Boiling Water!!

I took a nice long drive North on the Oregon Coast Highway looking for some adventure.  It didn’t take me long to find it.  I actually drove about 20 miles North, then stopped at several spots on the way back, since all the pull-outs are on the ocean side.     

                                     

This is Bob Creek.  I don’t know who Bob was but he has a nice roadside rest stop where you can walk down to the tide pools and beach.  It just doesn’t get any prettier than this!!  Rubber boots would probably be a good idea so you can walk in the tide pools and cross the little river without getting wet.  I left mine home, so I went barefoot when I crossed the creek.  It was a lot colder than I imagined, forcing me to sit on the wet sand to replace my socks and shoes.                        

                                    

With the current storm coming in, winds were blowing the wave tops as they crashed over the rocks.  The rainbows were totally unexpected. There were lots of green sea anemone and hundreds of shells on the beach, just none of the sand dollars I was looking for.

Further down the highway I came across the Devils Churn, a cut in the mountain allowing sea water to boil into the chasm.  With the storm coming in as well as the tide, it was a pretty spectacular place to visit.  It looked surprisingly like my boiling pot of stroganoff!!

Don’t forget to put $5.00 in an envelope for parking, then walk down the switchback path until you reach the top of the stairs.  Instead of going down the stairs, go left down the path until it ends at the cliff edge.  You’ll find this tree and a view of the beach towards the South.  

                                                     

Go a little further and there is another set of stairs you can descend to the tide pools below.  Here's the cool part ... if you continue around the cliff edge to the right (there's plenty of room) ... you will experience the crashing waves up close and personal.  It's amazing to watch the waves come from two different directions, smash into each other and explode like a bomb!!  It definitely resembles a pot of boiling water!!

Keep walking in a Northward direction and you will end up at the chasm at the bottom of the OTHER set of stairs, getting a view very people see.  Check out the tide tables first so you don’t get washed out to sea, but I guarantee you’ll like this short hike. 

The waves not only crash on the rocks outside the chasm, but inside as well.  I could sit here for hours and listen to the ocean.  When the water hits the rocks, it makes an indescribable noise!!

I got just a tad too close to this one.  Either I got sprayed or it started raining again!!  I think the wind just came up at the right time.  

There was a big swoosh as this wave hit the edge of the chasm and sprayed upward.  I'd bring lunch to this spot and sit awhile.  Mother Nature is AWESOME!!

I stopped at Muriel Ponsier Wayside, but the sign that said “take all your valuables, the Sheriff’s Department patrols this area” was rather a put off.   One last stop at Strawberry Hill ended up being a great place for an adventure.  I didn’t find any strawberries, but the hill had kind of red rock as I followed the trail to the bottom.  Head off to the right and over the rocks to the beach beyond.  There were lots of broken sand dollars here, as well as great tide pools and a nice fort.  Watch the tides here too, as you will get wet feet if you stay too long.  The good news is there wasn't a sole around!!

The cool part about every beach I stopped at was the lack of people.  They were all at the big stops, like Heceta Head Lighthouse and Cape Perpetua.  Stop in at these out of the way places and bring some snacks.  It’s just gorgeous, even if it is raining!!

Having run/walked a couple miles in the morning, then hiked down and back up every beach, as well as at least 3 more miles ON the beaches, I was pretty tired by the time I got back to the rig.  It rained on and off all day, pouring enough occasionally to make me nervous, so I stayed in most of the late afternoon!!

I spent an hour crunched in the car at the quilt store, writing the last blog, so this time I wrote it the night before in Windows, which I copied here.  It really wasn't much easier, as I again sit in the car in Old Town Florence.  Today I'll scout out a better place as I head off to my favorite Kitchen Store to look for a new pot.