Clawing through the day

I have enjoyed just hanging out at the mouth of the Chetco river, this is the end of a 56 mile stream. So when low tide is happening and we have finished our errands for the day I see what the river has to offer. Friday the 30th of August I knew that this was probably going to be my last day to hang out before we head out. So we decided to hang by the mouth of the river.

There is a spot near the south Jetty of the Chetco river, where if the tide is low enough and the rocks are exposed. Pelicans love to hang out there. Further down the jetty near the harbor is the area where people crab. They actually are able to crab all up and down the river, but prefer the area near the Coast Guard station. If the wind is up, Danny from Brookings Kites will fly some of his gigantic kites. Today was not the day for his kites.

Here are some photos of the pelicans hanging out. I understand that the pelicans were here to eat the bait fish in the river. I don’t think these pelicans were interested in eating.

Off we went to see if there were any crabbers by the Coast Guard Station. As luck would have it, a family had just started to crab. They set up a fishing pole trap and a round castable crab trap.

I asked if I could hang out and take some pictures. It was also an opportunity to get a quick course on how it is done. The fishing pole trap is one that you have to pay more attention to. Once dropped it opens up on the bottom of the river, exposing the bait. The crabs come in and pick at the chicken leg; they can pick it clean quickly because it just lays on the trap. You pull this up, the trap closes and you are left with a crab in the trap. If it is close to a keeper, you measure it. If it is not a keeper, just open the trap and let the crab fall back in the water. Check out this method in action in these pictures. If you notice, the chicken leg stays in the trap.

If they do get a keeper or one they have to measure there is an added step or two. They dump the trap on the dock, check to make sure if the crab is the right size which is 5 3/4″ or more.

They also make sure it is a male. You have to release the females and the undersized. Follow this link for more information on how to crab in Oregon.

The round castable crab trap needed a good discus thrower. I say this because you want to get it out a bit from the dock area. The chicken leg is encased in a mesh compartment which makes this trap able to stay on the bottom longer to attract more crab. Both traps will fold up when raised off the bottom of the river. Any crabs sitting on the trap get a ride to the surface.

Once the trap is up, the fun begins. Looking at the trap once it is brought up you can kinda tell which ones might be keepers. So, you know what ones to measure once the trap is open. I did two things when the trap was open 1. tried and stay out of the way 2. protected my feet. (images of a crab clamping on to my toe were dancing in my head.)

Just a few more interesting tidbits I learned when a crab claw is lost or broken they have the ability to regenerate the limb.

When a crab is dropped back in the water, it sometimes floats and looks large enough to be a keeper.

The fog decided to roll in which meant it was time to head in for us. I sure enjoyed crabbing with this family. When I left they had three keepers.

The Sea Star?

The tide pool started because I wanted to see a Sea Star (starfish). I unfortunately did not get to see one at Lone Ranch Beach. I did however see one that day. Harris Beach looks on Goat Island, this is where you can see Common Murre, Cormorants, and other birds. I decided Meagan could enjoy this because she is a birder. We were armed with our super zoom Nikons and scanning the rock we both said look a sea star. The cherry on the top was the seal with 3 babies. Enjoy the pictures and the fact that I was actually able to see the Sea Star. I am still waiting to see one up close and enjoy the texture of them.

‘The Thing’ was……

I was able to get up close and personal to a tide pool and the ocean. I will say that it took me a couple of days to recover. How did I do it and why did I do it? I had my cane, a friend, determination, and grit. That is the how; the why is that I wanted to see a Sea Star (starfish), feel wet sand, and do this before there was no possible way I could.

After I told Roy what I wanted to do, we went back to the trailer, and he worked his magic with Google. Amazing skill he has; just by looking at a satellite map, he is able to figure out if this is a viable spot for tide pools or whatever. The plan was to figure out if it was possible for me to do the walk out and still take photos. We decided to head down to Lone Ranch Beach to see if I could actually make it down to the beach. I did grab the cane and my Nikon. Armed with Roy’s Google knowledge, I headed down the path at a very slow rate of speed.

Once arriving on the beach, I realized that I had chosen the wrong path to walk down, putting me in the middle of the beach. I thought it was a long way to walk to reach the rocks. I also realized that I have a really long zoom camera, so not much walking was needed today. It was an interesting feeling to be this close to some powerful waves and the sound of the ocean. I did ask a few people on the beach where I could find sea stars or anything today. Unfortunately, the tide was not out far enough.

The next morning, I invited Meagan to join me in enjoying the tide pools and helping me navigate the area. I am one of those people who love to hear and watch nature but am not a touchy person. We start down the new trail and right off the bat Meagan sees a snail.

She picks it up and moves it further along the trail so I can take the picture. She also touched the tide pool and made a fish move. I am thankful she did that because if not, I would have missed some pictures. She then discovered the crab; this made me more aware of what hangs out under the sea.

