Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

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pdxgene
Posts: 5073
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by pdxgene » February 28th, 2014, 6:55 pm

Another sunshiny beautiful February day on the Oregon Coast today. Joan and I headed out to the only Oregon State park on an island, Whalen Island and then over to Nestucca Spit. Eagles, seals, swirly clouds , what a day! Here's what we saw...

Looking out over the Lilian Parker Craft Wetland from the Whalen Island Loop Trail
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Along the Whalen Island Loop Trail
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Sand Lake and the Pacific from the Whalen Island Loop Trail
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Sand Lake with Cape Lookout in background from the Whalen Island Loop Trail
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Bald Eagle along the Whalen Island Loop Trail
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More of the canopy of trees over the Whalen Island Loop Trail
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The trailhead map of the Whalen Island Area
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Another empty parking lot, a new favorite parking spot :)
at the trailhead for Whalen Island
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Joan heading south on an empty Nestucca Spit
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A pair of horses out enjoying the beach too
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Joan passing thru the dunes on Nestucca Spit. User type trails criss-cross though the whole area
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We spent half an hour watching the seals play in the surf at the mouth of Nestucca Bay. They seemed almost as interested in watching us as we did them
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Looking north on Nestucca Spit at Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda and Cape Lookout
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Looking south on Nestucca Spit at Cascade Head
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Sandpipers playing at the edge of the surf on Nestucca Spit
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Swirly clouds made great patterns over Nestucca Spit
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Haystack Rock and its reflection from Nestucca Spit
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Haystack Rock, Cape Kiwanda and Cape Lookout from the observation deck at the end of a short trail at the Nestucca Bay Nat'l Wildlife Refuge
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Lsat look south from the Winema Wayfinding Point
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What a great day :D Album here http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxgene/Wha ... stuccaSpit

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kepPNW
Posts: 6411
Joined: June 21st, 2012, 9:55 am
Location: Salmon Creek

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by kepPNW » February 28th, 2014, 7:15 pm

Looks beautiful down there, alright. Enjoyed the extra descriptions you included this time, too. :)
Karl
Back on the trail, again...

pdxgene
Posts: 5073
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by pdxgene » February 28th, 2014, 7:29 pm

Thanks!
I finally figured out how to do that without the screen jumping all over the place on me. As long as I don't make any mistakes it works great. Takes a bit longer but it's not like my schedule is all jammed with anything..
That's my first trip to Sand Lake so I've never seen it at low tide when it sounds pretty empty but today was the highest high tide 'til sometime towards June so it was pretty full today.

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-Q-
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Joined: July 5th, 2008, 10:42 pm

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by -Q- » February 28th, 2014, 8:11 pm

gene, this is just not fair :(

looks fantastic. your weather luck is awesome

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Lekilei253
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Joined: September 16th, 2013, 8:12 pm

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by Lekilei253 » February 28th, 2014, 8:21 pm

Looks amazing!!

Adding this to my must hike list! :D

pdxgene
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by pdxgene » March 1st, 2014, 6:41 am

Hey, thanx! The coast has had some great weather this winter. We actually ran into a couple down in Newport on Tuesday that had moved there from Kansas back in November and they said they were amazed at the nice weather the Oregon Coast gets in winter and that it hardly ever rains. We did mention it's not always quite like that :lol:

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meana39
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Carson, Washington
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Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by meana39 » March 2nd, 2014, 4:18 pm

My husband and I discovered Whalen Island on our last Anniversary trip to the coast. It was an amazing place and we spent several hours wandering around and had a nice picnic lunch at the trailhead. Your photos are a beautiful reminder and I had to go look at mine again.
Mine are posted on my facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/lori.cannon/me ... 814&type=3

So lucky to have such nice weather ... as I sit here gazing at the snow in front of my house! :D
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir

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MarsIsCobra
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Joined: November 27th, 2012, 7:57 pm
Location: Camas

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by MarsIsCobra » March 2nd, 2014, 4:31 pm

wow - some mesmerizing pictures in there. well done

raftingdog
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 2:23 pm

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by raftingdog » March 2nd, 2014, 6:02 pm

never heard of this island.... not very far from Portland...will explore when coast weather is good

pdxgene
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Whalen Island / Nestucca Spit 2/28

Post by pdxgene » March 2nd, 2014, 7:33 pm

There's a bunch of good food options right there in Pacific City too. It was easy to grab a quick lunch in town between the two hikes. Makes a nice break from the usual hiking food..

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