Last weekend, gidget23 invited me to go out to the beach and hang with the local goth/industrial crowd.
Now, I’ve been to beaches before. In fact, I used to live in Tampa, Florida, so I’ve been to beaches that are claimed to be the best beaches in the world before. So I think I can be forgiven for believing that I had some sort of idea what “going to the beach” is like.
I’m not much of a beach person, so the internal dialog went something like “-1 for beach, -27 for getting up at 10 AM to make it happen, +10 for meeting the local goth/industrial peeps, +30 for spending time with gidget23, -1 for not knowing where the place is, +2 for iPhone GPS win, -10 for ‘it’s going to be really cold, dress warmly!’…that adds up to a net positive, so what the hell. Sure!”
Little did I know.
You see, Gentle Reader, they do not do beaches here in the Pacific Northwest the way they do beaches in Florida.
The Pacific Northwest is all about rugged natural scenic beauty. It’s a little silly, in fact, just how beautiful this place is. Imagine, if you will, a temperate rainforest that comes right up to the coast, and stops at the sheer cliff face that marks the beginning of the beach, and…
Yeah. Not like Florida at all.
I sadly neglected to bring my real camera, and had to content myself with the camera in my iPhone. The iPhone camera does a pretty good job with even lighting, but struggles hard with unusual or challening lighting conditions, like backlighting.
Anyway, this is a rock. A big-ass volcanic rock just jutting up out of the beach. It’s probably about two and a half or three stories high at the uppermost point, and my god, is it gorgeous.
The rock has this really cool planar stress geometry, and fractures in these really interesting cleave patterns. When pieces break off, they’re a bright red rust color inside, which fades to a darker color when it’s exposed. Rich in iron, I reckon.
I hear there’s a big future in iron, though I don’t know why we have to keep changing things all the time. I mean, bronze has been good enough for me, and it was good enough for my father, and this newfangled iron stuff is dangerous and hard to work with, and…
Ahem. Anyway, this chunk of rock is so friggin’ cool that if I had unlimited time, I can see myself dedicating three or four years to learning about geology and chemistry and materials science just so I could understand it better.
And CAVES! Did I mention this beach has caves?
Yes, that’s the entrance to a cave. Not a very big one, but still… Caves! At the beach! How cool is that?
The view from another opening on the other side of the outcropping. This particular cave is underwater at high tide, which is also pretty cool. The 10-year-old me would have been absolutely delighted, dreaming of pirates and lost treasure; the adult me is, if anything, even more delighted.
Caves! At the beach!
This narrow crevasse fissure opens up into a larger chamber beyond; it was a fairly difficult scrabble, but totally worth it. Too dark to get any pics inside; the iPhone camera has no flash.
The view looking down from the top of that big chunk of rock.
The 20-year-old me used to free-climb buildings, which kind of makes the current me shiver sometimes. The 20-year-old me was definitely laughing at the current me with the amount of effort it took to get to the top, but no matter. The current me has a laptop computer and the Internet and a cell phone that’s also a computer, so I think the current me wins.
I like the sand castles arranged like a line marching to the sea.
Okay, seriously, a waterfall at the beach? That’s just scenic beauty overkill. At this point, the landscape is just showing off.
Upstream of the waterfall, and it’s still ridiculously gorgeous.
If I live to be ten thousand years old, I will never stop being awestruck at how awesome life is. One tiny little insignificant speck of a universe vast and magnificent beyond human comprehension, and even that little speck is able to blow my mind with the beauty of the physical universe. How can life ever be anything but a constant celebration of wonder?
I saw a tiny little plant growing up between the stones that tend to litter the base of the cliffs around northwestern beaches, and I just have to say:
86 thoughts on “Life in Oregon: Das Beach”
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Cool. Glad you liked the beach.
Can you put it all under a cut now? 🙂 Some of us have sucky internet connections. 🙂
Cool. Glad you liked the beach.
Can you put it all under a cut now? 🙂 Some of us have sucky internet connections. 🙂
Das Beach!
One of these days I will make it out to one of those. We have a lot of physical friends/acquaintances in common now I guess!
Das Beach!