My takeaway from all this was that these sea creatures, plants, and rocks are exposed to people only when the tide goes out, and then it depends on whether the tide goes far enough out.

I had a feeling of wonder and awe. I was also reduced to a few words, sometimes just a few sounds, like “oooh” and “aaaah.” Check some of these out.

It was about this time as we were out in the ocean that Meagan said the tide was coming in. I grudgingly decided it was time to head back to dry land. I have a feeling that this is not my last tide pool visit. The only requirement is that it will have to be closer to the shore.

I Did A Thing …..

Yes, at least once every summer I do something that pushes me right up to my limits or beyond. Sometimes that thing is easy once attempted, and my mind was holding me back from trying it. Other times, my mind is on top of it, ready to try to conquer my own Mt. Everest, and the body says, “Are you INSANE?” Well, this week the thing was a combination of both sides. The end result is usually the same, which is an experience I would not change or give up for the world.

When I take photos, I am in a car, a short distance from the car, seated on a chair, maybe the ground, or I am buzzing around in my electric wheelchair. For this, none of those would do. I had to push myself to go a little (okay, a lot) further than I’ve done in a while. Now that you know the method of how I take my photos, here is the backstory and explanation as to why I did this and what the thing was.

Earlier this summer I got the Nikon Coolpix P1000, which has a mega-zoom (optical 3000mm or digital 6000mm). For the areas that I can’t get to physically, I can zoom in. I will say that this gives me options and another adaptation that still lets me ‘get the shot’. I have learned this summer that there is more than one way to achieve a goal.

Here is where the story began the night of the full moon on August 19. This is actually the night before the full moon.

One cool feature of this is the moon feature which I have experimented with and will share soon. On Sunday night, early Monday morning, we went out to catch the setting moon at 6:08 am. I took some timelapse with my Canon and also wanted to test out the moon setting from the Nikon. This picture was taken as the moon was setting behind a cloud bank on the horizon. It was also low tide, and I had been itching to get on the beach.

Those who know me, know that sometimes my desire for a picture will be stronger than my ability to go get it. The trail to the beach was not conducive to my wheelchair, and although my thought was to try it with my feet, I made it a few steps and realized that if I go any further, I won’t be able to get back. I wanted to see this arch up close. This is the arch from the parking lot. Looking at it now, I realize that I would have had to cross the water and sandbar – not one of my smarter ideas. This is where my Nikon and Roy’s driving made it a reality. I was able to capture the inside of the arch and even a seagull flying through it.

What made me desire ‘the thing’ was seeing a woman taking a picture of the arch area with a cellphone. I also saw some tide pool and sea star pictures on facebook from this same area.

We stopped at Harris Beach during low tide. The tide was coming in; however, there was still undersea life out in the open air. I wanted to see ‘The Thing’ up close. I had to find a way to get up close and personal with whatever was down on the ‘shores’. Using my Nikon P1000, I was able to get close but not close enough to experience up close and personal.

We came up with a plan to get upclose and personal with the sealife that is left behind when the water recedes. That is an adventure that my friend Meagan. Helped me experience. I just had to share the why I needed to do ‘The Thing’.

Went for a ride

I am looking for a different place to shoot the milky way and possibly the Perseids this weekend. We decided to head down to Crescent City, it is about a 30 minute drive. Here is the picture in the daylight that I think will make a great foreground for the stars. I am however not sure what I was thinking after I took this picture. Let me explain. When I step outside of the car just to take a documentary image I close the door. So, one would think when the picture is taken you open the door to get into the car. I ended up closing the door and giving Roy this look like how I ended up on this side of the door. You can now have that image in your head. Well, when a door is open what do you do you close it. I’m just glad Roy did not drive off. Once I got back in the car we decided to explore the coast of Crescent City. I love the unique rocks and beaches that dot the landscape. Look for some pictures from here in the future.

We finally are heading home it is dark and I am pulling my let’s fall asleep while Roy drive. As you can tell from this video, I did not stay asleep for long. I am also glad Roy was a truck driver. I am also glad we have both views from the camera.

You can see Roy’s lips move and catch a light going by us. He said that it looks like we will only see one logging truck on the way home. He also explained that he loved driving at night because there was usually little to no traffic. My though was yeah with little to no traffic you get animals. That is how we lost a windshield in 2000. That was compliments of a wild mustang. That is just about when I had my reaction. This was a half mile out of town, and she was standing right in our lane. I grew up in the Midwest and have seen deer in the middle of the road, I will say they are small compared to the cow elk in the middle of the road. The cows can weigh between 400 and 500 pounds.

I have to say I am glad we got home safe, and the cow decided to head back off the road.

