September, 2025

October 17, 2025 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

In September we visited an art festival, and went on two hikes in the mountains, and one at the beach. I took my usual neighborhood walks, read a few books, and made very little notable progress on my ongoing knitting projects. At the end of the month, we flew to the east coast to visit family there (next post).

9/1 – Art in the Pearl

Some of my favorite artwork in this year’s show:

9/2 – Crescent and Cannon Beaches, OR

A hot day in Portland. We drove to the coast for a short hike to Crescent Beach in Ecola State Park, then went to Cannon Beach to walk near Haystack Rock at low tide.

View to Crescent Beach and Cannon Beach from Ecola Point.

Trail through the forest, about 3 miles round trip.

Descending to Crescent Beach, looking south.

We walked down the beach and found a spot to eat lunch.

Zooming in on Ecola Point, where we began our hike. We hiked back up after lunch.

After an ice cream break in Cannon Beach, we walked toward Haystack Rock. It wasn’t a particularly low low tide today. My husband took a much longer walk, while I found a good perch right in front of the Needles, and watched several pods of pelicans fly north along the breaker zone.

Zooming in on The Needles, with pelican.

9/10 – June Lake, Mt St Helens, WA

Another hot day. Another relatively easy hike, first to June Lake, then up onto some of the lava flows (Worm Flows) on the south side of the mountain (4 miles, 800 feet).

Some of the late wildflowers along the way:

June lake is calm, reflecting the waterfall coming out of the lava flow above.

Then we went up a fairly steep trail, and onto the Loowit Trail, and the lava flows:

A glimpse of the top of Mt St Helens beyond the clouds.

We went just high enough to get the full mountain view.

Zooming in on a glacier near the summit ridge.

The trail not taken ahead – our knees and balance had enough for the day.

We descended, with another stop at the beautifully reflective June Lake…

9/16 – Little Crater Lake, Mt Hood, OR

And yet another hot day! Another easy hike, first to Little Crater Lake, then to the eastern edge of Timothy Lake along the Pacific Crest Trail (3.5 miles, 50 feet).

This small artesian spring-fed lake is always a treat, with its deep turquoise color, reflections and transparency. An indulgent photo stop.

We walked to the eastern edge of Timothy Lake, then retraced our steps.

Pacific Crest Trail – nice and shady on a hot day.

We were told we could see Mt Hood from the Timothy Lake Dam, so we drove around the lake to see the view – it was just a glimpse over a ridge.

Neighborhood walks

Flowers and landscape elements I noticed in September:

I haven’t done much quilting lately, so I composed a concrete quilt from some of my favorite sidewalk cracks.

September books

I finished six books in September. The most inspiring was the biography of Robert Louis and Fanny Stevenson – A Wilder Shore, by Camille Peri. They were a very unusual couple for their time. He chose writing instead of the family business of lighthouse engineering. She grew up in rural Indiana, spent time with her first husband in the mining camps of Nevada, then in bohemian San Francisco, before going to France with her children to study art. They traveled all over the world, by horse carriage, train and ship, eventually settling in Samoa. It seems amazing to me that they were so widely travelled, and that she lived her own style, ignoring much of the expected behavior of a proper Victorian lady. I was inspired to reread my childhood copy of his poem, The Land of Counterpane, from A Child’s Garden of Verses, with illustration by Garth Williams – this is one of the definitive visual memories from my childhood – the quilt, and the imaginary play it inspired.

Also in Portland…

Things started to heat up. Deliberate misinformation reported a ‘war zone’ throughout the city. The only actual activity is near the Federal ICE facility in southwest Portland, where the true spirit of Portland is on display in peaceful protests that defend free speech and due process. I am writing this in October, when things have gotten crazier but in September, we were just getting ready for threatened invasion! I’m sure I will be adding something about the frogs next month.

Bandon, Oregon, August 3-7, 2025

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

We had planned a trip to Mt Rainier for my birthday week. Then my wonky hip started acting up, and my breathing felt really challenged on my last couple of mountain hikes. When my doctor decided I needed a full cardiac work up, we realized that expecting to enjoy hiking the steep trails at Mt Rainier was unrealistic. Luckily, the place we stayed in Bandon last January had a room available, so we pivoted. At the worst, I could sit on the balcony overlooking the beach and stare at the horizon and the wave trains. I could go for some flat walks on the beach, and find a rock to sit on while my husband walked farther. It turned out to be a very good week for us. We had beautiful weather, some lovely beach walks, and so far, all my medical work ups have not turned up anything other than a likely bad reaction to a new medicine I was trying, and being out of shape because of not doing as much hiking as usual while I was in Utah (too hot), and while my husband was recuperating from his neck surgery in the spring. And maybe, just the entropy of being one year older…

8/3 – Bandon Beach South

Our first evening, we took a walk to the south of our hotel…

8/4 – Face Rock North

We were expecting low tide in the afternoon, so a perfect day for walking north from Face Rock, enjoying the beautiful beach and the marine wildlife.