One of these days I will make it out to one of those. We have a lot of physical friends/acquaintances in common now I guess!
Absolutely gorgeous!
However the term crevasse, while very cool, only applies to glaciers and icebergs.
Iiiiinteresting. I’ve just learned something new about the English language!
Absolutely gorgeous!
However the term crevasse, while very cool, only applies to glaciers and icebergs.
Did you see any wild life out there? That’s ridiculously beautiful up in the Pacific Northwest, as well. When I went up to BC for a visit we saw many colors (sorry, that would be ‘colours’ up there) of starfish at the beach, along with some otters. Not sure which animals hang out in Oregon, but I guarantee you they aren’t the same as the ones that hang out in Florida. And are the rocks at the beach magnetic? Might be worth another trip out to test and see. *bouncy bouncy*
And thank you for taking us with you through your LJ. I really enjoy getting the Franklin Tour. 😀
Nothing larger than barnacles and mussels, sadly.
I don’t know if the rocks are magnetic, but it would be fascinating to find out. Now I have to go back!
You can take a magnet, cover it in a bread bag, and collect iron dust from the sand on the beach. Just turn the bag inside out to get the iron off the magnet. 😀
Also.. go see the Devil’s Punchbowl, near Newport, and have clam chowder there at Moe’s restaurant, which overlooks it.
Did you see any wild life out there? That’s ridiculously beautiful up in the Pacific Northwest, as well. When I went up to BC for a visit we saw many colors (sorry, that would be ‘colours’ up there) of starfish at the beach, along with some otters. Not sure which animals hang out in Oregon, but I guarantee you they aren’t the same as the ones that hang out in Florida. And are the rocks at the beach magnetic? Might be worth another trip out to test and see. *bouncy bouncy*
And thank you for taking us with you through your LJ. I really enjoy getting the Franklin Tour. 😀
Florida’s beaches are like its
weatherclimate; Oregon’s the same way. I’ll take the former when I need constancy and a place to relax, and the latter for when I want a real, live, memorable vacation.….and just wait until late May and early June, when the roses come into their full glory.
Florida’s beaches are like its
weatherclimate; Oregon’s the same way. I’ll take the former when I need constancy and a place to relax, and the latter for when I want a real, live, memorable vacation.….and just wait until late May and early June, when the roses come into their full glory.
My wife and I walked on a beach of Tofino (a peninsula of Victoria Island) some years back. It was crawling with an amazing profusion of life – every stable rock surface covered with mussels, barnacles, and other sessile forms, with assorted crabs, worms, anemones, snails, and other creatures crawling among them. It was amazing, very different from our local New Jersey beaches where seagulls and greenhead flies are the only wildlife. A real testament to how productive those cold northern seas can be. My wife was freaked out though (“All these things, who put them there?”) and wouldn’t eat the mussels I brought back to the cabin to cook. “How do you know they’re fresh?”
Fresh!?! Bwahahahahahaha!!!
*blink* How do you know they’re fresh? We are talking about the same word, right? 🙂
My wife and I walked on a beach of Tofino (a peninsula of Victoria Island) some years back. It was crawling with an amazing profusion of life – every stable rock surface covered with mussels, barnacles, and other sessile forms, with assorted crabs, worms, anemones, snails, and other creatures crawling among them. It was amazing, very different from our local New Jersey beaches where seagulls and greenhead flies are the only wildlife. A real testament to how productive those cold northern seas can be. My wife was freaked out though (“All these things, who put them there?”) and wouldn’t eat the mussels I brought back to the cabin to cook. “How do you know they’re fresh?”
Fresh!?! Bwahahahahahaha!!!
Oregon is beautiful pretty much everywhere you go, it seems. I went out there last year with one of my sweeties (her family takes a trip out there every year.) I grew up on the East Coast, so the idea of it being cold at the beach in July was really a new one to me!
Anyway, those are really great pictures.
Nice icon. Like coffee much?
Oh … just a little!
I note that at least three of my user icons are coffee related and that at 4:12 in the afternoon, I had just poured myself a new cup when I read your message.
