The alluring photos of Sitka Sedge State Park enticed me to take a drive back to the coast the very next weekend. A lake, the ocean, a forest, sand dunes: this place had it all.
But one thing I didn’t take into account was the weather. Despite spending almost all of 2021 where weather exists (like winter in Connecticut and summer in Georgia), being back on the west coast, I was suddenly in the Southern California mindframe: the sun shines every day. And while that is basically and scientifically true, it doesn’t show itself quite too often in Oregon. And much like Los Angeles, the land is transformed by the sky above.
We arrived under grey skies, but the thing about grey skies in Oregon is that it’s more of an immersive experience than just a change of lighting. You’re more “in” the clouds than below them. The color of the foliage and even the water, was muted by the grey above (and all around) us.
We walked along the marshes first,
But one thing I didn’t take into account was the weather. Despite spending almost all of 2021 where weather exists (like winter in Connecticut and summer in Georgia), being back on the west coast, I was suddenly in the Southern California mindframe: the sun shines every day. And while that is basically and scientifically true, it doesn’t show itself quite too often in Oregon. And much like Los Angeles, the land is transformed by the sky above.
We arrived under grey skies, but the thing about grey skies in Oregon is that it’s more of an immersive experience than just a change of lighting. You’re more “in” the clouds than below them. The color of the foliage and even the water, was muted by the grey above (and all around) us.
We walked along the marshes first,
Then through the forest,
Then as if this was Christmas at Pismo Beach, we entered the dunes.
Eventually we made it to the beach.
The Pacific Ocean is right there. Honest. It is.
I’m sure the views are stunning when the clouds lift.
We returned on the back end of the loop to the lake, where again, had it been blue skies and sunshine, would have looked drastically different.
But this is what we saw.
Nothing wrong with it, just different. It proves that your perception isn’t just colored by your perspective but by everything around what you’re looking at. We don’t look at one thing; we absorb it all. I always wonder how Tucker perceives our hikes. He’s having an entirely different sensory experience than I am. The scents and the world he experiences I cannot even begin to imagine. For him, whether it’s cloudy or not, his imagery may not change. But with the rains, the scents take on new depths, and a breeze can scatter the smells in all directions.
Perhaps we shall return another time to experience this place under blue skies. Perhaps I will come with a different perspective as well, and the colors around me will change in light of it all.
Perhaps we shall return another time to experience this place under blue skies. Perhaps I will come with a different perspective as well, and the colors around me will change in light of it all.
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