B & D's USA Hideout: Tillamook, Oregon

A call from a familiar co-worker, resulted in me wading knee deep in the cool turquoise riffles of the streams flowing west of the Cascade range. I drove the rig down to Tillamook, OR from the tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Sequim, WA. I really hadn't loved it there so the offer couldn't have come at a better time. I get lucky like this sometimes. I roomed and worked with my old steelhead survey partner, Jake, at his newly purchased home in Tillamook. From December through the end of January, I was surveying for scarlet sided Coho salmon on the Salmon and Nestucca River Basins. I worked with a great crew and for a great program under Oregon Fish and Wildlife. Driving up active logging roads and following bobcat tracks in the snow along the river banks and across log jam juts were highlights of my daily excursion in the field. As were of course all encounters and sightings of wildlife. This year I saw my first bobcat! He was bright red and had green eyes and a stubby tail. My partner, Chris, and I had enough time to get a mental picture but not a digital one as he sprinted across the dirt road and up a moss consumed Douglas Fir. Before we could move, he leaped 15' and rocketed off into the wilderness. Elk, deer, eagles and osprey were also frequent sightings.

On our days off, we'd sometimes clam the flats where Whiskey Creek streamed into its new salty environment. Hiking and exploring around the coast was always taken advantage of on a clear day. The winter was quite brutal weather wise, lots of snow and rain and frigid temperatures were harsher than normal for the north coast. I also tried to help Jake out with house projects as best I could, my specialty extending only as far as painting. And of course a portion of Sundays were always carved out for the Pat's game.

My other ventures during this winter was a trip to San Diego to spend Christmas with Val and Rick. As always it was a phenomenal visit. I got the comfort only family can provide during the holiday season. I also hosted my dear friend from days of Maritime, Kerry. The first week of February, she hopped on a jetblue direct flight from BOS to SEA and spent an extra long weekend exploring the city and the Pacific Northwest Coast while staying with me in the Hideout. The abundant precipitation of the PNW upheld its stereotype performing at its best for a first time visitor. Rain and shine, Kerry and I made the best of it and capped off our Seattle jaunt with a Patriot’s Super Bowl win and dinner atop the Space Needle.

I spent another couple weeks in Gig Harbor, WA before hooking up the trailer and towing it east. I’m gearing up for another season with ODFW surveying steelhead in the Blues. But before I start, I’m meeting my man in Florida for a two week vacation. The second half of his time off, he’ll be relaxing and doing whatever. We’ll be visiting the two National Parks that we missed the first time around as well as spending time with our Floridian family and friends. Sunshine, here I come.

A compilation of photos from a winter on the Oregon Coast: