Cannon Beach, Oregon
Following our backpack trip to Eagle Creek Recreation Trail, J-Go suggested we go to Cannon Beach, Oregon – a place she loves and that I’ve never been to. It was a two-hour drive from the trailhead. The drive is beautiful, winding through incredibly lush coastal forests almost the entire way. We camped at a private campground only a block from the town and the beach. The campground was a bit difficult. It was very rocky, instead of dirt or sand, making staking our tents to the ground impossible. Really, it was perfectly fine for RVs and anyone else other than people with backpacking tents to sleep in.
Cannon Beach is magic. There were so many people everywhere, yet it was calm and peaceful. The actual beach is pristine. Perfect light tan sand, crystal blue waves, and occasional jellyfish or crab along your shoreline walk. There were hundreds of people and countless dogs (even horses!), but the beach was vast, and everyone could easily spread out without sacrificing. One time we even saw a man dressed in Crocs and a latex BDSM pig mask. It was incredible.
We walked the beach through the afternoon until it was time to find dinner. I committed to try new things, and since we were at the ocean, I ate seafood! Throughout our two days there, I tried: fish tacos, salmon cake Benedict, fish and chips, and a salmon hash. It was interesting. More weird. I’m unsure I’d try any of it again, but I’m happy I did it.
Coming from living on the East Coast, specifically Ventnor City, New Jersey, I think I thought I knew what the Oregon coastline would be like. But, it was different from NJ. The water was calmer and warmer, and although Cannon Beach is quite touristy and has countless options to drop your money, the coastlines in NJ have long boardwalks for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vendors. The beach felt cleaner, too, having far less evidence of sealife being brought in on the waves. Best of all, the large rocks along the coastline of Oregon create tide pools; when it is low tide, it is magic.
Cannon Beach is the home of the famous Haystack Rock. And it is now the first place I have explored tide pools! J-Go told me she was taking me to see this, but I had no idea how much I would love it. It was beyond accurate description. First, it is a vast exposed area around the huge coastal rocks during low tide, so there is ample space for many people to see everything at their own pace. Environmentalist volunteers, barriers, and lifeguards are nearby to ensure people are not compromising the sealife or the environment. AND THERE ARE COUNTLESS SEA STARS, WHICH IS THE MOST MAGICAL THING EVER. Sea stars, sea cucumbers, anemones, crabs, puffins, pelicans, and more. This Minneostan felt like she was in a Disney movie. And J-Go was the perfect companion because she knows so much about the sealife – she made me touch something that clung to my skin most strangely, and it was so cool! Tide pools have now been added to my list of things I look up when I need some cheer (my main go-tos have been to search for images of wild alpacas, dogs in backpacks, and doggles).
We also went to Ecola State Park, which is in Cannon Beach. Ecola Park provides a cool lookout to Tillamook Lighthouse and overlooks Cannon Beach. One mile off the coast, Tillamook Lighthouse is difficult to capture with just an iPhone. From lighthousefriends.com: One mile west of Tillamook Head, a rock rises from the ocean. Shaped like a sea monster, it is where old Nor’easters go to die. Where Indians believed under ocean tunnels inhabited by spirits came to the surface. Where sheer cliffs drop straight into the sea to depths of 96 to 240 feet. Where clinging to the top, fighting off the gripping hands of the sea, stands a lighthouse – a symbol of the precarious line between human endeavor and the forces of nature. In June 1879, H.S. Wheeler boated out to the rock to determine if a lighthouse would be feasible there. Heavy seas initially made landing impossible, but after several attempts, Wheeler was able to clamber up the rock. After a careful inspection, he decided the rock could be conquered. The Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board carried the following forecast for the project: “Though the execution of the work will be a task of labor and difficulty, accompanied by great expense, yet the benefit which the commerce seeking the mouth of the Columbia River will derive from a light and fog-signal located there, will warrant all the labor and expense involved.” There are stories about how men died during the construction, and then after it was in operation, there are stories about how lighthouse keepers went crazy working there. After 77 years, it was retired. It was later purchased by private investors who sold space inside the lighthouse to hold the ashes of deceased people.
Ecola State Park is also where Brand runs into Troy, Stef, and Andy out on a drive through the area. He is sent over the edge of one of Ecola State Park’s massive hills when Troy pins him to his car and lets go at the last second. (goonies.fandom.com)
Spending two days at a beach town with no hiking or set event is not something I would have chosen for myself. I am happy that J-Go chose it for me. Being so sick is very isolating. Nobody likes to admit it, but it takes a toll on some people to not know if I am good to do what I committed to doing or if I will be bedridden. It is a risk, and I do not like thinking about it, but I am not worth the risk to some people, and that has to be okay. J-Go recently expressed her want to “be better” about doing less demanding things together, but it does not make sense. We live one hour apart, and honestly, neither of us are “low-key” individuals. I like that our moments together are only big.