Oregon: Haystack Rock/Cannon Beach

(On the left: Foam leads the way to Haystack Rock) Cannon Beach is located on the north section of Oregon's coastal highway. It rises 235 ft out of the sand and is a bird sanctuary this time of year for Gulls and Cormorants. To get there we drove highway 22 through Hebo until it connected with 101. Much of this route was through the lovely countryside and deciduous forests dripping with 100 year old mosses. Dare I say it was pouring rain the entire way!

We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese factory to go to the bathroom. That was a bad choice. The place looks like poorly done tourist trap.

The route does not reach the ocean until after the Tillamook Bay and Garibaldi. Like my recent trip to Nova Scotia, I was surprised by how little coast one can actually see on these drives. Trees and houses blocked the views whenever the ocean was near.

Sand and rock

Patterns in the sand in the rivulet near the entrance

Entrance to the beach

Looking south along the beach at one of the rivulets that bisects the beach

We swung through the town of Manzanita, which was cute and reasonable as far as real estate prices goes and had lunch in Cannon Beach proper. To get to the sands we drove back south and exited 101 onto a local drag. There were many places to access the beach.

The farthest south we got. The rivulet was deep in this spot

The same birds, but looking out to sea

The tide was out when we arrived and the rain held itself at bay. Wind coats and gloves were required but the sun was shining. We walked up and down the beach for a while but ran into several streams we could not cross without taking off our socks and shoes.

The rocks in their natural state

Playing with color

Standing next to the rock and looking south