(Newport, Oregon) – It’s baaaack.The gargantuan science facility on the Oregon coast, Newport’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, is bringing back its biggest and most popular public event, SeaFest, on the weekend of June 23. The event means fun for all members of the family in a variety of ways, with tours of the facility and its workings, special exhibits, and an opportunity to talk with scientists about their research in marine biology, aquaculture, fisheries and deep-sea exploration. Visitors can tour the research vessels, and enjoy live music and kids games as well. Lectures by scientists who have accomplished extraordinary things and other special presentations are on hand as well.BREATHTAKING CLIFFTOP IN NEWPORT
STARFISH POINT Newport - Offers only the finest in luxury condominium lodging. Every unit is focused on the beauty of the sea and the beach.All units boast two bedrooms, two bathrooms, designer kitchens, wireless broadband Internet, fireplaces, Jacuzzi’s and private decks. Friendly staff dedicated to high quality and superb customer service. 140 NW 48th Street, Newport. (541) 265-3751. (800) 870-7795. http://www.starfishpoint.com/
SeaFest was introduced in 2002 as an “open house” opportunity for residents and tourists on the Oregon coast to tour the sprawling marine science center and learn about the research conducted there. The event attracted over two thousand attendees the first year and proved even more popular in subsequent years, drawing visitors from across the state and region with its mix of family-friendly science exhibits, research vessel tours, artistic displays, seafood, entertainment, and activities for people of all ages. The primary hosts/organizers of SeaFest are Oregon State University and the various agencies located at the Center, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition, representatives from Newport’s commercial fishing industry, US Coast Guard Station, and dozens of other local organizations participate as exhibitors.
“We had a fantastic SeaFest in 2005, which was also the year of the Hatfield Marine Science Center’s 40th anniversary celebration,” said Ken Hall, HMSC Program Manager, “but we decided to put SeaFest on hold for a year to take a break and evaluate some of the new ideas being proposed”.
"At its core, SeaFest celebrates the natural environment and presents science in a way that helps people understand our role as stewards of the oceans and their bounty," said Hall. "That’s a theme everyone can relate to, and it explains why people keep asking, 'When is SeaFest coming back?' "Mark your calendars for June 23rd.For more information about SeaFest, visit www.hmsc.oregonstate.edu/seafest or call (541) 867-0212. 2030 SE Marine Science Drive Newport, Oregon.
Arch Cape Property Services. Dozens of homes in that dreamy, rugged stretch between Cannon Beach and Manzanita known as Arch Cape. Oceanfront and ocean view , or just a short walk from the sea.
All homes are immaculate and smoke free; some pet friendly (with a fee). Some with broadband, indoor or outdoor hot tubs, fireplaces, decks, and fire pits or barbecues. Call about tempting winter specials that go until March (not valid holidays, however). http://www.archcaperentals.com/ 866-436-1607.
D Sands Condominium Motel, Lincoln City. Free, fresh baked cookie upon check-in is just the start. All rooms beachfront and up against Lincoln City's most famous stretch of beach: the D River. Each room comes as a suite or mini-suite, and has a kitchen and balcony or patio. Some w/ gas fireplaces, while all have a DVD Players; movies to rent come with free popcorn. Heated indoor pool, a spa, and this fabulous beach is lit at night. Rooms sleep from two, four to six - including a deluxe fireplace suite. Gift certificates orspecial occasion packages. http://www.dsandsmotel.com/. 171 S.W. Highway 101. 800-527-3925.Weiss' Paradise Suites & Vacation Rentals - Seaside
Unique Luxury Accommodations in Seaside. 1BR Suites, 1BR & 2BR Duplex Units and 3BR Houses, units for 2-8 people. Rent entire property for 20-26. Close to beach, river and Broadway St. Suites are designed for two adults; vacation rental units for families. All units have kitchen and many have fireplace, deck and jetted tub. Comfy robes, slippers, luxury bath amenities, quality linens and more. 741 S. Downing St., Seaside. 800-738-6691. http://www.seasidesuites.com/
