Today was a travel day from William Tugman SP up the coast to Cape Lookout SP.  The day started out foggy and we drove in an out of fog.  Any time we were on the coast it was foggy.  As we approached Cape Lookout it appeared we would be camped in thick fog, but as we descended to sea level the fog miraculously stayed inland over the hills allowing the beach to remain sunny.  We’re camped right behind the dune a few hundred yards from the beach, and what a beach it is.  Wide and flat, it runs for miles.  It’s beautiful looking in any direction.  We spent a few hours on the beach and watched the sun set over the fog on the ocean.  Tomorrow is the Tillimook Cheese tour and samples, then Portland, OR.

 The road doesn't ALWAYS go over the mountain

 Fuel - no, we don't drive thru with the camper

 Cape Lookout State Park beach

 Cape Lookout State Park beach

 Cape Lookout State Park beach - logged hillside behind the campground

 Sunset

 Chump on a Stump.  Mt. St. Helens to the left

Sun Goddess

We are on the western side of the Pacific time zone, so sunset is after 9 o’clock and it’s light ‘til 9:30 or so.  It was after 9 when we got back to the camper last night so I didn’t get to write.  The drive up from Eureka, CA a series of contrasts.  The northern California coast didn’t impress us either in the towns or the scenery.  As soon as we crossed into Oregon the impression changed.  The towns along Rt. 101 are nicer and the coast, although rugged and rock strewn, is somehow more attractive.  There seems to be more development along the southern Oregon coast.  We are camped in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, a stretch of coast with rocky cliffs interspersed with miles of sandy beach backed with rows of sand dunes up to 100 feet high.  There are many access points for ATV riders and dune buggy enthusiasts to get off-road into the dunes.  Oregon has great state parks along the coast with very nice campground and beach access – if you don’t mind climbing over dunes.  Yesterday after setting up we drove around to get oriented, then went to the beach for a few hours.  Part of the drive was past Umpqua lighthouse, a nice looking light still operational at a Coast Guard compound.   We went for dinner at a fish place, of course, in the hamlet of Winchester Bay, on the Umpqua River.  The town has a working waterfront as well as a few shops to walk through.

Today the plan was to go explore Florence, OR and visit the Heceta lighthouse.  Florence has an “Old town” section along the harbor with a boardwalk, restaurants, and shops.  Again, this is a working waterfront with fishing boats along with some pleasure boats.  We walked around, got some coffee, bought some corn and beans at a farmer’s market, and moved on.  The lighthouse is on a bluff above the parking area, a half – mile hike.  Katie, we were here on our trip down the coast last time.  This time we walked up, the light was open, and we got a tour.  A beautiful job of restoration, and the light is another working light.  We found another beach it the area for a couple of hours, then went to Mass.  Another feature of Florence was the fact there was a brewery, the Waconda Brewery.  After mass we went to check it out.  It’s a real small place, one bay of an industrial complex.  The décor reminds me of Keegan Ales in Kingston, NY.  We were the only people there, so got to talk to the barmaid who also turned out to be the owner and brewer and everything else.  We got a lot of information about her and her history, etc.  We learned that the brewery was started by her grandfather, she’s trying to carry on the tradition, but is having a lot of problems.  Right now she’s brewing in twenty gallon batches, so it’s almost home brewing.  The beer is ok, mom had a stout, I had what she calls a sour lager, which tastes a little like my ciser.  There was also a red ale which we didn’t like, but to be sociable we drank it anyway.  Didn’t want to offend!  We’ll be off early tomorrow to Lookout Point State Park, near Tillamook.  I hope the cheese factory is open for tours on Sunday!

 Along US 101 in Southern Oregon

 Sand dunes where they ride ATV's and dune buggies.  Notice the flag in the foreground

 Old Town Florence, OR

 at Heceta Head Lighthouse

 View from Heceta Head Lighthouse

 Inside Heceta Light looking down the stairs

 Outside looking up at Heceta Light

 On top of the dune looking toward the parking lot

Same dune, looking down at the beach

Today we headed north to Crescent City, CA and the northern section of the Redwood National Park.  On the way we stopped at the tourist trap with Paul Bunyan I mentioned the other day.  It’s called Trees of Mystery, and they have a trail trough the redwoods and a gondola ride through the trees to an overlook.  We did it, at it was really worthwhile.  I was surprised.

The campground in Crescent City is somewhat run down, but we have a site right on the beach, so it’s worth it.  After setting up it was time to visit some more trees.  Every site has amazing trees, every tree is different and awe inspiring.  Every time we think we’ve seen the largest tree another huge tree comes into view.  We walked some trails and drove a couple of one lane dirt roads through the forest.  There are plenty of pull offs so we never had to back up to let oncoming cars pass, but it was close a couple of times.

