How do you top Bandon?
You don’t, of course, but it was still only day five of the trip, and I was excited to see what else the Oregon coast was going to throw at me. The next morning was what I had come to expect from Bandon: overcast, foggy, cold, and windy. I drove a little further south to the lower areas of the beach, where the fog was still thick in the forest.
Pine trees in fog is one of my favorite things on this earth.
I tried to go to two beaches that looked very cool on Google maps, but what Google didn’t tell me is that they’re on private land and you can’t actually get to them, no matter how much it insists you should make a left onto someone’s driveway that very explicitly says “no public beach access” because I’m clearly not the first person sent down this way. I turned around and went back up the dirt road and debated if I should at least pop into the other beach area for which I’d passed a sign.
Seven Devils State Recreation Site wasn’t much, but I did get to see a massive blue heron who was just as surprised to see me as I was him. Unfortunately, he flew off before I could get a shot of him.
I work with a lot of introverts, and I swear half of them would live in a place this remote.
Cape Arago looked promising but was somewhat underwhelming in person. No, I take that back. I tend to say this about places sometimes when the truth is that they were photographically uninteresting, but that’s not the same as saying they’re not worth visiting. I did some short hikes there, saw a bunch of very chatty sea lions, and drove through some absolutely beautiful old growth forest. You should go, it’s stunning.
After Cape Arago, I was excited to visit Shore Acres. A photographer from the PNW that I follow on YouTube had raved about it, and his video made it look amazing. (Watch the video here!) He had the advantage of moody skies and fog, where I was dealing with the dreaded blue once again. (I’m telling you, the endless moaning about weather makes us insufferable.) Once I got to exploring though, I started to understand what he was on about. It may not rise to the level of Sisters Rock and Secret Beach for me, I was glad I decided to go.
I ended up taking a short hike along the coast, and it truly did not disappoint. For how beautiful of a day it was, and how many cars I saw in the parking lot, I was surprised to have the entire trail to myself.
Just a couple trees…
… hanging on for dear life.
There was another park I wanted to visit nearby, but the signposting for it was nonexistent, there was no parking lot, and I drove past it not once, not twice, but three times, trying to work out where it was and where I could safely park. I finally managed to work it out, and wandered into Yoakam Point State Park.
No AllTrails. No cell signal. No blazed trails.
Pretty soon, I found myself at the end of the only trail that looked like it was well worn, with only some “trails” following the edge of the coast that looked more like bushwhacking-lite. I was location sharing with my friend back on the east coast, so I figured at least the authorities would have a rough idea of where I died if it all went wrong. So off I went into the shrubs, weaving my way through the forest.
There was technically a path leading down to the beach, but it was steep and I was not feeling confident.
I was definitely bushwhacking in places, and at one point, really wondered if I would be able to find my way back out of the woods. I was operating more or less on instinct, and thankfully, it led me to a path that took me back to the main path, and I got back to my car without incident. No location services or authorities needed.
My sunset location was Cape Blanco because I felt like I had unfinished business there after my last, rather unsuccessful trip in super high winds. I was far too early for sunset, but elected to make the best of the long golden hour and took a walk along the coast.
Even just the approach to Cape Blanco was pretty amazing.
The lighthouse at Cape Blanco isn’t terribly high, and it’s set back from the coast quite a bit. Having been there in high winds, I can see why. As the evening progressed and I was coming back from my walk along the coast, I caught this glorious golden light just washing the landscape.
Everything feels small in this landscape.
I waited around to see if the light would kick off, but I knew the conditions weren’t in my favor. Cape Blanco is clearly a sunset spot for folks in the area, as I saw a lot of other cars pull into the lot some 20-30 minutes before sunset. Not to walk around, but just to sit and watch the light. That’s something that I would see everywhere along the coast, and even in Seattle. The light is almost sacred, and stopping whatever you’re doing to watch the sunset is a ritual.
The final shot before I got back in the car and headed to the hotel for the evening.