October 2023
Our recent road trip took us along the coast southward and inland northward. We avoided major freeways except in Washington so we had nice opportunities to see the coastline and countryside. I’m always on the lookout for new samples to add to my sand library so we kept an eye out for some opportunities to stop for that (note: I’m not including every stop we made on this trip!).
One feature of Oregon and California that blew me away is the fact that their entire coastlines are legally accessible to the public. Here in Washington, only 30% of the shoreline is public, and in the Salish Sea it’s even less, only 16%, a result of the state having allowed private interests to purchase tidelands, which are now passed on by inheritance. The effect of this is that non-waterfront-owning Washingtonians (that’s most of us) can only legally walk on beaches that are owned by city, county, state or the feds, or have some easement arrangement.
In contrast, as you drive along the Oregon coast along 101 there are countless spots to stop to view and/or walk the beaches. You can’t always actually get to a stretch of shoreline when the topography is too dangerous but that’s a practical issue.
Oregon’s Governor and state legislature guaranteed the public access in 1913 as part of the state highway system but in the 1960s private waterfront interests found a loophole: it was only on the “wet sand” portion and hotels began blocking access above the high tide line. Governor Tom McCall (a Republican!) and State Treasurer Bob Straub (both legendary figures in Oregon history) pushed through the Beach Bill expanding access to the vegetation line, and now the state requires a regular inventory for public access at the local level. What a difference these measures make.
Our first stop for the night in Oregon was in Oceanside, a small coastal town outside Tillamook.
(Note how the color of the sand looks different in these two phone photos taken at the same time. While I like photos from where samples are collected to show the setting, this color difference is one reason why the actual physical sand is necessary for the library.)
There was a spectacular sunset that night, with bonus pelicans. They were assembling for their nightly roost out on the seastacks.
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We picked up some fish n chips in Waldport and then stopped at a beach wayside just south to eat at a picnic table. When I went out onto the beach to collect a sample I noted a number posted prominently by the access path. It turns out this was one of about 260 beach access points numbered to make it easier for emergency responders to find you. These numbered spots don’t even count the 60 or so other named beaches where you can stop freely on the Oregon coast. Somebody created a database listing all these sites north to south with other information eg about public parking (there’s at least one site, the giant dune at Cape Kiwanda, where the only nearby parking is by a strategically located restaurant that charges $12 for a space.)
There are some sites you just can’t get to, nor would you want to.
Closer view of the sealions:
I’m even less likely to access the nice bank of sand on the other side of the Devil’s Churn (not to be confused with the Devil’s Punchbowl, also pretty impressive on this very rocky coastline). Some guy did walk down the long steps to that shelf and got massively splashed.
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Our second night in Oregon was near the southern border, in Bandon. Our hotel was across the street from Face Rock beach. Take a look at the seastacks and see if you can figure out why it’s called that. ( Legend of Face Rock)
California’s beaches are also public — access guaranteed up to the high tide line by the Constitution and the 1976 California Coastal Act — but getting there is fraught as wealthy waterfront interests fight it, blocking legal entrance with threatening signage. Lawsuits are continual, especially in places like Malibu. In a practical sense, parking becomes an issue for getting to beaches. City, county, state and federal properties are your best bet.
After another takeout lunch of fish n chips, eaten at the Crescent City marina watching western grebes and fishing boats, we headed south, stopping briefly at False Klamath Cove, a beach in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. This section of northern California is mostly steep hillsides where the road only occasionally comes down to the ocean. The sand at this little beach is quite dark, eroded from the very old Klamath mountains inland, which are composed of serpentinite and other mostly metamorphic rocks. This beach contrasts with the lighter nearby sand of Crescent City, derived from eroded sandstone.
I collected sand at the city of Arcata’s terrific Wildlife Sanctuary and Wastewater Treatment facility, but more about that site this coming Sunday in the Dawn Chorus.
After leaving Eureka we went inland, emerging back near the coast down in Sonoma county, our southernmost destination at my brother’s place. He took us (and my sister who flew down to overlap with us) out to Doran beach on Bodega Bay, a Sonoma county regional park. There was practically no one on this 2-mile long beach that day but us, which was quite amazing given how populated and touristy the area is. This county park has a variety of services and requires an entrance fee or annual pass — my brother gets the pass to be able to park here for his weekly walks.
We left the coast after leaving Sonoma, driving east across the state (visiting Bésame along the way) then heading north on Highway 97 through central Oregon, east of the Cascades. I mention this to note that sand can be found in other places besides the ocean. We stopped at a state park near Madras to collect a sand sample from a beach where I used to spend hot summer days with my kids when I lived in that area in the 1980s. The Deschutes, Metolius and Crooked rivers cut canyons through the volcanic plateau there revealing some pretty awesome colonnaded basalt along with other layers of igneous formations. Round Butte dam has backed up the rivers into Lake Billy Chinook, with The Cove Palisades State Park on the shores of the Crooked river arm.
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As a coda to this bucket, I’m adding a shout-out to Mentha for collecting and sending me sand from her recent trip to the Cape Verdes and Canary islands. And I’ve just heard from Clickadee that sand samples are coming from her neck of the woods, around the Great Lakes. Thanks ladies! PHScott also recently sent a sample from the Florida panhandle, yay! and churchylafemme sent some from New England a while ago (we haven’t heard from her for a while, hope she’s ok). Any other bucketeers who’d like to contribute to the sand library, samples are always welcome 🙏🏽
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Sunny in the PNW islands today. Temp 38° this morning, 40s during the day. Calm wind.
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