Coast | Where Sasha Went

Devils Punchbowl

October 3, 2021

The Oregon Coast is one of the most beautiful coast lines in the world, I would say in my opinion but I think most people out there agree. Rocky, cliffs, trees, turbulent seas. It makes for a dramatic and beautiful destination year round. And the Devils Punchbowl just about half way along the coast line is an excellent example. The Devils Punchbowl State Park sits in an area called Otter Rock, just two hours from Portland and right between both Newport and Lincoln City making it easily accessible from quite a few popular tourist areas. Otter Rock itself is a small community that sits up quite a ways from the ocean, providing impressive views from both sides and long stairways down to the beach. The area itself has a surf shop, as well as a coffee shop and a wine tasting location. It is also popular with local surfers.

There are quite a few rentals and restore type rental locations in the area offering a outdoor getaway type experience and a perfect launching point for hiking and general coastal exploring. The real draw to the area however is of course the Devils Punchbowl itself, a open rock formation which at low tide can be walked around and at higher tides offers an impressive churning swirly show of the Pacific Ocean. And even though you can technically walk around the beach area at low tide I would really not advise it. Tides on the Oregon Coast are temperamental, extremely cold and violent and it is very easy to think you are fine and suddenly find yourself stuck or worse. I have witnessed quite a few accidents along the coast where people have trusted a bit too much and gotten themselves into trouble. Admire from a safe distance always please.

Just up the coast is the Rocky Creek Bridge also known as the Ben Jones Bridge which was built in 1927. It was built, along with many others, on the original coast highway. And funded designed, along with many others, by Conde McCullough at the behest of Ben Jones who was a lawyer and advocate of the area. If you ever find yourself around the middle of the Oregon Coast I highly suggest veering off the main highway to drive some of the original coast highway it the best way to explore gems like The Devils Punchbowl.

Hiking God’s Thumb

September 26, 2021

Hiking God’s Thumb in Lincoln City Oregon was something I have been wanting to do for a long time. But doing so without being completely surrounded by scores of other hikers took a couple tries. One time in fact I didn’t even make it within two miles of the tail head because there were so many parked cars lined up along the road. We took one look at the situation and turned right back around. This time was a little different, it was still technically winter, people weren’t traveling as much due to pandemic related reasons and we got to the trail head fairly early in the morning. Not early enough though, there were already cars there.

It started off confusing, with a fork in the trail straight away, don’t worry there is a map provided at the fork to help you find your way. Clear as mud. I relied on my phone map application, not by looking at directions but just by turning on the satellite view and guessing based on clearings in the trees which way to go. After a while we saw some folks returning to their cars and each passing person assured us we were going the right direction. There are no less than four forks in the path, other than the first one always stay left and you will get there just fine. I got frustrated about 20 min to the perpetual uphill climb for not being next to the coast line so decided to do a little exploring. I was gone for quite a while, when I came back my hiking companions had accumulated a few other confused hikers. I had no answers other than that way up the muddy hill wasn’t the right way, and the well groomed annoyingly uphill path is a better bet.

A good amount of the hike is not along the coast line, again I was disappointed. After the initial push upward we found ourselves in the direct wind path of the winter storm that had just passed through the area. The parks service hadn’t quite gotten around to clearing up the trees so it took a bit of climbing up and over very large downed trees to keep on the path. After the heavily treed area we found ourselves once again going down hill into a meadow and then back up again. But after what felt like forever the meadow become the coast line and I could finally see our goal.

Yet another down and up, but this time on an incredibly slippery narrow steep ridge. No hand or guard rails of course. Just a couple hundred feet to the ocean on one side and a not much better grassy hill on the other. Onward we went down the muddy path (mostly on our butts) and then back up again to the final view.

It was totally worth it. Freezing cold and windy but totally worth it. We only stayed a little while, there were plenty of other hikers coming and going and not a lot of space at the end. It felt rude to dawdle. So we took our pictures and scuttled back down the hill, grassy side luckily. All the while commenting on how much scarier it looks going back up.

We followed some other hikers to the right along the coast line, rather than back the way we came. But quickly learned that while there is a coastal trail it was all but washed out from the storm. So we turned right back around and hiked out the way we came in. All the while reassuring the very confused hikers that they were in fact on the right path. I wouldn’t call hiking God’s Thumb a very challenging, but it certainly isn’t easy and the reason for the hike, the last half mile is not for the faint of heart. Or rather scared of heights individual.

Dunes – Oregon

September 30, 2018

The Oregon Sand Dunes are one of the largest expanses of coastal sand dunes in the world. They stretch for 40 miles along the Oregon coast and is designated as a National Recreation Area or NRA (the other NRA) as a part of the Siuslaw National Forest.

Within the larger park system, there are many different road access points, usage areas, and activities. Everything from horse back riding, to off roading, fishing and hiking. There are also camp sites and some have camping cabins (my favorite way to camp).

