Calm Before the King Tide: Exploring Cape Disappointment & Waikiki Beach at Dusk
We arrived at Cape Disappointment State Park with enough time to explore, location scout, and get the lay of the land for the following day’s king tide conditions. We started with a visit to North Head Lighthouse, a charming lighthouse perched atop the headlands above Benson Beach.
North Head Lighthouse, Cape Disappointment State Park
From the lighthouse, we drove to scout the location for tomorrow’s adventures- Waikiki Beach. A king tide is the highest tide of the season, and from this spot, hundreds of people will gather to watch the waves of the king tide crash on the rocks below the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, perched on the cliff above. Standing there watching the calm waters in the fading light, it was hard to imagine that anything as big as they were forecasting could possibly be coming. But as every beach kid knows, waves- and the weather- can change quickly.
Waikiki Beach and the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
We enjoyed the quiet of the cove, watching the moon rise above the lighthouse. There is a sense of immense peacefulness that comes from scenes like this. The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, sitting high on the cliff, felt small but steadfast against the evening sky and the vast Pacific. It was a perfectly calm moment where the moon, the light, and the rock all held their place. We just stood there, letting the quiet of the cove settle into the end of the day, knowing that tomorrow, this same moon would be pulling the highest King Tides onto the rocks just below. The calm was a perfect counterpoint to the anticipation.
Moonrise over the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
