When you’ve got wildcrafting goals and camping goals, and only so many weekends, sometimes you just have to multitask it. We did just that a few weekends ago on a camping trip down to Cape Blanco State Park on the southern Oregon Coast. We had been talking about picking spruce tips for a while, and noticed that on the coast, they were coming out in full force. With another batch of our spruce ginger beer in the plans, as well as spruce tea and other good things, this was an exciting find.
Fortunately for us (and maybe less
fortunately for the kids) they had a lot of homework, so while they
worked away at the table in our camping cabin, we were out filling empty
bread bags and whatever containers we could find with beautiful, bright
green, bushy spruce tips.
fortunately for the kids) they had a lot of homework, so while they
worked away at the table in our camping cabin, we were out filling empty
bread bags and whatever containers we could find with beautiful, bright
green, bushy spruce tips.
It didn’t take long to pick around 8 gallons. We felt pretty accomplished for just being out on a weekend camping getaway.
When we weren’t harvesting spruce tips and doing homework, we got out to walk on the beach and hike the trails. Cape Blanco is one of my favorite spots on the coast, and it’s especially beautiful in the spring.
We got lucky with some low morning tides and clear weather.
We also got lucky finding rocks.
With the tide out, we discovered that the point of the cape below the lighthouse is a perfect spot for tidepooling.
There were quite a few sea stars exposed.
As it turns out, we were not the only ones enjoying the beach that day.
We returned from our weekend at the coast with spruce tips, cool rocks, completed homework and good memories. It was definitely a successful trip. From here on out, the spring will be busy on the homestead with preparing the garden and planting time, but when we kick back in the rocking chairs at the end of the day with a glass of spruce beer, we will remember beautiful spring days on the beach at Cape Blanco. It’s a delicious life.
Here are some useful links with a little more info on Cape Blanco and spruce tips:
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