A wonderful thing occurs on the Pacific City beach every day. Most likely the tourists enjoy it more than the locals do. It's called the dory landing. A dory is a snall flat-bottomed boat and daily they make their run out to sea to make their catch of fish or crab. Originally, the dories were more canoe-shaped, and the fishermen used oars to paddle out and back in to shore. Today, they have squared up the back end to make a place for a motor.

The dories leave early in the morning, five-ish, when the water is calm; they return anywhere between 10 and 11 in the morning. You may think, as we did, "How could watching a boat come into shore be that exciting?" But when we saw the first one way out by the Haystack making its way in to shore, the andrenaline magically started to rise within us. Perhaps it's because the dories don't slow down until they hit the shore. The motor is turned off at the very last minute as the dory comes rushing on to the beach. So there it is. We watched three come in in about a half-hour's time. That was enough to satisfy us. Their catch is recorded by a waiting official, and off they go until the next day. The next several pictures are of the dory arrivals.

Overlooking the blue waters from Cape Meares State Park

Above and Below: Overlooking the beaches in Oceanside from Cape Meares State Park

The lighthouse at Cape Meares is the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon coast at only 38 feet.

A hiking trail in Cape Meares State Park

The aptly named 'Octopus Tree' in Cape Meares is a sitka spruce and is said to be the largest sitka spruce in Oregon.

Above and Left: Wildflowers grace the side of Maxwell Point in Oceanside.

Maxwell Beach in Oceanside and the Three Arch Rocks, a landmark of the area

I don't think this photo needs any explanation!

A tunnel built into Maxwell Point leads through the rock and out to what is called Short Beach by some and Tunnel Beach by others.

Sunset over Netarts Bay

Netarts Bay RV Park is just across the street from the bay. It's a quiet and charming little park off the beaten path,,except, perhaps, for the local clammers and crabbers.

We're now in August, and the blackberries are cropping up everywhere.

Munson Creek Waterfall is the tallest waterfall along the Oregon coast at more than 300 feet. It's a short walk to the falls along a wonderful path lined with moss-covered sitka spruce and western red cedar.

The falls is located six miles from Tillamook on the 101 going south.

Above and Right: Along the path to Munson Creek Falls

The next series of shots was taken at Cape Lookout on the beach as well as on a small nature trail that explains various tree and plant species. I thought the beach eerie because of the light fog that seems to be ever present there.

The orange-colored growth on this tree wasn't explained in the Cape Lookout's Nature Trail brochure, but I assume it's some sort of mushroom, or algae. Anyone know?

A lady and her dog on the beach at Cape Lookout State Park

The landmark of Pacific City is this rock off Cape Kiwanda called The Haystack.

Young and old climb the giant sand dune of Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City.

Off the three capes along the Three Capes Scenic Drive, this one, Cape Kiwanda is the most southern, in Pacific City.

Above and Right: Cape Kiwanda rock formations

Swimmers enjoy the Pacific water of Pacific City beach. Right: Looking down on Pacific City beach from the sand dune of Cape Kiwanda

Walking up on Cape Kiwanda is a highlight for many even though the signs ask hikers to stay back from the cliffs.

A smaller beach between Cape Kiwanda and Cape Lookout is this one, Tierra del Mar. In the direction above, the view is of the always clouded over Cape Lookout. In the picture to the right, you see Cape Kiwanda and the Haystack.

Netarts Bay which is the water roughly between Cape Lookout and the small village of Oceanside is one of many ideal places to catch a super sunset.

The Nestucca River in Pacific City

This fisherman's catch was dungeness crab (in the white bucket) and red rock crab (in the red bucket).

The grassy dunes above the beach in Pacific City

Above and Below: There is a very easy trail on the Clay Myers State Natural Area on Whalen Island that offers a tranquil stroll through the pines and woodlands and along the coastal estuary.

My travel companion and I had planned on walking the Cape Lookout Trail to the end of the cape on the day this picture was taken. We changed our minds once we saw how foggy the top was. The fog, we could have handled, but this particular day was cold and wet. We'll do it before we leave the area.

From Bayocean Road just outside Tillamook on Highway 131 north is a dike on which a nice stroll can be had. The view is of Tillamook Bay with the Neahkahnie Mountain in the background.

