Thanksgiving 2017: The Oregon Coast

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

It was unusually warm when we woke up Tuesday morning at our campsite in Jedediah Smith State Park.  It had rained steadily until the wee hours of the morning, so we slept in the car rather than in our tent.  I prefer the tent because there's more room.  Pongo's a bit of a bed hog.  The car is nicer for bad weather, though.  It's very comfortable when it's just me but get's a little tight with me and the dog and all of our camping gear.  Plus, I packed too much stuff for this trip.  I need to weed some stuff out before the next road trip.  Anyway, it was so warm that morning I was in short sleeves all the way up to Bandon, OR.

Smith River, Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

Smith River, Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

The campgrounds at Jedediah Smith State Park are fantastic.  The site is in the middle of a redwood forest along the banks of the Smith River.  A number of the campsite look right out onto the river.  I prefer the ones across the road from those which are under some really big trees.  It makes for a dramatic place to wake up in the morning.

Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

Jedediah Smith State Park, CA

We drove up North to Pistol River in Oregon where we stopped for a walk on the beach and dunes.  Pongo particularly liked the dunes, where he could poke his head around dunes and tall grass looking for little critters.  We didn't find any.  It reminded me of his adventures at Goblin Valley in Utah, where he had great fun sneaking around the sandstone structures.

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Harbor Seal -- Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, OR

We made our obligatory stop at Gold Beach to photograph the sunken tugboat in the Rogue River.  I never miss that opportunity.

Rogue River, Gold Beach, OR

Prehistoric Gardens, Port Orford, OR

We took a short detour in Bandon, mostly because I had to go to the bathroom.  It took us out to the Coquille Lighthouse, which was pretty cool.  The thing with driving up the Oregon Coast on 101 isn't the Oregon Coast itself.  The highway actually spends a lot more time out of sight of the ocean than within it.  It's the rivers.  A hundred miles or more can be driven on the California coastline without crossing a major river.  In Oregon, they come one after the other.  The rivers and the bays make the drive up the Oregon coast the unique drive that it is.  There are more spectacular coastlines.  My dad would probably argue that point, but IMO California and Washington both have Oregon licked in that regard.  It's the preponderance of big rivers that makes Oregon unique on the American West Coast.  I don't know any other coastline, so I can't speak in more general terms.

Bullards Bridge, Coquille River, Bandon, OR

Coquille River, Bandon, OR

Coquille Lighthouse, Bandon, OR

It rained for the rest of the drive up the coastline.  We were going to camp if the weather permitted.  It didn't.  So, at Lincoln City we cut over to Salem and had a nice dinner with my parents before settling in to a nice warm bed for the night.  Well, more of a mat on the floor of my sister's old bedroom.  Close enough.  I actually sleep very well on that mat.  So does Pongo.

Steller Sea Lion -- Sea Lion Caves, Florence, OR

Steller Sea Lion -- Sea Lion Caves, Florence, OR

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Florence, OR

Soundtrack:

• Elvis Costello -- The Man
• Ryan Adams -- Heartbreaker
• Sonic Youth -- Murray Street
• Loretta Lynn -- Van Lear Rose
• Erykah Badhu -- New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
• LCD Soundsystem -- This Is Happening

Thanksgiving 2017: Redwood National Park

Monday, November 20, 2017

I drove up to Salem, Oregon for Thanksgiving.  I go up there every year for a large family gathering.  I like to take my time on the drive up.  It's a nine and a half hour straight shot up Interstate Five.  I take that on theway back, but on the way up I use alternate routes, usually spending two to five days wandering my way up North.  It was a short, two day drive up Highway 101 in California and Highway One in Oregon.  I'd have taken an extra day but the weather was quite wet and I had my dog Pongo with me, so we kept it short this year.

Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt County, CA

I only stopped a few times for pictures on Monday due to the rain.  Our destination for the night was Jedediah Smith State Park near Crescent City, which is part of Redwood National Park.

Roosevelt Elk -- Redwood National Park, CA

We encountered the Prairie Creek herd of elk just off of the highway.  They always seem to be nearby.  I think I've made one drive through the area without seeing these big beasts.  No big antlers this year, though, we only saw females and juvenile males.

Roosevelt Elk -- Redwood National Park, CA

Roosevelt Elk -- Redwood National Park, CA

Roosevelt Elk -- Redwood National Park, CA

Roosevelt Elk -- Redwood National Park, CA

Klamath River, Redwood National Park, CA

Klamath River, Redwood National Park, CA

Soundtrack:

• Frank Sinatra -- In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
• Stars of the Grand Ole Opry
• Spoon -- Gimme Fiction
• kd lang -- Shadowland
• The White Stripes -- Elephant
• Echo & the Bunnymen -- Echo & the Bunnymen

Thanksgiving 2014: The Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast

November 23, 2014

Souindtrack:

• Depeche Mode -- Black Celebration
• Led Zeppelin -- IV

Sunday turned out to be the day with the least amount of rain on the trip.  It was nice to see California getting some rainmaker love on the previous day, and over the course of this stretch of road it seemed like a wet one, but there were a few solid hours of sunlight to be had which was more than I saw the rest of the week.

