Five Astounding Things on the Oregon Coast Right Now

Five Astounding Things on the Oregon Coast Right Now

Published 10/13/2010

(Lincoln City, Oregon) – Oh the ways to have fun on the coast, especially right now. There's a touch of “Second Summer,” of storm action, ethereal oddities and of astronomical phenomena happening on the coast right now. Some rather striking aspects of the beaches have kicked in – and many don’t seem aware. (Pictured above: Stonefield Beach at dusk on Tuesday night, near Florence)

Muriel Ponsler Wayside, near Florence

Oregon Coast Weather. Don’t let the weather reports full you – it’s actually nicer than they say it is on Portland TV stations, and they’re saying it’s pretty nice.

Temps in some places have been exceptionally warm, even hot. Not because the coastline itself is necessarily all that warm, but sometimes when there’s no wind and a lot of sun, the sun reflects off the ocean and seriously heats things up.

Some brilliant sunsets have been reported. Add to that the presence of the moon, which appears to be struggling with the sunset for dominance in the dusk sky, and you have some remarkable sights at sundown.

The awesome weather has been sucking in folks from the valley in droves, and the highways on the central coast have been pretty packed at times this week.

However, coastal lodgings are now really dipping into the “shoulder season” of great deals, so mid-week stays on the coast are especially inexpensive and inviting now.

The weather in Portland and other parts of the state may be monstrously lovely as well, but on the coast, it's combined with some other things that are making the area ethereal and dreamlike.

Lincoln City at night, where glowing sand has been seen

Glowing Sand. Yup, it’s been spotted. It’s been confirmed in Lincoln City, as of late Tuesday night. And conditions are ripe around the coast for this to show up now.

It’s the result of a bioluminescent form of phytoplankton that hits the coast periodically, causing little sparks blue/green beneath your feet as you walk along the beach. You must find a very dark beach, however, with little to no light interference from streetlamps or the moon.

The moon is getting more prominent, so that may be a problem.

Near Yachats: Cook's Chasm goes a little wild, while getting hit with the rays of dusk

Crazed Waves. The great visual dichotomy of what’s happening now is the occurrence of monster waves on the coast. In spite of starkly sunny and calm conditions, places like the Spouting Horn in Depoe Bay, the spouting horn at Cook’s Chasm near Yachats, or the craggy basalt rocks of Yachats are the recipients of enormous wave action, and thus some monster spouting horns.

Near Cape Foulweather (Depoe Bay), at night: stars are out in full force, and so are many shooting starts

Shooting Stars. It’s typically been cloudless conditions at night recently, and that means some clear views on the coast of the stars, constellations, and some amazing shooting star action.

There isn’t anything in the astronomy world to indicate the Earth is going through anything crazier than normal in terms of meteor showers, but the plummeting mini-planetoids can be plentiful right now.

Thanks to the lack of major light noise from big cities and the clear air of the coast, if you’ve got no clouds on the beaches, you’re in for a show at night – a lot of the time. It’s not guaranteed. But BeachConnection.net staff were goofing around a few beaches in the middle of the night on Tuesday morning for about two hours and saw around six major streaks in the sky.

Don’t forget to make a wish.

Manzanita, close to dusk

Playing on Your Laptop at Dusk. Here’s an odd one, but a significantly interesting one, discovered in Manzanita at the beginning of October during some gorgeous weather. At least one staff member at BeachConnection.net dragged their laptop out near the beach at sunset, and did a little work.

There is nothing like it. It’s not suggested to actually bring it out onto the beach, but editor Andre’ Hagestedt discovered that parking above the beach, then setting your laptop on the trunk of the car can have its major moments of satisfaction.

“I did about 30 minutes of work from the trunk of my car, while the last remnants of sunlight shifted colors and faded away,” Hagestedt said. “Meanwhile, there’s that constant sound of the surf. It’s an awesome way to work, to write.”

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Lincoln City Dining, Restaurants.....

LATEST OREGON COAST NEWS STORIES

View the original article here