Washington...Number 50!!!

Day 11: Oregon and Washington Coast

Today started off with typical Pacific Northwest weather. It was dreary and spitting rain, but we weren't going to let a little rain get in the way of our exploring. So we put on our rain coats and headed out for the day. 

Tidal Pool finds.

We explored a couple of beaches this morning to do some beach-combing and tide-pooling. On one of the first beaches we were on I looked up the beach and thought that there was a ton of trash right at the high-tide line, then I realized there were thousands of little jellyfish. They have washed up all over the coast here in Oregon and Washington. Along with the jelllies, we found a couple of neat things on the beaches today. A sand dollar that was almost completely intact, lots of giant green anemone in the tide pools, goose and acorn barnacles.

All the white spots are jellyfish.

When we reached Cannon Beach I was super excited to see Haystack Rock! One because the tufted Puffins have started to arrive for nesting and 2 because this is the rock featured in the Goonies! I got a picture from a distance, but as we got closer the rain and fog started to pick up and i couldn't make out any birds on the island! We did have lunch at this neat little place called Moe's...we both had chili and grilled cheese! Exactly what I wanted to keep me warm today! 

Haystack Rock

Roosevelt Elk 

After lunch I wanted to check out Ecola State Park! It is named by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expeditions after the Native American word "ecoli" which means whale. This park was also featured in the Goonies as the area where the treasure hunt started! when we arrived at the viewing area, we were almost blown off the hill (I am not kidding...the wind was moving me). While we were there the rain started to really come down so we decided it was time to head north to Astoria. On our way out of the park we ran into a roadblock. There was a herd of Elk blocking the road (excuse the picture I was in the car and it was raining).

Before we reached Astoria we wanted to check out Fort Stevens. This is a fort set up where the Columbia River reaches the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon side. While here I saw my first, second, and third Bald Eagles on the West Coast (and I will now stop counting, because I am sure I will lose count soon). We did a little bird watching, I saw some Pacific Loons, Brant's and Pelagic Cormorants, Caspian Terns, Buffle Head ducks, and a few gulls (I am horrible at my gull ID). 

After the park we headed over the Columbia river towards Washington. The bridge across the river was 3 miles long, it was huge! While we were on the bridge we passed under the sign that said welcome to Washington and once again I missed it. Luckily once we got off the bridge there was one on the side of the road. Since this was state #50 for me, I made him pull over for pictures! This is a milestone I was just a little excited about (as you can see)! Throwing up my 50 :)

Tonight we are staying in some KOA cabins on the banks of the Willapa Bay. This is a huge National Wildlife Refuge that connects to the Pacific Ocean. I thought that ya'll might enjoy a few pictures of what the cabins looked like! 

Completing all 50 states today is something I have been working towards for a while! In 2007 dad and I took a cross country trip. At the end of that trip I had 45 states completed. In September of 2014 we went to New England and I gained Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire for 48. When I found out that I was going to get to spend my summer in Alaska, I knew that I had to get my last 2 states! I would like to thank my wonderful parents for giving me the opportunity to reach this goal at only 25! I'd especially like to thank my dad who I have now been in all 50 states with! I guess now it's time to start over...yay for Alaska as #1!