We began our week at Premier RV Resort in Lincoln City, OR on the Central Oregon Coast. It generally takes me a few weeks to get a feel for an area, and the last month along the Pacific coast in Northern California and Oregon is starting to present an exciting cast of characters in its story. The Native People who have called this place home for 10,000 or more years had an early role, but they have been pushed aside by people from Russia, Europe, and the United States. The early explorers and fur trappers left their mark on the land and the people, but they were replaced by settlers who came by land and sea. They have been supplemented by fishermen, loggers, and merchants who eventually yielded to corporations and stockholders. But these are not really the principal actors in this saga. The main actors have been here far longer than the Native People and will still be here when we become a distant memory in the land. This is principally a drama of earth, wind, fire, and rain embodied in the sea, the rivers, the wind, the sand, the volcanic rock, and the fires far beneath the whole area. This week I discovered how vital these main actors are in sculpting this remarkable landscape.
We begin on Memorial Day and the ubiquitous crowds that head to the beach for the unofficial first weekend of Summer. We drove down to Depoe Bay, a small village along the coast, but found the town filled with people. We drove on to the Otter Crest Scenic Drive between Depoe Bay and Newport. This was classic Oregon Coast. We stopped at a seafood shop at the Devil's Punchbowl for lunch. The Punchbowl is a sea cave with a partially collapsed Roof. We were at the less-than-optimal low tide and could only see waves washing into the bottom. And yet the crowds were all around.
I was more interested in how the ocean waves interacted with the volcanic sea stacks surrounding the Otter Rock Headland. This picture shows the aftermath of the waves creating a spectacular flowing fountain on the rock. After the wave recedes, the real work takes place. The plants that the water supports are anchored into the rock and provide shelter and food for creatures large and small. The wave action supports tidal creatures in the nooks and crannies of the rock. Birds, Sea Lions, and Harbor Seals use the rocks for nesting and resting. This rock made its way to the surface as magma and was lifted above the water. There the wind and water covered it with waves that gave it shape, life, and beauty. I, along with all the crowds, could only marvel at the handiwork of time as it craft such beauty from earth, wind, fire, and rain.
The next day we explored the lighthouses of Yaquina Bay. There are two of them. The first was built at the mouth of the Yaquina River. It marked the opening of the bay so that ships could find their way in while avoiding the rocks that line the shores on either side. This lighthouse was only in service for three years. The lighthouse did not have a powerful enough light and could not be seen through the dense sea. Newport, the city at the bay, was a vital link in trade for the area, so a new lighthouse had to be built on the Yaquina Headland a few miles north. This one was closed. This lighthouse is unique in that the lightkeeper and family lived in the lighthouse itself. The lightkeeper’s commute was a step ladder. Talk about working from home!
This new lighthouse was built at Yaquina Headland. It is the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast and has a powerful First Order Fresnel Len that could warn ships of the surrounding dangerous currents and shorelines. It allowed them to navigate into Newport. Each lighthouse had a unique light sequence that included multiple flashes of red or white light to help the navigator know where they were in the dark. They were also painted with a unique pattern to distinguish them from others along the coast during the day. This one still provides light to ships at sea but is now completely automated and no longer has a lightkeeper. It still shines up to 19 miles out into the Pacific. When sailors see it, they know that the dangerous Cape Foulweather lays to the north and Yaquina Bay sits to the South. Charts are nice to have. GPS is very valuable. Having navigated my share of back roads and jeep trails, finding my way with visual confirmation is always welcome. This lighthouse is the "big tree" that tells you that your turn to Aunt Tillie's house is very close. We have had to adapt to the work of the earth, fire, wind, and waves along this coastline. Lighthouses are one adaptation we have made.
