered scope. No photos...

Cannon Beach

The beaches are amazingly clean and quiet. No blaring radios, no food vendors, just people and dogs (hearty people who apparently think 65-70 degrees is beach weather). The coldest 4th I've spent on the beach, but possibly the most picturesque! The big rock you see is called haystack rock and was created by a lava flow 17 million? years ago. There are 'fingers' of rock along the coast from this event, this is the biggest one on the coast and it houses many gulls and migrating birds.

For the record, these photos are barely retouched, if at all. The colors of the sky were just amazing that day.

Manzanita from the road

Exploring the tidal pools

Haystack rock at sunset