Port Orford 2018

We start today with a walk down to Battle Rock Beach, about a mile from Camp Blanco RV Park.

The tide is receding. Notice the high tide water mark on the rock below.

Truthfully, I don’t even know if that is a water line. All I do know is that I can see a starfish clinging to the side of a rock, but the encroaching waves prevent me from getting close enough to take a proper picture. And that’s the only starfish I spy along our beautiful beach walk. So, perhaps the tide is flowing in again.

But it doesn’t matter… The rocky shoreline is the real star of the show.

Rocks are a powerful metaphor lending meaning to life.

Strong, but fragile… Solid but broken… Rough but smooth… Connected but abandoned… Powerfully intimidating but gently reassuring… Gigantic but tiny… Dull but colorful… Rare but ordinary… Prized but discarded…

Rocks speak to my spirit and tell me extraordinary tales of adventure, endurance, patience, suffering and preciousness.

As I grow older and turn back the pages of my life’s story, I have similar tales to share. Once I was the king of my mountain until one day I was pushed off balance and found myself floating in mid air, scared, shocked, and out of control. Then a strange thing happened. I grew a pair… of wings… and I surprised myself. I flew! 

As we walk Battle Rock Beach, Jeff and I become mesmerized into our own worlds.

Jeff finds a good-sized agate, some wave-smoothed pieces of driftwood, and a marbled rock of black and white that called his name.

I bury myself in the sand and take pictures instead.

A still life arranged by nature…

A washed up jellyfish…

A large mussel shell…

The remains of tiny crab-like crustaceans…

A loooooooooooong bull kelp… (from left to right)

Bull kelp is the fastest growing seaweed and can grow up to 20 feet long in one season. After I take my pictures, Jeff picks the kelp up and tries to whip me.

Meanwhile, as I escape the bull kelp whipping, I notice this colorful boulder planted in the sand.

Looking toward the eastern bank of the shoreline, green rocks cascade onto the beach.

I love this color green!

The only people we see on the beach have dogs. Each dog runs up to us for some attention and love pats. Two such dogs run through the low tide waters and romp among the rocks.

Then, a single man strides toward us… He is blowing bubbles, colorful bubbles along the beach! As he passes I give him a shout out and he tells me how the bubbles form a vortex among the rock stacks.

As Jeff and I leave the beach and meander up the pathway towards the Visitor Center, spring blooms capture my attention.

Outside the Visitor Center driftwood benches beckon sightseers.

As I pop in to say hello, Jeff meets a professional fisher woman and her visiting sister.

We leave the parking area and a single orange California poppy waves goodbye to me.