Oregon is beautiful pretty much everywhere you go, it seems. I went out there last year with one of my sweeties (her family takes a trip out there every year.) I grew up on the East Coast, so the idea of it being cold at the beach in July was really a new one to me!
Anyway, those are really great pictures.
Nice icon. Like coffee much?
Gorgeous, simply gorgeous.
Gorgeous, simply gorgeous.
Ok, I have to ask…what kind of Goth/Industrial kids hang out at the beach during the day, let alone get up at 10:00am to do it??? lol.
The beaches in Oregon are beautiful. I lived in Portland for a few years, but sadly only got out to the beach once or twice. I saw a tide pool there for the first time! (I live right outside of Tampa right now, and had previously to going to Oregon) so yeah…so wasn’t expecting the rocks or the tide pools. I was used to seeing dried up star fish in baskets at hokey little tourist traps, not vibrant PURPLE starfish stuck to the side of a tide pool. Sadly, I didn’t have a camera. Thanks for sharing!
Heh. Goth/industrial kids who scuttle away from the sun in the shelter of the cliff face.
Ok, I have to ask…what kind of Goth/Industrial kids hang out at the beach during the day, let alone get up at 10:00am to do it??? lol.
The beaches in Oregon are beautiful. I lived in Portland for a few years, but sadly only got out to the beach once or twice. I saw a tide pool there for the first time! (I live right outside of Tampa right now, and had previously to going to Oregon) so yeah…so wasn’t expecting the rocks or the tide pools. I was used to seeing dried up star fish in baskets at hokey little tourist traps, not vibrant PURPLE starfish stuck to the side of a tide pool. Sadly, I didn’t have a camera. Thanks for sharing!
Which beach was this? I’m making a list for my road trip.
I don’t actually know. was driving, so I’m about clueless. It’s over an hour from Portland, for what that’s worth.
Hug Point. It’s located just outside of Cannon Beach.
Which beach was this? I’m making a list for my road trip.
Oregon beaches are breathtaking. My partner led a 5 day photo workshop along the Oregon coast in March and I was one of the participants. It was pretty amazing (and he’s going to do the workshop again next year.)
Wow, that sounds like a LOT of fun!
Oregon beaches are breathtaking. My partner led a 5 day photo workshop along the Oregon coast in March and I was one of the participants. It was pretty amazing (and he’s going to do the workshop again next year.)
Wow…amazingly beautiful. Great photos too, even if they were on an iphone. 🙂
Wow…amazingly beautiful. Great photos too, even if they were on an iphone. 🙂
Wow, awesome!
It was! that was a great trip!
Job 37:14, KJV. Just about covers it. Yep. Oughtta be on signs in places like this. Just sayin’.
Fantastic pics, man– i’m envious. You should try your hand at travel writing… i mean, for like, money and stuff.
Ye gods. I think my writing style is a bit…unconventional for travel writing. 🙂 But thanks!
Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
In re your writing style being unconventional: sure it is, but i think that is its charm. For one thing, i think it reflects a lot of the ways and connections people of a certain mindset make when they think, and for another: well, no matter what you’re writing about, the way you approach educating us about things is… refreshing, among other things, and quite appealing in that it’s neither condescending nor jargonistic. So, um, yeah and stuff. 😀
At the very least: have you thought about becoming a member of Associated Content? Could be a way for you to gauge if you’d make money or not… hit me up with a private message and i can give you details, if’n you like… and you can see my page (talk about selfish plugs *grin*) at http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/418790/jaime_dunlap.html
Job 37:14, KJV. Just about covers it. Yep. Oughtta be on signs in places like this. Just sayin’.
Fantastic pics, man– i’m envious. You should try your hand at travel writing… i mean, for like, money and stuff.
Oh … just a little!
I note that at least three of my user icons are coffee related and that at 4:12 in the afternoon, I had just poured myself a new cup when I read your message.
Come to think of it, I have never understood why beaches are described as “best of . . .” or “top ten.” Beaches are all different, whether or not they have people on them. And a beach without distinguishing features like boulders and waterfalls and active tidal pools is like a field without flowers.
The people just get in the way.
