Greetings!
I hope you all are doing well and enjoying autumn wherever you are. I love this time of year, the cooler weather, transitioning into different recipies, cozy fires and tea. I’m writing this post at our current spot, which is east of Portland Oregon, on the Columbia River Gorge. I’ll do a separate post of our time here. We’ve had some great fall weather, but, yesterday it started raining, and its been cool (49 degrees right now). So I have a cup of tea (Cinnamon Stick by Bigelow 🙂 ) and we’ve been running our fireplace almost non-stop. Even though it’s an electric fire, it’s very cozy and provides a nice ambiance. I have a cinnamon candle going too…guess I’m in a cinnamon kind of mood!
All morning I have been watching 2 hummingbirds that are enjoying the hummingbird feeder the RV next door to us has out. The folks in the RV next door looks like they live here long term, they have a kind of deck built on their trailer, and have lots of “yard” kind of things set up including several bird feeders. On the side by us, is the hummingbird feeder and these 2 hummingbirds are there all the time. I am surprised, I thought hummingbirds migrated for the winter, but maybe the temperature here in Oregon is temperate enough they stay for the winter. I will try to remember to research that. Anyhow, I am happy to have them to watch. And, Gerry finds them very interesting too! He’s been sitting looking out the window at them for a long time this morning.
We spent about a week on the Oregon coast – we were between Seaside and Cannon Beach, which is in the northwest corner of the Oregon coast. We loved Washington and the beaches there…but…the Oregon coast is simply amazing. We fell in love with the area and really enjoyed our time there. We did a couple of great hikes, in addition to walking miles on the beaches. We hiked Saddle Mountain – about 7 miles roundtrip and it was a challenging hike. The view at the top was outstanding – we could see the pacific ocean, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and a fifth mountain we are not sure which it was. The photos in the link don’t do the view justice, it was starting to get hazy while we were up there. There were 3 or 4 Peregrine Falcons flying around also, chattering away. They followed us as we hiked back down, talking and chattering all the way.
We also hiked Cape Falcon (I am sensing a theme here!) a beautiful hike through a heavy forest then out onto a cape with a stunning view of the pacific ocean. We sat and had lunch looking out into the ocean and kept saying, “I can’t belive we are actually sitting here looking at this!” It was about 4 miles roundtrip, and relatively easy hike. All of the forests here and in Washington are beautiful, heavy, lots of moss and various shades of green. We keep trying to capture it with our pictures, it’s hard to describe the feeling you get while in the forest. Enchanting, peaceful, alive and vibrant.
We drove up and down the coast, sampling a few different beach towns and beaches. Hands down our favorite was Cannon Beach. Super cute seaside town and very dog friendly. We ate lunch one day at a restaraunt, with Gerry on the patio. They invite dogs to dine alongside their people guests. Gerry sat next to me on the bench, they had dog water dishes all over, and they served Gerry his very own plain hamburger! Yes, we have become those people!!!
We went back to Cannon Beach two evenings for the sunset, which occured about 6:50 pm – early to us, especially after the very long daylight days in Alaska. We loved the changing light and watching the sun drop into the pacific was spectacular. We also purchased a “chuckit” throwing thing to lob a tennis ball for Gerry to fetch. He has decided he loves the beach even though he tries very hard to not allow the surf touch his feet. He also discovered it is very easy to dig in the sand, and spent the better part of one evening digging a tunnel. Lots of pictures in the links below.
So happy fall to you all, hope you enjoy our pictures, and I’ll be back soon with an update on our next adventures!
Saddle Mountain Hike and Cannon Beach: https://1drv.ms/a/s!Ap-2lg-EnL0plTMWUz-ZNuFyN_W3
Cape Falcon
https://1drv.ms/a/s!Ap-2lg-EnL0plU46rpJ-HWQGc9GS