Smith River, Redwood National Park, CA

I like the autumn version of the Smith River better than the summer version.  It has a little bite to it.  The redwoods along its shore complete the experience, exuding a unique aura of power and beauty along with an air of timelessness.  These individual trees have witnessed the ebbs and flows of the Smith River for centuries and will continue to do so for centuries more.

Smith River, Redwood National Park, CA

Redwood National Park, CA

Smith River, Redwood National Park, CA

After leaving Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, I was in desperate need of coffee.  I could have made a pot before leaving but didn't want to spend the time.  That's always my issue, I don't want to waste precious time in the morning making breakfast, I'm always too anxious to get the day going.  Things to do.  Places to go.  Things to see.  I met up with coffee in Brookings, after acquiring a bottle of twelve year old Hibiki at the border.  Coffee.  Whiskey.  I was ready to continue the trip.

Whalehead Beach, OR

Whalehead Beach is a spot I like to stop at in bad weather.  I've never seen anyone on this beach, which is right off of the highway.  In autumn the creek is too high to allow access to anything but a sliver of beach, I suppose that might be what keeps people at bay.  Much like the Smith River area, one gets the impression that the only thing that has changed here over the centuries is the seasonal shifts in the water levels of Whalehead Creek.

Pistol River State Park, OR

Pistol River is another favorite stop of mine.  I really need to spend a few days here, I'm always just driving through and I suspect I could easily keep myself occupied for a while.  The shoreline is lined with sea stacks, and the grass-covered dunes are something I've never seen the like of anywhere else.

Bald Eagle -- Coos Bay, OR

I saw two bald eagles near Coos Bay.  The first is seen in these photos.  I caught a glimpse of the bird from the highway, then circled back around to get some photos.  The bird posed for quite a while before taking off.

The second bald eagle flew directly over my head on its way out to sea at Simpson Reef Overlook.  By out to sea I mean way out to sea.  Well, the bird didn't disappear on the horizon, but I was quite surprised to see how far out it went.  It hadn't occurred to me that a bald eagle might hunt the open ocean, but that was exactly what this bird was doing.  At one point it tried to scoop something out of the water but was unsuccessful.  A couple of gulls started harassing it after that, at which point I expected it to turn around and come back to land.  It didn't, instead seemed determined to ignore the gulls.  Eventually it flew off  North, giving up its spot near the reef but refusing to come back toward land and I soon lost sight of it.

Bald Eagle -- Coos Bay, OR

I had decided to make Cape Arago a destination for this trip.  I had never been there before.  It was well worth the detour.  It's not directly off of 101, requiring a twenty to thirty minute drive through the town of Coos Bay toward the ocean.  It was well worth it.

Sunset Bay State Park, OR

Sunset Bay State Park, OR

Sunset Bay was a revelation.  It's the first of three parks on the road to Cape Arago, the others being Shore Acres State Park and Cape Arago State Park itself.  I was not prepared for the spectacular beauty of this little bay.  You'd be hard-pressed to find a stretch of the Pacific coastline that isn't striking, but certain stretches are special.  Sunset Bay and Cape Arago rank right up there with Point Lobos, Big Sur and the beaches of the Olympic Peninsula as one of those stretches.

Simpson Reef Overlook, OR

Simpson Reef stretches out into the Pacific from the Cape.  The reef causes the surf to bend in on itself.  Waves crash into each other at ninety degree angles over the reef at forty-five degree angles from the shore.  The November surf was big, putting on quite a show over the reef as well as outside of it.

Simpson Reef Overlook, OR

I stopped at Sea Lion Caves North of Florence.  I didn't go down to the cave this year.  It's kind of cool seeing the cave, something I'd recommend to folks who haven't done it before or people like me who want to relive a childhood memory.  Don't be discouraged by the roadside attraction air of the place.  Yes it's cheesy and probably a not quite worth the money you'll spend on it, but it's almost worth the money and an absolutely unique experience.  You don't need to go down there to see the sea lions, though, there are usually a bunch hanging out on the rocks a few hundred yards North of the Caves,

Steller Sea Lion -- Sea Lion Caves, Florence, OR

I stayed the night at Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City.  I didn't win enough for a free stay like last year.  I didn't win anything at all, actually.  I had a nice moonlight walk on the beach, though, sans moonlight.

Cape Perpetua, OR

Newport, OR