We tried and failed on another trail in the Siltcoos area before heading to Jessie Honeyman State Park. Here we found a completely deserted dune area on Cleawox Lake where the dogs were able to run free for a bit.
After that we took a nice walk around Florence's Old Town area which runs along the Siuslaw River. A kingfisher was perched on a river-facing balcony and at one point got into a disagreement with an Orange-crowned Warbler. So random.
Siuslaw River Bridge
Back at the house we saw one of the Canada Geese we had seen earlier in the morning was in a weird position on a neighboring dock. I first thought it was dead, but no, just resting.
Wednesday afternoon we left the dogs home again and went north to look for more tide pools. First we stopped at Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint, which was indeed scenic.
There were some tide pools but I was more intrigued by this thing:
Anyone?
We drove back south to Bob Creek Wayside and found tons of tide pools.
Thursday, Thanksgiving, was our last morning in Florence. I bugged the Wrentits by the deck for awhile...
After packing up we decided to check out the South Jetty of the Siuslaw.
Most of the people around seemed to be surfers...
The North Jetty was cool, but it was nice to be on the south side so the birds in the river were not so backlit.
We were walking back along the jetty when a couple of dogs in an SUV parked on the jetty started barking loudly at a small dog walking near them. I didn't want Jake and Ralph to set them off too so we started walking out towards the beach to give the SUV some space. That's when my friend yelled "Snowy Owl!" I thought he was joking because there was a big white styrofoam block on the ground. Then he yelled "not Snowy Owl, Burrowing Owl!" I really did not understand the joke at this point. All I saw was an SUV with barking dogs.
Oh wait. Look at the sand. There's a freakin Burrowing Owl sitting there. My friend had seen it land there though he didn't see where it came from.
After a minute the owl flew over to some dune grass and settled in. I had never seen a Burrowing Owl in flight before.
I sat there trying to send a quick email to OBOL while holding two leashes and my binoculars, hoping it would stay put. It did. It didn't even budge when two beagles and a little puppy came tearing up the jetty.
Burrowing Owls are known to end up on the coast in the winter on occasion, but it is far from a regular sighting. This was a good bird, and extra sweet since I dipped on the one at Yaquina Head last winter.
After the owl excitement we drove north to Cape Perpetua to see what all the fuss was about with Thor's Well. Wikipedia describes it as a salt water fountain driven by the power of the ocean tide. Photos make it look crazy and huge and badass. In reality it is small and only kind of cool.
The well gets filled, then it drains. Over and over.
The whole area is pretty cool. Lots of big splashes and lots of people getting wet, often unintentionally.
And that concludes the trip! It was great fun exploring a new section of the coast. I still haven't been south of Coos Bay so there's plenty more to see. Good times!!!