View north from the Face Rock overlook, our destination for the day.

We spent a fair amount of time watching a flock of whimbrels.

I wasn’t the only one beach combing for agates in the swash zone as the tide went out.

Pebbles of many colors. I looked for the smallest one I could find of each color.

Around lunch time, we saw a pod of seals napping on a nearby islet.

Walking back south, we encountered a bit more marine life…

Back at the hotel, we were treated to another lovely sunset.

8/5 – Shore Acres and Cape Arago State Parks

We drove north to Shore Acres and Cape Arago State Parks. This road was closed by a landslide when we were here in January. We visited several beach overlooks and a beautiful cove, and then walked in the historic Shore Acres Garden.

Location Map of Shore Acres and Cape Arago State Parks.

Our first stop was the Shore Acres cliff viewpoints, where we could see dipping sandstone beds and their oddly eroded concretions. It reminded me of the shoreline at Point Lobos, in California. The one other time I was here, it was windy and there were huge waves. Today, it was very calm.

Tide pools in the dipping sandstone beds.

Looking south from some of the viewpoints:

Viewing Gazebo, on the far left – a protected viewpoint for windy days, built on the site of the historic Simpson Mansion.

Another view of the dipping sandstones and eroding concretions.

We drove farther south in the park, to the Simpson Reef Overlook.

View to Simpson Reef, with seals and sea lions. It was very noisy, with the sound of the marine mammals barking!

Seals piled up on the beach, and on the rocks.

Farther south along this dead end road is Cape Arago. We walked the short trail to the North Cove overlook.

Looking north from the northern tip of Cape Arago…

And then we walked the short trail down to the South Cove.

Next, we walked through the Shore Acres Gardens.

We drove back to Bandon, and had a delicious fish and chips dinner at the harbor.

8/6 – Port Orford and Cape Blanco

Another beautiful, calm day on the Oregon Coast. We drove south to Port Orford, where we had been once before, in 2007, to see the views and the beaches. We walked the trails at Port Orford Head, to the viewpoints, then had lunch at nearby Battlerock State Beach.

Port Orford Head is the site of an historic Coast Guard Museum.

The trails go through the woods, and emerge onto cliff edge viewpoints

View to the north. Cape Blanco, in the distance, where we would end our day.

Zoom in on Cape Blanco light house through the mist.

Lunch stop at Battlerock Beach:

My husband took a walk down Battlerock Beach, while I sat on a rock and admired the views.

View to the north, toward Port Orford Head, where we hiked earlier today, and Port Orford harbor.

A large outcrop of serpentinite in the beach cliff.

Artwork in the nearby Visitor Center, made of upcycled marine debris.

On to Cape Blanco, remembering our lovely walk here in January.

Once again I mostly stayed put while my husband took a much longer walk.

I could sit all day, watching the waves as the tide receded.

By the time we returned to our hotel, mist had rolled in all along the coast, so there was no sunset view.

8/7 – Home again, home again, jiggity jig

The next day, we drove home, passing over one of the beautiful Art Deco bridges on the Oregon Coast.

It had been a lovely week, despite my hiking limitations. I brought home some agates, postcards, and a few small birthday gifts, along with my memories.

Bandon, Oregon January 5-9, 2025

February 13, 2025 / margaretquilts / 2 Comments

We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary with a trip to the southern Oregon Coast. We stayed just south of Bandon, in a room with a view.

We had easy access to the wide sand beach south of Face Rock, and took several long walks north and south over the next few days. We also drove south to Cape Blanco, and north to Cape Arago. Other than a bit of rain the day we arrived, we had fabulous weather – sunny and calm.

Locations of hikes and beach walks on the southern Oregon Coast near Bandon.

1/6 – Bandon Beach and Cape Blanco

We walked north to Face Rock in the morning.

Looking south from the Face Rock overlook

Looking north from the Face Rock overlook

After lunch, we drove south to Cape Blanco. We walked down to the beach, then along the strand line to the north, at approximately low tide.

Looking west toward the Cape Blanco Lighthouse,

and northward from the bluff above the beach.

And another view of the beach on the north side of Cape Blanco.

Later that evening I watched the sun set from our room…

1/7 – Beaches to the north – Sunset Bay, Yoakam Point, Blastendorff Beach, Seven Devils Beach

We drove north to Cape Arago, but a recent washout closed the road, so we could only go as far as Sunset Bay. We started with a short walk there, then explored a few locations to the north.

We walked about a mile around Yoakam Point, looking at the view from various cliff overlooks:

We ate lunch and then took a walk at Blastendorff Beach.

Blastendorff Beach, and jetty to the Coos Bay inlet

Driving back south, we took a side trip to the Seven Devils Wayside, and walked on the beach there. We even saw someone panning for gold.

Back in Brandon, we took a walk along the pier. It was mostly deserted, with most shops closed. I was fascinated by the mosaic installation on the boardwalk.

