Mile 204 Report
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
September 12, 2020
Today's weather forecast called for areas of fog with a Dense Smoke Advisory because of the wildfires, but I didn't smell any smoke, just dense fog all along the beach, with hardly anyone to be seen.
Report Details
Today's weather forecast called for areas of fog with a Dense Smoke Advisory because of the wildfires, but I didn't smell any smoke, just dense fog all along the beach, with hardly anyone to be seen. Although a Saturday, there were only a few vehicles in the Driftwood Wayside parking lot, where I met a worker with the PacWave wave energy project who was measuring the water level in a borehole the project had drilled (see my previous reports). He said things are still in the design phase but that the project may begin construction in a few months. This will be exciting to monitor and report on.
Conditions
Temperature: 50 F. Cloud Cover: Foggy. Tide Level: 4.0 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 7. Number of dogs: 1. Walking or running: 7.
Vehicles
Cars/trucks parking: 5.
Notable Wildlife
A couple dozen gulls where Buckley Creek meets the surf. A few "peeps" and Whimbrels.
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt). Congregations of small shell particles, and congregations of particles so small I'm not even sure they came from shells (see photos).
Man-made Modifications
The leanto just north of Buckley Creek, built in early June and fallen down by late June, has been restored. Not identified as a man-made modification, it looks like aliens touched down and left images of themselves and their spacecraft at the Buckley Creek sand cliff.
Natural Changes
At summer's end, Buckley Creek and Fox Creek are both very low flowing onto the beach.
Aliens and spaceship, Buckley Creek sand cliff
Buckley Creek entering beach
Rebuilt Buckley Creek leanto
Gulls in fog
Dunes in fog
Walkers in fog
Very small shell particles
Very small shell particles
PacWave worker measuring water level in borehole
Report Images
Jon French
CoastWatcher
All Mile 204 Reports
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Mile 204 isn't my usual mile, so I've waited to walk it again until work resumed on PacWave South's wave energy testing project at Driftwood Beach Wayside. https://pacwaveenergy.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Today marked my latest sighting of the old growth driftwood log that I've admired and whose comings and goings from Driftwood Beach I've documented since June 2020, when I first photographed it high on the beach south of Buckley Creek.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I had read that the 265-foot vessel Seacor Lee would be anchoring a mile off Driftwood Beach in support of OSU's PacWave South wave energy testing project, positioned so that divers from the ship could perform work on previously installed seafloor conduits.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I haven't walked Driftwood Beach regularly since the PacWave South wave energy project completed work underground in the Driftwood parking lot.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
By the time I got to Driftwood Wayside, a lot of people had already arrived for their New Years Day beach walks, some 30 vehicles in the parking lot and 30 - 40 people down on the beach, accompanied by at least half as many dogs, almost all leashed.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
This was probably the last dependably dry Mile 204 walk before the rains begin in earnest.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
After the morning fog lifted and before the marine layer moved in, I walked from Seal Rock on Mile 205 to Beach Access 66C on Mile 203.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Driftwood Wayside is open again after PacWave's departure, but I was the only visitor on this breezy, drizzly day.
Jon French