Gold fills the air: Exceptional evening light and sunset at the Peter Iredale on an Oregon beach

The Wreck of the Peter Iredale at Sunset

Click on any of the photos to go to the album.

I almost missed this gorgeous evening light. It was raining and dreary, and I went shopping at Freddy's before going to the gym. Freddy's took longer than I thought, and the gym was closing. I hadn't been to the beach in awhile, so despite the rain and grayness of the day, I went. I was going to snap a couple of pix and go home, but the "new" batteries I'd put in my camera were not new, but very, very dead. I drove to the corner store on the highway and got new ones. Then I drove over to Hammond (another post) and took a few pix in the drizzle and fading gray light. Time to go home. But I saw to the west that the sun had broken through the clouds in a sliver of brilliant light, so I thought there could be something worth taking pictures of at the beach. Hoping for a nice sunset, I looped around once more and drive out to the Peter Iredale. Oh, my. I'm so glad I did. The air was filled with golden light, and I was in time to see the change of colors through an amzing spectrum. Not only that, but the rainbow on the landward side of the scene was a complete arc, growing stronger by the minute and then becoming a double rainbow - and what did I see perched on a pole in the midst of the rainbow? A bald eagle. I got his photo before he flew into the rainshine. In the album there's a photo of the rainbow's top curve, too.

The colors on the landward side of the hillock were rich and muted like a Romantic era painting.

Here's the bald eagle. At times like this, I wish I had good long lens, but that day will come.

The eagle flew off into the golden light.

The colors on the beach were muted, breathtaking and constantly changing. You can see Tillamook Head in the distance.

I didn't tweak this in PhotoShop except to boost the contrast the smallest trifle. This is how the camera saw the color of the sun's light diffused in the air. It was still sprinkling a little, and the air was wet and the slightest bit misty. I love the rows and rows of waves on our flat beach.

I took a lot of pictures this evening. Click on any photo to go the web album, and you can see the slide show or flip through the album of rainbow and Peter Iredale photos. I'm sure glad I didn't miss this evening at the beach!

Sweatshirts on the Beach

It was goreously sunny at the beach on Oregon's North Coast, but Lee added one more sweatshirt to the two he was already wearing. I was in my winter jacket, and was none too warm. He'd left his jacket in Bend and come back to the Coast in shorts a couple of weeks ago because we had a day or two of teaser warm weather. Actually, the teaser warm weather was in Bend. When he arrived in shorts, the rest of us here were freezing.

The wreck of the Peter Iredale - a local landmark - and a lot of people in sweats.

Lee gives a boost to someone's Spiderman kite.

Scenic and mellow. Typical Oregon beach. Fantastic.

The Peter Iredale lies like the bones of a monster snake

The wreck of the Peter Iredale on the beach at Warrenton, Oregon. Obviously, an incredibly beautiful day. I've got more pix of the Peter Iredale on this blog and in one of my web albums.

July 25: Fort Clatsop, near Astoria

Today I went to have a look at Fort Clatsop, a 1955 replica of the original fort built by the Lewis and Clark expedition to when they stayed here during the winter of 1805-1806. (Since I took these photos, the original model burned down in 2005. I'll have to go back and take photos of the new one.) It's run by the U.S. National Park Service, and this is the headquarters, gift shop, and display building by the parking lot. The whole is hidden away in the forest, not that far from town, but so isolated you feel you are miles from civilization. It's a nice place to go!

This is the path coming out of the headquarters. You take a very short walk from there to the fort replica.

Here is the fort - hard to photograph with so many shadows, but it was wonderful to be in such a wooded location. I was still just beginning to experience the various plants and trees here in Oregon, and I was in awe at all of the new things I was discovering. Really? All these things grow here? A northern rainforest was still somewhat of a new concept for me.

The staff had gone out of their way to make realistic displays. This is sitting in the forest where you can walk around it and look at all the detail. Sometimes they give talks and demonstrations.

Here's the main fort building. It's not very big. The only forts I'd seen were big and meant for a lot more people.

Here's a candle-making display in one of the dark rooms. It was not well-lit, because they were trying to keep it as authentic as possible. It even smelled of furs.

Here's a sleeping room.

Maps on a desk and fire in the hearth.

This is a lantern. It's made of metal with holes bored into it in patterns. I really loved the look of this.

After leaving the fort buildings, I took the path through the woods. Ferns found in conjunction with pine trees were still a new phenomenon for me. I love this vegetation and the cool feel beneath the trees.

I also like the signs describing at least some of the plants. This is a deer fern. The quote is from Captain Lewis's journal.

Here's the wide gravel path and the bench, not quite wild, but it made for easy walking.

The forest path led toward a natural cove in the river, and there's a canoe replica here to show us how the area was used. Having grown up in California, I was astonished that these displays could be unattended and available to the public without being graffiti'd or carved to bits. People seem to behave themselves better here, and the crowds are clearly not as great, even during summer tourist season. It made me feel happy to live here.

Near the canoe I've come to the end of the trail, a deck where you can look out over the marshy inlet where Lewis and Clark apparently came ashore.

Here's a view of the inlet and cove from the platform. It was totally peaceful, totally idyllic, and - amazingly - only about 10 minutes from home. This is the Lewis and Clark River, which feeds into Youngs Bay just about where the bay opens out into the Columbia River. Here's a map.

Here's another dugout canoe, in the shade.

Gnarled tree roots.

And more ferns and broadleaf plants under the canopy of the trees. It was a beautiful place to get out and enjoy being in the woods.