Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Images from Charleston, OR

We're a little over halfway through our month in Charleston, OR and, instead of driving to distant sights, we're simply redoing the lovely trails and beaches nearby. So even though there's not much new activity going on, there's plenty of beautiful images to share...

There's thousands of little crabs in the rocks, usually they scurry away when I approach, I got lucky this time.

We had some extreme tides and I believe the white stuff on these aggregate anemones is broadcast spawning
thanks to a fresh influx of water during the high tides several days in a row.

I think this is a young ochre star that got stranded on the sand. It is only about two inches across.

Mussel Reef juts out into the ocean near our RV park. The extreme low tides exposed abundant life attached to the reef.
Giant green anemones force water out of their body cavity and fold inward when exposed during low tide...
they look pretty bizarre in this state!

Check out the strange tiny stick creature on the left! It was alive, about an inch long, and I can't figure out what it is!

This tiny sea star was half an inch across at the most!

Taking advantage of a windy day at Bastendorff Beach.

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area encompasses 40 miles of Oregon coastline with plenty of opportunities for OHV riding, hiking and birding. The southernmost end of the recreation area lies just a few miles north of us and I found a nice little trail for us to hike one day: Bluebill Lake.

The drive in to the recreation area was interesting because we saw standing water off the sides of the road almost everywhere! Turns out having 100 inches of rain when the area normally gets about 60 inches leaves a lot of extra water to evaporate! We enjoyed the lovely 1.2 mile trail around the lake including a detour through sand dunes when part of the trail was under water.

Bluebill lake is one of hundreds of small lakes scattered throughout Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

Standing water in the dunes near Bluebill lake.



All of the towns in the area have a strong fishing/boating history;
I couldn't help but laugh when I got out of the truck and saw this boat turned into a house!

Ferry Road Park and the boat house.

We've hiked the trails at Cape Arago several times already, they never get old! Here's a few photos of the latest goodies that caught my eye:

I've been wondering what critters eat the mushrooms...now I have photographic evidence that slugs love them!

Munching away...

The only kind of snakes we've seen.

Perhaps slugs eat ferns too???

Green!

My favorite beach to walk in the area is Seven Devils State Recreation Area. I've discovered agates can be found there, we will be back for more beachcombing!

Balancing act.

Stripes and crab.

This was an exciting find! Probably a young gray whale since they're the most prevalent whales along this coast.

Not sure why this piece of baleen was lying here, perhaps someone had cut it out...but it was really interesting to inspect!

I'll close with a photo of our Rosie hanging out in the long grass at the edge of the meadow behind our rig. She loves exploring every inch of the meadow!




15 comments:

  1. What, no sand dollars? :)
    Such a moist and beautiful environment along the PNW coast. You have everything you need walking the beaches, just don't stay too long cause those winds start cranking in September...
    Box Canyon Mark

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    1. Well you know there would have been sand dollars if there were any whole ones! The birds here break them up as soon as they are exposed.

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  2. Boy did you pick the right time to be at the coast! I'm wishing I was there right now instead of roasting in Portland.

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    1. No kidding!!! It's supposed to be 112 in Roseburg today...so glad we are not still hanging out there!

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  3. Love the little sea star in the sand and the stripes and crab - great pics! Wonderful, colorful pools. How cute is that boat house?! The whale is so sad, but if the smell wasn't too bad it had to be interesting to investigate up close.

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    1. As long as we stayed up wind of the whale we could inspect it to our hearts content. Fortunately there was a good stiff breeze!

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  4. Love the photos of all the sea creatures. Looks like all three of you are having fun!

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  5. Beautiful tide pool pictures. Your Oregon Dunes pictures are lovely as well. Need to put that one on my Oregon dream list. And Seven Devils as well. Guess that “house” boat is ready for when the glaciers melt and the waters can carry him away. Amazing slugs eat mushroom pictures. I’ve always wondered who eats them too. Thanks for the facts, can’t argue with pictures. Love the picture of Rosie.

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    1. Yes, those slugs seem to mostly work away at the shroom from the outer edge. Sometimes I see other bite marks on the tops,,,probably another critter altogether!

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  6. Great tide pooling!! Love those little baby sea stars. What a find! The whale was an interesting find! I'm hoping we can visit more tide pools while we are in Florence. It is nice to be out of Eugene and the extreme heat. The dunes are the back of our park. We have a trail to the dunes in the park.

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  7. Just totally awesome. I love the tiny sea stars and the giant green anemones are so interesting. I'm loving your visit there!

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  8. I'm with you, no need for long drives when there's so much beauty nearby! And like you, I never tire of exploring tide pools. I'd like to know what that little stick figure critter is! I'll have to do some investigating if we ever have decent internet again. (It's absolutely terrible on Lopez -- the only bad thing about being here.) Keep on enjoying the good life! Beautiful photos, and so fun to see Rosie in her element, too.

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