Pacific Coast Autumn 2012 - warning: image heavy

I took two different trips in late 2012 that allowed me to drive up and down the west coast. I stayed on 101 as much as possible, and my first stop was in the coastal Redwoods.

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My first walk on the beach was more about rain and fog than ocean.

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But as I moved up into Oregon the weather turned delightful.

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I took these next two shots from the exact same spot, I just turned 180 degrees. This beach was a long half mile or so walk down a hill from the highway and I had it all to myself. The Oregon coast has lots of these hidden spots that you have to work a little bit to get to.

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I was totally alone at this parking area as well. Just me and an abandoned pair of slippers. Looked to me that someone didn't want them back in their RV so they just walked out of them and drove off.

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I grew up in Oregon and we had weather like this about twice a year but we wished it could be like this every day.

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I didn't get real lucky with sunsets but a couple weren't bad at all. I really messed up and didn't get the contact info. for the folks on the rock after I'd asked them if I could take their photo. I guess I didn't want to be committed if I didnt' get a good one but I wish I could've given it to them.

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Then I moved inland and met up with my favorite traveling partners on the McKenzie River. This is an 'indoor landscape' from the loft of their cabin. And then two abstracts of the river.

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We saw our first snow of the season at the top of old McKenzie Pass. This is called the observatory I think. It's made of lava rocks and sits on a huge field of lava. Not much color when we were there, just cold blowing snow.

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Back to the coast. Nasty rainy rainy rainy blowing day at the mouth of the Columbia River. Admittedly, I doctored this photo for effect but the original wasn't anything to write home about. I like how the ocean seems to be falling into the jetty.

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The next three are of the 'home' beach of my youth and still my favorite spot on the Oregon Coast, Short Sands Beach. The only 20 minutes all day when the rain wasn't pouring down was when I took these and the light was magical.

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Three from a rainy day on the Umpqua River.

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Originally I liked the raindrops all over the lens and the blur (handheld 1/8 sec) on this next photo because it seemed to accentuate the downpour I was out in. Now I'm not so sure.

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From here on out I was pressed for time so I took a whole lot of tourist shots from viewpoints and pullouts. The next one is what half the Oregon Coast looks like from the side of hwy 101.

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The next few are from Big Sur. Love the bench in this next one.

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And some Elephant Seals hauled up on the rocky beaches around San Simeon.

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And, finally, some awesomely beautiful farm and ranch land with one last view of the Pacific as I headed inland. Sorry for the huge amount of pictures, I had no idea it would be so long when I started. I should practice some editing discretion I guess.

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