The next day we headed into the Taft Historic Downtown. We are staying in Lincoln City, which was created in 1965. It brought together several, one of which was Taft, which sits at the mouth of the Siletz River. There is very little in this Historic Downtown beyond a few inns and restaurants. But it does sit at the Bar of the Siletz River. When rivers flow out of the Coastal mountains, they carry sand into the ocean. The freshwater slows down as it meets the salt water, and the sand begins to settle. This creates an underwater sandbar at the mouth that requires ships to “cross the bar." This small port was used to ship lumber to San Francisco. This video demonstrates how quickly the river, even a small one, flows when combined with an ebbing tide. This is a place where life flourishes. Sea Lions were resting across the bay on the beach. They are attracted by the fish that gather in the waters just offshore. Birds were everywhere. This is why the Native people settled here centuries before. It is also why Anglos arrived and moved the native people out without compensation. Anglos have not been the heroes of most of the stories of this area.
It was move day and time to leave Lincoln City and head a couple of hours North to Warrenton, OR. However, we planned a little stop at the Tillamook Creamery in Tillamook, OR. We love Tillamook Cheese and make a habit of visiting places that feature our favorite foods. We have seen Cranberry World Headquarters, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, and Garlic World. All, except the Garlic world, offered info about how they produced the food. The creamery did not disappoint, in part because it provided samples!!! This is the packaging floor for the cheese. 40 lb. blocks of cheese being unwrapped after aging in the chilled warehouse next door. It is inspected, cut, re-inspected, vacuum wrapped for sale, boxed, and sent out the door. On the other side is the production line, where the milk is received and processed before being pressed into the 40 lb. blocks of unaged cheese. I always loved those TV shows that showed production lines and could have watched these machines for hours. But hunger got the best of us, and we enjoyed an excellent slice of pizza and Spicy Mac N Cheese at the restaurant downstairs. The creamery exists because the abundant rain and rich soils mean the cows have plenty to eat. They rely on the earth, wind, fire, and rain. These four actors are faithful as long as we respect them, and the Tillamook brand is actually a company that grew out of a cooperative of creameries in Tillamook County, OR, who wanted to protect their livelihood and protect the resources of the area. With success, they became a large company with the same values as those early dairy farmers along the Tillamook River.
After arriving in Warrenton, we set up for a week at Kampers West RV Park. This is an older park along Alder Creek whose busy season kicks in when the Chinook Salmon and other fish start their run up the Columbia River. We are only ¼ mile from the river and a few miles from Astoria. Washington State sits just across the bridge. After eating the Pizza and Mac-n-Cheese for lunch, we had no energy for anything other than relaxing. I poured my last glass of California Cabernet and toasted an excellent day on the road.
Even when we are staying in a nothing-fancy park, I find contentment in being on the road. I enjoyed an afternoon listening to the wind blowing through the trees and watching the sparrows, robins, and crows go about their lives around my chair. I was always in a hurry when traveling part-time, especially when we were vacationing. I needed the best parks with the most exciting attractions I could find. I spent days planning and building detailed itineraries that guaranteed we would make the most of our limited time in an area. But our full-time traveling allows us the greatest of luxuries, the opportunity to travel at whatever pace we want. Planning is left to the bare necessities. We can allow each day to unfold as it needs to. Earth, wind, fire, and rain use time to work their magic in nature. I am learning to allow time to transform our travels into the opportunity to “be here in this moment.” And so, I raise my glass to the "nothing-fancy" that has become so extraordinary in our lives on the road.
Fort Stevens was one of three military forts established at the Mouth of the Columbia. As US Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis recommended establishing a military presence on the Columbia to protect the shipping and settlements along the river. He was initially ignored, but the military leaders eventually saw the wisdom and started building a Fort during the Civil War to protect against Confederate forces (under the command of then-Confederate President Jefferson.) Over the years, this piece of military ground assumed greater and greater importance. By WWII, sophisticated weapons and radar systems were installed on both sides of the river. They were attacked only once when the Japanese Submarine I-25 was dispatched to patrol the mouth of the Columbia. They were ordered to attack a suspected Submarine Base and began shelling the David Russel Battery at Fort Stevens. There was no submarine base, but they did commit the first attack on US Continental Soil since 1812. The second occurred later at Bandon. The Commander of Fort Stevens did not fire back to prevent giving the Japanese information about their capabilities. Thus, the extensive weapon systems at these forts were never used. The largest weapons were fired only once to test the firing system. The fortifications were abandoned after the war.
