Sunday Day Trip

I've finally got caught up on editing all my digital photos from the Oregon trip, and writing all the blog posts for the 11 days that we were away.  Mostly I wrote draft copies... kind of like a diary... on a day to day basis while we were travelling.  Then I touched up these drafts and added the photos once we got back home.  Now that all that is looked after, I can ramble on about some more current events...

This past Sunday I headed out for a day trip.  None of the girls wanted to come along, so I headed out by myself.  Even though I only spent a three day week in the office I was kind of burnt out by the return to work, and all the recent driving.  I was hoping to head out for a day trip, do some exploring, shoot a little film, and just unwind.  The light was pretty nice, so I set out to drive some backroads and hopefully find some cool old buildings.  Many buildings are difficult to photograph with the big camera in winter as the snow is often fairly deep and some of these places can be quite some distance back off the road.  Later in the spring, when the snow melts down, they are easier to get to, but often very ugly with old patchy rotton snow still scattered about.  Now that the snow is all gone, access is easier and things look a little better.  It's not all that obvious in a black and white image that the grass isn't green yet so the barren trees are the only clue as to how early in the season it really is.

This day turned out to be extremely windy.  Setting up the big camera in these gale force winds would be out of the question.  I had hoped to find an interesting interior, but nothing seemed to really catch my attention.  I ended up driving around for the afternoon and only came back with a few snapshots.  But, there are a couple of locations that I would consider returning to when conditions are better...

LMAO...!!!

Last Sunday I went out for a day trip.  The girls all stayed home and helped their Mom do some tidying and some chores around the house.  I had promised them that if they did a good job, I would take them for ice cream in the evening.  It is amazing the power of a little motivation.  By the time I returned they had got a lot accomplished and the house was well on it's way to being cleaned up.  We went out for some pizza and after supper I took them over to Diary Queen for an ice cream treat...

While we were there I overhead the conversation of a family that was sitting at the booth behind us.  Here was this older, frazzled looking guy that seemed completely overwhelmed by his four children.  He looked to be in his mid to late fifties.  His wife was younger, but he was no cradle robber and she appeared to be at least in her forties.  They had four very young and active children.  The two oldest ones looked to be twins and had to be about five.  The youngest one was still in diapers.  This poor guy was tearing what remained of his hair out, trying to ride herd on these four very energetic kids.  They were of course making a mess with their ice cream and he just could not keep up to them.  It was obvious that the frustration level and the stress was rising quickly.  I silently Laughed My Ass Off...!!!  

Finally we had run across parents that were older than us.  I was almost 40 when Hailey was born and had just turned 45 when Helena came along.  I can't recall ever running into parents that were older than us, but finally it happened.  I could really identify with the impatience and frustration this poor guy was going through...

The Return Trip Home

Like all good things, the week spent out on the Oregon Coast with my girls this spring came to an end.  On Easter Monday I was up at 7:00AM, packing the last of my stuff and getting ready for the long drive back home.  Getting four girls up, packed and all their stuff loaded into the truck is quite an ordeal.  By 9:30AM we were on the road... with a brief fuel stop before we really got going.  We headed east to Corvallis, and then north to Portalnd.  From there we followed the Columbia River East, over the same route that we took heading out a week prior.  Like last time we cut across the southeastern corner of Washington State, from the Tri-Cities, to Spokane.  From there we continued east into the Idaho panhandle to Cour d'Alene.  By this time it was getting dark and we were tired of being on the road.  We found a cheap motel, but perhaps it was a little too cheap.  This one appealed mostly because it was on of those old school motels that had an individual door to each room.  I thought that this would make it a lot easier to offload all our gear and luggage for the night.  The cops were at the front desk dealing with a complaint when we pulled up and this should have been a sign.  But we checked in anyway.  Turns out that we were given one of the rooms that faced the center of the complex, and the swimming pool that was closed for the season.  This did not make unloading the simple chore that we had hoped.  We had a gourment meal from the nearby fast food restaurant and then settled down into our five star Motel 6 room.  I think it was a little smaller than the walk in closet back at the house in Newport.  There were two twin beds, and just enough space to change your mind without having to step outside.  At least it only cost 60 bucks...

When I woke up in the morning I could not decide if the sore spot on my leg was from a scrape, my eczema, or bedbugs.  I'm hoping it was not the latter, and no one else seems to have any issues, so hopefully all is well.  No one slept very well with the five of us crammed into those two small beds.  But we packed up, hit the road, and headed north for the 49th parellel.  We made a brief stop at the cool antique store in Bonners Ferry and gave Margarit another chance to look around while I fueled the truck.  Then we headed north and soon crossed back into the True North Strong and Free.  It felt great to be back in Canada, and the customs agents on the Canada side are always so much more personable.  

