Adventure: The Trail of 101 Steps & Agates at Oceanside

Saturday afternoon we headed off to the beach to hunt for agates. We had endured several years days of rain and on Saturday the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was bright and warm. And the day was just made for exploring!     We headed first to a new beach to explore-Short Beach.  This beach is only reached by descending the more than 100 steps down over the steep hillside to the beach below. There are built in  benches to rest and a odd little wooden building.  (If one was blessed with an over-active imagination, then one could cook up all sorts of strange, odd, and eerie happenings in the little wooden building.)

Beginning the descent.

 

 Here's the odd little building that you pass through.... we didn't linger long.

Short Beach.   I love the trees growing right out of the top of the rock.

 

 





Bracing himself for the wave to come....

Love this picture! 

Cape Meares Lighthouse 

Of course no trip to the beach is complete without a good log "rescue". 

"Rescue" complete!

On our return, I stopped for a moment in the odd little building and took a couple pictures of a some of the graffiti that caught my attention.

The trail of 101 steps was sure a good cardiac work out!  And it was fun to explore  a new beach.  We plan to return when the tide is low, and we can do a bit more exploring.

 

On to Oceanside in search of agates.  This is the first one we found.

I find it very relaxing to wander slowly up and down the beach looking for these "treasures".

 

 Here is part of the collection:  I found 11, Andy found 3, and Carson found 3. Such a fun afternoon!

 

Then we headed towards home, but since it was nearing sunset we had to stop and watch the big orange ball dip slowly into the deep blue sea.  But, I will save that for another post.

 

 



Backyard Fun

 

 

Today it's the picture version of Backyard Fun.

Hiking at Cape Lookout and a Picnic at the Beach

Labor Day found us out of school and ready for a hike.  Well sorta ready...  At our house it was sunshiny and warm, at the trail it was foggy and rainy and cold.  But it didn't really seem to affect the kiddies much. 

Here we are, ready to go.

I was really thankful for my sweatshirt!   Despite the cold, rain and fog, it was nice to get out into nature and explore!

Because of the fog, we couldn't see the ocean far below, but we could sure hear it.  These are the trails that bring on the gray hair to the worrying mama.  If you slipped and fell here, you would for sure be a goner!

This is where the trail ended for us.  Due to our unpreparedness and the lack of food in our tummies and the fact that the actual trail stretched on for a long way and the observation that everyone returning on the trail was totally covered in mud and NOT smiling.    Some day, when we are more prepared we will hike and complete this trail.

As we were hiking back out, the ocean had become more visible.  Its a long, scary way down!

Distant shore line, barely visible

The kiddies are checking out the trail map

Then we headed down to the beach for our peanut butter sandwich picnic lunch.  Interestingly enough, the sun was shinning at the beach but we could see the cape was still enshrouded with fog.

Soakin up the sunshine, cuz the rain is a-coming!

Sunday Dinner and Dory Boats

So now your asking what does Sunday dinner and Dory boats have in common, and what in the world is a Dory boat?    Keep reading...

So last Sunday we had lunch with some friends whose house over looks the ocean.  This is the view from their dinning room windows.

The boats on the beach are dory boats.

"What are dory boats? Flat bottom boats designed and built in Oregon that takes off straight into the waves from the beach off Cape Kawanda. They are mostly used for fishing but you can also find locals that will take visitors out to get a close look at Kiwanda Rock. Watch out when you hear their big horns off shore, because that means they are racing back to the beach and you do not want to be in their path." http://theoregoncoast.info/PacificCity/Dorymen.html

It was so fascinating to hear the horn then watch them accelerate right up unto the sand.

The kiddies had fun exploring around outside on the deck.

And The Summer Fun Continues

A summer bouquet of wildflowers brought by my sweet kiddies.

 

Soaking up a little sunshine at the beach cuz we know the rain is a comin!

 

 

 

 

And then it was off to Emmett for the wedding of two good friends.  We got to stay in a travel trailer in that was parked in Ms. Judene's yard.  She took good care of us.  It was so good to see our friends again and wander around our valley.

Carson

Carson and his very dear friend.

Bow tie issues...

This picture is really grainy, but I love the expression on Carson's face.

After the wedding we went out to supper, Carson was so tired he fell asleep in this position... I took this picture just before he fell out of his chair.

Visiting with friends...

It was a quick trip to Emmett, but relaxing and very enjoyable. Good times!