The weather experience.....................

 

The waves were crashing hard on the cliffs below the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Everything about our adventure here in Rosburg has been amazing.  In years to come as we relive our time here I'm sure that a frequent topic of conversation will be the weather experience.  We knew that cool and damp would be the dominant weather.  As Beth so eloquently put it, "if we would have wanted 75 degrees and sunshine everyday we could have stayed in Florida".   Variety is what we wanted and variety is certainly what we're getting!

The past two days (Thursday and Friday) we've kept the "cool and damp" theme going while mixing in scattered sunshine, frequent drizzle (drizzle is the word the weather channel uses most frequently to describe the current conditions), some passing showers, a couple of rounds of sleet, placid calm and strong winds.  Sometimes all of these literally within just a few minutes of each. When the winds have blown, they're coming out of the west meaning they're blowing directly off the very chilly water.  This turns " pleasantly cool temperatures" to "feels like" temperatures near freezing.    

On our way to Cape Disappointment we made a brief stop at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.  The short boardwalk was open but the main trail remained closed due to damage from the recent winter storm.

We didn't see any "real" wildlife in the refuge but there were some spiffy metal fish mounted in the trees!

We drove back to Cape Disappointment on Thursday so we could enjoy experiencing the turbulent weather along the coast.  The forecast was for 25 foot waves but in our eyes they didn't seem that large.  However, the wind and waves did have the Pacific Ocean churning.  The conditions made it necessary for the Coast Guard and Columbia River Bar Pilots to close the Columbia River Bar to any ships wanting to enter or exit the port.  A perfect storm watching beach day!

Surf's Up!

We were going to walk a part of the Discovery Trail but the cold wind and rain had us heading back to the Silver Bullet right after this picture.

The Bar is Closed!

As usual, this morning (Saturday) we were up before sunrise.  We walked out on our cabin deck to enjoy views of the full moon in a cloudless sky.  As the sun rose above the river it was a morning of clear blue skies, calm winds and the Columbia River was "as smooth as glass".  

The Columbia River Bar has reopened to ship traffic.  There was a steady stream of ships coming into port and heading out to sea.  I haven't tracked all the outbound ships but of the four I've tracked one was a car carrier heading for Los Angeles and three were cargo ships bound for distant ports in China, South Korea and Japan.  In addition to weather watching, ship watching and tracking has become another of our favorite pastimes.  There be more on this activity in another blog.

Smooth sailing on a Saturday morning.  This ship is heading to South Korea.

As for now, it's time to get out and soak up the sun...........while it lasts!