Overlooking the Tillamook Bay at low tide from a dike off Bayocean Road, part of the Three Capes Scenic Drive.

We were having a wonderful day, starting out in Pacific City with a delicious breakfast at the Grateful Bread Restaurant, then went over to see the dories come in. Then we took a couple other one- or two-mile hikes. And we were pretty satisfied with the day. But then we decided to see how close we could get to the road closure near Cape Meares. Not very. But we ended up at the Cape Meares beach and both gasped at the beauty. Huge pieces of driftwood strewn about, no people and no wind. We were in heven as we walked the length toward the cliff. It was wonderful to see how the private homes above the dunes each had made a little area for sitting and viewing the water. Many had campfire rings and others just benches or chairs. This beach will go down as one of our favorites. The next too many photos are of the wonderful pieces of wood that had drifted onto shore.

Someone with a great sense of humor designed this piece of driftwood. We couldn't decide if it's a whale or an alligator, but decided it didn't matter. It was fun.

The south end of Cape Meares Beach abrubtly stops at the cape; the north end borders the Bayocean spit, which separates Tillamook Bay from the Pacific.

This is the first chance we got to see Cape Lookout with a cap of fog. I think it's a rare occasion. This shot was taken at dusk of the same day that we got to take the trail up to the end of the cape. Those pictures follow.

Old growth trees surround you on the trail of Cape Lookout.

There was just a trace of fog covering the trail when we started out, but by the time we got to the end of the cape it had cleared to give us some fanstastic views.

This is a picture of trees growing from a nurse tree, which normally isn't so unusual. However, these particular trees started growing at about 20 feet up in the air. Normally, they're much closer to the ground.

The Cape Trail ends here, looking due west. We were fortunate to have a clear sky above and the warmth of the sun beating down on us.

Looking south from the end of the trail, the Haystack and Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City can barely be seen.

This view is looking north toward Netarts Bay. The spit of land shown, which is a part of the Cape Lookout Beach, separates the bay from the Pacific Ocean. In the distance is part of the town Netarts.

A closer view of the Haystack and Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, south of Cape Lookout.

Looking north, a view of the Three Arch Rocks in Oceanside.

Above and Right: Just north of Cape Lookout on the Three Capes Scenic Route is an overview called Andersons View Point, named in memory of a surveyor of the area. The view is of the spit of land that separates Netarts Bay from the Pacific. The view below shows the spit nicely. In the foreground is the Cape Lookout campground and beach.

On a day of a particulary low tide, we were up at 7 am to hunt out sand dollars at Oceanside Beach. We found two - one that the seagulls had partially gotten into, but not broken; and one that was wedged half under a rock in a tide pool. Later in the day, walking around 'the 'neighborhood' we found a pile of spent clam shells and a blackberry patch. It was a fun day.

A Netarts Bay sunset

The town of Netarts lies just south of Oceanside. Its backyard is Netarts Bay and it seems to be off the beaten path except perhaps for the local crabbers and clammers. .There's not much to the little town except for three hotels, a couple of markets and its 800 residents. Oh yes ... and Lexi's Cool Stuff, a shop of this and that, mostly stuff you wonder if anyone would ever buy, many things nautical, coastal-type knick knacks. My big purchase was a stamped bouy that I couldn't resist. She had several hanging out back along side the fishing nets and ships' ropes.

A sense of community pride can be seen in Netarts by the boat full of nasturtium planted at the town park just across from the bay.

Netarts Bay at low tide shows a portion of the spit on which lies Cape Lookout Beach. On a closer spit to shore, Steller seal lions (not shown) bask in the sun.

This is the same spit, at a different angle, taken from an overview between Netarts and Oceanside. A small part of the town Netarts can be seen, and Cape Lookout is the backdrop.

A heron searches for dinner in Netarts Bay.

Netarts Bay at high tide. Cape Lookout in the background is in its usual state of 'socked in-ness.

A piece of driftwood on the shore of Netarts Bay caught my EYE...(get it??) It's too depressing to tell you what it looks like to me.

Layers of fog roll in and out of Netarts Bay as the evening hours approach.