Tiny, wriggling, burrowing sea critters

I finally got my bare feet on a beach yesterday -- but it was an Oregon beach, not a California beach!

 

What you can't see in the surf in the first photo is these thousands -- probably millions -- of small, wriggling creatures that washed up in every wave, burrowing immediately into the sand. I haven't a clue what they are, and they weren't inclined to hold still for a photographer. I will say that when I stood in the surf and they washed around me, I could feel them tickling my feet. Weird and cool at the same time. Anybody have a clue?

I always love this particular beach, have visited it often. The sand patterns are always fun, and at low tide there is a richness of sea critters clinging to the big rocks. It never disappoints.

Looking back from whence I walked. The wind had been at my back walking down the beach, and of course when I had to walk back to town, it became a headwind. A very strong headwind! Sand blowing everywhere. In fact, today I found (and still find) grains of sand in my eyebrows, for example, and of course in my hair. But it was awesome to walk down here again, see the mysterious wriggling critters.

Back in my motel room, a slightly more civilized ocean view, but not nearly as satisfying.

So naturally, you're wondering why I'm at an Oregon beach when I'm supposed to be in California. Or not. I'm still having a hard time trying to formulate why I left into a few words that make sense, but I decided on Tuesday that I needed to leave. I was (or felt) obligated to wait until others returned to the forest, rather than just bolting, so I ended up leaving Friday morning, opting to make an overnight trip of it and then opting to take the scenic route. I'll try to explain more about the 'why' when I get it figured out.

The beach is at the small town of Port Orford, which is always one of my favorite places to stop when I drive along the coast. That beach is always awesome, and the town itself is kind of cool, in a quaint way. It's home to a large and active fishing fleet, but doesn't have a harbor. Figure that one out!

Rather than reinvent the wheel here, I'm going to take the lazy route and refer you to these articles on the town that I wrote over on my Southern Oregon Coast blog a few years back. I don't think I've ever written about it here.

It's also home to what was (and I emphasize was) one of my favorite crazy food joints. Again, refer to the above link, but the place used to have the best fish&chips I've ever tasted. Last night, not so much. Not bad, but the fish looked (and tasted) nothing like that in the photo on the other blog. The breading was always what made it so delicious -- fluffy and crisp and staying on the fish. Last night, bland, soggy, and falling off the fish. Bah. One more food fantasy derailed. Guess I'm gonna have to amend the article about that place.

From there it was an easy drive into Eugene -- could have made it in 3 hours, but I was goofing off, stopping, actually stalling for time because I didn't want to arrive too early and awaken my housemate, who tends to like to sleep in on her weekends off.

I'm really tired. Haven't slept hardly at all the last 3 nights, and not too much for most of the time I was down there. I dozed a bit earlier, watching TV, so I suspect that being home will help me get a little shut-eye tonight. Maybe tomorrow my brain will have a little more energy, work a bit better. For now -- it's good to be home.