Photo Post: Checking off Cannon Beach, Oregon

Cannon Beach, Oregon
The Haystack

I had a couple of things on my Oregon bucket list when I flew to Bend over Labor Day this year. Obviously the first was to catch up with my roommate from college and best friend, Jonathan, and visit all his favorite haunts in Bend. But I also wanted to see the stunning landscapes (seascapes?) of Cannon Beach on the Pacific coast, make an appearance in Portland, and drive around Crater Lake National Park. That last item never happened, unfortunately, because roads were closed due to the smoke of raging forest fires, but I did make good on my goal to set foot into the Pacific Ocean in America.

Cannon Beach, Oregon
Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach’s main draw is its collection of whimsical sea stacks, eroded columns of rock that float out in the water. Haystack Rock is the largest of these sea stacks. This conical mini-mountain commands the beach and dominates Instagram feeds, too. After several long hours of driving across the state of Oregon, choking on the smoky, ashy air, and getting lost in the farmlands of the Willamette Valley, it was so refreshing to emerge from the woods at Cannon Beach, walk barefoot on the wet sand, and breathe in the salty ocean air.

Cannon Beach, Oregon
Cannon Beach

Yes, Cannon Beach was a paradise—even if the Pacific was ice-cold. But back on dry land we were greeted with a traffic nightmare of Labor Day Weekend proportions. We probably couldn’t have chosen a worse day to visit, and I almost had a breakdown trying to find a parking spot anywhere on the US-101 corridor which the town of Cannon Beach sprawls along. After what felt like half an hour of pulling into a neighborhood, finding it full, and driving back onto the highway, we finally found somewhere to stop a 20-minute walk from Haystack Rock.

Lunchtime found us at Pelican Brewing (1371 South Hemlock Street), where we washed away our stresses with some local beer-on-tap and delicious, if overpriced entrées.

Cannon Beach, Oregon
Cannon Beach

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