So many great little details – I looked at it for a long time!

Later, we walked out onto Coquille Point again, to watch the sunset. We met a large puffin sculpture there.

1/8 – Low tide near Bandon – Face Rock and Coquille Point

With low tide in the afternoon, this was a perfect day to walk north toward Face Rock and then beyond Coquille Point and look at tide pools, water, sky, and all the reflected permutations.

Looking south – reflections – water – sky

Later, we enjoyed another sunset from the Coquille Point Overlook…

The flotsam Puffin glowing in the sunset.

We enjoyed our few days of calm weather and beach walks, a break from the ‘real’ world, and what was to come next in January.

Looking back:

August 2024 Hiking

September 7, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

I went on four hiking adventures in August – two to the coast on very hot days, and two to the slopes of Mt Hood.

August 5 – Ecola State Park and Hug Point, Oregon Coast

I like to spend my birthday in nature. It was too hot for hiking inland, so we headed to the coast for the day. We started at Ecola State Park, had a picnic lunch with a view, and took a 3 mile hike down to Crescent Beach and back.

View south from Ecola Point

Looking north from Crescent Beach toward Ecola Point

High tide was in the middle of the afternoon, so we wandered around Cannon Beach for a bit. I treated myself to a few quilting fabrics at Center Diamond, then we had an early dinner in town.

Birthday fabric, including puffins that remind me of Iceland.

Next, we went to one of our favorite beaches – Hug Point. First we walked south, looking at all the landmarks from the summers we spent entire weeks here with our kids.

View south from Hug Point

I was pleased to see pods of pelicans flying along the surf line.

The Cave

Big Barnacle Rock and Castle Rock

The little blue cottage on the bluff where we spent many a happy summer week

Farther south, more pelicans on a sand bar

Pelicans!

Then we walked north, up over Hug Point.

Walking toward Hug Point,

as the tide is going out.

View north from Hug Point

and looking toward the beach just on the other side

Oyster catcher among the mussels, barnacles and anemones on the Hug Point road bed

The Waterfall

Goodbye for now…

It was a beautiful evening – not too crowded, hot, or windy. As we drove home, I was completely satisfied with my birthday adventure.

August 8 – Sitka Sedge State Park, Oregon Coast

Another hot day inland, we decided to investigate this relatively new State Park near Pacific City, a little farther down the coast from our usual spots.

Our trail through Sitka Sedge Natural Area, about 4 miles.

The entry trail along a dike separates the Sand Lake Estuary from a wetland to the south. Then the trail goes through a vegetated dune that runs parallel to the coast. We walked through the forest for a bit, and ate lunch looking back toward the estuary wetlands.

Sand Lake Estuary

Sandy trail over the dunes

Heron and gulls from our lunch stop

After lunch we emerged onto the foggy beach, and walked south for a ways, before circling back up and over the dune, completing the loop to the entry trail.

Emerging onto the beach

Looking north, beach off limits for now, as it is sand plover nesting season.

Looking south – lots of jellyfish in the flotsam

And back over the dunes…

It was a good place for a walk on a hot day – we saw a few birds and a hang glider, but not many other people.

Wetland south of the dike, with sand pipers

Sand pipers

Yellow legs

Cedar waxwing

August 14 – Umbrella Falls, Mt Hood

Another hot day, and an easier trail on Mt Hood. I still feel like I am getting my hiking legs back. I had never been to Umbrella Falls, always opting for the harder hikes in the area that go up higher on Mt Hood. Also, one can practically drive to Umbrella Falls from the Mt Hood Meadows parking area, but we wanted to hike. This trail offered a fair amount of shade, some wildflower meadows, a peek at the mountain and two waterfalls.

Mt Hood, from Hwy 35

Shady trail junction from the Elk Meadows Trail

Views across the ski runs of Mt Hood Meadows

We could see the top of the mountain from our shady lunch spot

Mt Hood, Sitka Mountain Ash berries

Umbrella Falls

Umbrella Falls

Fireweed

Meadows of pearly everlasting

Pearly everlasting

This tree spoke to me on the way down

Trail junction

It turns out that the trail viewpoint of Sahalie Falls requires scrambling down a steep cliff, but I could see from the map that we could drive to a better view point along the frontage road.

Sahalie Falls, from the old road

Trail Map – 4.3 miles, 700 feet elevation gain.

August 20 – Cloud Cap Shelter and TImberline Trail High Point, Mt Hood

One of my favorite spaces on the edge of the sky…requiring a long drive up a deteriorating road to the trailhead at the Cloud Cap Campground (elev. 5800 feet). Then up the rocky and sandy East Eliot Moraine trail, a few close ups of the Eliot Glacier during our lunch stop, a visit to the Cloud Cap Shelter, then a gradually rising track across the alpine slopes to the 7300 foot high point on the Timberline Trail. The mountain was mostly under the cloud cap today, but I still and always enjoy the elevation and the views!