We came back to town for dinner, ate at the Chart House which is located along the water on a causeway to a little island.  The setting was better than the chowder, but fresh fish is always good.  The restaurant sat us at a table with some other men from Santa Rosa in town for work and with whom we had a nice conversation.  After dinner was the obligatory pilgrimage to WalMart.  On the way back we drove along the shore and happily ended at an overlook at about sunset.  Tonight is the last night in California, tomorrow we will be a bit north of Coos Bay in Oregon in a state park campground for two nights.

 Fog rolling in over Rt 101 from the ocean

 Elk in a field along Rt 101

 Ocean view from the observation platform at the top of the gondola at Trees of Mystery

 Going up the gondola ride at Trees of Mystery

 Giant Squirrel - one of the carvings illustrating the Paul Bunyan story walk

 View of Crescent City bay from the camper

 ditto - lighthouse in the background

 Huge tree with many burls or tiny truck?

 Huge tree with many burls or tiny guy?

Some windfalls are larger than others

This might be the biggest single tree we've seen

One lane road through the trees

The lighthouse

Sunset over the northern Pacific coast at Crescent City

Today was down-the-coast day to explore Rt 1.  We drove down 101 (the highway) to Rt 20 at Willets, the cutoff to Fort Bragg, a community on the coast.  This road turned out to be an extremely windy road up and down hill to the coast.  We thought Rt 1 was going to be the challenge, but this was very interesting.  At Ft. Bragg we decided to go south to Mendocino because it is advertised as a remote New England like artsy community.  Highway 1 south was actually a rather unexciting road.  Mendocino was nice, not New Englandy to someone familiar with New England towns , but the closest we’ve seen in CA.  It was used as scenery in the show Murder She Wrote.  The town is on a bluff overlooking the ocean, so it is very scenic.  We drove around a bit and overlooked the ocean.  Anyway, we had a good lunch in a Café there, then started back north.  A visit to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse was next.  It is a  mile walk from the parking area to the light, and we followed the sign for TRAIL.  Sounds right, doesen’t it?  We ended up cutting across a meadow (with a small stream hidden in the grass) because the TRAIL veered away from the light.  It had been raining all morning, so it was appropriate that we should have wet feet. Fortunately the sun came out as we approached the coast. We looked at the outside of the light – couldn’t go up to the top – and visited to lightkeeper’s cottage, a small museum, then on north on CA 1, the shore road.  It got twistier and rose up and down from beach level to cliff level again and again,  a very scenic road with some good views of both the rocky coastline and beaches.  After a while the road leaves the coast and passes again through the hills.  This is probably the twistiest piece of road we have driven, but VERY scenic as it passes through woodlands and hills.  After we got back to the highway we decided to drive the scenic road through the Humboldt Redwoods again. Then, after all the twisting and turning, we ended up at the Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka again.  A little something to unwind all the twists and turns and ups and downs.

 Mendocino, CA

 Along CA Rt 1 in Northern California near Mendocino

 Point Cabrillo Light

 Cabrillo Point Light

 California Route 1 along the coast

 Downhill to the beach

 Tree bower over California Route 1

 California Route 1

It really ends at US 101, not in a field of flowers

Today we went north to Redwoods National Park which is actually made up of three California State Parks and additional land, much clear cut in the past.  The agencies co-manage the lands.   On the way we stopped at Azalea Nature Preserve.  The prime viewing time is May, but there were still some blooms.   At Lady Bird Johnson redwood grove there was a 1 mile trail that we walked.  The trees here are even larger and more dense that those at Humboldt SP.  In many places the ferns were almost as tall as people.  This area is different in that the forest floor has much more cover.  There is a byway through the forest, much like yesterday’s drive.  We also took a side road along the coast to view the ocean.  A fun drive on a dirt road.  Rt 101 sometimes runs along the coast right at the beach, sometimes it narrows to two lanes and winds through mountains again, though not like other roads we’ve been on.  At Crescent City we arranged for a campsite for Thursday night and had lunch at a seafood restaurant – clam chowder in a sourdough bowl and fried scallops.  Very good.  On the way home we stopped at the Mystery Tree, a tourist trap, but a very nice one.  There is a path (for a fee) and a goldola ride or something like that.  We didn’t do it so I’m not sure what it is.  We also drove through McKinleyville and visited Clam beach  It’s been raining on and off, so not a day to walk on the beach.  I’ve decided it’s very important to be selective with campgrounds.  There are many that have many permanent campers that are rather sketchy.  Tomorrow we head south to Rt. 1 along the coast and hopefully the weather will be better so we can walk on the beach or, maybe, even swim.

 Azalea blossoms at the preserve

 Orick, CA shopping center

 Bottom of big redwood tree

 Tops of redwood trees

 Mom getting her Tree Hugger certification

 Really big trees and ferns or really little guy?

 Spooky mossy little tree

 An ocean beach from the dirt road

 A closer look at the ocean from closer to the edge of the dirt road

Paul and The Babe

 (Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox at the Mystery Tree)