My Southern Oregon Coast

Goodbye, Farewell

2010-02-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

This is my second stay in the Wild Rivers Motel in Brookings, Oregon. Last Easter when I stayed for a weekend I had a nice room, but one that hadn't yet been refurbished. Tonight, my last in Brookings, I didn't hesitate to stay here once more.

This time I'm in a recently refurbished room with king size bed, microwave, refrigerator, in-room coffee, free wireless and tons of lovely amenities and comfort features. The owner, Ken, is a delight to deal with. Rates are reasonable.

Highly recommended if you find yourself in this area. They'll take good care of you.

This will be the final entry on this blog, as I am moving far, far away. I'll leave it up in the hopes that others can and will find joy and information on these pages.

The Crazy Norwegian's and a Stormy Drive

2010-01-15T15:34:00.000-08:00

Some of the best fish & chips I've ever had are to be found at a funky little place in Port Orford called The Crazy Norwegian's. Since I plan to be moving from Oregon soon, I've been itching to get up there for one last feast before I leave. I also wanted to go with the friend who led me to this place, and we've been waiting for a sunny day, in the hopes of getting some decent photos off the coast on the drive north. We've had sunny days, but this time of year, in the off season, the restaurant is only open Thursday through Sunday and apparently, the sunny days haven't coincided with those days. It's been hard to coordinate.

No sunny weather today, either, despite a promising forecast. Gray, dreary, super windy. But, I wasn't disappointed once I arrived at the destination. Tender cod, crisp breading, tangy cole slaw, and an atmosphere that's hard to describe. You'll just need to see it for yourself. They have lots more on the menu, but I personally have never made it past the fish & chips.

Yes, a gray and dreary day all around, but the inside was cheery and the food wonderful.

We dawdled a good bit driving north -- not the best day for photography, but we couldn't help ourselves. These birds -- seagulls and pelicans -- were massed by the hundreds on these piers in Gold Beach and flying in swarms above.

Not pretty critters, but interesting. Neither of us had ever noticed the red and yellow on these guys before, nor so many of them clustered together in one spot.

We also stopped at Pistol River, just south of Gold Beach, to watch the huge waves that were crashing into all the rocks. I can't blame these black and white photos on some nefarious activity of my camera. There was simply no color out there. Dreary, dreary, dreary. The wind was so strong, I could barely stay balanced well enough to get these photos with the telephoto. If the resolution isn't all that great when enlarged, that's the reason why.

These three are all the same rock with wave after wave crashing onto it. There were lots of waves and lots of rocks, but this one seemed to be putting on the best show consistently.

Since I tend to be a lazy photographer and let the camera run on automatic, I can't set the shutter speed and thus don't get that lovely, crisp water-stopping effect, but still, I like the movement.

Aftermath of a Storm

2010-01-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

Actually, it wasn't much of a storm, as storms go on this coast. Blustery and wet for a few days. But, even relatively minor storms can bring huge waves to the coast and watching these is a favorite local pastime. And why not? It's totally mesmerizing, enchanting.

I first went down the the Port of Brookings mid-morning, because I'd heard high surf warnings on NPR and because the sun peeped out. I barely got started when my camera battery died and I headed home to regroup. Both the above photos were taken then, along with a bunch of others. This one is looking south, towards Crescent City.

By the time I returned the sun had shifted entirely, of course, and the tide was much further out than just a couple of hours previously. Not as exciting to photograph, but still exhilarating to watch. This time, I walked down and onto the jetty to get a different point of view, looking south once more. And, because of the light, my camera insisted upon capturing everything in black and white. That seems to be its answer to bright light in its face, and I haven't found a way to counteract that.

From my perch on the jetty. I actually stayed out there for quite awhile, listening to the roar of the surf, the continual, raucous cries of the gulls, enjoying the wind and fresh air. I shot a couple of videos -- first time out with this camera for that -- but operator trouble prevents me from posting them, as I don't have editing skills and both end rather unceremoniously. These waves were not as impressive as the earlier ones, but pretty darned nice, regardless.

As I turned to leave the jetty, I was greeted by the sight of hundreds of gulls swirling over the harbor. By the time I captured the photo, many of them had already landed on the roof of the Coast Guard station, but it was a really lovely sight.

