At the end of a short hike near Tillamook, Oregon, we were rewarded with this view of the top part of Munson Falls. Over 300 feet high, the ribbons of water cascaded down to help water the rainforest around us.

Hiking to Munson Falls just south of Tillamook meant walking under a canopy of leaves and mossy branches with the sun filtering through.

A sword fern unfurled along the trail to Munson Falls near Tillamook. Nearly everything in this rainforest was a shade of green!

Walking on the beach at Oceanside, we saw this low rainbow reflected in the clouds above and the tide pools in front of the Three Arch Rocks.

A store window in Depot Bay on the Oregon Coast featured this locally inspired duel between a Dungeness crab and a dragon. Beware of the crab with a weapon in each claw!

This tree in the Yaquina Head Natural Area was hanging onto the steep rock wall with its curved trunk. Another remarkable example of life successfully surviving on the edge.

These pairs of pelicans were found in the rocks just off Yaquina Head north of Newport on the Oregon Coast.

Looking up at the top of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, the iron railings around the light and the painted brick walls below make an interesting, symmetrical study in black and white.

Just yards away from Yaquina Head Lighthouse, this rock was covered by an entire colony of squaking sea birds.

A day trip down the Oregon Coast led us to the Yaquina Head lighthouse just north of Newport.

This is what we saw when looking out of my parents’ front windows down to their garden below — a doe and fawn making themselves at home for the afternoon. Even though the house faces an intersection, the deer had found a secluded spot above the traffic and below our window.

Sunset orange divides the dark blue sky from the darker blue Pacific in this view of the Three Arch Rocks. This is the view from near my parents’ house in Oceanside. It only lasts a few minutes, but it’s worth the trip!

The sun going down into the Pacific off the Oregon Coast left an orange glow behind this Sitka spruce in Oceanside, OR.

The Netarts Gnome Owners marched in the 4th of July parade in nearby Oceanside. Now you know what garden gnomes do when they are off on a holiday!

Looking very dapper, the ‘members’ of the Oceanside Yacht Club waved to the crowd at the 4th of July parade right below my parents’ house.

A 4th of July parade at the Oregon Coast can include some surprising characters like these dancing starfish.

Oceanside and Netarts combine to host a small town 4th of July parade that included costumes like the Statue of Liberty.

A panoramic view from our favorite beach of Oceanside and the Three Arch Rocks.

The beach, Maxwell Point, and the Three Arch Rocks are key features of the town of Oceanside in the Oregon Coast near Tillamook. My parents retired here in the 1990s and we love staying at their home that overlooks the ocean.