Looking northeast from the East Eliot Moraine – Mt Adams peeking through the clouds, and our starting point from the Cloud Cap Campground. The Cloud Cap Inn/Crag Rats Headquarters has a new roof!

Zooming in on Mt Adams

Looking along our trail up the moraine toward the Eliot Glacier

The Cloud Cap Shelter on the skyline

Zoom view

The mountain is trying to come out!

Eliot Glacier close ups…

Elliot Glacier

Eliot Glacier

Sun break

Crossing south to the Cloud Cap Shelter

No one else here, though we did pass a few groups of backpackers today.

Lupine and buckwheat

Southbound along the cairn-posted Timberline Trail

And looking back northeast – the Hood River Valley beyond.

Asters

Partridge foot

A few short snow crossings

Approaching the high point of the Timberline Trail

My husband took this photo of me walking along the high point ridge to our usual rest stop.

The other side of the ridge – Mt Jefferson on the horizon. The Timberline Trail continues down to Gnarl Ridge.

Mini lupine

Heading back to the Timberline Trail high point saddle – We can see Cooper Spur, but the top of Mt Hood is still hiding under the cloud.

We walk back along the edge of the sky.

We take the main Timberline Trail below East Eliot Moraine on the way down, and I look for the giant boulder that has been teetering on the edge the last few times we have hiked here.

It is still here!

Monkey flowers and lupine in Tilly Jane Creek

And this little ground squirrel, wishing us farewell until next time…

Later in the month, my husband had a surgery on his hand, so we will be curtailing our hikes for a few weeks. But there will be more adventures soon!

A walk on the beach – Nehalem Bay, Oregon

August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Nehalem Bay State Park, Oregon, August 3, 2021

Too hot for hiking inland, we decided to drive out to the coast and walk the loop around Nehalem Bay spit.

The green line is our track – about 5 miles round trip.

Crossing the spit to the ocean beach.

View north to Neahkanie Mountain.

We are walking south, wind at our back, to the Nehalem Jetty.

Equestrians on the tidal bars.

Most of the birds we saw were near the jetty.

Nehalem Jetty

The rock jetty was also a catch for sand and drift wood.

Nehalem River north jetty

Looking across to the south jetty and shore.

We found a lunch spot on the jetty with a wind shelter. After lunch, we crossed to the inland shore of the spit, and walked north along the Nehalem River/Bay, with different views and shore features, and the added advantage of being less windy.

Mussels in the low tide zone.

Looking back seaward

Walking north along Nehalem Bay

Some of the marine life washed up in the low tide zone:

sea star

purple varnish clams

jelly fish

Continuing north along Nehalem Bay:

Looking for clams.

We enjoyed our day at the beach – fresh air, mountain and ocean views, a few birds.

On our return drive, we stopped at the highway overlook in Oswald West State Park, to look back at Nehalem Bay and the jetty. And to once again thank former Oregon governor, Oswald West, for claiming the beaches in Oregon as public land, in 1911.

Looking south from Oswald West overlook

Nehalem River Jetty

Fresh Air at the Oregon Coast

October 12, 2020 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

September 20 to 23, 2020

We were able to reschedule our planned trip to the central Oregon Coast until after the wildfire smoke cleared out. We stayed in a hotel, brought our own food, and walked on the beaches and trails, following all the covid-safety protocols. Many of the parks and trails along the coast were closed due to the recent windstorms and wildfire smoke event, or due to Covid precautions. But all of the beaches were open for walking.

Central Oregon Coast, and places we walked on our trip.

Sunday, September 20th

Yachats, Oregon

We arrived in Yachats in the evening, in time to walk along the rocky outcrops near our hotel as the tide was receding, and watch a lovely sunset, with pelicans and gulls.

Yachats sunset

Pelican

Yachats sunset

Pelican peleton

Monday, September 21st –

Washburne to Hobbit Beach at low tide – A lovely three mile walk toward Haceta Head.

Tidal pools and sand bars on the beach as we walk south toward Haceta Head.

Rocky outcrop with tide pools.

Sea anemones, barnacles, and mussels.

Blue sky, blue sand.

Ripples.

Return walk north.

A skittering of sand plovers.

Sand plovers, doubled.

Darlingtonia Wayside

After our beach walk we continued south along the coast looking for more adventures. Our next stop was to see a swath of carnivorous plants.

North Jetty

We followed the north side of the Siuslaw River to it’s mouth and took a walk along the North Jetty, where we again saw pelicans and plovers.

Entry to the North Jetty.

Walking seaward on the North Jetty – those shadows in the distance are birds!

Another skittering of sand plovers! It makes me so happy just to watch them!

Plovers.

Pelicans and other sea birds far out on the jetty.

Pelican in flight!

I spotted one seal nearby.

The dunes and lifeguard tower near the North Jetty entrance.

A line of rocks in the estuary make perfect perches for the seabirds.

Pelicans and gulls on their perches.

