Oregon Coast Now: Esoteric Nights, Secret Shipwreck, Winter Scenes

Published 12/23/2010

(Oregon Coast) – The shortest day of the year gives way to a freaky lunar eclipse, which then gives way to a sunny first day of winter. And then there’s been the interesting mix of things that have popped up on the beaches. The Oregon coast this week has been a mishmash of Christmas lights, snowy moments, bizarre scenes on nocturnal beaches, a somewhat forgotten shipwreck that reappeared, and lovely moments in the wilderness. (Above: Christmas lights in Manzanita).

Here, Cannon Beach and its Haystack Rock shows a distinctively ethereal side late Sunday night, as partial cloud cover reveals stars and casts a warm glow on the beach.

The same evening, in Seaside, reveals the lights of the town hitting the clouds above as well as the water, creating some interesting colors in both.

The next day, Manzanita is a wild and wooly mix of storm conditions and sunny moments, which light up the dramatic waves and intense chunks of angry clouds.

Not to be outdone, apparently the Nehalem area decides to show off by sprouting a rainbow, which arcs over the snowy bluffs of nearby mountains that hover around the Nehalem Bay, like the famous Onion Peak seen here.

Up the road, in Oswald State Park, a wooded stream gets especially lovely and soothing, as the path takes you towards the beach.

Just before you hit the beach of Short Sands, this scene presents itself – highly reminiscent of the Ken Burns film about Lewis and Clark.

A few minutes later, the last remaining rays of sunlight, on the day before the shortest day of the year, get sucked up by a particularly dramatic squall off on the horizon.

Later that night, Seaside gets ethereal and surreal, as Tillamook Head is seen under various nocturnal lighting conditions. One moment, the lights of the city dominate the colors of the clouds, and street lights paint the beach and surf some strange hues.

Another moment, the full moon – which is about to go crazy with its eclipse – dominates the clouds, putting the sky in more of a blue mood. (more on the eclipse from an Oregon coast point of view)

On Tuesday night, the constant cloud cover doesn’t let you see the last sunset of this downward turning part of the year. It’s the shortest day of the year, but there’s no way of knowing.

But the evening winds up calm, perfect for checking out the Christmas lights of Manzanita.

Wednesday means a trip down to Rockaway Beach, on the north Oregon coast, and a remarkable discovery is made: a massive skeleton of a ship’s hull sits poking out of the sand. It is the shipwreck of the Emily Reed, which crashed in the surf closer to the mouth of the Nehalem River, a ways to the north. It’s been popping up out of the sand only periodically over the last century since its demise, and meanwhile has been working its way southward in the sand.

Further south, closer to Tillamook, there’s Oceanside, which manages to bask in the bright sun and chilly temps. The sun doesn’t last long here, however, and soon shies away from Maxwell Point and its famous Three Arch Rocks. It doesn’t seem to want to return, either. Yet a quick trip back towards Tillamook, even just a bit south to Netarts, and the sun is strong again.

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