Tolowa Dunes State Park

2009-12-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day -- another warm, clear, beautiful sunny day on the Wild Rivers Coast. I had to get out in it and walk and wanted to go someplace I hadn't been before, so I returned to the huge Tolowa Dunes State Park just north of Crescent City, down in California. This time, I drove to the end of Kellogg Road, where the road stops at the ocean and there's good parking and where it's possible to drive onto the beach, if you wish. I didn't. One could walk for long distances on the beach in either direction, but I opted for the trail that wanders up and over dunes and through grasses, paralleling the ocean.

The views were lovely from this vantage point, and I enjoyed the peace, quiet and solitude of the trail as opposed to the people and dogs and cars on parts of the beach.

Of course, I couldn't resist eventually scrambling down the dunes and walking along the shore. This wave sneaked up on me and almost got my feet wet -- but I scrambled backwards, if inelegantly so, the foam chasing my toes with every hop.

The incoming tide brought some nice breakers and waves. I used the zoom for this shot, to actually see what was happening beyond my feet.

When I finally felt like turning around and heading back to the car, a big finger of fog was creeping inland around Crescent City, in the distance. Again using the zoom, it looks as if these folks are right in the middle of the fog, but in reality they were in the same warm sunshine that bathed me so splendidly. The camera tends to capture such scenes as this in black in white for some reason -- does not appreciate my tendency to shoot right into the sun.

What a beautiful day! I feel sorry for the people back east struggling with blizzards, and even for my friend in Eugene who has an icy fog to deal with today, but I'm really happy to be in this place right now!

Adieu, Adieu

2009-12-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

Today I went for what is probably my last walk to Harris Beach. My last because, if all continues to go well, 3 weeks from tomorrow I will drive away from the Pacific Coast to a new home in Georgia, far from these beautiful beaches and redwood forests. And since it is, after all, winter -- days like this are not the norm.

I hadn't planned to walk -- but the weather is so beautifully warm and sunny that it seemed a waste to stay inside. I need the exercise, too. From my house it's about a mile to this spot, almost all of the walk within view of the coast and one spectacular scene after another. It generally shocks outsiders to find that we can have days like this, this time of year, at such a northern latitude -- sunny, 60 degrees, balmy, beautiful. Shhhhh -- it's a secret!

I wasn't the only one enjoying this day at the beach. The seagulls seemed to be having a bit of a hey day, and there were other humans and dogs as well. Up at the parking lot some folks with binoculars were looking for -- and finding -- whales.

I love this beach. It's always beautiful, regardless of weather. When the tide is low, which is really isn't here, it's a great place for tidepooling.

No critters here -- they're a bit further out. Still, I love the clear pools sparkling in the sun.

A beautiful day at a beautiful place. Adieu, and thanks for many an hour of soul-soothing over the past months.

Boy Scout Tree Trail

2009-12-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

With perseverance comes success, they say! I called in advance to be sure the road was open (since a fallen tree had it closed when I made the attempt a few days ago), then drove south once more yesterday to hike this trail, which is well worth the extra effort. It's interesting that the sign doesn't say how far it is to the Boy Scout Tree, and that there's NO sign directing one to the tree from the trail. It's almost as if they don't want you to find it. I first hiked this trail in August, 1996 and didn't go all the way to the falls then, nor did I do so yesterday. There are some discrepancies in directions -- William Sullivan's book says the trail rises 500' over 2.4 miles to the Boy Scout Tree, and the falls is another mile beyond. That can't be right, if the total trail is only 2.8 miles. I'm no great mathematician, but I can get that far.

The trail is accessed off Howland Hill Road, which cuts deep into the heart of the Jedidiah Smith Redwoods and is by itself a lovely drive through quiet forests of big trees. Running from Crescent City to the Smith River off Hwy 199, the road is unpaved, a bit rough, and quite narrow. Pullouts allow cars to pass when they meet. This road also accesses the Stout Grove, which was the first grove to be dedicated back in 1929, and I saw numerous other side trails all along its length. I opted to travel east to west, because I wanted to enjoy the forest, see it all. If one is in a hurry, this trail is much closer to Crescent City on the western end.

One big tree after another!