Exploding Whale park

As we drove back toward Florence, this park caught our attention. It is named for the infamous attempt to dispose of a washed up dead whale with dynamite, on a nearby beach, about 50 years ago.

Local citizens voted for the park name.

A short walk here reveals nice views of the highway bridge, and the dunes to the south.

Haceta Light House

We stopped briefly south of Haceta Head in the early afternoon to see the lighthouse through the fog. On our return trip north in later in the day, the view was much clearer.

Haceta Head Lighthouse from the beach, through the fog.

Lighthouse from the highway viewpoint, early afternoon.

Lighthouse from the highway viewpoint, late afternoon.

Monday, September 22nd

Wax Myrtle Trail and Lagoon Trail, Siltcoos River

Campgrounds in this area were closed, and the trails were particularly empty on this beautiful September day.

The walk to Wax Myrtle Beach follows the Siltcoos River.

We spotted a heron in the estuary as we got closer to the beach.

Heron.

We followed the Siltcoos River to the sea.

A line of sand dunes border Wax Myrtle Beach.

Dunes and beach.

We walked north to the mouth of the Siltcoos River, where birds were out on the low tide sandbars.

Pelican.

More plovers in the foreground!

As we walked back upriver on our return hike, another hiker pointed out three river otters who were swimming upstream and eating fish along the way. We followed along with them until they disappeared upriver. This is my first time seeing them in the wild!

All three otters in this photo – the third one in the upper left corner. They are very fast and hard to photograph!

We walked partway around the nearby lagoon, where these beautiful plants floated on the surface.

South Jetty, Siuslaw River

We drove back north toward Florence, and decided to drive out to the South Jetty of the Siuslaw River, just across from where we had walked on the North Jetty the previous day. There were plenty of people out there, also plenty of room to walk on beaches and in the dunes.

Looking seaward between the jetties. The North Jetty lifeguard tower is on the horizon.

Waves crashing against the South Jetty. Not as many pelicans on the outer jetty.

South Jetty beach from South Jetty.

Seaweed on South Jetty beach.

Swash zone.

Looking south.

Sand dunes to the east all along the beach for miles.

Sunset in Yachats

We had a lovely colorful sky outside our hotel.

Wednesday, September 23rd Yachats

We woke up to wind, and predictions of a storm coming in. We walked a short way on the beach in the wind before heading north toward home.

Seal Rock and Ona Beach

On our drive north, we stopped to look at the Seal Rocks, in the wind.

Seal Rocks to the south.

Seal Rocks to the north.

We stopped at Ona Beach, just to the north of Seal Rocks, and walked out to the beach.

Crossing Beaver Creek on our way to the beach.

Beaver Creek estuary

Squirrel getting ready for winter.

Ona Beach.

Windblown sand across the tidal flats.

Sand ripples, birds on the low tide bars.

These might be our last pelican sightings for the year.

Ona Beach, looking south toward Seal Rocks. Too windy to explore today – we will have to come back another time.

Rain started as we headed back to the car. I felt so refreshed from our few days in the fresh air and wide open spaces of the Oregon coast, and thankful that I could be there during this difficult year of pandemic, climate and political crises.

A Winter Day at the Oregon Coast

February 28, 2019 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

2/21/2019

We drove over the snowy Coast Range from Portland to Cannon Beach and explored some of our favorite places on a cold, sunny day. Everywhere else within reach was colder, wetter, snowier.

Arcadia Beach State Park

First stop, late morning. High tide was in the early afternoon so the beach was shrinking as we walked a couple of miles south along the shore. We could not get around any of the headlands. Heavy mineral concentrations on the sand-depleted winter beaches made beautiful patterns.

Looking down on Arcadia Beach from above – at low tide we would be able to walk around the headland and north all the way to Cannon Beach.

Tidal channels

Heavy mineral patterns

Foot for scale.

View to the south toward Hug Point and beyond.

Zooming in on Hug Point – as close as we would get to it today.

Hug Point State Park

Tide even higher, so our stop here was brief.

Beach at Hug Point State Park – north view at high tide. We would not be able to see the waterfall or Hug Point itself today.

South view – in the summer the sand stretches for miles at low tide!

Arch Cape Beach

We have stayed near this beach many times over the past 30 years. We found a log to perch on while we ate our lunch. Only the rocky shingle was exposed on the winter beach. Thick foam was washing around in the swash zone, floating on the ebbing water, sparkling in the sun.

Lunch view to the north.

Lunch view to the south, Arch Cape and Castle Rock.

Neahkahnie Viewpoint

At the south end of Oswald West State Park, the view to Nehalem Bay and Manzanita to the south is stunning.

Neahkahnie Mountain

We hiked the three mile round trip to the top of Neahkahnie Mountain – beautiful views on this cold day.

Much of the trail is through shady forest.

View from the rocky top. Nehalem Bay and Manzanita Beach.

Note the snow capped peaks in the Coast Range.