We headed north to Cranbrook before eventually turning east onto the Crowsnest Highway.  Me made a brief stop for lunch in Fernie and then continued on our way.  From there it was a tedious and uneventful drive back home.  He headed north on Highway 22, the Cowboy Trail, before we eventually took the shortcut over the Porcupine Hills to Nanton.  We were quite disappointed to see that the entire area was blanketed with nearly a foot of fresh snow.  As we continued north to Calgary, the snow eventually disappeared.  From there it was the usual monotonous drive up the QE2 back home to Edmonton.  Everything was so barren, brown and drab compared to what we had just left.  At least the optimism of spring is in the air and we can look forward to the arrival of summer.  We arrived back at the house shortly after 9:00. unloaded the truck, and our spring break came to an end.
The girls are all exhausted and went to bed shortly after we brought all of our stuff in.  I need some time to relax a little and unwind before trying to get some sleep, even though my rest last night was uncomfortable, interrupted, and short.  I unpacked all my camera gear and found that I shot 82 sheets of 4" x 5" black and white film.  This was mostly on Efke PL25M, Kodak Tri-X and Kodak High Speed Infrared, but it also included a handful of Readyload Film Packets, that included some Kodak 100 T-Max, and some Fuji Neopan Acros.  I also shot a handful of 4" x 5" color transparencies.  I also shot over 875 digital snapshots with my Nikon D810.  So, photographically speaking, I think it was a successful trip.  But I also had a lot of fun this week with girls and found it mostly relaxing.  I find that spring trips such as this really break up the season.  We leave the crappy spring snow melt in Edmonton and visit a location that is much warmer and much greener.  When we return, it is still dull and drab, but the snow is mostly gone, and the real spring will be upon is in short order.
I checked the odometer, and the hour meter on the truck when we arrived back home.  Over the 11 days of our vacation we drove for a total of 50 hours and 11 minutes, and a distance of 4163km...

Oregon Coast - Day Seven

Easter Sunday, spent in the rental house at Newport, where the Easter Bunny managed to find our girls.  They spent the morning scouring the house for all the Easter eggs that were stashed by the bunny.  There were even a few out in the yard.   Today was also Margarit's 29th birthday... again.  Hailey made a special breakfast for everyone, and the girls had a birthday gift for their Mom.

After all the festivities were wrapped up we took a walk down onto the beach.  It was busy, with a lot of people strolling about.  It made it difficult to compose any photographs without having tracks everywhere.  But I still managed to take a few more shots with the view camera.  This was the first time that I did not also take the digital camera with me, and it made for a little easier walking, but as a result there are no snap shots to post.  By about 1:00PM the tide was coming in and it started to rain lightly.  We headed back to the house and the girls jumped in the hot tub.  It is pretty low key as we begin packing up for the long drive back home.
I stepped out a couple times this afternoon to pick up a few supplies.  Unlike up in Canada, everything is open on Easter Sunday.  Later in the afternoon I took a walk down into the woods and tried to take a couple more photographs.  Of course shortly after I stepped out it started raining again, and I got really wet.  I retreated back to the house and got set up to unload and reload all my film holders in advance of the return drive home.
Much like last year in Utah, the last day of our vacation here in Oregon, it mostly rained.  Although the morning was nice, this afternoon it was rain, and at times a lot.  We hung out at the house and just relaxed.  Everyone was a little subdued, perhaps dreading the long drive home and the return to the daily grind.  We had a barbecue this evening and were surprised that beef here in Oregon, although not Alberta beef, was a lot better than what we experienced with the cactus fed beef down in Utah.  After supper we began to get our stuff organized and started packing.  A somber mood filled the house....

Oregon Coast - Day Six

Saturday April 4th turned out to be a beautiful day... the best of all the days that we have spent on the Oregon Coast so far.  We got out of the house around nine this morning... pretty good for a herd of girls.  We headed back down the coast to Cape Perpetua in the Suislaw National Forest.  This is where Thor's Well is located.  Today it was sunny all day long, and there was only a light breeze.  The temperature got up to around 54F [14C]. 

