Drift Creek Falls

The temperature in the valley is beginning to reflect the summer season. The mercury is climbing upward, so A, his dog and I gladly clambered into his car and migrated to the coast for a few hours. The heat was already pushing 80 as we raced out 22. As the elevation climbed we threw glaces at the in cabin thermometer. It dropped a few degrees as the miles passed.

At Devil's Lake near Lincoln City we checked out prices for renting kayaks. The sun shimmered on the water's surface, but we didn't stay. We wanted to save that adventure for another day.

A few miles further at the coast fog nestled up to the shore. We stopped to introduce A's dog to the Pacific. They'd never met before and she wasn't too sure she liked its cold salty waves.


After a stop for lunch we sought out the road to Drift Creek Falls. Our directions were one step short of accurate, but after a few tries we found the way. Blue skies and sunshine welcomed us. It was a long trek up gravel forest roads lined with foxglove before we reached the trailhead.


The trail was easy though a bit crowded. Near the end was the 200 foot suspension bridge that crossed the creek. A few minutes further down the trail and we reached the creek just below the waterfall. Bugs attacked me on arrival. As I moved closer to the waterfall their pestering lessened. We splashed around in the water while A's dog watched the small fish swimming between the rocks.

The hike back, though not strenuous seemed much longer. The drive back to the coast was much shorter. And the coast was still shrouded in fog. We stopped for dinner to watch the sunset, but the fog was too thick and the wind was cold. Once back in the valley where we live, the heat hugged the earth hours after sunset. We wished we could have smuggled back some of the cooler weather like the bags of taffy we brought back from the coast.