Chickens in the ‘Wild’

I am so glad we did not go any farther down the dirt road we were on. Had that happened, I would not have photographed the chickens. Towards the end of our afternoon drive, we were headed home when the car was actually being chased by a dog, and that is what I was paying attention to. Roy, on the other hand, was paying attention to whatever moves. In this case, it was some movement on the side of the road. Roy said, “I’m sure I saw chickens,” and I’m thinking, “Okay, if you say so.”

A u-turn occurred, and the dog resumed its chase. He found the movement and made another u-turn. I pulled out my camera, and Roy straddled the road so I could take some pictures of the chickens. Realizing we were in the middle of the road and there was traffic coming down that road, the photo op was finished. We did flag down the car to let them know chickens were on the side of the road. The other driver said, “I will call the owner and let them know their chickens are loose.” The chickens were the end of a fun road trip down a dirt road up an elevated dit road. The start of this was watching kites trying to fly.

Sometimes when you are waiting for someone to come back and they don’t, you have to change plans. We needed to talk to the office where we are staying, but it was closed. A whole afternoon of free time. Our normal routine is to drive through the harbor to see if the kites are flying, then park by the river that drains into the ocean to see if there are any egrets or maybe common murres or pelicans. This day, however, the only thing flying was a solo light green kite.

We needed to explore something different, of course it was sunny and that in itself is rare. Down Winchuck River Road or the Oregon Redwoods Trail, time to see a few large trees. This is also where we saw the chickens. The road itself was a maintained county road until it wasn’t. I will say, on a side note, that this summer the forest service roads are in better condition than in the past. We did take the paved forest service road until it turned into gravel.

The first road had a bridge over (not troubled) water. I was able to take advantage of the sunlight falling through the trees onto the river. It was great to stay in the car and just shoot from the passenger side of the car. Not wanting to go any further down the road because it had turned into gravel, we started heading back to civilization. Before that happened, I suggested let’s head up to the Ludlum campground; it is only 2 1/2 miles up another road. This road quickly turned into a narrow, one-lane gravel road with nowhere to turn around. (Not one of my better adventure ideas.) We were able to find a wide spot in the road to turn around.

Roy is always paying attention to the environment I do not notice as much as he does. I am learning. I mention this because the pictures below are of a fallen tree with its root ball intact and all of the tiny trees and brush growing out of the trunk. Mother Nature’s nursery.

In my opinion, the forest is peaceful and a tad unnerving. The quietness is deafening until you start to hear the sounds of the forest. Just about then, I’m out of the car taking pictures, looking over my shoulder for the bear or bobcat, or maybe a mountain lion. I saw or heard none of them. I did end up jumping though and getting scared. It was caused by Roy and his horn. As I went to the other side of the car after lovingly telling him he was #1, he pointed out how high above the river we were.

On the way home and after we ran into the chickens we went to see Oregon’s largest Monterey Cypress. This tree than 130 feet tall. I had trouble fitting it in the farme. It is interesting what gems are hidden in plain sight.

With a full day of no fog it was great discovering the area.

4-Wheeling 4th of July

with my wheelchair. Picture this: coming at you from the darkness, a bright light bouncing up and down adding in some side to side movement. I would be scared, and so were the people who I ended up shining the light in their eyes. It was an accident. I did apologize; their response was, “We had no idea what was coming at us.” One even said how impressed they were that we could baja out on this rocky jetty. My answer was, “I will do anything for a photo shot and a Klondike bar.” I have been out on this jetty before but never at night. I also had thoughts of, something jumping out of the harbor and …. (way too many Stephen King novels).

Roy and I went out earlier in the day to scope out the spot for the tripod and camera to get the perfect image. I was lucky enough to see how they stuff the fireworks. (I love my zoom lens). The picture below is about 600 yards away and about where we settled for the fireworks photos. I couldn’t see this with the naked eye and if you squint you will see what my camera saw.

The jetty is located between the small boat harbor and the Chetco River. I have spent a few days trying to hone my bird tracking skills by photographing the egrets that love to hang out in both areas. Check out this one that took off from the docks. I am amazed at the gracefulness and silence of these birds.

After we figured out where we would set up for the fireworks we headed back to the car and decided let’s go check out the vendors they had for the 4th. We notice them by looking across the harbor. I did end up buying a dress. Fast forward to the evening and we arrived right before dark and wanted to get a good position on the jetty. We weren’t sure how many people would head out to the jetty to watch the fireworks. It turned out we had about 50 people walk past us to head out to the end of the jetty. I heard it was crazy on the beach. I know watching the fireworks that were going off even before the main event. I enjoyed seeing the fireworks all around plus it was a great way to make an hour go by.

Once the main event started I was able to enjoy them because the camera took care of itself. I put my Miops lightning trigger on the camera and let it work for me. I enjoyed watching and being able to share the fireworks with you.