Post-Rally Fun

On Sunday, while Steve attended a presentation on solar panels, I drove into Tillamook to see the quilt show with Diane ( internet name Mrsfish, wife of i flyfish) Weiss, who is one of the co-organizers of this rally. She is a beginning quilter,having just finished her first quilt top and starting her second, but seems to be hooked. On the way, we stopped at the quilt shop in Wheeler, Creative Fabrics. It's a nice shop, although not nearly as nice as Center Diamond in Cannon Beach, and I picked up a couple of cool patterns by a local designer--one of sea turtles and the other pineapples, both made up of Log Cabin strips. Very unusual and fun. Diane lived in this area for many years and loves to kayak, cycle, and hike. She pointed out her favorite seafood restaurant in the area (Pirate's Cove in Garibaldi) and told us about two "must do" hikes. Yesterday we did one of them, and these are some of pictures. It's in Oswald West State Park, and is actually a section of the Oregon Coast Trail, which meanders along the beaches and costal mountains the full 362 miles of the Oregon Coast, and then (I think) meets up with the Pacific Coast Trail that does the same thing in California. The trailhead/beach parking is right on Highway 101, and then you have to hike a half a mile down to where the beach and the Coast Trail actually start. The hike to the beach is through the forest and along a stream, with several footbridges. The first photo is us standing on one of those bridges; the stream behind us empties out onto the beach. The beach itself is called Short Sands Beach, and is a little jewel, tucked into a small, sheltered bay between two capes. It's a popular surfing beach, especially for beginners, because it's very safe, with no riptides. There were several dozen surfers out there yesterday, all in full wetsuits because the water is pretty icy. The picture with the tree in it is a view from the trail going up to Cape Falcon, and shows the far end of the beach cove. The beach itself is just off to the left. When we got out to Cape Falcon (2 miles) we had a great view of the beach and of the Nehalem spit. Coming back, we cut down to beach instead of going all the way through the forest so Ellie could be off-leash. The tide was starting to come in, but a few tide pools were still exposed, and we saw several starfish in orange, tan, and purple. On the way back to the trailhead at the top of the beach, I spotted the "I [heart] the Pacific" sign someone had writen in the sand, and made Steve snap a picture. I [heart] the Pacific too!