More rain with fabulous fall leaves

I drove home today - paying a lot more attention to the tsunami evacuation route signs after last nights tsunami advisory.





The bigger danger today was just the continuous blinding rain - but the fall leaf color made the drive through the coast range really glorious.  I have more pictures but I'm not the multi-tasker that I used to be - so between steering through the rain, trying to miss the wiper blades and still catch the great color, there weren't too many shots in focus.

Rain, more rain, and a tsunami advisory!

Camping at Nehalem Bay for a few days, but its so wet even the trees seem to be trying to uproot and decamp to drier climes.

 

 

 

Tsunami Advisory for the coast . . .

A friend called last night to give us the news about the quake off the coast of BC. Only an advisory for the Oregon coast, but since the state park is on a spit at sea level, even an especially high tide would be a bit worrying!

It made me think of how unconnected I am when I go camping - no TV, rarely even radio, and I tend not to check the news even if I do have internet.  I guess the camp hosts or highway patrol would take a pass through a state park to warn folks if there was a real emergency (fingers crossed).

Bonus Day!!

We haven't totally gone over to the the dark side yet (the 8 months of gloomy, grey, rainy weather that begins every year right about now).

Water, water, water everywhere!

It didn't merely rain - it poured, it deluged, I saw chipmunks and squirrels pairing up for the ark . . .

OK, so the rain had to start sometime - it is, afterall, the Pacific NW. But then the dog overturned her water bowl.  Barely did I have that cleaned up when I discovered a leak at the base of the toilet - intermittent clean (thankfully) water seeping out from somewhere.  Oh joy, another winter project.

Wet campsite

Molly is sad that it's pouring outside







The next day was glorious and the Harvest Festival in Sweet Home was really sweet!

 This historic covered bridge in Sweet Home, OR hosted the Harvest Fair - it was chock full of craft tables, baked goods, and community information tables.

I left the bridge entertained, informed, tummy full of homemade cookies, and with a few new clever homemade accessories for the trailer.

Covered Bridge in Sweet Home

 This strolling group of singers had a long list of songs that folks could request - Sweet 4-part harmony!!

 You've heard of 'Soap-on-a-Rope'?  This was 'Kids-on-Ropes' - climbing up probably 100 feet and rapelling down again.

I declined an offer to play on the ropes, primarily so that my hysterical screaming wouldn't disrupt the band playing across the field.

Great Columbia Crossing 10K - 2012

Where the 4.2 mile long Astoria, OR bridge is closed for the morning so runners and walkers can enjoy the spectacular sites around the mouth of the great Columbia River.

This was the 31st year for the event.  One lane of traffic on the bridge is closed for the 10K run/walk. 3,000 people gather on the Oregon side in Astoria to be shuttled across the river to the starting point.  The starting point is Dismal Nitch, Washington, so named by the Lewis and Clark Expedition during a not-so-pleasant winter stay on their arrival on the west coast - hard to imagine    on this summer-warm, sunny morning in late September!  Today, the name sounds more like a location in a Harry Potter novel.

Looking back at the end - yes, the high part is at the end after about 4 miles of walking! 

Folks gather between 7am and 7:30 to be shuttled across the river in an endless stream of yellow schoolbusses.

Lots of volunteers and porta-potties (they repeatedly remind us that there are no facilities on the bridge).  Everything is very well organized, my only complaint is that there is no Starbucks and I haven't had my morning caffeine!

 



 3,000 people is quite a crowd as we wind our way from Dismal Nitch to the bridge (about a mile)

 

Here we are partway across the bridge at the 'Entering Oregon' sign! 

 



 

 Pelicans and Pilings!

 

Amid all those seagulls is a flock of pelicans.  The birds overflew the bridge many times, apparently wondering what the heck all those people were doing on the bridge.  4.2 miles is a long, long bridge and there were moments when I was wondering the same thing.

 

At low tide, the bridge spans a huge mudflat.  You can still see the pilings of what were horse barns.  The horses were used to pull nets when seining for fish was a major industry in the area. 

 

Where's the Beer!