Ecola State Park

Today we drove a few miles north of Cannon Beach to visit Ecola State Park. The drive into the park winds uphill for about two miles through dense forest of Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock. It was like driving through tons of Christmas trees, it was awesome!

Our first stop was Indian Beach. We had read about Ecola State Park having some of the most breathtaking views on the Oregon Coast. It is a WOWSER!!! I tried to capture the beauty of this place in my pictures, but they do not do it justice.

We had our picnic while enjoying the awesome view and then we planned to walk on the beach. I looked down and saw how far it was and what a climb back and decided to enjoy the views from the picnic area. :-) I have been seeing a Chiropractor again for the past week and don't want to ruin all the great work she has done with my back. Jerry and Ollie made it down that steep hill and had a blast on the beach. Ollie enjoyed being free almost too much. He went wild and rolled in the sand and even ran into the cold water once, he got out fast! He has been traveling in an RV for over 9 months now and has no real backyard. He takes advantage when he is free. When he got back from the beach, he met two other Golden Retrievers and was really in heaven. He had a good day!!

Our next stop was the viewing area where you can see the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, way off in the distance. I zoomed in on it as close as I could get, but it's still not that clear. This lighthouse is also known as "Terrible Tilly". It got the nickname because of all the horrible storms. It is a mile away and it's the only Oregon lighthouse not accessible by walking up to it. Here is a blurb about it from google. "Construction of the lighthouse was terrifying. Crews had to endure insane tidal and wind conditions as the waves slammed against the relatively small area. It's rumored construction workers housed in Seaside, waiting to start work, were sequestered from the rest of the population so they wouldn't hear the horror stories of working on the rock. The lighthouse went into service in 1881, manned by four people at a time, stuck there for months. A giant winch was used to bring supplies and personnel from visiting ships to the rock, which was a dangerous and unwieldy endeavor under even the best conditions. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1957. "

The park also has a lot of hiking trails. Clatsop Loop Trail is a hiking trail that crosses Tillamook Head between Indian Beach and the south end of Seaside, Oregon. Clatsop Loop Trail offers the opportunity to walk and explore the same path as Captain Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition of "the grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes ever surveyed, in front of a boundless Ocean". One of the trails was over 5 miles and went all the way to Seaside. I wish I was up to that! :-)

We had a wonderful time in this park and highly recommend it to all!!! More later from the Oregon Coast.

Oct 29, 2008

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