04 October 2014

Journey to Another "End": Pt II

On Monday,
 I showed you the perfect sand dollars we found on our recent trip to a 'new' beach!
But there were more exciting adventures and finds that day...
 
 
Our next find was a starfish!
Grandma was the first to spot it in one of the very, very shallow river 'channels'
of the Necanicum River.
She was SO EXCITED and started screaming at me to come QUICK!
I did.
 

At first she thought it was dead, since it was on its back.
But when she picked the starfish up she realized it was probably still alive--
how cool is that:)
She returned him to the water, this time right side up...
 
A few minutes later it was me doing the screaming because I found a starfish all by myself!

Did you see the first photo?
That was my starfish--
we were all pretty excited about seeing two of them within a few minutes of time :)
 
 
Grandma also found a purple sand dollar down on the beach.
Beautiful isn't it?
 
 
But when she looked at it more carefully, she could see and feel that it had a hairy backside:)
 
And Grandma knew, from her sleepless night of Internet research,
that this was indicative of a living sand dollar.
Her and Papa placed it gently back in a wet location and put a bit of sand around it.
 
 
No way was Grandma going to hurt a living creature!
Besides you're not supposed to do that.
 
 
Grandma is not totally fond of this photo,
but it does show the sand 'craters' near the "End"--
or I should say "The End of the World"?
 
Apparently that is a local name for this area--
and with all the unique aspects of this beach,
plus a great view out to the Pacific,
I think that is a good name for it.  
 
Here's a really good article about this area and sand dollars: 
 
Grandma says the beach here looks like a moonscape! LOL
What do you think?
 
 
Here I am trying out one of the sand 'craters':)
I couldn't stay long though because the tide was coming in... 

 
Grandma absolutely LOVED all the different patterns on the sand that we found;
she says this is was one of the most interesting beaches she's ever been too
and since she's been to a LOT of beaches that's saying a lot!

 
Here's another pattern in the sand.
Very, very cool!
 
 
It was an awesome day
and Grandma says we'll definitely be going back here again.
I hope they'll be taking me:)
 
 Hope you enjoyed our little journey.
Wishing you all a GREAT day and a wonderful weekend!
The Small One
 
 
Links/Notes:
 
All beach photos from this and Monday's post taken in Seaside, Oregon.
Directions to the beach/estuary (south shore):
1. From Highway 101 turn left onto 12th Avenue at the traffic signal.
2. Travel down 12th, crossing over the bridge, until you come to the public parking lot at the end of the avenue. Make sure you look for the crab pots hanging over the bridge rail
when you cross over the Necanicum River!
3. Park your car and remove all the 'essentials' from your trunk. LOL
4.  Take either the concrete steps or ramp. Now take the short path you can see over the dune. This will put you on the beach. Turning left here (plus a long walk) would take you to the main promenade area of Seaside and an often very crowded beach.
5. Be different and turn right instead! Now you are on the less crowded northern portion of Seaside's beach. It's a whole different experience I promise!
6. Walk, walk and walk some more to the north if you want to go all the way to the "end".
You'll know you're there when you have a whole lot of river between you
and the next beach up the coast (Gearhart)  :)
Just to let you know, we arrived about an hour after low tide. We found the sand dollars in a wet area before the river and towards the ocean; the starfish were found in the estuary area.

9 comments:

Betsy said...

Wow Aimee! Those beach patterns are amazing! Love the purple sand dollar. I've never heard of purple ones before. Thanks so much for the detailed directions to the beaches. I think next time we get to the coast that will be a definite place to visit. Have a lovely weekend my friend.
Blessings,
Betsy

My Dog Sam - Ruptured Disk said...

Hi Aimee and "the little one" - thank you for taking us along. We forget how utterly beautiful the beaches are just south of us. Oregon has some of the most spectacular beaches. We feel better already. Oh yes, my dad said that perhaps you should plan another trip back soon. Time marches forward and the "little one" will be taller and older soon. Love, Sam.

Linda W. said...

I didn't realize you could find uncrowded beaches so close to Seaside. Next time I'm heading to the coast I'll have to check this place out.

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

Starfish finds are special and whole sand dollars even more so. Will remember the hairy aspect next time. Mine are usually not hairy. Your granddaughter is a great blog writer and so glad ya all had a great time and good weather. Have a blessed weekend.

aimee said...

@Betsy~
It was my pleasure to share this unique beach with you. Yep, I can't get over the lovely variety of sand patterns there. We didn't see the 'craters' today, but did enjoy our walk tremendously. Apparently living sand dollars come in various shades and sizes--I never knew this either! I sincerely hope you both are able to make a trip to our coast soon as I know you dearly love it there. Wishing you a blessed weekend also Betsy!
Blessings,
Aimee

@Sam~
You are SO welcome! I am glad you feel better and enjoyed our little adventure! I agree-Oregon does have some beautiful beaches and it always makes me happy to find a new, 'undiscovered' one. Today we returned there with our smallest furry one and the Small One--we all would have loved your company:) Your dad is so right--they grow up very fast. Sigh.
Blessings furry one,
Aimee

@Linda~
Yep I was surprised too. We went there this afternoon and it wasn't bad at all. Found parking with no problem! There are people on the beach, but the further north you go the less you'll find. Maybe the walk scares people away:)
Blessings,
Aimee

@Becky~
They sure are! We didn't see any starfish today, but found quite a few live sand dollars which we left on the beach and quite a few dead ones. We also saw a sea bird convention at the "end" which was very, very neat! Dear Granddaughter had a 'little' (ok, a lot) help on the post:)
Blessings,
Aimee

sallie (fulltime-Life.com) said...

Beautiful -- that beach is sort of other-worldly! I am glad to see starfish alive and well; they are becoming endangered I believe.

Teresa Kasner said...

More fun photos of a wonderful beach and an adorable grandchild. Life is good!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Bethany Carson said...

The beach patterns and craters are beautiful! So neat that you found the starfish and a *living* sand dollar!

aimee said...

@Sallie~
Thanks! The beach truly is both beautiful and unique! I didn't know starfish are endangered--that's rather sad.
Blessings, Aimee

@Teresa~
Thanks! Life is.
Blessings,
Aimee

@Bethany~
Thanks! We were all quite excited:)
Blessings,
Aimee

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