Unlike other trails I've hiked lately, this one is so deep in the forest that unless other hikers are around, there are no sounds not produced by nature. Quiet, peaceful, utterly beautiful. It's also a bit rough in places -- lots of big roots to cross, very narrow in places, lots of ups and downs. Everything was also quite wet, and therefore slippery, even though it hasn't rained lately. I don't think these trails ever dry out completely, and that moisture is what makes these big babies happy. I wore my leather hiking boots for the first time in years, and I'm so glad I did -- would not have liked to try that trail in sneakers although some young folks passed me at some point literally running on the trail, so it's probably an age thing.

I don't have a lot of photos from this day -- issues between the new camera and its operator, who resists having to learn digital photography beyond point-and-shoot. The day was beautiful -- morning mists cleared about the time I arrived and the sun speared through the trees. I've been so spoiled by our summer-like weather that I was surprised that the air was chilled back in these deep forests. It is, after all, December!

I can't tell you the distance to the big tree, but it's a good hike. All in all, with maybe a 15 minute stop at the tree for lunch and photos, I was on the trail for about three and a half hours. Finding the tree isn't all that easy, as I suggested above. Perhaps there is normally a sign off the main trail, but there wasn't one today. I was a little confused when I reached a trail angling uphill and to the right, wondering which way I was supposed to go, then memory from the first trip began filtering in. I knew the tree was a bit off the trail and to the right, but I didn't remember it was that far off the trail. If you try to find it, this is the only trail that angles off to the right, and it circles the tree.

According to Sullivan's book this tree is 20 feet thick, and I believe that is possible. Sorry I couldn't manage to include anything in the photo for scale and it's also not a great photo but it helps illustrate the tree. I used the self timer and took a self-portrait, arms spread and still looking miniscule, but ego prevents me from using it. This is a lovely and peaceful spot, with lots of room for sitting and looking at this wondrous tree, having lunch, or merely taking a rest.

I love that thick, shaggy bark with the moss on the north side. Still hard to see any scale, but those ferns are rather large, like the ones in other photos.

From the bottom looking up and it's still impossible to capture a real sense of its size as it reaches for the sky.

Tolowa Dunes State Park

2009-12-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

Egret, off to the side of Alder Marsh Trail

I left home this morning with the intention of hiking in the redwoods, on the Boy Scout Tree Trail in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. I hiked this trail over 13 years ago, and remember that it was a nice walk. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas for me today: a tree fell over the gravel access road yesterday and the road was closed from both ends. So much for that idea!

Since it was a beautiful day and I was almost in Crescent City, I drove into town and stopped at the Parks Information office -- and ended up going for a nice walk in Tolowa Dunes State Park. This lightly-developed park covers about 5000 acres of prime Pacific Ocean shoreline and houses "some of the finest wetlands habitat on the California coast" according to the brochure. The area is an ancient sand dune complex that has evolved into many different ecological communities including ocean beach, river, open and vegetated sand dunes, wooded ridges and wetlands, according to the brochure. It's an important birding habitat, and while I heard a wide variety of birdsong everywhere I went, I didn't see very many. The fellow above was roosting in a tree along a side trail. That's almost full zoom on my 24x zoom lens, so forgive the hand-held lack of total focus. I find it really hard to hold it perfectly still at that focal length.

A small, unnamed marsh/lake on the west side of the loop trail. Very peaceful.

I only touched a small fraction of the park. A woman in the visitor's center directed me to the Lake Earl Wildlife Area, at the southern tip. From here, I took the Cadre Point Loop Trail through meadows and wetlands and forests, although I never actually saw Lake Earl. The loop trail follows the edge of it for some distance, but too far inland to actually see any of the lake. I'd like to return someday, try a different section. The loop trail is well-marked, but most side trails are not. Most simply have a sign that says 'trail'. I did take one trail that was marked "Alder Marsh Trail, 0.4 Miles'. I'd been hiking for a couple of hours at this point, and was hoping for a log or rock to sit in the sunshine and have a snack -- but there's literally nothing out there but marsh grasses and plants and birds. Very nice side trail, however.

Alder Marsh

The trail followed open meadows....

Wooded lanes....

and the occasional wetland area....

Although there were no signs, I'm fairly certain this is Lake Tolowa. I'm guessing there's far more water here during other seasons. In the distance are the dunes and the ocean.

