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Oregon
Beaches Become Surreal at Night
By Andre’
Hagestedt
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Strange creatures emerge at night in
Manzanita |
(Manzanita,
Oregon) – When the night comes, Oregon’s coast becomes
an entirely different creature. This is often my favorite time to
hit the beaches, as they are deserted of travelers and tourists,
and somehow a little more unnerving and filled with a sense of slight
danger – increasing the adrenaline of this experience, adding
some new, indefinable element. Somehow, the waves looking more ominous
and threatening at night, as if one of those big ones 100 feet from
the tide line may be a tsunami.
Other wonders
seem to occur at night on the Oregon coast as well, which aren’t
always seen during the day. In some moments, natural occurrences
can happen during daylight as well, but at night they take on new
dimensions when seen at night.
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Manzanita,
with Neahkahnie Mt. looming in the distance and foamy waves
near the bluffs |
Like one particular
and peculiar evening in January of 2006, where I wandered onto the
beaches of Manzanita around 1 a.m. The stars are bright and resplendent,
with Orion standing out, his figure looming larger and more brightly
than that of ancient, all-knowing Neahkahnie Mountain in this dead
of night. In fact, Neahkahnie is dwarfed not only in size, but by
the fact it’s a mere shadow figure in the distance.
I
park the car on the road above the beach, and quickly notice something
odd in the dark. A long line of mysterious foam stretches along
the beach, standing by itself, close to the vegetation line, yet
hard to see in the opaque of night. Like the dim horizon in the
distance, it’s another great but fuzzy line extending along
the length of the beach.
As I approach,
I’m startled to notice that it’s moving. It turns out
there are TWO such lines across the beach’s length. One is
a line of foam left there by the crazed tide, perhaps only minutes
before, perhaps longer. The other line of foam IS the tide itself:
a totally surreal sight of moving white bubbles – almost appearing
then disappearing again and again
|
Twilight
at Manzanita on another night, this one with a full moon brewing |
I feel like
I’m on that wacky island in the TV series “Lost.”
I know Manzanita, its “Wheeler
Moments” legend and strange, serendipitous sides very
well. It’s notorious for things you can’t really put
your finger on. But this is weirder than usual. I fully expect to
see a horse traipsing past me, or a vision of some lost loved one.
(You gotta be watching “Lost” to understand what I’m
talking about).
This night is
a weird mix of low, low minus tide and stormy waves. So what you
get is a surf that tends to lurk farther out there than you’re
used to, yet can pull some awful, tidal gymnastic surprises and
abruptly jump up close to the bluffs connecting the road with the
beaches.
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|
As I tread in
the dark, I see the tide is far away, and things get weirder the
closer I get. Huge chunks of foam are breaking up like ice islands
of the arctic North Pole. Abruptly they change direction, coalesce
together and create giant walls of suds that approach me, sometimes
even chasing me. Beautiful. Extremely strange. Certainly surreal.
In the midst
of running and observing all this, the stars continue to shine brighter
than they ever have in my former life in the Willamette Valley.
I think to myself about Beach Connection readers and the greater
population of this state: why the hell aren’t you people out
here more often??? I mean, I’m here all the time and I still
encounter freaky, amazing stuff I’ve never seen before.
I
again walk towards the tide, but never make it there because the
tide and its wall of furious, freaky foam comes zipping back towards
me again, collecting all the suds to chase me. This is perhaps the
freakiest tide I’ve ever seen. This happens over and over
again, and each time I start laughing loudly with glee. I’m
like a little toddler getting chased and teased by a family member,
and loving every second of it.
I come back to my car, only to see the tide shoving the foam up
close to the vegetation line again, where I had just been. It jostled
its way up some 50 to 100 feet farther than I was down on that beach.
I had left just
in time to miss one nasty, foamy sneaker wave.
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ASTORIA
Where the Columbia meets the Pacific, Land of Lewis & Clark
and loads of atmosphere & history |
SEASIDE
The Promenade, Tillamook Head, family fun & broad, sandy
beaches |
CANNON
BEACH
A mysterious lighthouse, upscale yet earthy, a huge monolith,
fine eateries & an art mecca |
NEHALEM
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Manzanita's beaches, Nehalem and Wheeler's quirky beauty; laid
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Garibaldi, Barview, Bay City, Tillamook & an oceanfront
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THREE
CAPES LOOP
The hidden secret of the coast: Cape Meares, a lighthouse, Oceanside,
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LINCOLN
CITY & THE CORRIDOR OF MYSTERY
Miles & miles of unbroken beaches, Cascade Head, Neskowin
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DEPOE
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NEWPORT
Time-tripping Nye Beach, a bustling bayfront, marine science-central
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Pristine, even secretive sands and wild geologic landmarks |
YACHATS
Constantly dramatic wave action, a mix of the rugged & upscale |
UPPER
LANE COUNTY
25 miles of deserted beaches & oodles of wonders |
FLORENCE
A lighthouse, ancient bayfront and miles and miles of fluffy
dunes |
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the Tradewinds Motel are immaculate and have TV’s, VCR’s
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bed, a double hide-a-bed, kitchen, cozy firelog fireplace and a
private deck. Some oceanfront units come with all those amenities
but the kitchens. Both types sleep up to four people. Others are
appointed with a queen bed, small fridge, and coffee maker –
sizable for a two-person romantic getaway, yet still perfect for
those on a budget. There is an elaborate oceanfront Jacuzzi suite
that has two bedrooms, coming with a kitchen, double hide-a-bed,
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bigger accommodations for family reunions or large gatherings such
as weddings, some rooms can connect to create two-room and three-room
suites. Some rooms are pet friendly.523 N. Pacific St., Rockaway
Beach. (503) 355-2112 - 1-800-824-0938. www.tradewinds-motel.com
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www.thetidesbythesea.com. |
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