June 26

2014 Washington Trip

Wednesday, June 26

Cape Meares Loop

With the weather forecast calling for three days of rain, we wanted to take advantage of good weather today to photograph along the Cape Meares Loop--one of our favorite areas. When we reached the turnoff to the Cape Meares Loop, we discovered it wasn't a loop any more. The road was closed. We had to continue around the cape on Highway 101 and then backtrack to climb up to Cape Meares.

Cape Meares has a lighthouse, a viewpoint to the north to watch the birds living on the cliffs, and a view of 3 Arch Rocks to the south. On a day like today, the views seem to go on forever in every direction.

Oceanside Beach

Our next stop was Oceanside Beach at low tide. The beach stretched out toward 3 Arch Rocks, but the best area required a short hike through a "secret" tunnel. At low tide, we could have skirted Maxwell Point to reach Agate Beach, but we wanted to check out the tunnel that goes through Maxwell Point. I don't know its origin, but I had read about doing the concrete tunnel while doing my research. The tunnel was short enough that we didn't need a flashlight, although it made it easier to navigate the rocks scattered across the floor of the tunnel. When we exited the tunnel at the other end, 8 sea stacks stretched out from the point near Lost Boy Cove. From the right angle, the center sea stack looked like a shark sticking its head out of the water with a huge smile on its face.

Tolovana Beach Sunset

The best surprise of the day was still to come. We stopped briefly at Hug Point on our way back north, but the tide was coming in, and we couldn't get around the point to see the waterfall.

After Hug Point, we continued north to Tolovana Beach State Park to shoot sunset. Tolovana is a very wide gently-sloped beach that provides great views and reflections of Haystack Rock. It's a wonderful place to walk even if you have no interest in photography.

Sunset didn't look too promising when we arrived, but it was a gorgeous evening and the beach was nearly empty. As we walked along the shore, the gulls entertained us and clouds began to stream into the area. Very gradually, the number of clouds increased and golden tentacles started to reach toward the remaining blue areas in the sky. Just as the sun reached the horizon, it broke through the clouds for a couple of minutes to bathe the entire area in golden light and reflections. It was gorgeous!

After shooting the transition to sunset for 20 minutes, we thought the best was over. But then, the real show began. For another 15 minutes, the colors slowly changed from the golds of sunset to the yellows, reds, oranges, and purples of the afterglow. It was one of the most remarkable sunsets I've ever seen.