Shore Acres

 Monday, we drove down to Shore Acres State Park just south of Coos Bay.  My goal was to photograph dramatic surf action.  I had been following the surf and weather reports for the past couple weeks, and Monday was forecast to have a fairly large swell, and not much wind and rain.  Shore Acres is a well known spot for watching storm surf explode upwards as it slams into the sandstone cliffs that tilt towards sea.  The swell was originally forecast to be 25 feet, which would have been even more awesome,  but as Monday got closer, it was downsized to 13 feet.

Looking up the coast you can see the observation building on top of the cliff.

Zooming in from a distance.

Where the observation building is today used to be the summer home that lumber baron Louis J. Simpson built as a Christmas present for his first wife. It sits 75 feet above the waves, had an indoor saltwater swimming pool, and acres of gardens with exotic plants.  It burned down in 1921 and an even larger mansion was built.  The financial crisis in the 1930's caused both house and grounds to fall into disrepair.  In 1942, the state of Oregon bought the property for use as a park.  The mansion was torn down and the gardens have been restored.

Below is a sequence of one wave hitting the rocks 75 feet below the two people on the cliff.

Below are photos looking at the railing on top of the cliff where those two people were standing.

Below are photos from our walk down the coast to Simpson Cove.

Notice the unfazed gull perched on top of that rock.

I cant't wait to return for an even bigger swell.  

A Break In The Rain

 Yesterday, we hiked up to the lookout stone shelter 800 feet above the ocean.  We enjoyed the mild weather, intermittent sunshine, and sparkling drops of water hanging from needles.  Of course the ocean is always a focal point as no two days are the same.

This is a cell phone picture through our spotting scope from our living room.

After about 11" of rain the past week, the river is flowing strong.