We took a walk in the park this weekend, at Cape Blanco, where the Sixes River meets the Pacific Ocean. All around us the forested hills, pines bent from the strong winds, grass as tall as deer, the river meandering slowly to its end.
Our aim was to walk along a path by the river. We had taken this path before, and we knew it took us to the ocean. A quarter mile into our walk, the footpath disappeared. The spring grasses had invaded the path and erased all signs. That didn't stop us. It should have.
We kept going, pushing through among blackberry brambles, sharp edged sea-grass, pollen-laden rye grass. When our steps pushed our pulse-rate, when our sneezing and scratching could not be ignored, we changed direction and returned to the car, noticing Canadian geese enjoying their day on the water. I hope you can see them with a bit of enlargement.
We'll have to return and finish our walk as soon as the park rangers weed-whack the path.
You see, sometimes nature is a bit daunting.
27 comments:
Forge on fearlessly, Lakeviewer! Do not follow the beaten path! But watch out for the blackberry thorns! ;-)
natures way of saying turn around. lol. or maybe boldly go where no one has gone before...thanks for taking us on the hike with you...and braving the thorns!
Sorry the sneezing and scratching interrupted what sounded like a fantastic walk in your park. Maybe after the rangers cut the rest and you go back to finish, it won't be so prolific.
Beautiful pictures!! Even if the rangers do not come back for a while, I would go again. Very peaceful.
Looks like fun, except for the sneezing and scratching.
Did ya do a tick check when you got back home? A fun way to end the day :-)
Lovely, can smell the ocean almost. Isn't Sixes also a big windsurfing area at the beach? I sort of remember watching there on one trip?
So lovely! What was the temp? (asked the sweltering southerner!)
Teri,
Sixes is one of our wild rivers. You're thinking of Floras Lake, a shallow lake by the ocean where wind-surfing is appreciated.
p.s. Tick checking is a routine around here. After each gardening/outing experience we drop our clothes in the washing machine and take a shower. Yes, ticks can ruis a good walk, and can give you more than you bargained for.
For you city folks, ticks carry Lime Disease, a condition that can precipitate all kinds of maladies and further trips to the doctors.
That's what I need " a walk" !
It looked beautiful! Sorry about the weeds!How's the planting coming?
Canada geese still down there? I hope they have the proper travel socuments.
Beautiful country you have there and you need to wear long sleeves? The weather must be delightful. Here it's a sleeveless day for staying indoors although it isn't quite a hot as a few days ago. I think we only reached high 90s today.
Imagine what our forefathers & mothers had to deal with when there were no park rangers or weed whackers to make the way easier!
Oh, and that antique store I was in in Comfort had the ice cream parlor in the back... so you wouldn't have to leave it even for ice cream!!!
What a beautiful walk! Even without a path. The photos are divine!
So the hike becomes a real adventure. I can usually manage tromping thru overgrown paths, it's the critter hiding in the reeds that send me scurrying.
Rosaria....do you want to see the blingee I made of you?
pyzahn at hot mail
p.s. my word verification is foohy....is that the same as phooey?
Beautiful. I don't blame you one bit for trying. In fact, at 8:55pm you've inspired me. Off I go! It's cool and breezy and I'm even wearing jeans. Should be good.
Awesome park.
Do you have to be concerned for snakes?
There's no way you would catch me walking in long grass near water here as I would definetly have to be concerned for tiger snakes.
x Ribbon
ps ... great nature shots. I always enjoy seeing in and around where people live, thank you.
Love the pictures. They remind me of our riverbank park, which passes within about a hundred yards of our house.
Your journey also reminds me of the trail thought our riverbank par -- not as well maintained as it could be.
But a lovely walk for you, all in all. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Beautiful stuff, that.
Oregon is so beautiful. I hope they clear that trail soon!
I see the geese! What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon minus for the nasties of course. How is your vegetable garden coming along?
nothing wrong with walking unchartered paths once in a while...
Now that's what I call heaven! I wish I could just dive into those wonderful photographs and BE there, despite the sea-grass and rye grass obstacles.
Do please take us there again, lakeviewer, when the rangers have weed-whacked the path.
You can't fight Mother Nature. Stories like this remind me that we humans, while quite destructive due to our large numbers and opposable thumbs, can not and will not destroy the planet. It will heal after our decline, leaving no trace. That makes me happy somehow! Go figure.
Beautiful pics, thanks for the walk. Was it the Williamette River?
What a shame for them to have let that path grow in so thick. What are the tax dollars for?
Wow, what a gorgeous place!
But ah the joys of bushwhacking in the pollen season - I don't envy you that bit! Hopefully the next time round will be a lot easier going!
Hi folks, thanks for visiting. The place was the Sixes river as it ends at Cape Blanco, the westernmost place in the contiguous United States. One mile from where we were was the Ocean, the destination for this trip. WE got bush-whacked( not really, but the expression just jumped out ahead of me) half way there, spent half an hour trying to find a reasonable path to no avail.
The temperature was in the low 60, cool and sunny, hence the clothing my husband is wearing. He is one sitting in the middle of grassland. After that picture, I insisted we tailback to the car, the only one parked, by the way. We usually see deer around there, and an occasional sheep or cow that meandered on low tide across the waters and got lost in this prairie. All around are hills and pastures.
If we had an accident of sorts-something I always worry about since I used to take teens out on field trips and they invariably would chase each other, or jump in where they shouldn't, somehow end up with some parts of theirs injured, we were not prepared.
Hubby had to sit and catch his breath a couple of times. The tall grass made it hard for us to walk normally. We had to raise our legs and lower them over the tall grass to forge a path. Better than the stepmaster machine!
We have no mosquitoes or other pesky insects; our only danger was from getting poison oak, scratches, and possible ticks.
We threw our clothes in the washing machine and took a beneficial shower upon our safe return home.
p.s. these areas are kept up by volunteers. I mentioned rangers, but there aren't enough of them.
You may not have reached the ocean but you definitely were able to take beautiful photos! Exhilarating! :)
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