CAPE MEARES RADAR STATION IN OCEANSIDE FROM WWII

If American history interests you and you happen to be in Oceanside here's something you should check out: tucked back in the woods up on the hill East of Radar Road in Oceanside are remnants of what is said to be a WWII early warning air defense radar station. In the little bit of information I could find online, it looks like it may have been Station B-25 (SCR-270 radar). This was one of a chain of 65 stations built along the Pacific Coast during WWII -- all for the same purpose. It was in use from 1942-1944. It no longer has a roof, doors, or guns, but the remaining structure is enough to get your imagination going. The trail to get up there resembles an elk trail, but it's worth the short walk through the brush to see it!

The lookout tower in the back of the structure with the hillside dug out behind.

 Wood planks still on-site that are notched on the ends & appear to have 

been headers over the entry.

We squeezed this walk into an already very full Saturday in honor of Memorial Day. The weather was perfect and the woods were lovely, as usual. It's hard to believe this has been here since 1942 and we just found out about it this year! It seems there is always something new to see, or do here that really isn't so new -- just new to me! This is definitely worth taking the time to see!

See you at the beach!
~Wendy

NOT SO WINTER WEATHER ON THE OREGON COAST

If you haven't been here in the past couple of months, I am going to apologize now for what I am about to show you.  It almost isn't fair, though I hope to get some credit for taking the time to share! Winter 2014 has delivered what I would describe in two words as "simply splendid," which for me is much more than Vitamin-D.  It's a chance to experience this area, specifically Netarts and Oceanside, at what I would consider its very best. The photo opportunities I have been privileged enough to be a witness to and take part in have been copius.  December 2013 and January 2014 have proven to be the driest, sunniest months this area has seen in more than 40 years.  Besides the Artic blast that came to town in December, which brought temperatures as low as 10 degrees for about a week (and sun!), it has been unseasonably warm -- like 67 degrees warm with a strong East wind last Friday! 

So, without further ado, here are a few of the sunrises, sunsets and really everything in between that have graced us so far this Winter! I hope you enjoy a glimpse into our Winter experience so far this year.  I can't express how grateful I am for all we have been given!  Thank you, Netarts Bay for your participation!

First sunset of December 2013 - Netarts Bay near the marina

A couple of days after our record low of 10 - On the beach in Happy Camp, Netarts

10 degrees this Sunday morning - an unforgettable sunrise along the Tillamook River

Calm as can be in the middle of December! - Netarts Bay

Ripples from a passing crab boat and gorgeous clouds just in time for sunset - Netarts Bay



Few clouds in the sky this evening over Netarts Bay, which is rare for this time of year. - The Netarts Spit in the foreground.

Netarts Bay doing what it does best, complimented by not even a whisper of wind.  Amazing!  - Netarts Bay

More late afternoon crabbing on a very content Netarts Bay.

Sunrise over the beach in Oceanside at low tide - Oceanside, Oregon

Seemingly gentle and beautiful tide coming in at sunrise - Oceanside, Oregon

60+ degrees on New Years Day 2014 - Netarts Spit

They are grateful for the nice New Years Day weather I am certain - Netarts Spit

Hands down the most beautiful and meaningful sunset I have ever experienced - January 2, 2014 over Netarts Bay

Painted sky - Netarts Bay

The visibility in the bay is so good you can see shells on the bottom! - Netarts Bay 

Dried flowers right where I needed them - Low tide, Netarts Bay

Low light noise takes on the feeling of a painting - Netarts Bay

Glorious East wind creating veils off every wave rolling into the beach - Cape Meares

The East wind, incoming tide and setting sun doing a wicked dance! - The mouth of Netarts Bay 



He loves living here in Netarts as much as I do.  It must be the sunsets!! - Netarts Bay, Blue Heron

FALL SPLENDOR ON THE OREGON COAST

Fall is my favorite time of year on the Oregon Coast.  Daytime temperatures rise to the upper 60's and nights drop down to cool, crisp 30's and 40's.  Winds become light to non-existent, which makes for comfortable walks on the beach and calm waters for crabbing & fishing, and fog develops over pastures each night creating delightful sunrises over the coast range.  The Real Estate market it humming right along, just as I would expect in September and October, but I have been able to make some time to catch quite a few sunsets, take a walk in the woods, watch the sunrise over the coast range, find some tiny little mushrooms (and some big ones) and watch the pelicans swirl around the Three Arch Rocks and the Netarts Spit. Here are some pictures from my September and October outings....

 Netarts Bay the night before our first storm of the season in September -- early for this area.

 Mushrooms growing out of a tree stump along the Cape Lookout trail leading to the tip.

 Sunset over the Netarts Spit.  The sky looked like it was on fire!

 A delicate spider web in the woods of Netarts sagging under the weight of the dew from a cool night.

 Mushrooms growing from a lush bed of ferns in the woods of Netarts.

 Chanterelle popping up out of the lush groundcover in the woods of Netarts.

 Sunrise over the coast range taken from Netarts.

 These mushrooms were barely two inches tall -- so delicate and perfect!

 Pelicans swirling around the Three Arch Rocks in Oceanside at sunset.

 Gorgeous sunset over the Three Arch Rocks

 Another beautiful sunset in Oceanside

 Gulls taking in the sunset in Happy Camp.

