road trip     

The trees look like this, choosing to grow on the side away from the ocean wind which can be considerable. Each morning the tent rainfly would be drenched, not from rain, but from condensation.

Full moon rises over a hill that had been clearcut some years ago. A forest's worth is its dollar value. If the logging companies had their way, the trees would all be cut down and sold. It's ugly. And because I use wood and paper, I am responsible.

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As the sun was setting, many people found a place on the beach to watch the setting sun. Kids and dogs and old people of all shapes and sizes and colors all finding a place on the beach, some sitting on the sand, some on driftwood logs, some on camp chairs. Some were flying kites, many were making photos.

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A real two-rut dirt road with numerous mud puddles of various sizes and depths winds back to a small parking lot and trailhead. The trail leads up through dense rainforest and suddenly there it is: Munson Creek cascading 319-feet. It is the tallest waterfall in the Oregon Pacific Coast area.

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We saw three, but they were smaller specimens. These creatures are often the size of your thumb and bright yellow.

This lighthouse is unique in that the tower it sits on is like a thimble, but the lighthouse sits over 200 feet above the ocean up on a cliff shelf. The fresnel lens is a class-1 lens, the strongest, and when the lighthouse was in operation, the light could be seen 21 miles out to sea. Like most lighthouses of the era, this one ran on a five-wick kerosene lamp.

The fresnel lens.

Looking up.

The tracks need some work and are no longer suitable for regular freight operation, but apparently the slow speeds and relatively light loads make it OK for scenic runs from Garibaldi along the Pacific Coast to Rockaway Beach. The steam engine burns reclaimed drain oil instead of coal but it still chuffs along quite noisily just as a steam engine should.

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So this was an interesting mess, photo taken from the rail car. Hard to tell if it was intended to keep people in or out.