The high tide has been arriving later every morning since we arrived on the coast.  Today it was at about 1:20 in the afternoon.  The surf was also quite high with the wind coming in off the Pacific.  This made for ideal conditions at Cape Perpetua.  The heavy surf was driving in to Cooks Chasm and making the Spouting Horn really erupt.  And, the show at Thor's Well was spectacular with big crashing waves.  When we first arrived, at around 11:00, it was pretty easy to get down onto the rocks beside the well.  But, within a half hour or so we all had wet feet as the surf splashed up onto the rocks and the tide came in.  I had to grab my camera gear and scramble for higher ground a couple of times.  I was more than a little nervous leaving my tripod and camera standing in the surf as I scrambled further away from the advancing water with my backpack.  But, I managed to get a couple of shots of the well with my 4x5, as well as a few of the crashing surf onto the rocks.

After we finished up here we headed back north towards Newport.  We stopped in Yachats a couple of little antique shops and the girls quickly drained my wallet.  Yachats as a really cool little town, much more laid back and low key than Newport.  Lots of cool little shops, galleries and cafes and the shoreline around here is a lot more interesting than the barren, sandy beaches further north.  If we ever make a return visit to the Oregon Coast I think we will try to stay somewhere in this area.

Further north still at Waldport we stopped for lunch a pizza place that had the most amazing Four Cheese pizza that I have ever had.  The girls devoured it, while Margarit and I had chowder and a salad.

On our way back north towards Newport we stopped at three State Parks...  Driftwood Beach, Ona Beach and South Beach.  They were all OK, but pretty much just broad open sandy beaches with crashing surf.  No headlands, no tidepools, no marine life... nothing but a few pebbles and scraps of smashed up sea shells in a big expanse of sand.

By late afternoon we headed back in to Newport.  I stopped down by the marina and took a couple shots of all the fishing boats moored in the bay.  Then we headed back over to the Ocean Bleu restaurant.  The girls and I really built this place up for Margarit but I'm afraid she was a little disappointed.  They were sold out of smoked salmon... her favorite.  But, our server didn't let us know until everyone else's meals were ready.  So, she had to make a hasty second choice, and then eat by herself, after everyone else was done.  The food was still good, but the service was sure lacking this time.  After we finished up our meal we headed back up to the house to unwind for the evening. 

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, our last day at the rental house in Newport.  The girls are sure hoping that the Easter Bunny finds them.  It will end up being a low key day, spent close to home, with some packing up for the return trip home.

Started out the day with a shot of my favorite lighthouse in morning light.  Notice how heavy the surf was on this day, which made things pretty exciting later on...

At Cape Pertpetua that heavy surf made things pretty exciting as we explored down on the rocks beside Cooks Chasm, the Spouting Horn, and Thor's Well.

I just had to stop at this roadside pond and take a few snapshots of these pond lilies.  So much greener in April here in Oregon as compared to back home where everything remains so drab and frozen.

Our next stop was Driftwood Beach, which did not live up to its name.  Yet another open expanse of sandy beach with nothing but a few busted up seashells and scraps of wood.

Then we continued on to Ona Beach, where Beaver Creek empties into the Pacific.  A little more interesting but still just mostly more of the same.

Finally we stopped at South Beach, just across the Yaquina Bay Bridge from Newport.  Probably a great place to be on a hot summer day but on this day it was very much like so many others that we had already stopped at.

Oregon Coast - Day Five

Hailey and I headed out together in the morning while Margarit stayed back at the house with the two younger girls.  We headed south again, to a wayside called Bob Creek that I had spotted yesterday.  It was nearly high tide by the time we arrived in mid-morning, so many of the exposed rocks were inaccessible.  The waves were washing up onto the cobbles and there was a really cool sound of the rocks rolling in the surf.  We explored a little and quickly got wet feet.

After a brief stop here, we headed back north towards the house.  We made a stop at Cape Perpetua, to see if we could locate Thor's Well.  I new it was northwest of Cook's Chasm, which was marked on the highway, but I wasn't sure how far.  Turns out is was visible below from up at the viewpoint.  We hiked down and got right beside it.  By this time the tide had come up further and the well was filling and draining before our eyes...!!  It was pretty spectacular, but it had started to rain... and quite heavily.  We tooks some digital snapshots but the rain was coming down too heavy for the 4x5. 

