June 3, 2015. Nehalem State Park.

 

June 3, 2015.  The second and third pictures above are mirror images of each other.  The second picture was taken from Highway 101 as we approached Nehalem Beach.  The third was taken from Nehalem Beach, looking up at the pull-out where the second picture was taken.

So, we finish this trip where we finished the 1988 Great Tour of America. Nehalem Beach was our last stop before heading home after 60-plus days on the road.  We will be here at least three nights.  We may stay longer or just start home.  We are 1900 miles distant from there.  I expect the drive home will take 3-4 days under the best of circumstances.  

After settling in, we walked nearly two hours along the beach. I am afraid I got a little camera crazy on the walk.  I took over fifty photos.  You see the best of those on this page.  There were many more I wanted you to see, but I didn't want to test your tolerance.  You may see some of those in the days ahead.  They are too good just to be stored on my computer and never seen by anyone other than me.  

We saw a couple of deer today.  The first spotting was as we drove into the campground.  There was a young man walking along the road.  He waved us down and pointed down a trail.  There was a small doe on the trial.  She seemed unperturbed by our presence.  Later, as we left the beach, we saw another grazing on grass across the road.  She, too, seemed to be totally oblivious to us.  I took a couple of long-distance pictures just to be sure I had something if the deer bolted. I gradually moved closer and got a series of pictures, including the final picture you see above.  The picture suggests I was very close to the deer, and I was. However, it was shot with a 300mm zoom lens, so I wasn't as close as you might think.  I was probably 15-20 feet away.  Even so, I was much closer than deer will normally allow humans to get.  

Tomorrow?  Well, I don't know about tomorrow.  There is a bike trail that circles the campground.  We may ride.  We may walk again.  We may sit in the sun and read.  We may do all three.  Time is getting short and I hate to waste it by doing something productive.