In Florida, it’s based on things like the sand (no kidding, Clearwater Beach actually has some kind of international award for its sand or some damn thing). Plus I guess the cold keeps some tourists away from the beaches up here.
But still, damn. Caves! At the beach!
Come to think of it, I have never understood why beaches are described as “best of . . .” or “top ten.” Beaches are all different, whether or not they have people on them. And a beach without distinguishing features like boulders and waterfalls and active tidal pools is like a field without flowers.
The people just get in the way.
Iiiiinteresting. I’ve just learned something new about the English language!
Nothing larger than barnacles and mussels, sadly.
I don’t know if the rocks are magnetic, but it would be fascinating to find out. Now I have to go back!
*blink* How do you know they’re fresh? We are talking about the same word, right? 🙂
Wow, that sounds like a LOT of fun!
Heh. Climbing rocks is a very different experience, I think (though some of the differences may be in me as well).
Heh. Climbing rocks is a very different experience, I think (though some of the differences may be in me as well).
Wow, awesome!
In Florida, it’s based on things like the sand (no kidding, Clearwater Beach actually has some kind of international award for its sand or some damn thing). Plus I guess the cold keeps some tourists away from the beaches up here.
But still, damn. Caves! At the beach!
It was! that was a great trip!
Ye gods. I think my writing style is a bit…unconventional for travel writing. 🙂 But thanks!
Heh. Goth/industrial kids who scuttle away from the sun in the shelter of the cliff face.
I don’t actually know. was driving, so I’m about clueless. It’s over an hour from Portland, for what that’s worth.
Utterly lovely!! I really enjoyed some of the central-California beaches with similar geology (we stopped for the night near Morro Rock), and OMG YES CAVES!!!
Glad you had such an awesome trip!
— A 😀
It was a TOTAL blast. I think I need to spend more time at the beach!
Utterly lovely!! I really enjoyed some of the central-California beaches with similar geology (we stopped for the night near Morro Rock), and OMG YES CAVES!!!
Glad you had such an awesome trip!
— A 😀
It was a TOTAL blast. I think I need to spend more time at the beach!
You might want to keep an eye on‘s journal – she lives in Northern CA and takes her wolves and other animals to the beach and hiking and stuff, and there are some pretty amazing sights she gets on film.
I haven’t put up the page of pics from my last visit to my favorite beach, but I LOVE the Pacific NW beaches – WAY better than FL beaches. Like the general outdoors here, I only venture to one when others drag me there.
Here’s *my* favorite beach, located in Davenport, CA:
You might want to keep an eye on‘s journal – she lives in Northern CA and takes her wolves and other animals to the beach and hiking and stuff, and there are some pretty amazing sights she gets on film.
I haven’t put up the page of pics from my last visit to my favorite beach, but I LOVE the Pacific NW beaches – WAY better than FL beaches. Like the general outdoors here, I only venture to one when others drag me there.
Here’s *my* favorite beach, located in Davenport, CA:
frabjous fotos!!!
frabjous fotos!!!
So pretty! I like the caves very much.
Here in Louisiana, we don’t really have beaches. Dry land turns into swamp which gradually morphs into open water. It’s beautiful, but hard to explore without getting wet and muddy (or eaten by the gators).
That’s because we have alluvial soil along our coast. However, there are some inland lakes and rivers that have sand beaches. They aren’t great, but it’s what we’ve got.
So pretty! I like the caves very much.
Here in Louisiana, we don’t really have beaches. Dry land turns into swamp which gradually morphs into open water. It’s beautiful, but hard to explore without getting wet and muddy (or eaten by the gators).
Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
In re your writing style being unconventional: sure it is, but i think that is its charm. For one thing, i think it reflects a lot of the ways and connections people of a certain mindset make when they think, and for another: well, no matter what you’re writing about, the way you approach educating us about things is… refreshing, among other things, and quite appealing in that it’s neither condescending nor jargonistic. So, um, yeah and stuff. 😀
At the very least: have you thought about becoming a member of Associated Content? Could be a way for you to gauge if you’d make money or not… hit me up with a private message and i can give you details, if’n you like… and you can see my page (talk about selfish plugs *grin*) at http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/418790/jaime_dunlap.html
First of all, we would like to congratulate you for your site. As BDSMers, we are very happy to have your site as reference.