Even without all the added recreation options the dune are impressive. Some as tall as 500 ft and ever shifting with the wind and rain. They are dotted with trees and takes, tide pools and local flowers that are brave enough to grow in shifting sand.

We went down last for our anniversary trip in March, the weather could have been better. Dry and low winds but slightly cloudy made for the prefect day of walking around. And boy is it hard walking around on them, let alone trying to race up them. I didn’t win.
In some areas there are trails but in a lot of the park you just head out straight into the dunes. It feels other worldly and rumor has it they inspired Frank Herbert to write his science fiction epic Dune.

Salishan Resort – Lincoln City, Oregon

September 23, 2018

This spring we took a quick jaunt to the coast to relax and just be away from things. The late winter/early spring is hard in Oregon, it’s about the time we all start to go a little crazy from all the clouds and rain. Having the trip to look forward to certainly helped eliminate some of “okay I am all done with this now” thoughts that are constantly circling around in my brain that time of year.

We chose to head down to the central part of the coast, and spend our few days at the Salishan just south of Lincoln City. The resort is lovely, spread out over a large swath of land. Part forest part golf course with three main building complexes and room buildings scattered around the property.
The rooms themselves are wonderful, they have a variety of sizes, we went with the base king sized room which had a mini kitchen and a fireplace, as well as the usual bed, balcony, bathroom and seating area. It was built in 1961 and remains the premier golf resort on the coast.

The main complex houses the registry desk, restaurants and a bar as well as conference rooms and the pool accessed by outdoor breezeways. The restaurants overlook the gold course and provides ample indoor and outdoor seating.
The sports complex is up the hill down a few winding roads (walkable via foot path if you wish to hoof it) and provides access to basketball courts, tennis and golf rentals.
The spa complex is back down the main entry road across the highway, also accessible via foot path, but there is ample parking if dashing across a busy highway isn’t your thing (there is a traffic light and cross walk though).

We had grand designs to explore the coast all weekend, and you can very easily given the resorts central location. However we wound up just settling in to a cozy routine of eat, walk, read, swim, repeat that we wound up doing very little else in the end. We really couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

Carruthers – Astoria, Oregon

June 7, 2017

There is a small town on the Oregon Coast that I know quite well, they call it Astoria Oregon. Astoria, long famous for being the home of one of the most dangerous river bars in the world, childhood 80s movies and copious amounts of rain, also happens to be one of my childhood home towns.

If I am being quite frank, when I was a kid it was kind of (read really) a dump. A sad little town at the mouth of the Columbia River, with a crumbling downtown and a small tourist season in the summer. Somewhere between the 1990’s and the mid 2010’s the town managed to turn itself around and now has a booming year round tourist season and with it some really phenomenal restaurants. None of which existed when I lived there, naturally. One of the newest editions is Carruthers.

Carruthers is located kitty corner to the old Astoria Liberty Theater, which was renovated in recent years and is now used as a performing arts theater which has headlined shows with hometown staples like movies by Chris Lang and musical performances by Blind Pilot. The restaurant was built out inside the old Owl Drug Store (which was a filming location of Kindergarten Cop) and was originally a clothing store.

The interior has been decorated impeccably, we were sitting next to this fire place (see above) which I could not stop staring at, not least of which because it was about 40 feet tall.

Both the bar menu and the dinner menu was amazing, I could have ordered everything but stuck to the butternut squash gnocchi and could have eaten nothing else for the rest of my life and been happy. It was amazing.

The vibe of the restaurant is a bit more upscale than Astoria has been traditionally used to but happily people dined in all assortments of style. It seemed everyone regardless of Sunday best or just jumped off the boat clothing were right at home. I couldn’t stop staring at the lovely surroundings, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and the incredible food. I was only occasionally distracted by the mirror pictured below, as I plotted how to steal it without getting caught. I failed to come up with a way to smuggle a 12 foot tall gold mirror out in my purse so I just took a picture.
Address an Additional Information: 12th and Commercial Astoria, Oregon 97103

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McMenamins Hotels – Oregon

July 26, 2016

I am sure locals to the Portland Metro Area have a lot to say about McMenamins franchise as a whole. Some love them and some hate them. It is just one of those things.
I have no strong feelings either way on the restaurants. The food is fine, the service is usually fast and the interiors are pretty interesting. The thing that my husband and I really like though as the destination hotels. Particularly the Edgefield, Kennedy School and Grand Lodge locations.
Edgefield will always be my favorite. With cheap beautiful rooms, several bars and restaurants, a golf course, spa, music venue and theater it is really an mini vacation just outside the city. I have spent several birthdays there, playing golf and using the spa. They also have a large outdoor music venue that I have enjoyed several concerts at.

