Cannon Beach is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,690 at the 2010 census. Cannon Beach is a popular coastal tourist destination in Oregon, famous for Haystack Rock, a 235 ft (72 m) sea stack that juts out along the Pacific Coast. In 2013, National Geographic listed Cannon Beach as “one of the world’s 100 most beautiful places.”
In 1846, a cannon from the US Navy schooner Shark washed ashore just north of Arch Cape, a few miles south of the community. The schooner hit land while attempting to cross the Columbia Bar, also known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” The cannon, rediscovered in 1898, eventually inspired a name change for the growing community. In 1922, Elk Creek was redubbed Cannon Beach (after the name of the beach that extends south of Ecola Creek for 8 miles (13 km), ending at Arch Cape) at the insistence of the Post Office Department because the name was frequently confused with Eola. Elk Creek itself was renamed Ecola Creek to honor William Clark’s original name.
Haystack rock at Cannon beach I, Oregon, USA
Once blue hour came along the mist of the sea on the right and the clouds in the sky on the left melted into one, it looks like I photo-shopped the rock and the sea into the image, like those two images were put together rather than shot at the same time.
I took one last stop in a town called Bellingham, gave Eddie a good clean, threw away stuff I didn’t need anymore and went for the boarder. Also, I got my American favourite, coffee accompanied by a cinnamon bun, one last time. I was a bit worried about not being granted entry, I had stayed in Canada for the full six months and then only left for three.
Considering my first attempt to enter the United States my worries were justified, but as I had learned there the Canadian boarder was a completely different game. Just as the last time, the boarder agent was extremely friendly, asked me where I was going and how long I was going to stay. I told him about the trip, that all I needed was to get rid of the car and then all I wanted was to finally go home. He believed me and without any further questions I was on my way back to Vancouver. I had left in late autumn just to come back to a very wintery Vancouver. I played with the thought of sleeping in the car and wing it until I would figure out my return, but decided against it. I just couldn’t be arsed anymore, the trip had taken its toll. As fun as it was to be homeless in Vancouver in the summertime, as uninviting it seemed in the winter. It got dark way too early, was wet and rainy and pretty cold over time. For the first couple of nights I booked something on the cheap side, like a house-hostel kind of place with shared rooms, kitchen and bathroom. I stayed in the room with two other dudes, one younger and one older, definitely on the lower side of life. The younger one was named Jessi and he was very fascinated when I told him what I had been up to. In the end he bought Edward for 400 Canadian dollars, we went to the office together where we signed the paperwork. My original plan that couldn’t fail was to sell Eddie to a scrap metal guy, they would’ve picked up the car and payed me about 150-200$ for the metal it contained. But the thought made my heart ache, how could I do this to my trusted companion? The first idea was to have him retire in Mexico, between palmtrees and the ocean. This never happened because I didn’t get to Mexico, so I was happy to keep him on the road. The kid was going to bring him somewhere close to Seattle in America, not the worst spot after all. I should’ve stayed in contact and checked in once in a while but too many phones later I have no idea how to contact the guy. Considering that the Mexicans (now that I’ve been there, I actually know it is Ford Explorer ’96 heaven) probably would’ve put him to hard work for another 10 years, this options might’ve been the best for the good lad.
Haystack rock at Cannon beach I, Oregon, USA
Another perspective of Haystack rock, more from the front towards the sea at an earlier hour. I loved moody Oregon, clouds, mist, ocean spray, rain. I am in Mexico right now at the hottest place (it feels like) I have ever been and I would give so much just to feel a bit of a fresh ocean breeze, a bit of mist and some rain.
I stuck around Vancouver for 2 weeks in total, but made sure I switched to another accommodation as soon as I could. The next place was a massive studio apartment which I was supposed to share with the owner (which would’ve sucked as there was no separate room, just an open sleeping space on top of the owners bedroom) but she wasn’t there and so I had the whole studio to myself.
It was such a beautiful place, tastefully furnished, spacious, with all the amenities and a very comfortable bed. This was exactly what I needed after all these months of travelling and looking at things. I didn’t do much the whole week, just went shopping. I got myself a new jacket by a famous Canadian brand, visited Leon and the guys at shop Task, got some Intuition liners as souvenirs, as well as new clothes and shoes. All my things were broken, the trip had taken its toll on shoes, jackets and clothes.
I did revisit some of the places we had spent time in the summer, one of them was the trout lake community centre and somehow (and not really to my surprise) our boy Chabudz was still there, or at least his car, parked in the same old spot. I waited around a bit for him to show up, but he wasn’t around. Read about him in the Canada posts. So after a good 9 1/2 months on this side of the globe it was finally time to return to Europe, I booked a flight back straight to Barcelona and a whole new adventure was about to begin
Cannon beach, Oregon, USA
The day just kept delivering, once I was done walking around the beach because it had gotten too dark and I went to look for the car I discovered the city covered in a mix of thick fog and mist enough to let every single light glow.
