The high wind advisory had been coming for a while, and this was the day it really hit us hard. I had experienced some strong gusts out at Cape Blanco a few days earlier, but this day was far more intense.
The first place I went was Seal Rock State Recreation Site. The wind was not kidding around, and the tide was too high and too unpredictable to venture onto the beach safely. I stuck to the trails along the coast, but couldn’t get a good composition that showed off how truly amazing that place is.
I drove further up towards Yachina Head Outstanding Natural Area, which is kind of a silly name, but they’re not lying. It is pretty outstanding. When I stopped at the ranger station at the entrance, the woman cautioned me to park into the wind, otherwise it could rip the door off my car. Well. That’s exciting to consider. I did as she instructed because this wasn’t a situation where I was willing to test my luck, and as I opened the door to get out of my car, it nearly knocked me over. My weather app said wind gusts around 50mph, but I later come to learn that on that small peninsula, it was a fair bit higher.
One of my favorite images from the whole trip.
Once again, it doesn’t matter how insane the conditions are, other folks are out there taking pictures and persevering whatever the weather is throwing down. In fact, see if you can spot the person in the image above. I watched with some amount of unease as they both got far too close to the shore, knowing just how unpredictable sneaker waves can be. I chatted with another ranger who was standing in the exact spot on the observation deck where the wind doesn’t rip your head off. Even a slight movement to either side, gale force winds, but in that one specific spot, it was nothing more than a light breeze. Wild!
Temperamental is the name of the game when it comes to weather on the Oregon coast. The image above and the one below were taken less than 30 minutes apart. The clouds parted for a very brief window of time before the heavy skies and rain came back.
At this point in the day, I was kind of in the no man’s land between larger towns, coming up against the end of lunch, and I was all out of snacks in the car. I tried to find something closer, but Depoe Bay ended up being my best option, so I drove past some of the other things I wanted to see to grab food at a charming little place called Whale Bites Cafe. They served me a sandwich larger than my head, and I wandered the town afterwards to keep the food coma from setting in. Depoe Bay is one of my favorite small towns on the Oregon coast, even if it is quite touristy.
This shot doesn’t do it justice. Those waves can easily get 20ft or more above the railing, and you can get utterly soaked just from walking on the other side of the street. Depoe Bay is known for this. People come on purpose to get soaked. I’d had quite enough of that by this point.
I drove back to Otter Crest Loop, but didn’t stop at the waterfall because a couple guys were hanging around the trailhead, taking up the only legal parking spot while also looking a little sketchy. I did stop briefly to take a picture of this epic home location.
I went out to Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint, and then sat in the car for 15 minutes waiting for the rain + hail + wind combination to let up a little. I would get out of my car, try to take a few pictures, flee back. Get out again, make it partway to the coast, run away. I was dressed for the occasion in multiple waterproof layers, but there were some crazy people in nothing more than a hoodie and jeans. Every time a new wave of weather would hit, we’d laugh at ourselves and each other.
I was in contact with the bed & breakfast owner in Lincoln City, and since I was the only guest, I found myself having to coordinate an arrival time more than I would need to for a normal hotel. I decided to pop into Fogarty Creek before heading up to check in, remembering that I’d been there briefly a few years earlier. The weather was still alternating between dismal and tolerable, and for a very very brief moment, the sun peeked out amidst the intense storm clouds.
After getting checked into the b&b with a view right out onto the water, I made the rather dubious decision to go out to Neskowin Beach to see Proposal Rock. I knew the weather hadn’t actually cleared yet, and we were still in for a night of heavy storms, but I spent most of the trip feeling like I had to make use of every single minute of daylight. That’s the downside of traveling for photography - the urge to See All The Things even when you should be staying warm and cozy in your room and maybe, oh I don’t know, RELAXING.
In order to get to Neskowin Beach, I had to drive through Suislaw National Forest, and with the sky still very much overcast and angry, the mountain pass was quite dark. Which is how I nearly died. With the high winds and heavy rain, a sizable pine had fallen onto the road and was blocking 2 of the 3 lanes. There are no lights along the road, and I barely had enough time to dodge into the oncoming to avoid hitting it. By sheer luck, no one was coming in the other direction, and I spent the next mile being thankful for my quick reflexes while trying to get my heart rate back down.
When I got to Proposal Rock, most sane people were leaving to head home for dinner. The wind was hitting something fierce, but I felt lucky that the rain was clearing. Or so I thought. (foreshadowing!)
There was another couple on the beach, but they were wandering barefoot through the streams of water and generally running around having a grand time. As the rain came back with with a vengeance, they decided to wander off down the beach to … I mean, I have no idea where. But it made for a nice composition in between getting sand and rain blown into my face.
Also, can you imagine living there, right on the water and with a view of Proposal Rock? Downside: everyone looking into your windows.
I spent far too long stubbornly trying to wait out the rain and brutal winds, hunkered down by some rocks that shielded me a bit. The weather didn’t much improve, so I took one last shot of the fading light and went back to my car. To my surprise, the tree that nearly ended my life was not only gone, but so well cleaned up that I started to feel like I had hallucinated it. I had only been gone a little over an hour, though I imagine they take things like that very seriously out there.
When I got back to the b&b, I was very grateful for the warm room tucked away in the attic of this old house on the coast, listening to the rain pelt the window as I fell asleep.
Don’t let those clear skies fool you, it was still pelting rain as I took the picture.