Tradewinds Motel, Rockaway Beach. All rooms are immaculate and have TV’s, VCR’s and in-room phones w/ data ports. Oceanfronts have queen bed, a double hide-a-bed, kitchen, cozy firelog fireplace and private deck. Both types sleep up to four people. Others are appointed for a two-person romantic getaway, yet still perfect for those on a budget. Elaborate oceanfront Jacuzzi suite has two bedrooms, kitchen, double hide-a-bed, fireplace and private deck, sleeping as many as six. For family reunions or large gatherings such as weddings, some rooms can connect to create two-room and three-room suites. Some rooms pet friendly. 523 N. Pacific St., Rockaway Beach. (503) 355-2112 - 1-800-824-0938. www.tradewinds-motel.com
Inn At Spanish Head, Lincoln City. Lincoln City’s only resort hotel built right on the beach with all oceanfront rooms - nestled against a rugged cliffside overlooking a soft, sandy beach. Dine in penthouse restaurant and bar, for casual meal or candlelight dinner. An array of seafood specialties, juicy steaks and other Northwest favorites, including decadent Sunday buffet. Rooms range from bedrooms to studios to 1-bedroom suites with microwaves and refrigerators to full kitchens. Also, wi-fi, spa, saunas, exercise room and year-round heated swimming pool. Kids will love the game room and easy beach access. Full-service conference/meeting rooms for that inspirational retreat; extensive wedding possibilities. 4009 SW Highway 101, Lincoln City. 1-800-452-8127 or 541-996-2161. www.spanishhead.com
Inn at Cannon Beach. Beautifully wooded natural setting at quiet south end of Cannon Beach. Great during winter storms with a new book by the fireplace – or when the sun is out for family fun and beach strolling. Handsome beach cottage-style architecture. Lush flowering gardens and naturalized courtyard pond. Warm, inviting guest rooms. Continental buffet breakfast. Warm Cookies. Family and Pet Friendly. Welcome gifts. Smoke-free. Complimentary Wireless Connectivity. Wine and book signing events. 800-321-6304 or 503-436-9085. Hemlock At Surfcrest, Cannon Beach, Oregon. http://www.atcannonbeach.com/.
The Ocean Lodge. There will not be another property built like this in Cannon Beach in our lifetimes. Rare, premiere ocean front location; handsome, dramatic architecture and tasteful, fun (nostalgic) beach interiors. Overlooks Haystack Rock. 100 percent smoke free. Imaginative special occasion packages. Massive wood burning lobby fireplace. Library w/ fireplace, stocked with impressive book collection. Pet and family friendly. Lavish continental buffet breakfast. In-room fireplaces, mini-kitchens. Jacuzzi tubs in select rooms. DVD players, complimentary movies. Morning paper. Warm cookies. 888-777-4047. 503-436-2241. 2864 Pacific Street. Cannon Beach, Oregon. http://www.theoceanlodge.com/
DIVE INTO LUXURY, HISTORY AT THE TIDES
CONTACT BEACH CONNECTIONMore Than 20 Reasons for a Late Spring Oregon Coast Jaunt From lonely beaches, live music pleasures, weird storms sights to lodging surprisesWatching Transformations of Oregon Coast Beaches Seasons change and so do beaches, revealing different sides and a variety of eye-popping sightsStructures Found on Oregon Beach May Be 80,000 Years Old - They are the remnants of a forest apparently 80,000 years old, found at Hug PointDay or Night Mysteries and Merriment on Oregon Coast It's more than just nightlife that comes to life, but the beaches offer major opportunitiesSampling Wines and Wine Bars on the Oregon Coast Wine shops and wine bars are a growing part of coastal tourism
ASTORIAWhere the Columbia meets the Pacific, Land of Lewis & Clark and loads of atmosphere & history
SEASIDE
The Promenade, Tillamook Head, family fun & broad, sandy beaches
CANNON BEACHA mysterious lighthouse, upscale yet earthy, a huge monolith, fine eateries & an art mecca
NEHALEM BAY
Manzanita's beaches, Nehalem and Wheeler's quirky beauty; laid back Rockaway
TILLAMOOK BAY
Garibaldi, Barview, Bay City, Tillamook & an oceanfront ghost town
THREE CAPES LOOP
The hidden secret of the coast: Cape Meares, a lighthouse, Oceanside, Netarts and Pacific City
DEPOE BAYA spouting horn downtown, freaky hidden cliffs and whales, whales, whales
NEWPORTTime-tripping Nye Beach, a bustling bayfront, marine science-central and two lighthouses
YACHATS
Constantly dramatic wave action, a mix of the rugged & upscale
FLORENCE
A lighthouse, ancient bayfront and miles and miles of fluffy dunes
