Cape Lookout State Park - Day 2

Date: Monday, 2nd Jul 2012
Low Tide: 6:14am, -1.6

[Work in Progress - feedback are always welcome]

Early Beach Walk

I awoke to the sound of the birds calling and decided to check out the beach.  It was about 6:30am when I was all ready.  The whole camp ground were filled with sound of the nature since most campers were still asleep.  I could hear bird chirping and rolling waves sound as I took the short stroll to the beach.  The temperature was just right as well.

I have Cape Lookout on my left and the arches on my right.  The view of the ocean never fails to wow me everytime!  I am always humble when standing in front of this massive ocean.  It was low tide and I got see quite a bit of the beach.  There were only a handful of people exploring the beach so I had the feeling that I own this beach front.  I could not resist the urge to walk toward the thundering waves.  I spend 30 minutes or so taking all these in before leaving this paradise reluctantly.

Quiet morning walk to the beach

I am not alone!

The beach the first time!

Cape Lookout

Thundering Waves

Sand Dollar

The Legend of the Sand Dollar

There's a lovely little legend
that I would like to tell,
of the birth and death of Jesus,
found in this lowly shell.

If you examine closely,
you'll see that you find here,
four nail holes and a fifth one,
made by a Roman's spear.

On one side the Easter lily,
its center is the star,
that appeared unto the shepherds
and led them from afar.

The Christmas Poinsettia
etched on the other side,
reminds us of His birthday,
our happy Christmastide.

Now break the center open,
and here you will release,
the five white doves awaiting,
to spread Good Will and Peace.

This simple little symbol,
Christ left for you and me,
to help us spread His Gospel,
through all Eternity.

Author Unknown

Game Time

After the girls had their breakfast, we had a game of Risk.  It had been a couple of months since we had the time to play this game together.  The game ended when someone an initiated an attack on its ally.

Beach Time

Next, the whole family headed to the beach.  Since the kids had not gone out to this beach, they were naturally excited about the trip there.  They build a little sand castle with their little hands, scribbled some words on the sand and played Tag on the beach.

Junior Ranger Program Time

At 10am every day, the park offers 30 to 60 minutes junior range program led by a park ranger.  There is a different topic everyday.  Today, the topic is "Tracking Treasure Hunt". 

The park ranger had a roll of paper filled with different footprints.  The kids were guided to identified that animal associate with that that set of foodprint.  In addition, the park ranger also taught them how to follow an animal track.  As it turned out, there are some knowledge in following an animal track.  It is critical to understand both the ability of the animal and how they moved.  The session ended with an practical exercise where the kids were broken down into different groups to track different animals.  Fun time!

Souvenir from the park ranger

Souvenir from the park ranger

Tsunami Warning Testing!

Cape Lookout State Park is equipped with a tsunami evacuation siren. There is a brief siren test every Monday of each month at 1:00pm.  We weren't really prepared and was caught off-guard.  Initially, I thought it was a fire siren and was ready to run. 

More Games Time

The kids had some time to play some more board games together while the adults got to relax and chat.

Munson Creek State Natural Site

Munson Creek Falls ranks as the highest waterfall in the Coast Range, dropping 266 feet over spectacularly rugged Cliffs. -- Munson Creek WaterFalls Pramplet

In the afternoon, we went to visit the Munson Creek State Natural Site, one of the recommended attraction by the Park Ranger.  On the way, we drove past a sand dunes where we can clearly hear the noise from those dune buggy.  Getting to the Munson Creek is somewhat a challenge:

1. The sign marking the road to Munson Creek Falls is small and we missed it.
2. There is a stretch of road that allows only 1 car through.  
3. If I remembered correctly, the last part of the road are mud road.   

Tip: When we were there, the last part of the trail to the waterfall was closed.  We did have a good look at the waterfall, though. 
 

Our route to Munson Creek State Natural Site

Tillamook Air Museum

We arrived at the Tillamook Air Museum.

Boeing 377

Dinner

Today is our first dinner here on the camp site.  We started our first camp fire of the year.  As a treat, we cooked shrimp, corn and vegetable over the fire pit.  Yummy!

Evening Ranger Program

While waiting for the evening ranger to start, the kids had fun playing at the forest.  These city kids need more time in this forest.  Tonight's topic is "Bears!".  According to the ranger, the ranger supervior spotted a black mother bear and her cub last week at the entry of the park.  Wow, I remembered feeling reliefe at the time because we are staying in a Yurt. 

Question:  Who can tell the different between a black bear and a Grizzy?  Also, what is the correct respond for each them?

Park Host

There are 4 families of Park Host in Cape Lookout State Park.  I assume they have a duty schedule on who is on duty.  The park hosts I interacted with are all very nice people.  They seems to have a number of duty as a part host - walk around the campround, making sure the park is clean and selling firewood ($5) and starter ($1).  I recommend buying wood from them as they burn very well!

The Cape Lookout State Park Series

1. Cape Lookout State Park - Day 1 - Arriving
2. Cape Lookout State Park - Day 2 - Munson Creek State Natural Site
3. Cape Lookout State Park - Day 3 - Tillamook Factory, Lighthouse, Paragliding
4. Cape Lookout State Park - Day 4 - 4th Jul Celebration
5. Cape Lookout State Park - Day 5 - Cape Trail
6. Cape Lookout State Park - Day 6 - Oceanside beach, Skimboarding
7. Cape Lookout State Park - Day 7 - Departure