Dave and I arrived at Nehalem Bay State Park around 12:30 on Friday, and fellow bloggersSue and Doug arrived at 2 pm. We decided to forego a fire that night since it was windy and Sue and Doug were tired from their 9-hour journey from their home outside of Vancouver, BC to the park .
The weather pattern seems to be that mornings are overcast and the sun comes out around 1:30 pm. We can live with that. The wind, however, arrives along with the sunshine. But it wouldn't be the beach without wind, right?
After a leisurely morning, we headed north along the coast to Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach. The line of cars to enter the park was formidable, but we persevered. Since we were camping at a state park, we didn't have to pay the day use fee for the park. Doug drove us in their orange jeep so that their dog,Tucker could ride along in the back. Thanks for doing the driving, Doug!
Sue, Doug, and Tucker at Ecola State Park.
This dog wore an "Oregon State Parks Volunteer" vest and sniffed his way along as his owner picked up trash.
From Ecola State Park, we were able to see Tillamook Rock lighthouse. We later read a sign that said that the lighthouse is now privately owned and is used to store ashes of dead people. Say what?!
Since Tucker couldn't run on the beach at Ecola, we drove to Tolovana Beach, just south of Cannon Beach. I didn't get a picture of Tucker doing his gymnastic trick of rolling over on his back and landing on his feet, but trust me, he (literally) had a ball running and playing on the beach.
Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach
On the way back to Manzanita, we stopped at one of the pull-outs and I snapped this picture of Manzanita from Highway 101. 
Later in the afternoon, Dave and I went for a 7-mile bike ride around the state park. How many state parks have an airstrip? This one does! We rode out there and also to the lagoon beach. We saw the horse camp, and rode through the A, B and C camping loop, and then the D, E, and F loop. This park is BUSY this weekend, with one large group taking up most of the yurts and many of the camping sites in the A and B loops. Lots of kids, lots of bicycles, and (it appears) lots of fun to be had!
Tonight we'll have our campfire with Sue and Doug and we hope that the wind dies down a bit by then!
That's a gorgeous picture of Manzanita. I see Dave is wearing a jacket so it must be cooler than this heat wave in the valley. Enjoy your campfire tonight with Sue and Doug.
ReplyDeleteI love watching Tucker play. He just puts his whole heart into it. Tell Sue and Doug hi from us.
ReplyDeleteWe just drove thru there a few years back and really want to go back for a longer stay some summer. Still dreaming.
ReplyDeleteLove Manzanita, cute little town. Just down the road is Rockaway, my fav, and BarView county Park. they have a good rv park too!! No TV tho :( But a favorite pastime is going to the jetty and watching boats go in and out and bob about, fishing.
ReplyDeleteWaah! We were supposed to be there with you guys, but had to head home. Enjoy some extra warmth from the campfires for us. And hugs all around.
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Can not get enough of those great coastline views.
ReplyDeletenothing like the smell of campfire smoke!!!
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