Oregon Coast 101

Even when the plans for my road trip were still in the beginning stages, mention of "driving along the coast" sparked a lot of interest. People constantly recommended that I take the time to drive the beautifully scenic 101 highway.

On my way up the coast, I drove along the 101 between Santa Monica, CA and Santa Barbara, CA. But I didn't get a chance to really explore the coast until I hit Astoria, OR on my way back down the coast.
I only had one full day in Astoria, and I spent it driving the coast and exploring the gorgeous beaches.
My first stop was Ecola State Park. I stood on Tillamook Rock, and from there I had a wonderful view of the Sea Lion Rocks

and of "Terrible Tilly," aka the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse.

From there I drove to Tolovana State Park, which is walking distance to Haystack Rock. When the tide is low you can walk all the way up to the rock!

Haystack Rock is right along Cannon Beach, which had been a strongly recommended stop on my coastal explorations. I spent a good hour waking up and down the lovely Cannon Beach, and along the way I found some beautiful relics from the sea!

A perfectly preserved half-sand dollar! I actually found fragments of multiple sand dollars, the beach was loaded with them!

An oyster shell that was so beautifully opalescent I couldn't bear to leave it behind

But the best was yet to come.
My next stop was Hug Point, which boasted seaside caves and tidal pools. To say I was excited about the prospect of getting to poke around inside these caves is an understatement. The minute I turned the corner from the beach entry way, I was breathless with wonder.

The outside of the first cave!!

Inside the first cave - each cave kept getting better!!

Over the next hour I walked the length of the beach, walking, climbing, and sometimes even crawling into the many seaside caves.

Yess, my precious!



This cave had what I think were little tiny shellfish all over the walls and ceiling!


Look at that view!

Sometimes getting to the caves proved to be a challenge. The tide was starting to rise, which meant that occasionally sections of the beach were impassable.

But did that stop me?

Of course not!
Though, I did pay for my daring. Sometimes that tide can creep up on you if you're not careful!

And sometimes taking the plunge (no pun intended!) can lead to some incredible rewards.
In my case, I found the most stunning cave of all.

I prowled around inside that one until my pants were soaked from the damp, rocky surfaces!

When I (or rather, my completely soaked pants!) had had enough, I decided to see what was on the other side of the rocky surface I had clambered up onto in order to get to the magnificent cave I had just extracted myself from.

I tiptoed across some mossy rocks,

scaled some uninhabited tide pools,

and stumbled upon a stunningly beautiful sight.

I don't know what beach this was, but it seemed to be a hidden treasure. Absolutely breathtaking!

I loved this little rock grotto!


When I first saw this, I thought it was a butterfly! Soooo pretty!

I knew I didn't have enough time to get across the hidden gem beach, so I reluctantly turned around and scaled my way back across the rocks.

I headed back towards my car, intending to dust- and dry- myself off before heading back to town. But when I caught sight of interesting rocks in the distance, I couldn't resist. I headed off towards the end of the beach I had not yet explored.

I bet you're wondering if all I saw were a bunch of rocky, damp caves (none of which are done any justice by photos, I must add).
As a matter of fact, there was plenty more to explore and discover.
Like this waterfall, which I actually passed by during my cave excavations:

When I noticed that the rocks off to the side of the water flow were carpeted by lush green grass, I had to find the source. After spying a man scaling down the rocks, I quickly scrambled up them, and discovered yet another "hidden" paradise

I actually discovered many interesting sights by copy-cat spying (the same way I found the waterfall):

I used this small cave as a semi-refuge after a crazy barking dog chased me in!
His family, who had camped out nearby, was very apologetic.

Indeed, the discovery of "hidden" beaches, waterfalls, and tide pools made my experience at Hug Point all the more magical.

I almost walked right past this rocky crevice:

until I noticed someone else peeking their head though the opening and then climbing through. Curious, I quickly followed.

I ended up tagging along with the people I met behind the rocks for a little while. One of the woman had a fancy camera, which she was using to photograph the many beached jellyfish along the shore. As for me, I was busy exploring the tidal pools within the "distant" rocks I had noticed from the other end of the beach.

The water was crystal clear! My hand is below the surface of the water, but you can't even tell!

By now the tide had started coming in rapidly. I started back towards my car, ready to call it a day, but the jellyfish-woman called me back because she had found some more incredible sea life on the walls of the rocks on which I had been previously perched.

Whoa, starfish! They were everywhere! What you can't see very well are the masses of clams also stuck against the wall (which we were pretty sure the starfish were lunching on!)

I was so immersed in the sea life sight, I didn't see the rush of the tide come to greet me!

Oops!

No matter how wet I got, I knew I had it better than the little boy I had seen earlier, who was soaked from head to toe! Poor guy, and his dad was completely dry! How did that happen, I wonder??