Sunshine!
Today started out gloomy and overcast. It looked like we might have to scramble to find something to photograph. Our first priority was to find cell service so we could check weather forecasts for the area. That meant driving out of the park and down to the port of Charleston. We found good service at a tourism information center and checked the weather forecasts and our Google Earth map of the places we wanted to see. We decided to hike the Sweet Creek Trail to shoot waterfalls just north of Florence, but as we ate breakfast and watched the sky, the clouds parted. We finally had sunshine. Today turned into a gorgeous day with temperatures in the lower 70's.
We returned to Cape Arago to shoot the rocky coastline in better light. Our first stop was the turnout on the Cape Arago Road to shoot Cape Arago Lighthouse across Sunset Bay.
The Sandgren Coast PaintOut Project was centered on the Coos Bay area while we were there. For 40 years, painters have gathered for a plein air paintout to celebrate the beauty of Oregon. This is an informal gathering of painters from all over that was started by Nelson Sandgren as an extension class through Oregon State University. Although Nelson Sandgren died in 2006, the paintout continues. This year, they are celebrating 40 years by gathering at various locations along the Oregon Coast over a two-week period. We saw two ladies painting watercolors near the turnout for the lighthouse, as well as seeing other painters at most turnouts and on most trails along the Cape Arago Road. It was very cool.
We hiked the Cape Arago Pack Trail almost all the way to Shore Acres State Park. It was more like a slow stroll; not because it was difficult, but because there were new areas to shoot at every turn and every headland. The trail was cut through old-growth forest of douglas fir and was generally flat. We took the side of the loop where the trail followed the cliff edge about 100 feet above the surf. It provided amazing views across some of the most rugged coastline in Oregon. We hiked south to the last promontory before Shore Acres, which took us about 2 1/2 hours. We returned to Ruby via the inland side of the loop, which was the shortcut through the trees, and it only took us about 15 minutes.
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We returned to camp during the middle of the day.
We drove out to Drake Point for sunset, but the clouds had already obscured the sun and there was no sunset. We sat on a bench and got caught up on the news with our cell phones while we watched the waves rolling in.
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