All Things Must End...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground
Gardiner, OR

As I near the end of my tenure as the campground host at Tahkenitch Landing Campground, it appears obvious that we are ending Summer and moving in to Fall along the Oregon Coast.  Last week, as I was driving back from Eugene, you couldn't help but notice that the trees were beginning to change color.  Nights are cooler recently than they have been - by about five degrees or so, requiring more covers for sleeping.  We have had more rain in the last two or three weeks, real, hard, running down the road rain, than we have had since the middle of May.  Yesterday, as I was leaving Reedsport and Gardiner on my drive back to the campground, I saw about 25 - 50 Canadian Geese on the ground in Gardiner, near the river.  And, as I was walking through the campground last evening, a flight of between 75 and 100 geese took off from the corner of the lake, formed into a "V" and headed south.  With the end of Summer and the school year beginning, the number of campers staying at the campground has dwindled to almost zip/nada/nothing.  Since Sunday, a week ago (9/15), there have only been five campsites in use.  And two of those were occupied by folks with reservations for a week.  I have had only three drop-in campers in almost 10 days.  I had a reservation last Friday (9/20), but it was raining mightily and it seemed likely she would not show up...I was correct.  I have had two nights in which I was the only camper in the campground.  Welcome to Fall in Oregon.

I thought I might share a wildlife encounter with you.  During my walks in the morning, I pass a large lily pond, just north of the campground.  All summer I have been walking past the lily pond and just last week, I noticed a rather large beaver napping on a log, close to shore.  Actually there were two beavers, one large and one not so large.  I did not have my camera with me and when I returned, about an hour later, they were nowhere to be found.  Not to be deterred, I began carrying the camera every morning and last Saturday I was rewarded with a couple of family portraits.

 

And I was blessed, in all this fall weather, to experience an evening of clear skies with a full moon. 

I was very disappointed in the camera's ability to capture the full moon.  So I tried some variations with the settings...

That was better. 

But this was what I was looking for...

I hope you enjoyed the full moon as much as I...