Checking out the crumbling bluffs before armoring begins

Barring some bureaucratic delay , work should begin soon on the Mad River bluff project. With this in mind, I decided to get some photos this evening to document the bluffs before construction begins. I grabbed my camera and left my secret compound, located near School Road and U.S. Highway 101, on foot.



I crossed the Hammond Bridge. My Dad once told me that if you want to build something solid, use triangles. It's a pretty simple concept that keeps this big, honking piece of steel suspended over the Mad. There's something else interesting about this photo – the steel plate in the middle is not symmetrical. Maybe the bridge was handmade in more ways than one.



Yep. Lots of triangles. Count them. There will be a quiz later.



This blue heron is completely uncooperative when it comes to photos. I say "this" because I think I see the same one all the time. The little bastard is always facing the wrong direction and flies away every time I get close.



I stumbled over the dunes and tried to get to the east bank of the Mad. Damn. The spit was a lot wider and longer than I imagined. On the left are giant dunes, with the Pacific on the other side. To the right is a willow forest, with the Mad on the other side.



After cutting through a forest that looked like something from the Blair Witch Project, I came to my destination. Here's the crumbling river bank that our tax dollars will armor. That power pole on the right is at the foot of School Road. You can click on any of these images to see a larger version.



As you can see, someone already tried to armor the bluff. This was done without permits. But that's OK. Sometimes you have to ignore the law and do what needs to be done, right? The cement chunks didn't hurt anything, but they probably didn't help anything. In a big storm these chunks would wash away in a second. The Mad is bigger, smarter and more powerful than us silly humans. It was here before us and it will be here long after we're gone.



I took a lot more shots, but those are for the files. Then I hiked west, climbed a massive dune and took this shot. The house to the far left is near the foot of Ocean Drive.



This is called Mad River Beach. At some point north if becomes Clam Beach. I'm not sure where the name changes. One could argue that Clam Beach is north of the Mad River's mouth, but the location of the mouth changes all the time. Right now it's just south of the foot of Murray Road.



Check out the size of this stump at the beach. A so goes another day in paradise.

So how many triangles did you count?