One early September weekend found all three of us at the house in Neskowin, and wanting some adventure. It turns out Bob Straub State Park is just up the road in Pacific City, and the weather was perfect for a long walk.

This is part of our Oregon State Park challenge! Check out our progress here.

Bob Straub (no relation, by the way – I’m related to the Pennsylvania Straubs) is a day-use park, with a parking lot and an extensive set of trails through the estuary. They’re horse trails on sand, which means they’re kind of tough hiking if you’re on foot, but we managed. We even found three geocaches!

The return path was on the beach, and Becky was worn out due to her hip injury. She suggested that I go and get the Jeep, and drive it on the beach to pick her and Lucy up (Pacific City is one of the rare Oregon beaches where it’s legal to drive). I was nervous because I’d gotten stuck in the sand before, but I was willing to give it a try with our Jeep’s fancy 4×4 system, with its “sand” setting.

Things didn’t turn out so well. It took us about two hours to get off the beach, and we needed help three separate times. We owe a debt of gratitude to those ten strangers. In the end we did escape, and I’ve learned never to try that again.