04/26/03; Wildlife watching at Coos Bay:
Raining this morning as usual. Went into Coos Bay looking for a muffler place and saw signs for some state parks so followed them instead. I had to drive 11 miles back to Charleston but the drive was worth it. Saw a beautiful rainbow over the ocean at Bastendorff Beach County Park. Once I got past the developed area the shoreline became very rugged. I snuck in to Shore Acres Botanical Gardens State Park before it opened and thought I heard Canadian Geese honking, then I decided it sounded more like sea lions but I didn't see any.
Drove up the road a little to Simpson Reef Overlook and there they were, more than 100 sea lions, most up on island sand bars 200 yards from shore making as much noise as a large flock of Canadian Geese. Most of them were out on the larger island but 20-30 spread out on smaller rock islands 100 yards closer. Many of them were kinda standing there with their heads up in the air. Dunno why. I think these were mostly California sea lions but several were the tannish color of Stelar sea lions. From that distance they just didn't look 2000 pounds but were bigger than the rest. These seemed more like in the 500-750 pound range.
Went up to the end of the road and found the pupping site for a bunch of harbor seals. A bunch of them were out in the water sound asleep with their snouts pointed up in the air. Several pairs were cavorting together. They would be head to toe with each other just going around in circles, splashing and having a good time mating or playing or whatever.
04/27/03 Sea Kayaking Sunset Cove:
Well, I finally dunked the boat in the Pacific Ocean today. After what seems weeks, finally a night without rain and nothing but a sprinkle this morning. Still pretty overcast but you could tell the sun was up there. Temperature in the lower 50's and not much wind and it seemed like a good day for sea kayaking, especially after yesterday's surprising wildlife trip.
Put in at Suneset Beach in Charleston at 8am. Yesterday I took several pictures right from the beach. That should be an indication of how pretty this little cove is. Three divers were heading out fcin a Zodiac (rubber raft and motor) and spearguns. I didn't worry about the high tide line, just drove off the ramp onto the hard packed sand. Of course the only reason I did that was because the divers had launched there raft that way. Dropped my wallet in the water while launching so I wasn't off to a good start.
The cove is partially protected by several reefs at the mouth. Two hours short of high tide the waves crashed over them with great effect. As I approached them the swells appeared and got larger as I went. Soon I was in 3 foot swells, some of them maybe 4 feet. Not having been in anything over 2 foot lake waves in a couple of years I wanted to take it easy and get used to things again.
A few harbor seals popped up to investigate this strange being invading their domain. Out past the reefs I started getting 2 foot reflected waves bouncing back towards the ocean. The waves hit the reefs, some of the wave goes over the reef and some are reflect back out to sea. I paddled out about a half mile and just sat there a while, bobbing around, enjoying just being on the ocean again. Waves crashing against the reefs and 50 foot cliffs proved to me this was an excellent place for a first trip in the Pacific Ocean.
Some of the waves were splashing 10-15 feet in the air. Got the camera out of its protective baggie and snapped off a couple of pictures. When I went to put the camera back in the baggie it was gone. I didn't see it floating around anywhere. After thinking about it for 5 seconds I decided to take the camera back to shore, not something I would have done in the past. I didn't plan on getting wet but my best laid plans often go astray. I wasn't going to take a chance on damaging my fairly expensive camera. Besides, I had forgotten how difficult it is to take a picture in 3-4 foot swells.
So back to the beach and back out again, passing harbor seals both ways. Out past the reefs a California sea lion popped up out of the water and checked me out. Like a nut I'm talking to thing telling it "I seeee yooou". North would take me past the high point jutting out into the ocean and the lighthouse but would bring me to a developed area. South would take me along the coast I had explored yesterday. That was the direction I chose.
50-75 foot cliffs lined the shore as far as I could see which was a couple of miles to Cape Arago, past where all the sea lions were yesterday. I also knew the shore continued that way several miles past Cape Arago. Pines top the cliffs the entire way with the cliffs broken up by points and columns. They're fronted by reefs, ledges and sea stacks. I paddled a mile or so spotting several more California sea lions, sometimes in pairs. Some stopped to look me over but most kept sliding through the water. I could hear the racket they made up ahead on their rock islands and could see their outlines against the sky.
An offshore wind was picking up with gusts of 15-20mph or so. My left shoulder was feeling the strain and starting to creak and ache a little and I was thinking of turning back. A 20 foot fishing boat was no more than 100 yards away and it was out of sight most of the time as the swells picked me up and dropped me back down. I sat for a few minutes watching waves crash against the cliffs, some of them spraying 30 feet or more up the face of the cliff. Then the water would cascade back down.
Then, directly in front of me I saw a water spout. It didn't register right away and then I saw 10-15 feet of back... a gray whale between me and shore. Wow! Not more that 100-150 feet away. I sat there waiting for another view of it, but in vain. The swells near me raised and lowered me continuously and there were swells in between us too. When I thought about it, there could have been many more whales around and I never would have seen them. This one just happened to surface right before my very eyes.
My ultimate goal is to paddle with a pod of orcas (killer whales) while bald eagles soar overhead and giant sea otters play in the kelp beds and maybe a walrus or two on shore. If I ever get to do that I'd be ready to go... "Take me Lord, I've done it all". The locals tell me orcas do appear along this part of the Oregon coast so who knows. Until then, today's trip will be entered as one of my top 5 trips ever. Gorgeous scenery, harbor seals, sea lions and even a whale? Not bad, not bad at all for my first taste of the Pacific Ocean.
The tide was well on its way back out when I got to Simmons Reef Overlook to check out the sea lions again. Many more rocks were exposed than yesterday. Today, in addition to all the California sea lions were 50 or more harbor seals as well as about 10 Steller sea lions. I guess its the California sea lions doing all the barking and raising such a racket.
The harbor seals are so much smaller. Some of them balance themselves on smaller rocks with head and tail sticking out over the water. There was one Steller sea lion, way out on a rock that was huge. It reminded me of a grizzly bear I had seen eating an elk. It was sitting on its haunches was its belly was spread out around him. This sea lion was like that too but much, much larger. The locals tell me elephant seals occasionally join the crowd. One big happy family.