Day 7 of 10 - 2019 Pacific Northwest Road Trip - South Beach to Port Orford

It is these moments that I long for. The perfect serenity and joy of nature. A moment when time comes to a standstill and you forget everything but the present.

This place was a planned stop... sort of. I had hoped to hike and photograph a unique mixture of pines trees and sand dunes. What we ended up exploring instead was an extensive beach with large, rolling dunes tufted with grass. We didn't go very far, but spent lots of time here taking ridiculous group photos and sitting around for the sunset. I love that photography works to pull me towards these moments. It's a reason and a purpose to be out––not that we need one to experience and enjoy nature––but it adds a layer to the reason for exploring: to capture what I discover and to share what I cherish. This evening I felt all of that in full. I was so at peace and yet so brimming with unabashed delight over everything around me: the splendor of natural landscapes and being able to share that with friends I hold dear!

As if I needed more on my list to come back to, this place is certainly up there. If I lived nearby I'd be here all the time. There was hardly anyone out, so we again pretty much had a massive expanse of waterfront and sand dunes to ourselves. The weather was perfect. The sunset that we waited around for was amazing. This might have been my favorite moment of the trip.