you can hear it grow

Near Cannon Beach, OR there is a little sign with a turn off for Ecola State Park. The road twists and turns leading you to one of two parking lots with great views of the ocean but what I really liked about this park was the rain forest you pass through getting there.  It was really foggy this day and the forest had a prehistoric feel.  Stopping the car to get out and walk in to the woods just a bit, it was almost like the quiet after a fresh snow - so still and silent but rather than snow, everything is green almost like you can hear it growing if you listened close enough.

Find it here:  45°56’19” N;  123°59’5” W

the fog rolls in

This was my first trip to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.  I had always wanted to visit but never made the time and never thought I’d ever live here.  But a great opportunity came up at Target and I was offered a position based out of Portland, OR so we were here in late September for the first time trying to get familiar with the city and find places to live.  It has been about a year since then, and living in the PNW has been nothign short of amazing!

On this trip, we took a couple days to do some travel to Mt. St. Helens then down the coast through Astoria to arrive at Ecola State Park and this great view overlooking Cannon Beach just as the sunset.

I just visited this location again over the past weekend which prompted me to pull this photo out from the archive to process and post.  It was really foggy this weekend, some neat photos from in the surrounding rain forest are stil to come.

Find it here:  45°55’11”;   N 123°58’31” W

spread your wings

Have you been to the 17 Mile Drive on the California coast just south of the Monterey/Carmel area?  It’s quite beautiful and everyone should go there if they have the chance.  The drive starts just south of Monterey and winds it’s way through the golf resort of Pebble Beach.  There are neat pull outs all along the drive but you have to pay $12 for the privilege of entering the private road but in return you get a map that calls out the pull out and scenic areas which humorously sometimes tries a little too hard to be creative in comeing up with a description for the pull outs.

This stand of trees is just south of the Lone Cypress.  Have you seen the Lone Cypress?  If you are a fan of golf (I’m not), you would recognize it as the tree logo for the Pebble Beach golf course.  Well, leave it to the wonderful lawyers to try to take people to court to stop them from photographing, painting, drawing, whatever of this beautiful landmark.  Ha, read more about that here and here.

Find it here:  36°33’44” N;  121°57’19” W

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

It’s a beautiful drive up the Pacific Coast Highway along the California coast from Monterey to San Francisco.  This particular weekend, it was rainy with nice dark moody clouds, deep green hillsides, and misty fog sitting in the low areas in between.  It seems like there almost isn’t a bad spot to stop and take a picture along the way.

Find it here:  37°10’60” N;  122°23’23” W