Oregon vacation: Shore Acres

Cyndi, Jennifer and I all went together to Shore Acres. It's an arboretum and botanical garden set on a high cliff above one of the most spectacular shorelines I've ever witnessed. (Not as nice as the Atlantic Ocean, where I grew up, of course ... but quite good for the Pacific.) Here is a pond at the arboretum ... just on the far side is a wonderful view of the ocean!

This Black Phoebe was foraging for insects.

Here's the view of a sandy beach from high on the rocky headland. It looks like there may be a cave on the south side.

We walked down to the sandy beach. The sedimentary geology was uplifted at a 45-degree angle.

Here's a close view of that rock jutting into the sea at such an angle.

It almost seemed like there was a basalt layer in there, as I was reminded of the pillow lava from the edge of the sea in Hawaii.

The waves were crashing in, creating that soothing rhythmic heartbeat, and the warm sun on a 70-degree day was a delightful relief from the hot summer back home in Idaho.

My sister Jennifer explored the cave and proclaimed it went further into the darkness than the eye could see.

OK, this one is just a nice portrait of my best sister ever. (Thanks for driving over to the ocean to meet us and help celebrate my birthday, Jennifer!)

At sunset, after Jennifer headed homeward to her work obligations, Cyndi and I returned to the overlook and walked along the trail on the headlands. Do you see the small figures, two people on the next promontory? It is difficult to convey the scale of this scene, but the people help.

At low tide the kelp were exposed. Cyndi saw some Black Oystercatchers, but I didn't get a photo this time.

The warm evening light highlighted the strange geology.

The park closes just after sunset, and here it is, the great ball of the sun sinking into the offshore fog.