We found the Pacific Rim Peace Memorial. It is placed by the governments of Japan and the US to remember the events of the only attack by Japan on the continental US with a pledge of eternal peace between the two countries. Though these weapons were never fired, it is interesting that the Submarine Commander later reported that had he known of the firepower of the Fort, he would have never attacked. May these pledges of peace bear fruit as this story unfolds in time.
Above the two jetties that protect the Columbia River channel sits the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. It warns ships of the 'graveyard of the Pacific," where more than 300 ships lay beneath the waters of the area. The Columbia River is so large that it carries a great deal of sand to the mouth. Early explorers came to the mouth, saw the enormous sand bar (3 miles deep and 6 miles wide), and decided it was just a bay with no access to the interior. One explorer named the headland Cape Disappointment and the water behind the sand bar Deception Bay. Later explorers braved the sandbar and discovered the Columbia River and a path into the interior of the Pacific Northwest.
This seemingly innocent stretch of ocean is the Columbia Bar. It was a very dangerous crossing to cross until a jetty was built to increase the flow of the river out into deep waters. A second jetty on the north was created to further project the channel into the bay. Despite repeated shipwrecks, it was renamed the Columbia River Bay and became a major port for shipping and passenger service. A lighthouse was built to mark the mouth of the river, but the wrecks continued to pile up on the ocean and bay floors.
A second lighthouse was built on the North Head of Cape Disappointment. This one could be seen by ships coming from the north and served as a warning to avoid the shoals and rocks. Unlike the two lighthouses at Yaquina Bay, both still operate even though they are only a few miles apart. The larger one on the North Head serves as a warning, while the second at the mouth of the river serves as a guide over the Bar. However, every ship that enters the bay must be under the command of a Bar Pilot who studies the constantly changing contours of the Bar and can guide the ship safely to port. These are powerful examples of how life must adapt to the power of earth, rain, wind, and fire in this part of the world. Without respect for these elements, we will be shipwrecks on the sea of time.
I've seen fire, and I've seen rain;
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end;
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,
But I always thought that I'd see you again.
Fire and Rain, by James Taylor
Our lighthouses, river jetties, and ships that lay in ruin are important stories. But we, their creators, are not the main actors in this story of the Oregon Pacific Coast. There have been:
· Native People who used Clovis Points 13,000 years ago,
· The Clatsop Tribe who settled here for part of the year and dried as much as 10,000 lbs. of salmon that seemed to never run out,
· Explorers Lewis and Clark explored and opened the area at the urging of Thomas Jefferson, who believed it was our destiny to rule the entire North American Continent,
· US Officials that bargained with local tribes for land and a congress that failed to ratify their treaties, thus committing genocide of the native people,
· And corporations that believed that they could dominate and exploit the resources and the area at will without consequence or a significant concern for the future.
These are a small fraction of the actors that have played a part in the story of the Oregon Coast. But a bigger story is still unfolding, and we, like that early explorer, will likely be disappointed in the outcome. It will go on with the main actors still playing their parts. Earth, wind, fire, and rain will continue to shape and reshape this place. And, as James Taylor's song reminds us, the future will not be what we thought.
The wind will continue to blow the seas into swells and storms. The fires will continue to burn deep within the earth and cause cliffs and continents to rise and fall. The rain will continue to fall, causing rivers to flow, filled with sediment and food for the sea life at the mouth of the river. Where are we in the story? Will we have a bit part? Will we be a supporting cast member? Or will we have a significant role? It all depends on how much respect we have for the main characters. But be assured, the story that will unfold with or without us.
To paraphrase James Taylor, “We always thought that we‘d write the end of that story!”
Travel well, my friends,
Bob