Unfortunately here in Brazil we don’t have much material to refer to, although we know there are lots of BDSMers in our country. We practically depend on foreign sites and forums to be updated. But… as you know, English is not our mother tongue and not many of us had the opportunity to study it.
That’s the reason why we decided to get in touch with you. We have just seen your human sex map and found it just GREAT. We kindly ask you to give us permission to translate it and publish it on our site http://www.confrariabr.com.br and on our discussion lists. We’re sure lots of us would appreciate it very, very much.
We don’t intend to make it as interactive as yours is, it would be just the map, perhaps with explanation on the fetishes as well.
Of course we intend to give you all the credit on the creation of it and also publish the site where people can find it and interact.
Hoping to hearing from you soon and expecting for your kind permission,
luiza bacante
{rianah}•••••Lestat
braziliansubs@gmail.com
First of all, we would like to congratulate you for your site. As BDSMers, we are very happy to have your site as reference.
Unfortunately here in Brazil we don’t have much material to refer to, although we know there are lots of BDSMers in our country. We practically depend on foreign sites and forums to be updated. But… as you know, English is not our mother tongue and not many of us had the opportunity to study it.
That’s the reason why we decided to get in touch with you. We have just seen your human sex map and found it just GREAT. We kindly ask you to give us permission to translate it and publish it on our site http://www.confrariabr.com.br and on our discussion lists. We’re sure lots of us would appreciate it very, very much.
We don’t intend to make it as interactive as yours is, it would be just the map, perhaps with explanation on the fetishes as well.
Of course we intend to give you all the credit on the creation of it and also publish the site where people can find it and interact.
Hoping to hearing from you soon and expecting for your kind permission,
luiza bacante
{rianah}•••••Lestat
braziliansubs@gmail.com
That’s because we have alluvial soil along our coast. However, there are some inland lakes and rivers that have sand beaches. They aren’t great, but it’s what we’ve got.
Hug Point. It’s located just outside of Cannon Beach.
Where shall I kidnap you away to next, I wonder?
Where shall I kidnap you away to next, I wonder?
Wait until you see Cannon Beach. It’s pretty spectacular.
And, speaking of caves at the beach, Pete’s Dragon (High Flying Edition) is out!
Wait until you see Cannon Beach. It’s pretty spectacular.
And, speaking of caves at the beach, Pete’s Dragon (High Flying Edition) is out!
yay! i’m glad you are liking our ecosystem :).
yay! i’m glad you are liking our ecosystem :).
Well you know I always love your posts. And I could never get enough of the beauty of your photographs of natures marvels.
And we share a lot of the same philosophies about the wonder and beauty of the world.
But I’m no good with technology. But I am good with some other things.
So I’m enduring another year in Alabama to finish nursing school so that I may wonder at the miracles of life in the form of body and soul. Even though the pictures aren’t as pretty. : )
Thank you for reminding me that unlike a lot of people around me most days, I DO want to go and see all the world’s treasures, like beaches with pirate’s caves and huge rocks and waterfalls and miracle little plants that grow through layers of rocks.
AND I WILL…just as soon as I can pass these next two semesters!
Well you know I always love your posts. And I could never get enough of the beauty of your photographs of natures marvels.
And we share a lot of the same philosophies about the wonder and beauty of the world.
But I’m no good with technology. But I am good with some other things.
So I’m enduring another year in Alabama to finish nursing school so that I may wonder at the miracles of life in the form of body and soul. Even though the pictures aren’t as pretty. : )
Thank you for reminding me that unlike a lot of people around me most days, I DO want to go and see all the world’s treasures, like beaches with pirate’s caves and huge rocks and waterfalls and miracle little plants that grow through layers of rocks.
AND I WILL…just as soon as I can pass these next two semesters!
You can take a magnet, cover it in a bread bag, and collect iron dust from the sand on the beach. Just turn the bag inside out to get the iron off the magnet. 😀
Also.. go see the Devil’s Punchbowl, near Newport, and have clam chowder there at Moe’s restaurant, which overlooks it.