It's About the (RV) Journey....: Puffins and State Parks...............

Many days we go to the beach, either to walk, watch wildlife or just to sit down and read/knit. Its a pleasant walk to the beach from the campground, which adds to the simple pleasure of going to the beach. No need to worry about parking. The weather has been quite variable...not sure if its always like this. Fog, cold, sun, wind....usually we have it all in one day...sometimes within a matter of minutes. The beach can get quite windy, usually a cold wind coming off the ocean. While at Costco the other day, we spotted a wind tent that we noticed some other people had on the beach. WOW! We purchased it and let me tell ya...makes all the difference! Some days we spend hours at the beach:)

Going "puffin watching"

best invention since sliced bread...the wind is pretty fierce, but its not bothering us!

We have both been trying to get some pictures of puffins nesting on Haystack Rock. They are really hard to find and even harder to photograph. We were both successful in snapping some shots. Tom got some really good ones, because he is way more patient than I am. The pictures aren't that great, since we had to zoom in on the actual photo just to see the puffins. We are pretty happy with the pics though. It was a personal goal of ours....hahahha.

heading out to view the puffins....they are on the north side of Haystack Rock

there goes one now!

coming in for a landing

still knitting....we take turns in the tent so it doesn't blow away...the wind is pretty strong!

we need a telephoto lens

outside the burrow

they are so comical!

Tom got some great pics! Here's a puffin in flight!

Three in one picture...One landing and two near a burrow

We've been visiting some of the state parks nearby too. Not too far from us is Hug Point State Park. We read there is a waterfall at low tide, so we timed our visit right and there really is a waterfall! It was really cool to see such a water feature at the beach. This beach was rather small and cozy, and I'm sure at high tide there is not much of a beach. Oh, and we took a pretty long walk waiting for a wedding party photo shoot! I'm sure those pictures were dramatic. We were surprised to see the group though, since it was a Wednesday morning. Not too many weddings happening at that day/time, right?

great beach at low tide

waiting for the wedding party photo shoot

taking a nice walk on the foggy beach

so cool having "fresh water" features at the beach

Another nearby state park is Oswald State Park. We planned on hiking the Cape Falcon trail there, which goes up through the forest and has some nice views. This park also has a great beach, and is very popular with surfers. There is about a half mile walk from the parking lot down to the beach, which is pretty nice!

ready for some hiking

love these moss covered logs...looks like its from a fairy tale

woah....that's a big root system on that fallen tree

such cool tree features

the trees are huge

the beach or a hike in the forest?

We spotted the trailhead right near the beach and headed up. Surprisingly, there were a lot of muddy spots (which are really slippery) and lots of roots to work around. It was not too much fun. We like more peaceful and serene hikes.

reading the map

again...everything is huge in the old growth forest

dedication to the man that made it possible for the Oregon beaches to remain free and for use for all!

the spot where the dedication plaque is located

this trail had lots of roots and mud

going around

lots of roots

tree fungus :)

the trail is not too much fun...too many obstacles

watch your step

lots of mud and slick hiking conditions

okay...much better part of the trail

After a long while, the trail was pretty good....hard packed dirt with pine needles. Then, trouble. A huge tree had fallen right on the trail. You could hike around it, but it was near the edge of a steep drop off, and the area was already slanted down. Not sure if it was slippery or not, but we decided to head back. We wanted to spend some time on the beach anyway:)

okay...that's it....time to turn around and go to the beach...this tree is huge and the "go around" is on the side of the steep hill

I'd rather go to the beach than slide down the mountain

This beach was very large and very popular, especially with the surfers. Oh, and there was a waterfall here too. It was pretty cool and we had fun checking out the tidepools where the fresh water met the salt water. There were some different seaweeds than we've seen in the other tide pools. It was fun walking the beach...more fun than sliding off the trail and down the side of a mountain...ahhaha.