We headed back towards the house but now it was raining heavily and we didn't bother to stop anywhere else.  We got back to the house by about lunch time, and decided to head out again in the afternoon.  Despite the fact that it is Good Friday today, most of the shops and stores are open.
All five of us headed down the coast to seal rock, about 12 miles south of Newport.  Here we checked out a few shops including a nautical shop and a cool glass blowing studio.  Then we headed back into Newport.  We dropped Margarit off at a big Antique market and the girls and I headed back down to the old bay front.  Our first stop was the candy store where we stocked up on about 25 bucks worth of salt water taffy.  Then the two older girls went to the Ripleys Believe it or Not museum.  After that, we went for lunch.  Ocean Bleu at Ginos was a great choice and a toss up with the mexican place that we went to down in Florence for best meal of the trip.  They had a decent clam chowder and I had some awesome prawn tacos.  Hailey had a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and Anna had fish and chips.  Lena was quite happy with her plate of fruit and cheese.  Margarit really missed out, but seemed happy at the antique store when we picked her up after lunch. 
By this time the skies had cleared so Hailey and I headed out to Yaquina Head while the other three girls stayed behind at the house and relaxed.  I took a few shots with the view camera before the light faded and we headed back to the house for the evening.  The girls hit the hot tub for a while as the showers returned and light faded for the day.

Incoming Tide on the beach at Bob Creek

Seaweed amongst the rocks at Bob Creek

Highway 101 Bridge over Cooks Chasm at Cape Perpetua.  The Spouting Horn and Thors Well were located down belows at the edge of the surf.

Yet another sunset back at the rental house in Newport

Oregon Coast - Day Four

This day, Thursday April 2nd, had the best weather forecast of the week.  The temperature was supposed to get up to 54F [12C], and be mostly sunny.  The forecast turned out to be correct... it was a wonderful day, and we really enjoyed being outside.  I understand that back home in Edmonton the temperature is near the freezing mark, and they were enjoying some fresh snow...!!!

We set out in the morning and headed south from our rental house in Newport.  Our first stop was near Cape Perpetua, at the Devil's Churn.  After a brief look here we continued on to Neptune Wayside a little further south.  Here we wandered around on the beach for a while, but all the exposed rocks were at and above high tide line, so there was little marine life in the pools.  We continued on and stopped at the viewpoint overlooking Heceta Head Lighthouse and I took a couple of photographs here.  There were lots of sea lions far below us in the water, barking loudly.  The girls saw a gray whale spouting in the distance. 

We packed up here and headed into Florence.  We had a great lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Ixtapa.  After lunch we headed back north.  We stopped at the Heceta Head Lighthouse.  A small creek called Cape Creek passed under a spectacular arch bridge before spilling into the ocean beneath the lighthouse.  We walked up to the light house and got a tour, just as they were closing down for the day.  It was really cool with an ancient looking spiral staircase that ascended up within the 4 foot thick brick walls.  Originally the light was operated with a weight mechanism similar to a grandfather clock, that kept the light rotating.  The light itself consisted of 5 oil wicks inside a massive fresnel assembly that focused the beam.  We were intrigued to learn that each light on the coast had a unique light that varied, not only in color, but also in duration.  This allowed sailors to not only avoid the rocks, but also to navigate by the lights.  The light has not officially operated since 1963, when it was taken over from the Coast Guard by the State Park Service.  Originally constructed around 1880, today it runs on an electric motor and a light bulb. 

After our tour of the lighthouse we wandered down onto the beach below.  It was fairly busy with a lot of people about.  I took a photograph of the historic arch bridge over Cape Creek, and then a second shot of the creek spilling into the ocean beneath some Sea Stacks.  The girls explored some of the rocks and tide pools as it was approaching low tide.

After we packed up here we continued on north back towards the house at Newport.  We made one last stop at Seal Rock.  By now it was low tide, and the girls were able to climb around on the rocks at water line.  There were lots of anemones and a few sea stars here.  The waves were somewhat erratic and everyone ended up with wet feet.  This is a migratory bird nesting site and there were lots of gulls and seabirds on the cliff overhead, as well as a few brown pelicans.  By the time we packed up here, it was getting to be late in the day.  We made a brief stop for a few groceries and then returned to the house just before sunset.

The Devils Churn, at Cape Perpetua

Neptune Wayside at Cape Perpetua

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Sea Lions in the surf at Heceta Head

Cormorants and Mures at Heceta Head

A brief walk through the trees bought us up to the lighthouse at Heceta Head.  The park interpreters were gracious and took us on a brief tour into the lighthouse, even though they were technically closed for the day.

 

From up at the lighthouse we had a great view down onto the beach and the Cape Creek Arch Bridge over Cape Creek.

A view of Cape Creek from beach level.

And... our last stop of the day at Seal Rock.