Short Sand Beach, Oswald West State Park

We walked a couple of miles here on the interconnected trails that lead to Short Sand Beach in Smuggler’s Cove.

Bridge over Necarney Creek

View to north from the south beach

View to south from the south beach

North beach of Smuggler’s Cove – Falcon Point and Blumenthal Falls

There were a few surfers in the water.

I accidentally photographed a surfer when I was zooming in on the falls.

Blumenthal Falls

Silver Point View

Looking back toward Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock.

Cannon Beach/Haystack Rock at Sunset

After an early dinner in Cannon Beach, we parked near Haystack Rock. Dan walked down the beach to photograph the sunset. I watched from above, keeping warm in the car. (Hike #11, 8 miles, 1100 feet for the day).

Haystack Rock

Tillamook Head to the north.

Crafting

I finished the first sock of this pair. I have set up a frame to practice canvas stitching.

Astoria, Oregon; London Museums (18-19)

May 31, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Memorial Day weekend visit to Astoria, Oregon

May 26-28, 2018 A family member was camping at Fort Stevens State Park, so we made plans to stay in Astoria for a couple of nights and visit them. On Saturday we took a short walk to Coffenbury Lake from the campground.

Coffenbury Lake, Fort Stevens State Park

It was a beautiful evening, so we headed north to Clatsop Spit for a picnic on the beach, then visited several viewpoints to admire the clear views in every direction. We looked back toward Astoria, north toward Washington and Cape Disappointment, and west to the jetties that bound the shipping channel over the Columbia Bar.

View back to Astoria

Sadle Mountain

Bridge and column

Bird in Scotch broom

Trestle Lake

South toward Tillamook head

Clatsop Spit

Trestle Lake and Astoria

By sunset we made our way to the beach where the Wreck of the Peter Iredale slowly rusts away in the surf. This is an iconic Oregon landmark we had never visited, so I was glad to finally see it profiled against a colorful sky.

Sunday morning we drove across the Columbia River on the Astoria-Meglar Bridge to Washington.

We had once visited Cape Disappointment on a disappointingly foggy day. Today was sunny and clear. We took the short hike to the lighthouse and the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center.

Rhododendron

Cow parsley

Dead Man’s Cove

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Lewis & Clark Visitor Center

North Jetty

Lewis and Clark made it to this point, but did not recognize the mouth of the river because of the wide expanse of the estuary. We had beautiful views today, and interesting exhibits, including a decommissioned fresnel lighthouse lens – always so fascinating to look at.

Wallflowers and north jetty

Looking back toward the lighthouse

Map view of the mouth of the Columbia River

Later in the day we returned to Astoria and bought some fresh spring Chinook salmon to BBQ at the campground with our family members.

Monday we took a stroll along the waterfront in Astoria.

View to Washington

Cormorant on old pilings

Old pilot car

Pacific nine bark

Waiting for salmon to bite

Looking back up hill to the Astoria Column

We stopped to eat our lunch at Youngs River Falls before returning home. A pleasant weekend getaway.

England Trip Report Part 2

Day 2: London, Museums in the rain April 27, 2018

A rainy day. It was only two tube stops to the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington. We didn’t even have to leave the underground – a long tunnel leads to the museum entrance. When we visited in 2011, the textile exhibit had been undergoing renovation, and I was hoping to see it this visit. But it turns out that there is no longer a textile wing. Textiles are scattered throughout the museum in various exhibits. Some highlights of our viewing:

From the Europe 1600-1815 Gallery:

And two drawing room spinning wheels:

The museum entrance has a domed ceiling with a fabulous Chihuly Glass Sculpture:

Medieval/Renaissance Sculpture Gallery

There is a Fashion Through Time exhibit:

Upstairs galleries are devoted to Ironwork, Glass, Ceramics and other decorative arts:

And Queen Victoria oversees all:

We grabbed a sandwich in the museum cafe. It was still rainy outside, so we went next door to the Natural History Museum.

This is a huge complex – one could never see it all, but we took in some dinosaurs:

We would see more of Mary Anning’s work later when we visited Lyme Regis.

Architectural details throughout the museum inspired by Natural History:

The enormous Hintze Hall:

and the Dodos.

There were tons of people and it was a bit overwhelming, but I enjoyed seeing the exhibits.

The rain had let up, so we continued walking north, past the Royal Albert Hall, the Albert Memorial,

Royal Albert Hall

Albert Memorial

and on to the gardens outside Kensington Palace.

Kensington Palace

Victoria again

This happened to be the day the name of new baby Prince Louis Arthur Charles was announced, so there was a small press pool camped out in their compound. We continued walking until we found ourselves at the Queensway station. We took the tube back to our lodging, refreshed, then found a nearby Indian restaurant for our dinner.

