After a restless night, I awoke feeling sick and had a bad headache. I figured it was due to the intense cleaning chemical smell in the Motel 6 room. As we were booked here a second night, I was not looking forward to it at all! Harmony too was not happy with the room and proceeded to cancel the second night there and got us booked at a better hotel.
After a breakfast at the Pig’N Pancake, we crossed the Astoria–Megler Bridge that spans the Columbia River to Washington state. In the dense fog we went out to Cape Disappointment State Park to explore.
We started at the North Head Lighthouse and it was very cool! There is something about lighthouses that I have always been attracted to. Maybe it is the idea of a beacon of light to help guide you through adverse conditions and all the history surrounding them. The North Head lighthouse is still active and was constructed in 1897.
On to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse… Which indeed was a bit of a disappointment. The trail out to the lighthouse was closed and only distant views were to be had. The area is also the site of the old Fort Canby which has a history dating back to the Civil War. It was later expanded to be one of a three fort defense to the entry of the Columbia River. It was interesting to explore some of the old canon turrets and structures.
We spent the balance of the day checking out Long Beach, Oysterville and at the tip of penninsula, Ledbetter Point State Park. Overall, I felt conditions for photography were not very good in the harsh midday haze and did not take many shots.
The following day we got a morning start and went for a walk out on Chapman Beach (just north of Cannon Beach) where I got my first distant shots of Haystack Rock and The Needles. It was sooooo relaxing to just sit out there… Sounds of the endless surf and seagulls, the smell of the ocean air and the constant breeze were very therapeutic.
From Chapman Beach we went south to find a great location to access Cannon Beach. I captured some nice mid-morning shots and knew I would have to come back for a golden hour. The balance of the day was spent walking some of the shops and getting checked in to the next hotel in Seaside…
