“View of Cannon Beach”
Ecola State Park
I remember the first time I visited this view point. It was the end of the summer of 1972, fifty years ago. Dave Zimmerman, a great college friend, and I were driving down the Oregon coast on our way to visit another couple of friends (Kent Dimmitt and Doug/Candace Norquist) in Los Angeles. I had just received my first camera (a Nikon Nikormat) for my college graduation present from my parents. We were on the lookout for interesting things to photograph. We stopped here and I took a couple of photos that turned out to be one of my favorites from the trip. I still have a slide filed away somewhere.
The next time I stopped here was with Karen on our unofficial (we didn’t tell anyone) engagement adventure in late summer of 1975. Our next visit was on this day in 1976 on our honeymoon. It was so, so romantic!
Fast forward forty-six years. Mary and I were driving down to the Allison Spa and Inn in Newburg, OR to use a wedding gift that we received from my siblings 3 years prior. Covid kept us from using it earlier. On our way down, we took a little side trip to Astoria and then down the northern part of the Oregon coast. I saw the sign to Ecola State Park and decided to stop at the view point. The view was still spectacular! The view point had really changed from what I remembered 50 years ago to be just a small turnout. It is now a beautiful park for viewing Cannon Beach. We took our time and enjoyed the wonderful experience.
