Cape Lookout State Park, Oregon
Sunset at Cape Lookout, OR.
Let's play!
An evening walk reveals lots of creatures.
Michael's artistry.
Our pirate ship.
Challenging the Pacific!
Thanks for the memories.
Our trip to Cape Lookout was absolutely fabulous. Michael, Connor and I set out for the long drive on Wednesday, and stayed two nights. The campground is very well maintained with good bath facilities and the lovely beach, of course. We got there in late afternoon, and as soon as we could, we headed out to the beach for beachcombing and the sunset.
I decided to pack the big tent thinking that it would be hot and we'd want to spread out. I have decided that the big tent is cursed. For a while there I wasn't even sure I would be able to get it up, what with the busted tent pole, the splintering wood, and the general aura of evil surrounding it. But eventually I conquered it and it was nice to have room to stash our stuff.
The other miscalculation I made was in sleeping bag choice. I brought a very lightweight one for myself, thinking I might be hot, but instead I was very cold the first night. The downside was not getting enough sleep because of it. The upside was leaving the tent and seeing the entire universe of stars above me.
Fortunately, the days were much warmer than the nights. Next day was a beach day, and we built the pirate ship, jumped waves, flew a kite, and did some beachcombing. Michael collected lots of sand dollars and a few other shells and interesting rocks. Later, we drove around looking at a couple of nearby towns. I think the kids slept through the more interesting parts, especially the drive along the ocean to Oceanside. If you're interested in staying seaside, this looks like a wonderful place to rent a hotel room or cottage. We also went into Tillamook, which is about 12 miles inland.
On Friday we packed up to head toward Lisa's house in Eugene. On the way toward Highway 101, we stumbled upon Sand Lake.
The picture does not really convey the enormity of this interesting sight. We all agreed that it was one of the weirdest things we've ever seen! According to the sign there, this is a large inland sand dune caused by the inability of the existing coastal vegetation to hold back the winds. I never really thought about it, but I'd guess we'd just be one giant beach without trees and things to keep the sand from springing forth.
We encountered more strangeness as we followed our mapquest directions. Normally, the limitation of mapquest is that it doesn't always have the newest roads. In this particular case, we came upon a road that was so torn up, it looked like it was barely a twinkle in a transportation planner's eye. They were in the process of carving this road out of the mountain basically, and we had to wait for bulldozers to smooth out the dirt and let us pass. It was a little hair-raising, but there was a pilot truck that guided us to safety.
More later about our wonderful visit with Aunt Lisa, George, and Simon. The kids had a blast!
Let's play!
An evening walk reveals lots of creatures.
Michael's artistry.
Our pirate ship.
Challenging the Pacific!
Thanks for the memories.
Our trip to Cape Lookout was absolutely fabulous. Michael, Connor and I set out for the long drive on Wednesday, and stayed two nights. The campground is very well maintained with good bath facilities and the lovely beach, of course. We got there in late afternoon, and as soon as we could, we headed out to the beach for beachcombing and the sunset.
I decided to pack the big tent thinking that it would be hot and we'd want to spread out. I have decided that the big tent is cursed. For a while there I wasn't even sure I would be able to get it up, what with the busted tent pole, the splintering wood, and the general aura of evil surrounding it. But eventually I conquered it and it was nice to have room to stash our stuff.
The other miscalculation I made was in sleeping bag choice. I brought a very lightweight one for myself, thinking I might be hot, but instead I was very cold the first night. The downside was not getting enough sleep because of it. The upside was leaving the tent and seeing the entire universe of stars above me.
Fortunately, the days were much warmer than the nights. Next day was a beach day, and we built the pirate ship, jumped waves, flew a kite, and did some beachcombing. Michael collected lots of sand dollars and a few other shells and interesting rocks. Later, we drove around looking at a couple of nearby towns. I think the kids slept through the more interesting parts, especially the drive along the ocean to Oceanside. If you're interested in staying seaside, this looks like a wonderful place to rent a hotel room or cottage. We also went into Tillamook, which is about 12 miles inland.
On Friday we packed up to head toward Lisa's house in Eugene. On the way toward Highway 101, we stumbled upon Sand Lake.
The picture does not really convey the enormity of this interesting sight. We all agreed that it was one of the weirdest things we've ever seen! According to the sign there, this is a large inland sand dune caused by the inability of the existing coastal vegetation to hold back the winds. I never really thought about it, but I'd guess we'd just be one giant beach without trees and things to keep the sand from springing forth.
We encountered more strangeness as we followed our mapquest directions. Normally, the limitation of mapquest is that it doesn't always have the newest roads. In this particular case, we came upon a road that was so torn up, it looked like it was barely a twinkle in a transportation planner's eye. They were in the process of carving this road out of the mountain basically, and we had to wait for bulldozers to smooth out the dirt and let us pass. It was a little hair-raising, but there was a pilot truck that guided us to safety.
More later about our wonderful visit with Aunt Lisa, George, and Simon. The kids had a blast!
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on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 at 11:56 AM.
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