London, Day 3: Jane Austen’s portrait and more walking April 28, 2018

One of my goals for this trip was to see the Jane Austen portrait at the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Off we went on the tube to Leicester Square, followed by a short walk to the museum. We found the portrait exhibited in a specially lighted cabinet. It is the only existing picture of Jane Austen made during her lifetime – hard to imagine in these selfie days. The portrait is small and the pencil lines are faded. It was drawn by her sister Cassandra in 1810 when Jane was 35 and Cassandra was 37. I appreciated getting to spend several minutes looking at her as she was seen by the person who knew her best in the world.

Jane Austen Portrait in special case

We then took some time to explore the rest of the museum – an excellent walk through the faces of British history. As with any museum, one can’t see everything, but these portraits caught my eye:

Three views of Queen Elizabeth I:

Queen Elizabeth I

The only American in the museum:

George Washington

Some of my favorite authors:

the Bronte Sisters

Emily Bronte

George Eliot

Virginia Woolf

Charles Dickens

Robert Louis Stevenson

Rupert Brooke

Recent royalty:

Queen Elizabeth II

Princess Diana

After stopping for lunch in the National Gallery Cafe,

National Gallery

Trafalgar Square

we decided to walk across the Thames again on the Hungerford Bridge,

then walk east along the south bank as far as the Millenium Bridge. It was a busy Saturday – a bit overwhelming how many people there are in London at any one moment. Every language and ethnicity, especially in the tourist areas.

Mural hiding a construction site on the river

We crossed back to the north on the Millenium Bridge,

Tower Bridge

Non-orthagonal buildings on the skyline

the Shard

St Pauls ahead

but then felt too tired to attempt St Paul’s,

St Paul’s Cathedral

which we had visited in 2011, so we wandered back toward Blackfriars, and took the tube back to Victoria from there.

Looking back under the Millenium Bridge: Shakespeare’s Globe and the Tate Modern Museum

We found an Italian restaurant nearby – most of the patrons were getting ready to see Wicked or Hamilton playing at the two nearby theaters.

Victoria Palace Theater – we saw Billy Elliot here in 2011.

Typical tube scene

We had accomplished our sightseeing goals for London, had somewhat adjusted to the time shift, and were ready for the next phase of our journey – on to Brighton by train, then further exploration of southern England by car and trail.

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21. It’s cool at the beach! plus a pod of pelicans!

September 7, 2017 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

My post 20 about the Columbia Gorge fire, (still out of control as I write this) delayed finishing this post.

Neahkahnie Mountain 9/1/2017 (#44)

The heat and wildfire smoke have settled into the Portland area for the long weekend and beyond. We drove out to the coast this morning, for a repeat of the day trip I took with my sister and son in August. No fog bank this time – the sky was clear blue and it was actually a little hotter than I would have liked for the hike.

Neakanie Mtn juts 1680 feet up from the ocean. The south trailhead is at about 700 feet, so we only had to climb about a thousand feet over one and a half miles to reach the top. The first mile is steep switchbacks through coastal forest with a few straggling flowers, and shady much of the way. The last half mile is just below the ridgeline, over rocky outcrops, with a final slight scramble to the summit – a rocky spine with not much space for the two or three families who were there with us. We perched where we could long enough to eat sandwiches, while admiring the incredible view over Nehalem Bay, and watching the wave trains swash along the beach below.

Nehalem Bay/Manzanita from Neahkahnie Mtn

A fellow hiker took this photo of us while we were eating, and kindly emailed it to us. It is one of my favorite photos of us on a hike. Meanwhile, it was actually rather roasting up there, so we started down and fairly quickly returned to the trailhead.

With most of the day still ahead of us before the low tide at about 5 pm, we next went to the famous Neahkanie Point overlook on the highway, and paused to say Thank You! to Oswald West, Oregon governor about 100 years ago who was foresighted enough to reserve much of the Oregon coast as public land.

South view, Neahkahnie Viewpoint

Thank you Oswald West

Next we walked about a half mile down to a viewpoint over Devil’s Cauldron, a coastal cliff chasm that creates a lot of splash. There was a lovely bench in the shade which we had to ourselves for a while. We sat and admired the view, which includes Cape Falcon in the distance – the very Cape that Helen, Brian and I hiked out to about a month ago – interesting to see from this angle.

Cape Falcon

Devil’s Cauldron

Next stop – Hug Point. We have spent a lot of time on this stretch of beach, from Arch Cape to Cannon Beach, during the last 28 years. We rented a house for a week here with our kids nearly every summer, and if they remember any one place as a favorite family vacation spot, this is it. First we walked south toward Arch Cape, passing The Cave and Big Barnacle Rock. I am impressed with how deep the sand is! Ten or more years ago heavy winter storms washed away so much sand and deflated the beach such that the sections of cobbled beach were persistent all summer. It is more fun to walk on the sandy beach! Tide was going out, but not very low today – we could not walk around the west side of Big Barnacle Rock, but it was nice to say Hi and have a good peek into The Cave.

