Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hat Rock State Park
Pat and I wanted to check out local attractions today. We started by going to nearby Hat Rock State Park. We actually used to have these family reunions at the private RV park across the road from this nice day-use park along the Columbia River.
We hiked the short interpretive trail that goes to the base of the Hat Rock formation then meandered down to a very nicely groomed picnic area complete with pond and various birds. I found one cache in the park appropriately name Hat Rock - imagine that! As I looked through the logbook I spotted a familiar name…...ottontots….a local Coos Bay caching friend! Small world!
Pat was able to get a number of nice pictures of the area. At one point on the trail I stopped to watch a very large bird in the distance. It had a long slow wing beat - later discovered it was probably an American White Pelican.
After leaving Hat Rock, we took rural roads (okay, they’re ALL rural around here!) on the outskirts of Hermiston on our way to Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge. We didn’t get to really spend the time we wanted there because we needed to get back to camp and we weren’t finding access to the waters edge. However, Pat got some pictures of buffalo and an old pioneer out-building leaning heavily. I looked briefly at the entrance for a cache but couldn’t locate it (See, I can admit when I can’t find one!). I found a cache near the leaning building and one in Hermiston while Pat did some grocery shopping.