We visited the three capes in July https://oregonisforadventure.com/3-capes-scenic-loop/ . Summer comes here every year like a burst of new energy. I was visiting my family as I have done every summer for the past ten years. This summer, however, is different. This is the time of the Virus. By July things were getting worse, not better. With disappointment I made no plans for traveling. It seemed unsafe and even irresponsible to travel, and not just for me but everyone I would come in contact with.
And then, in the first days of July the unexpected happened. We had a death in the family. When death occurs, so occur new emotions and decisions. I decided to travel to be with family in Portland.
My sister came into my room one morning and announced she wanted to drive to the Coast. I think I just stared for a moment of confusion and then simply said yes. So we packed sandwiches, put gas in the car, and headed to Three Capes Scenic Loop. It turned out to be the perfect get away. First it was a relief from the sadness of death. Again, it was a relief and a much needed escape from the confinements of the Corona Virus, that disease that was suffocating us all. And what better choice then to set our eyes on the massive rocks of the Scenic Loop.
The three capes, Cape Kiwanda, Cape Lookout and Capes Meares are three grand rock formations that stretch out into the Pacific Ocean. You start at Tillamook and drive the Coast to Pacific City to see all three. It is the only way to see them, really. They are like family to each other. Each has its own distinctions but they all share the same majesty.
Tillamook:
It was a one and a half hour drive, possibly two, from where I was staying to Tillamook. We drove through farm country, then through the evergreens of the Cascade Mountains. Sometimes we followed rivers, sometimes we were surrounded by dense forest. Sometimes we had sudden open views of other distant tall slopes and valleys.
Coming out from a ride through mountains one is struck with idyllic images of Tillamook. There are forty thousand cows in these rich green pastures, two cows for every person. Their milk supplies the town’s creamery. The creamery makes the Tillamook cheeses and ice cream you find in aisles of supermarkets all over (no doubt yours, too).
Cape Lookout, North Side:
A short ride out of Tillamook we headed for the closest beach, Cape Lookout, and stopped to picnic. There was more than one option for picnic tables but we chose the closest to the beach. All was an open view and we could watch the families walking and playing in the sand. On the hiking paths we found more picnic tables, areas for camping and even cabins for overnight stays.
Oceanside:
Oceanside https://visittheoregoncoast.com/cities/oceanside/ clings to a cliff high above the Pacific surf. It’s dramatic, tucked away amid the spectacular scenery of the Three Capes. Within sight of the town are the Three Arch Rocks, a string of rock formations that lies half a mile off shore. It was set aside as a Natural Wildlife Refuge by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. There are three large and six smaller rocks where nesting seabirds come, a quarter of a million yearly, as well as sea lions and other sea animals. Thank you, Mr. President. I may not be a bird but it feels like my own refuge every time I visit.
Cape Meares:
Although you can’t tell in this captured photograph of Cape Meares below, https://visittheoregoncoast.com/cities/cape-meares/, there is a lighthouse at the center of the photograph. It’s a ½ mile walk through the trees. It was a sunny, balmy day when we left Portland but that wasn’t (and will not always be) the case when you get to the Coast. The trees that look calmly still in the picture were full of melodrama, branches whipping up and down. Clouds of fog and mist were rushing in from the ocean. I decided not to check out the light house this time.
And so it was….a day around the Three Capes Scenic Loop, a day of escape. We had moments when we took off our masks to breath an air that was not full of fear and dread of contamination. It was much needed, returning us to a time that has been lost to all of us in the past months. I left with a reassurance that the earth will continue to heal and someday, so will we.
See two other blog posts about escaping the Virus in the following posts of Hood River https://roadtosuchness.comhood-river-an-escape-to-the-farm-loop/ and Sauvie Island. https://roadtosuchness.comsauvie-island-final-escape-from-the-virus/