The Cave

Big Barnacle Rock

Neahkahnie Mountain, which we climbed this morning

We walked back north to Hug Point, now the cool wind in our face! All the way onto Hug Point, (once the actual road, cut by people out of the sandstone headland), and around to the other side, looking north to Arcadia and Cannon Beaches. On the walk back we got a close look at the waterfall, then drove north along the coast to Arcadia Beach.

Walking north around Hug Point

View north from theHug Pont

Beach view on the north side

Looking south

Back onto the south side

The Waterfall

Dan wanted to see if there were any sea stars at Big Starfish Rock (Silver Point) at low tide. We walked north from Arcadia Beach as the tide ebbed, splashing in the tidal pools that sparkle in the sun. The water was so blue today, and the air so fresh! We spotted a sea star in the sand, but none at the rock. We arrived just as the tide was beginning to rise, so couldn’t get close to the small arch which we were hoping was covered in sea stars. Again, not a low tide day, so we couldn’t really tell if they were there.

I had seen a couple of lines of pelicans from a distance flying along the swell line. We were treated to watching a pod of about a dozen of the elegant birds land on a tidal sand bar just as the rising tide isolated the bar from the beach. They were standing on the sand bar, facing north, and seemingly grooming. We watched for a long time, taking pictures, though the sun angle was not great for our purposes. Another couple of pods also flew near so that I could see over thirty pelicans at once. Pretty cool! We have named the sea stack behind them Big Pelican Rock, to honor a family tradition of naming important viewpoints.

We walked back to Arcadia beach, noticing the promontory we now call the Sphinx of Arcadia, because that is what it looks like.

the Sphinx of Arcadia

We finished the day with a delicious dinner at the Pelican Brewery in Cannon Beach, followed by an uneventful ride home, over the coast range, into the hazy Willamette Valley.

LOOKBACK:

I could go crazy here! We have so many pictures of this locale. I will just show these two comparisons, which I find interesting because they show how much sand has returned to the beach between photos. The first is The Cave, 2008 and 2017. The second is an alcove near Hug Point 2011 and 2017.

The Cave, August 2008

The Cave, September 2017

September 2011, Alcove near Hug Point,

September 2017, Alcove near Hug Point

17. Oswald West/Cape Falcon

August 15, 2017August 15, 2017 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Beach Day 7/8/2017 (#41)

Portland has been HOT (95 to 105) and SMOKY from the BC and other Cascade wildfires. My visiting sister, my son and I decided to head west to the coast for some relief. Our initial plan was to climb Neahkanie Mountain, an easy hike with great views, but the peak was fogged in. We opted instead for the five mile round trip hike to Cape Falcon from the Oswald West State Park parking area. The beach is a popular surfing spot, and the trail took us down to the beach where many were riding the waves and enjoying the 60 degree air temperatures.

Cape Falcon (our goal) is the far ridge beyond Smuggler Cove

Short Sand Beach

We went from the trailhead to the cape and back via the beach trail

We followed the well worn trail past a small waterfall and out to the Cape where we watched the fog roll in and out, obscuring views and keeping us cool. We found a shady perch to eat lunch, then hiked back to the trail head, tripping over some of the many exposed roots on the trail – it could use some work, to be perfectly honest, but the cool temperatures and beautiful views make it hard to complain.

Looking down on Short Sand Beach from the trail

Small waterfall above Blumenthal Falls

Daisies and hemlock on the Cape

View to south from the Cape

View to north from the cape

Cape Falcon

We drove back north on HWY 101, and stopped for a while at Hug Point State Park. The receding tide was still high, so we could not quite make it on to Hug Point, but we sat for a while in the late afternoon near the waterfall, dipped our toes into the Pacific Ocean and enjoyed the peace, and the cool temperatures. I was able to get one iPhone photo of the waterfall without other beach goers in it.

Castle Rock from near the Hug Pt Waterfall

Hug Pt Waterfall

And because I have been really enjoying the LOOKBACK aspect of writing this blog, despite, or maybe because of, the rabbit hole nature of digging through my photos, here are two comparison photos of the Hug Point waterfall, and the view south toward Castle Rock from Hug Point, taken May 8th, 2016, when we were there for a super low tide.

Hug Point waterfall, May 8, 2016

View south to Castle Rock from Hug Point, May 8, 2016

We stopped in Cannon Beach for a typical post beach day meal at the Pelican Brewery (clam chowder, fish tacos, fish and chips), then returned eastward on Hwy 26, back over the coast range to Portland and home, where the hazy smoky air and hot temperatures absorbed us into their gloom. Next weekend is predicted to be in the 80s; perhaps the wildfires will calm down and the smoke will dissipate. One can only hope, as it is rather tedious to complain about the weather.

Meanwhile, back in Portland:

By the weekend, the heat spell finally broke. I pulled open the living room shades for the first time in two weeks, and there were plums on our plum tree, raindrops on roses, and cherry tomatoes for my birthday eclipse bowl.

And, somewhere in Peru…

They made it to Machu Picchu!

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