September, 2020
There is so much fog and rain on this part of the coast that finding even a few hours of pure, lovely sunshine can be difficult. So far this week, our beach walks have been very pleasant, but foggy. And we had some rain for a couple of days … we didn’t get down on the beach much during those rainy times. But today! Wow! We had sun!
This was my last afternoon at Cape Disappointment. What a great way to end the week.
Again, we walked from our campsites down through the driftwood and then down onto the beach. And as usual, all four of us friends turned to the right, towards that cliff face. It was a Thursday afternoon with not another soul in sight.
As we clambered around in amongst the driftwood, I noticed there was a difference in color between the sand closer to the trees and the sand closer to the ocean. The sand close to the trees and the grass was black; the sand at the edge of the driftwood and out towards the ocean was light grey. There was almost a line between the two types. Why is that? Both colors of sand are in the photo below.
Black sand below.
Light grey sand below.
If any of you folks know why this difference in the color of the sand exists, and why the two types of sand don’t mix where they meet, please educate me.
I continued to be fascinated with that huge section of the cliff face that had separated from the rest of the cliff. As I looked at it from a little distance, it seemed as though the sand, the beach, went in between the cliff itself and the part that had separated. So I walked over there to see what I could see.
Indeed, that tall section of rock with the tree on top of it, that section that had separated, no longer touched the cliff face at all. You could walk in between the cliff face and the tall section that had separated … they no longer touched each other. Not that I wanted to enter that tiny space. It was a narrow passageway, maybe only three feet wide, although it was narrower in places, which made me a bit nervous.
But I went in anyway … you know me, I’m always exploring.
I got part way in, and came around a curve between the two cliff faces, and came face to face with this!
This tree trunk was about three feet in diameter and I’d guess about 12 feet long. I imagine that a monster wave during a winter storm deposited that tree trunk there, who knows how many years ago … shoved that tree trunk right smack in there, never to move again until it decays. Think of the power it would take to do that. I was impressed.
Obviously, I backed out of that corridor and went back to the sunshiny beach and to my friends.
The person above is a Ring Billed Gull. There were lots of them out here.
And then my friends and I walked a little ways down the beach so we could get one last look to the north at the North Head Lighthouse. As much as we thought it was a sunny day, look at the mist and fog out there on the ocean.
We walked and chatted and found interesting little things on the beach. Eventually, we turned around and headed back towards the cliffs that jut out into the Pacific Ocean. The water, the waves, the sounds (loud booms from some of the waves, soft nuzzling sounds from other waves), were mesmerizing.
Even though the ocean was relatively gentle this day, still it seemed determined to tear down these huge cliffs.
Wish I’d had a video of the blast above. We estimated it was 30 feet high. Even at that, it was small compared to that 135 foot high cliff.
Finally, we left the beach, we left the ocean. Each of us said we’d be back and said we would make plans to come back here again together. The ocean is a magnet, and so are friends.
Back at my trailer, I fixed my supper to have with my friends, but I had time to go for one last walk through a bit of the campground before suppertime. This campground is great. It has lots of trees and natural areas between each loop of campsites.
I walked along the path above with Little Towhee hopping along with me. At one point she hopped over onto that green area beside the path and started poking and sniffing in amongst the tiny little green plants that covered the ground.
Little Towhee said, “Ann, what is this? It doesn’t taste good, it’s not tall enough to hide in, it isn’t easy to pluck out in order to use it to make a nest. What’s it good for? What is it?”
I had to admit that I didn’t know. It wasn’t moss, not that I knew anyway. It looked sort of like a fern but it was so amazingly tiny that that didn’t seem right either. What is this little plant? do any of you readers know? Little Towhee and I need your help.
Back at the campsite, I had supper with my friends. We spent one last evening sitting and chatting and remembering our week here. After one last excellent night’s sleep, I was up early the next morning. I tidied up inside the trailer, hitched the trailer to the truck, checked all things that needed checking, then said good-bye to my friends. I drove home using the same route I’d taken down here. I originally thought I would zip over to Interstate 5 and speed home, but I didn’t feel like speeding home. I felt like driving more of the same comfortable country roads that I’d driven on my way down to Cape Disappointment a week ago. Why hurry when you’re happy?
Wonderful pictures. Love the atmosphere of the mist over the water. Feels like fall. Reminds me our camping trips at Fort Ebey on Whidbey Island. Ah, nostalgia! And the pictures of the surf are marvelous, too. Not easy to capture.
Thanks Fritzi. Yes, it was mid September by the time I took these photos at Cape Disappointment, so fall it was. Even when we didn’t have sun on our beach walks, we never seemed to mind since the mist and the fog were truly beautiful.
I’m heading to Fort Ebey on Whidbey this year (2021) and can hardly wait. I’m hoping to find some of the same wonderful memories that you and your family found there.
Love your pictures and can almost hear the surf crashing against the rocks! I’m sure that was a wonderful week for you.
It absolutely was a wonderful week, Mary O. I’m going to try to remember to take more videos so I can share sound and motion here with everyone. That blast of surf crashing against the rocks was loud and amazing!
I’ve never seen crashing ocean waves in person, but your photos make me feel like I have seen them now. Glad to see Little Towhee out and about too, I was missing her. She’s a good buddy. My wife and I both prefer slow meandering drives, good of you to make that choice.
Gotta get yourselves over here, Tim. Little Towhee would love to meet you. She has no idea where Montana is and thinks it’s maybe just around the block here. Yep, slow drives are best. 🙂
Loved your tag line of why hurry when you’re happy. Life is wonderful if we embrace it.
Yesterday I was eating lunch outside on the deck at Fawn Lake. The music of all the different birds was like a symphony. Occasionally the percussion section bounded in when some ducks took to greeting each other with loud quacks. Then my eye caught the staccato movement of a twitching tail high up in the closest tree overhanging our yard from the park. Seconds later that movement increased and 3 gray squirrels emerged from a hidden nest and enjoyed a game of ring around the rosy in the treetop!
The ice in my glass was totally melted before the slightest thought of abandoning my lair ever entered my mind.
Why hurry when you’re happy.
Oh my, like Joe said … your words, Kathie, are music to my ears and my brain and my soul. What an exquisite picture you paint, a symphony you write. Under all the other sounds, under everything, maybe, is the life of the earth itself, the life and the bass notes that hold it all together of friendship and love. You are wonderful. Ha! and topped off by the squirrels playing ring around the rosy in the treetops, how perfect. 🙂
Ahhh, music to my ears, Kathie. I was struck by that last line too. And I’ve been thinking about it ever since. But that tree trunk that was slammed into that opening in the rocks got my attention too, and I think I might hurry away if I saw something like that coming, wowzer. I’ve always dreamed about being out at the ocean during a major storm, but it seems one needs to be a little careful too since those waves carry danger. Great blog Ann, thank you.
You are welcome, Joe. Thank YOU for being here and for commenting and adding to the blog. I love that. 🙂
I’ve lived around Puget Sound and the salt water all my life, yet I’ve not spent time out on or near the ocean. I have no idea why there are two distinct colors of sand, nor what those tiny green plants are. But I like that seagull, what a handsome fellow.
Me too, Rob. This camping life means I’m learning all sorts of new things. I never knew there were so many different varieties of seagulls. The name “Ring Billed” seems to fit this handsome bird perfectly.
Great beach and wave photos. And the tree trunk. And the seagull. 🙂 Thanks.
Thanks Nebraska. This week had all kinds of fun stuff to share with you folks. 🙂
I could almost smell the saltwater! Great pictures.
It smelled wonderful. 🙂 thanks Kristin.