Ghost forest at Arch Cape in February 2008 (photo Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium)(Oregon Coast) - A shipwreck suddenly appears in the sand near Coos Bay. Historically significant cannons show up a few miles south of Cannon Beach, apparently the missing armaments from a ship 150 years old whose first cannon gave the town its name. Strange reddish rock formations pop up that look like something from a sci-fi film. A mail truck nearly 100 years old appears near Waldport. A creek changes direction. Dozens of fossils, millions of years old, begin to reemerge in the sand. And the list goes on.Oregon’s coast has become a laundry list of weird finds on its beaches recently. Good beachcombing conditions after a rather tumultuous run of winter storms has made a lot of the finds possible. First, the stormy waves scour out the sand. Then, when stormy conditions subside and the weather gets better, more people hit the beaches, more eyes are on the sand, and more wacky stuff gets spotted.The crux of it is the storm action of this past season. Storms bring enormous waves that are powerful beyond imagining, known to crunch sturdy basalt structures or move boulders, as well as toss gargantuan logs of timber as if they were toys in a kid’s bathtub. All this action churns up sand beneath the waves, and sand gets sucked back out into the ocean.
Cannon found at Arch Cape (photo Boothe)Then, when the season calms down a bit, the sand levels return, because the waves are not very big and the wind blows the grains around. By the end of March, maybe sooner, you’ll see these ancient treasures covered up and beach sand levels close to normal.Sand Levels' Many SurprisesIt all began in the late fall, when geologists started noticing sand levels getting much lower rather quickly. By November, weird stumps began showing in the sand of Cape Lookout State Park. These are 1000-year-old remnants of what many call a “ghost forest.” Their appearance is practically a yearly occurrence, and fall's storms were what geomorphologist Jonathan Allan said was their debut this season. 
Waldport-area stumps (photo Guy DiTorrice)Meanwhile, Neskowin shows those eerie ghost forests off year round, and Allan and Hart say that is one of numerous areas on the Oregon coast where sand levels seem to keep dropping.“That kind of erosion has increased a lot in the last decade,” Allan said.There are plenty who believe global warming is causing greater wave action, if not higher sea levels in general. Either way, Allan’s office does note the decreasing sand levels in many spots on the coast.Then, in recent weeks, Arch Cape and Hug Point – both just south of Cannon Beach – were the recipients of more of the ghost forests. Seaside geologist Tom Horning (from the Gateway to Discovery Center) said sand levels are down about ten feet below normal in this area, much like last year.
Red Tower at Arch Cape (photo Boothe)Last year, as this year, Horning was delighted to find strange, surreal structures appearing at Hug Point. This year they’ve shown up at Arch Cape and Hug Point. They’re called “red towers,” and they come in odd, indefinable shapes. Normally, these sit way beneath the sand, beyond our view, which is what allows them to form.When it comes to the now-famous pair of cannons found on the strand of Arch Cape, Horning doubts the cries of locals that the sands are lower than they’ve ever been. “They’ve been this low before a few years ago, but maybe just not in this spot,” Horning said. “That was down south, closer to the headland. If the sands had been that low further north, where they are now, the cannons would have been spotted then.”In Waldport, where an old mail truck was found by a pair of locals, the action is much the same. It too will be covered up again.Until the 30’s, Oregon’s beaches were the highways. So it is believed the mail truck comes from a period when it had to traverse the sands between Yachats and Newport to deliver mail.
Major chunk of a 4,000-year-old tree at Neskowin. Note the prolific tree stumps in the surf in the backgroundHow to Freeze a Forest in TimeWhat’s the origin of those freaky-looking, rather mournful ghost forests? It is a somewhat slow process - by our standards - that entombed these things, preserving them from deterioration. It’s rather quick in geologic terms. These things have to be first engulfed by something else, often sand or mud, and then stuck there for millennia to be preserved this long.
