Sunny, with a Whole Lot of Wind

When we woke up the first thing we did was check outside to see if it was raining. Fortunately the sun was out. On the other hand though, it was really windy. So we decided to make the most of the sun and planned to letterbox most of the day. Our plan was to drive up to Yachats and then work our way back to Florence. And that is what we did. On the way to Yachats we stopped at a viewpoint where you can see Heceta Head Lighthouse, you get a wonderful view from this area. We also got to see a ton of sea lions on the beach below. The tide was pretty high and quite a few of the sea lions were in the water but there was a large number of them on the beach against the cliffs. It was a really neat site to see so many in one spot. From here we headed to our first letterbox destination - Smelt Sands State Wayside and the Yachats 804 Trail. This trail parallels the beach. It sits up just a little bit from the rocks and beach below and it is pretty open. With the wind blowing so hard today we had to bundle up but we still had a nice walk. The views of the ocean were incredible as well. The water was the roughest we have seen it on this trip. We found the first box and it was in a very open area. So I had to be very careful so that things didn't blow away. I made a little wind barrier using my body and the backpack so I could have a little protection while stamping in. It was a challenge but I made it through without losing anything. The second box on the trail was in a little secluded area amongst trees so stamping in wasn't an issue. One of the boxes was called Blowin' in the Wind - a very fitting name for today. We left this trail and started heading back south. The next stop was The Adobe Resort. This was a quick stop - we found the box just behind the resort at the beginning of the trail to the beach. It was a cute little stamp and it sounds like it was carved by a young child - I think he did a pretty good job for his first carve.

A little further south we stopped at Yachats State Park to find Windy Wait (another fitting name for today). It was a drive by and from the clues seemed simple enough. I followed them and couldn't find the box. So I started looking around and found the box about four trees over from where it should have been. After stamping in I replaced the box where the clues said it should be (I really wish people would remember where they found the box and replace it accordingly - okay, off my soapbox now). This was a beautifully carved stamp. Just a few streets down we turned on to Yachats Ocean Road. We were looking for two boxes. The first was supposed to be at the sign for the area under a log. The log was ivy covered and leaning against the sign in the clues - we never found any log anywhere around the area. So we continued on to the next box. We made our way to the beach and easily found the box - I thought it was a great hiding spot. I stamped in on the beach and again had to protect everything from blowing away - it all worked out and we were on our way. At this point we decided to take a break for some lunch and a little rest. After eating we continued on a little ways down the road and turned into Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint. We found one box here and the best thing I can say is that it was hidden at a spot with some incredible views. Moving on we crossed the creek and entered Neptune State Park. Not sure if these two places were the same or not - they seemed to be labeled differently but the only thing seperating them was a creek. Anyway we searched for one box and came up empty handed. In the area where we were looking it looked as though someone had already searched for something under every tree. So I went to the clues for the next box - a series of four boxes related to kites. I found the first one sitting in plain site out to the side of the tree it was supposed to be hidden under in a little cubby. After stamping in I made sure to really cover the box with debris to make it look as natural as I could so it wouldn't go missing. The second of the series was in the place I looked for the first box so I was sure it was missing but I looked around the area again and still came up empty handed. The third box was located a little ways down the beach. I had to walk the beach away from the ocean along the creek until I was under the bridge that crosses the creek. Then I had to look up and find stairs that lead to a little wooden bridge that crossed another little creek and there I found the box - this one hidden well. I stamped in on the bridge looking over at the creek and then rehid it. For the last box I had to return to the parking area and take a trail behind the bathrooms to a little forested area. It was wonderful in there - very peaceful and out of the wind. I enjoyed stamping in because I didn't have to worry about anything blowing away. We had one more stop in Yachats before making our way into Florence. This was at Ocean Beach Picnic Area. The box was a quick and easy drive by. While I stamped in Thomas took a walk on the beach but the wind didn't make for a good one. Thomas was back before I finished stamping in.

Next we stopped at Carl G. Washburne State Park in the day use area. I found the campground trail and followed the clues. Everything made sense and worked out until I moved one of the rocks. There was an indentation there where the box probably had sat but it wasn't there. It looked like someone had taken the box and neatly stacked the rocks back in place - I was a little disappointed that it was missing and the sad thing is that this was not near the trail - you had to go through some trees to find the area. And when I returned to the main trail I tried to find the hiding spot and look for the rocks but I wasn't able to see them. So to me it seems that someone had clues to the box and took it - I find it hard to believe that the box was stumbled upon by a muggle. Anyway we left this park and headed for Devil's Elbow/Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint. We parked and took the trail up to the lighthouse and looked around and took some pictures. There was a box on a trail overlooking the lighthouse so we made our way there. It wasn't long before we found the box and stamped in. After replacing the box we made our way back to the parking area and looked for a second box. The clues were a little wonky and after the second landmark I was totally confused. Nothing made sense and I couldn't find any more landmarks so we called it quits on that one and headed for our last box of the day. We pulled into the parking area of the Darlingtonia State Natural Site. We were looking for Darlingtonia californica - both the letterbox and the plant. We walked to the boardwalk to see the plants. Very interesting plant in its structure, looks and behavior. After looking at the plants and reading the information board we continued on to the letterbox. A short walk later I was stamping in. I liked this stamp - simple but nice and reflected the area well.

That was the end of letterboxing for today. We drove into Florence and made our way to Old Town. We walked around, went into a few shops and then had dinner. After eating we stopped into an ice cream shop for a little dessert. Tomorrow is our last day on the coast and I need to plan what we are going to do. I'll be back tomorrow to report the day's activities.