Oregon Coast – October 19, 2024
Two weeks before this trip was supposed to start, my new Honda van was totaled in a freeway accident. I was fine, thankfully — a car alongside me was rear-ended and pushed into my lane. What followed was a stressful few days of determining fault, assessing the damage, and waiting to hear what the insurance company would do. I really didn't want to make this trip in a rental. Monday I got word they'd total the car and the money would hit my account within days. Wednesday I bought a new Honda Pilot Trailsport. Saturday I hit the road.
The workshop didn't start until midweek in Oregon, so I took a few days to make my way up. First stop was Lee Vining. That first evening I visited Mono Lake and set up the Seestar 50 to try and capture comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which was visible at the time. It had reportedly been naked-eye visible, but I couldn't spot it without the telescope.
 The full route from San Diego, up 395 cut over to Oregon and Hwy 101 and then head south. | For a couple of years I'd been reading about the Crowley Lake Columns, an unusual geologic formation between Bishop and Lee Vining. The new Pilot gave me all-wheel drive and extra ground clearance over my old van, so I decided this was the trip to finally check them out. It's not far off 395, and it's a scenic drive before you cross the dam. About a mile past the dam you hit the main obstacle — a nasty stretch of ruts and holes in a low dip in the road. My theory is they leave it unrepaired on purpose to keep the crowds down. From there it's another good mile to the top of the cliff, which you then have to scramble down to get close to the columns. There's parking if you'd rather skip the climb. The descent isn't bad; coming back up is a little more of a workout. Visitors tend to arrive in waves, so with a bit of patience you can get clear shots of the columns and the beach — that's certainly how it worked out for me. I spent another day in Lee Vining and got out early to catch the sunrise at the top of Tioga Road on the way into Yosemite. I continued over to the valley and spent some time around the Ansel Adams Gallery, along with a cemetery, museum, and shops nearby that I hadn't explored before. From Lee Vining I pushed on to Klamath Falls, Oregon for the night, then headed out the next morning through Portland and on to Seaside — the starting point for the workshop. |
I had driven the Oregon coast once before on my own. You cruise down Highway 101 past signs for beaches and parks, but you're often too far from the water to know what you're missing. My first time through I was navigating with paper maps, so finding the hidden spots wasn't really on the table — I didn't see much. Having a knowledgeable guide, GPS, and the ability to research locations ahead of time made all the difference. The workshop used Seaside as our base for a couple of days, with visits to Cannon Beach, Indian Beach, and Fort Stevens State Park — home to the rusting wreck of the Peter Iredale. From Seaside we made our way south to Newport, stopping along the way at the Garibaldi Pier and the historic Coast Guard Boathouse.
From Newport we continued south to Bandon for a couple more nights. We visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Newport and caught a sunset at Sunset Beach along the way. Of all the stops, Bandon Beach was probably my favorite — and we were treated to a stunning sunset on the final day. I lingered an extra day before looping back north to Florence to visit the Oregon Dunes, Heceta Head Lighthouse, Coquille River Lighthouse, and Umpqua River Lighthouse.
I took a couple of extra days for the drive back to San Diego. First stop was Crescent City, California, where I stayed for two nights — my first visit in about ten years, back when I was still shooting film. I swung through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which is usually a lovely loop drive, but a downed tree had blocked the road. The next day I explored Redwood National Park and the Prairie Creek area, where I got to watch some Tule Elk — a real treat.
From Crescent City I headed south toward Fremont for the night. I tried to duck into the Marin Headlands for some Golden Gate Bridge shots, but the area I was aiming for was blocked off — frustrating, given what would have been a gorgeous sunset with storm clouds rolling in. I had planned to drive straight home from Fremont, but made one more unplanned stop at San Juan Bautista, a location I'd driven past many times but never actually visited. It's a charming small town built around one of the California Missions, and it's also where part of Hitchcock's Vertigo was filmed.