 Reflection of the clouds in Netarts Bay.

 Blue Heron enjoying dinner in Netarts Bay. 

 A gull flying into the sunset over Netarts Bay.

We have sun in the forecast for the last 15 days of October.  Many photographic opportunities are in my future, which I look forward to very much!

See you at the beach!
~Wendy

ARE BEACH HOME PRICES ON THE VERGE OF RECOVERY?

                  Home Sales Data from the Tillamook County MLS

                    {September  26^th to  September 25^th  Year to Date}

                                # of home sold                  Average price of sold homes

2003-2004............................436                                         $188,830

2004-2005........................... 481                                         $226,027

2005-2006............................443                                         $275,021

2006-2007........................... 335                                         $308,283

2007-2008............................267                                         $270,914

2008-2009............................183                                         $226,481

2009-2010............................232                                         $240,686

2010-2011............................227                                         $217,649

2011-2012............................265                                         $219,151

2012-2013............................315                                         $230,573

--------Based on the data above could the following be true?---------

2013-2014                            xxx                                         $xxx,xxx

2014-2015                            xxx                                         $xxx,xxx

 

Only time will tell what the future holds for home prices on the North Oregon Coast, 

but in the meantime I will continue to be encouraged by the number of homes 

that sold in Tillamook County between 9/12-9/13.  We haven't experienced 

home sale numbers in Tillamook County over the 300 mark since 2006-2007!  

As of today, there are 525 homes for sale in Tillamook County and 60 pending sale -- 

A great improvement over several years past, where there were just as many homes

listed for sale, but only 20 pending at any given time.  We're getting there!  If you are

considering purchasing a home on the coast there is no doubt this would be great timing

with a large inventory and prices still low.  From what I've identified above, which you can

see for yourself, it looks like we may be on the verge of recovery. What do you think?

See you at the beach!

~Wendy

www.iWantABeachHome.com

 

RETURN TO THE BAYOCEAN SPIT

Yesterday was one of those unexpected sunny, calm dry days here in Netarts.  It happens often in the Fall and Winter. The forecast calls for rain (and yesterday even thunderstorms), but to our surprise a beautiful day is delivered!  Dusty and I were in the office until 5pm after a very full day and could have easily kicked back for the night, but decided it would be shameful to waste such a nice evening.  By 5:15 we had our bikes in the back of the truck and were headed for the Bayocean Spit, about a 10 minute drive from Netarts.  You could see rain in the distance driving along Tillamook Bay over Garibaldi and some high rising cumulus clouds over the coast range, but so far no rain overhead!  We were just one of two cars in the Bayocean parking lot, which means we would practically have the place to ourselves.  One of many bonuses of Summer coming to an end!

Quickly we were on our way, with the intent of peddling to the South Jetty and mouth of Tillamook Bay (about 7.5 miles round trip).  As we headed up one of the first inclines not even a mile into our ride the right pedal of my bike suddenly snapped off underfoot.  I am under every impression this could have turned out much worse!  Fortunately we weren't too far from the truck and the only casualty besides the broken pedal was a scrape on the inside of my ankle.  Our attempts to repair the pedal were unsuccessful, so we backtracked just a little bit and ditched the bikes for a walk out one of the sandy trails to the beach.  

I stripped down to a t-shirt heading out the trail, realizing it was actually quite warm out for this time of night!  The beach revealed its glorious self as we came up over the dune.  The tide was heading out from eight feet at 2pm, which meant there was plenty of beach available for walking.  And, still no rain!

 As we walked toward the water Dusty spotted a crab pot in distance.  It appeared to have just washed up and be in decent shape.  Sure enough, as we got closer we knew it was worth taking a closer look.

Walking past the buoys and along the rope it was obvious this pot hadn't been in the water long. To our surprise once we reached the pot were live crab inside!  

Well, some of them were alive.  At closer inspection there were a couple half eaten in there -- likely the victim of cannibalism!  The crab that were alive (though moving slowly) were good sized.  The smaller crab stuck in the pot I'm pretty sure became the meal of the big guys/gals!  We decided to do our good deed for the day and release them all back to the sea.  

The tide eventually carried all of them away.  The last one was pretty sluggish, but still had a little life left in him.  Beautiful night for a rescue, right?

Once the crab were released we gathered up the rope and carried the pot back to where we'd left the bikes.  Dusty found a way to balance the pot on the handlebars of his bike and we made our way to the truck with ease.  Just as we reached the parking lot it started to rain.  I mean really rain!  We quickly loaded the bikes and our beach treasure feeling pretty fortunate to be back in the truck!  It rained all the way back to Netarts and into the night.  

While we weren't able to complete our original idea of fun for the evening, I'd say it turned out pretty good all in all.  I have some bike repair to do, but there were definitely multiple silver linings to the trip: I wasn't injured, we were only a mile from the truck when the pedal broke, we had a nice walk out to the beach because of it, enjoyed a spectacular display of cloud reflections over the beach and ocean, saved some crab from certain death, acquired a usable crab pot and made it back to the truck just as the rain arrived.  I can't wait to return -- roundtrip, or not!

p.s.  It turns out the forecast for today was correct.  The wind and rain are upon us!

See you at the beach!

~Wendy

www.iWantABeachHome.com