Startling Skies of Spring Begin on Oregon Coast, Day or Night

Published 04/05/2012

(Manzanita, Oregon) – This is what you miss by not being out on the Oregon coast right now.

Those wild, startling skies of springtime have begun, and the little towns of Cannon Beach and Manzanita were showing them off in full form. Above, this was the view from Cannon Beach, near Fultano's Pizza, at around dusk Wednesday night. The clouds kept the actual sunset out of sight, but these brooding skies presented plenty in return. The rocky blobs of Chapman Point are in the distance.

Here, from the same viewpoint is the famed but elusive Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, about a mile away from the tip of Tillamook Head. Hints of the sun poke through in the distance, with some vibrant colors against the backdrop of an incoming squall.

Even more of these wild colors and the sheer magnitude of those fat, threatening clouds are evident here.

From the southern end of Cannon Beach, more of the heavy skies and esoteric shadings show themselves.

Then after dark, the famed Haystack Rock takes on a more otherworldly look. This is the scene around midnight, with a full moon lighting up the clouds, from the big access in midtown.

Not to be outdone, a very secret spot between Manzanita and Cannon Beach – at Falcon Cove – takes on an even more out-of-this-world atmosphere. It looks like a black and white photograph, but it's not. You can barely see some color in the foliage. The most interesting aspect of all this is the “scratchy” look the moon has reflected in the pool of sea water. It took a few minutes worth of exposure to take this photograph, so in the meantime a few ripples in that pool got a bit active, creating that effect.

Manzanita at 3 a.m.: the sky is again spectacular, and the lights along the mountain reflect in the sand in the wee hours of the night. Indeed, all the atmospheric jetstreams appear to cause the lines in the clouds to point towards Neahkahnie Mountain. Perhaps even Nature itself realizes this is a special place.

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