**Sunset on Grand Lodge table tops**
Kennedy School was our go two for a long time, it was near our house. And with several bars, billiard games, a soaking pool and a theater it was a great place for date nights and with hotel rooms if you couldn’t drive home, you could always check in and get a delicious breakfast before going home. We had our VERY informal rehearsal dinner here and had our wedding pictures taken in one of the court yards. A couple months ago a friend and I even stayed over so that we could go to a Bowie cover band and then not have to drive all the way back out of the city after the show.

**Kennedy School Views**
The Grand Lodge is new to us, but is currently the closest location to our house. With a hotel, spa, soaking pool, theater, and disc golf course we wind up spending a good deal of time down there. We haven’t managed to make it there for a movie or even Frisbee golf. But we did walk around a medieval festival this spring and I can usually be found sitting on the porch enjoying a cup of coffee or a drink while reading a good book.

**Grand Lodge’s porch**
All the hotel locations are great for weekend getaways, there is plenty to do, you never have to actually leave them and everything is relatively well priced. I love staying for special events, since we now live out of the city it is really fun to stay at one of the hotels so we don’t have to go back. Or even for a special even like New Years, with inclusive design you can have a drink, walk around, try a different bar and then just wander back to your room. No driving needed.

Saddle Mountain – Oregon

July 19, 2016

This last weekend my husband and I drove back to our home town for a short getaway. We do this a couple times a year, the drive is short but provides a comfortable change of scenery. Different but not too different.

** Mom’s hydrangeas, she has skills**
For these sojourns we stay at my parents house, and spend the majority of our time toddling around the yard with either a cup of coffee or a glass of wine (time of day determines what is in the glass). And that did happen, my Saturday all day hang over is proof that both of those things happened in abundance.

**Hunting around parents yard for the missing champagne cork from the night before**

One thing that we rarely do when we visit home is hike Saddle Mountain. We hike a lot, in fact we have dedicated entire vacations (plural) in Palm Springs to hiking. But this hike in particular has been overlooked until now. We both hiked it as kids with our families but this was our first trip up together. I was looking forward to the views, and seeing some alpine flowers.

**Alpine flowers at the second summit**

Saddle Mountain is a 5.2 mile hike near the Oregon Coast that provides views of the Cascade Mountain range to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The trail takes you through an alder forest, making way to an evergreen forest and eventually taking you to the steep rocky meadows of the dual peaks.

**Where alder forest makes way for evergreen forest**
Once you break out of the forested area the trail will begin to be lined with a chain link fence material to help aid traction on the slippery trail. This didn’t exist when I was a kid, so I was surprised when I saw it and honestly a bit worried I would be careening down the hill the second I stepped on it. Believe it or not, the fencing is incredibly helpful, and can be trusted by the clumsiest of us. In fact the only two times I fell was when I thought the fence trail was too steep and I tried to hike along the side, which quickly resulted me finding myself on my rear-end faster than I could think.

**Looking back toward false summit and basalt cliff**
The views from the false summit are incredible, and there are a couple great photo spots off the trail to look out and down from the basalt cliff. Though I urge you to use caution, and always provide several feet of space between you and the cliffs edge as there are no hand rails.

**This is about as close as I dare get to the edge, hello tree tops!**
Once past the initial summit you will continue to hike down into the saddle. Once again on more fencing trail. It was at this point I thought that my husband might not be human. My legs were burning and shaking and he was literally skipping down the trail. After you get to the bottom of the saddle you get to start back up again for the second summit. Which I honestly thought I was going to die on. I work out, daily and I could only go a few feet without resting. Again husband was whistling and skipping up the switch backs. At one point I told him to just go ahead, no need to witness to my graceless out of breath ascent.

**Heading into the fog**
Five hours later (it was probably only 20 min) I joined him at the second summit to a beautiful view…of fog. We rested for a bit and then made our way back down, slowly. Well me slowly, husband running at mock speed and then stopping every now and again to wait for me. It was humbling.

**Observe husband dashing ahead of me, and mental fencing on trail**
I truly do love this hike, it is a great day trip for the northern Oregon coast region and Portland Metropolitan areas. The alpine flows above the tree line are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen, the rocky cliffs are other worldly and the fresh mountain air cannot be beat. The best part is, witnessing the kindness in others I have rarely seen outside of nature. They smile and say hello, step out to let you pass, help you up when you fall, offer water or assistance if you look like you need it.

**Our glorious view from the summit**

Things to know about the Saddle Mountain hike before attempting:

The turnoff for the park is marked but not well and the highway is incredibly busy, take caution approaching turn off.
You will be driving on the park road for what feels like forever before you reach the parking lot. There is only one road, you didn’t miss the turn, just keep going.
Be careful to plan around the weather. Half the hike is above the tree line, so weather is felt even in non-extreme cases.
If it has rained in the last few days it will be muddy.
Wear really good shoes with great traction.
Pack water.
Go slow.
Don’t go too near the edge.

Saddle Mountain information links:
http://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Saddle_Mountain_Hike
http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=140