Looking for paintings - Part 15

The Oregon Coast and Tillamook Bay.

After a scary drive down Route 6 from Banks to Tillamook, I finally made it to the Oregon Coast. One thing I really like about Oregon beaches is that they're flat and hard. No mushy white sand to struggle across. The perfect beach for playing Frisbee with your dog. These shots are on the beach in Oceanside.




Night was falling as the white foam intensified and I realized I'd be driving back to Portland in the dark through the Tillamook State Forest on some scary mountain roads and with stormy weather visible in those mountains.

This is Tillamook Bay, looking east. It reminded me very much of Ireland and Scotland with that silvery steel blue-gray water and the foreboding rain clouds in the distant mountains.

Isn't this a fantastic picture? I was zipping along this two-lane, rut-infested bayside road hoping to reach civilization before the light disappeared entirely when I saw this. As usual, there were no other cars in sight, so when I stopped abruptly to grab this shot I knew I wouldn't have some bumper-sniffing Hummer plowing into me. The lighting is amazing. The setting sun is actually behind me, illuminating the storm clouds to the east, where I'm headed. Those old dead trees look like some long-abandoned pier, and I don't know why they happen to be arranged in such an orderly manner, but I sure appreciate it. Click on any picture to make it full screen.

Next: Sushi, barns, meadows, lakes, houses and Erik Larson.