Major root systems left over from 4,000-year-old stumps at Moolack Beach, Newport: these were likely preserved by major dune movement 4,000 years ago.Entombed Forests of the Central CoastThe process for entombing these forests is different for each area. Until recently, experts like Hart, Horning and Allan believed they were the victim of a dramatic, wild geologic upheaval of some sort. Maybe a tsunami buried these forests, and / or a massive earthquake dropped the forestland abruptly, perhaps as much as 25 feet.But that theory has given way to slower means of demise. In the case of the ancient stumps at Moolack Beach, just north of Newport, there’s one idea.
Newport's Yaquina Head: this enormous headland was once covered by massive dunesHart said they’ve discovered strong evidence that Newport’s Yaquina Head – a rather towering headland – was covered by sand and dunes beginning some 4,000 years ago. They’ve discovered shell middens dating almost that far back. That and other finds are leading experts to believe native tribes people walked down a fairly gradual slope to the shore to collect shellfish.
Ancient stumps at Hug Point in 2007North Coast Ghost Forests and Their BeginningsOn the north coast, it’s yet a different story, and how the stumps at Arch Cape happened and how those at Hug Point occurred – only a few miles north – are different tales as well.Horning described the possibilities for the Hug Point ghost forest."It is possible that there was a baymouth bar coming off Neahkahnie Mountain,” he said. “Such bars are along Netarts Bay and Tillamook Bay presently. It is reasonable to assume that a similar bar could have formed at some point in the past, depending on sand supply and shoreline position. The edge of the bay, once established, should have filled in with marshes fairly rapidly, after which the wedge of forest soils would advance out over it. If dunes close off the bay, water tables will rise quickly, drowning the trees. If the bars break down, the swamps disappear, leaving no way for future trees to be entombed, so it is a one-time-only situation. "Considering that sea levels oscillate, bay mouth bars should be regarded as ephemeral. Also, marshes tend to develop near meandering streams, which are only present on low-gradient, low-sloping land, like terraces. If the river meanders away, the swamps can fill and never form again. And if sea level rises rapidly during this time and rates of sedimentation are high, you can end up rapidly accumulating sediments along flood plains, for example, without developing peaty swamps and bogs - just silt layers.”
Moolack Beach, Newport: the soft, grayish material seen here is similar to the clay stuff that has entombed the forest at Arch Cape
Red tower at Arch Cape (photo Boothe)
Red tower at Hug Point in 2007 (photo Tom Horning)He said there’s a lot going on beneath the sands we don’t know about until levels get low enough for us to glimpse them.“At Hug Point, it appears that springs have been issuing from the bedrock, carrying fresh water into the overlying beach sands, which usually rest on the bedrock for long periods before storms move them. The spring water is deficient in oxygen, possibly because the bedrock contains bits of wood that oxidizes and consumes any available free oxygen. The absence of oxygen in the water allows iron to exist in a dissolved ferrous state. But when the spring water mixes with oxygenated seawater in the beach sands, the iron immediately is oxidized to its ferric state, making it insoluble, and it precipitates either as red hematite (iron oxide) or as brownish red goethite (hydrous iron oxide). Possibly, this process is facilitated by iron-fixing bacteria, but geologists often don’t know much about biology, so we shrug and move on.”
Example of fossil blocks eroding out of walls north of Seal Rock and Moolack Beach (photo Guy DiTorrice)What Else to Look ForAgate hunting and fossil hunting are extremely good about now on the coast, said Newport beach expert and fossil tour guide Guy DiTorrice. “There are some agate-containing beaches open north and south of Lost Creek State Park and further north at Thiel Creek, with many collectors reporting nice picking especially for the ‘Newport blues,’ “ he said. Hunting for that stuff has gotten quite good in a lot of central coast spots, including Ona Beach.Sand levels have also shifted the creek at Agate Beach, DiTorrice said. “The channel has shortened its hard northerly track this past winter, opting for some wider sections closer to Agate Beach State Park.”For fossils, look on the beaches as well as cliff walls that are eroding, DiTorrice said. He took the above picture of large fossil blocks eroding out of walls north of Seal Rock and Moolack Beach.