Those of you in colder climes can eat your heart out -- you can see the sunshine, and I was hiking in lightweight cotton capris and t-shirt. On the first of December. And I'm not one with a lot of cold tolerance. When I returned to my car around noon, after walking for about 2.5 hours, the temp was 58 -- and it felt much warmer because of all that sunshine and lack of wind. It's days like this when I know why I moved to this area!

Sisters Rocks State Park -- and a Nice Sunset

2009-11-29T18:20:00.000-08:00

One of Oregon's newest state parks lies about halfway between Gold Beach and Port Orford, off Highway 101. Totally undeveloped, even unmarked, the views are well worth the effort required to find the spot! Even on this day when the sky was blue and the air warm, the mists kept a veil over most of the coast. That distant headland is Cape Sebastian.

The quest was for a secret sea cave, which William Sullivan wrote about in an article in the Eugene Register-Guard On June 29. We never found that, but the spot was spectacular and we really didn't mind, although the mist did adversely affect the clarity of the photography. Frankly, to me it was one of those places that is so spectacular you really can't capture it with a camera, anyway. But I tried. Somehow, probably because I was so captured by this one vista, I didn't get any photos of the three large sea stacks that lie at the end of the road, and where the sea cave is supposed to be.

There is no sign on the highway, other than a standard Oregon State Parks sign with no name. About 13 miles south of Port Orford, and about 14 miles north of Gold Beach, between mileposts 314 and 315, an old rocky side road turns to the west beside a bluff. Sullivan advises parking your car immediately, and I have to agree, but we were in a pickup with high ground clearance so we followed the rutted road a short distance to a locked metal gate. Trust me, there is absolutely nothing on the highway that indicates any reason to pull off the highway here. We had serious doubts we were in the right place, but it was the only possibility between those mileposts so we gave it a try. A short walk down the road leads to the above vistas plus more to the north all the way to Humbug Mountain and three giant sea stacks from which the park takes its name.

Earlier, we'd scouted a location for some sunset photography and arrived at Pistol River State Park just in time to watch the day come to a glorious close.

Crissey Field State Park

2009-11-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

You'd never know it's almost December. Warm sunshine and clear blue skies (despite the photo above!). I'm not sure why the camera faded this out -- we are still adjusting to one another and there was a bit of glare for it to deal with. I've been to Crissey Field often and generally it's a quiet beach for solitary strolling. Not today! I've never seen so many visitors -- with and without dogs. All drawn to the same sunshine that pulled me from the house, no doubt. As you can see, the waves were big and coming in one on top of another. Mesmerizing to watch.

When I first arrived, a couple of surf fishermen were trying their luck but, unfortunately, weren't having any. At this point the wind had a real bite to it and I pulled out my rain jacket to use as a windbreaker. So glad I had it with me -- I was chilly in my cotton sweats. I walked all the way to the first point in the distance and would have gone further, but the tide was too high and I didn't want to scramble over rocks. It's a good distance, as it is. A fine walk for a Saturday morning!

This is what greeted me as I emerged from the path that led from the visitor's center (oddly this center is closed on weekends -- surprising because it's not only a state park, it's also a "welcome to Oregon" visitors center). It sits barely over the stateline from California.

Clearly, I was fascinated by the waves breaking in tiers all along the beach. Capturing this with a camera is not all that easy -- you really can't sense the size of these boys but it's fun trying. The sand along this beach is quite different from those nearer Brookings and further up the coast. It's blacker and grittier and more filled with driftwood and rocks near the water.

Indian Sands -- and A Few Other Spots

2009-11-27T11:56:00.000-08:00

Surf crashing off the Indian Sands area

I took advantage of an unexpected bit of sunshine this morning and headed out on a short hike in an effort to see some places I hadn't seen, and to play with my new camera. My first stop was at the Indian Sands viewpoint, which is just south of the Thomas Creek Bridge viewpoint. The above photo was taken using the camera's extreme (24x) zoom, and I'm pleased with the results. Not great focus on the exploding waves, but I suspect I could have controlled that by using manual adjustments rather than leaving it on automatic.

Off into the forest I went, to see what I could see. I found the trails here to be really confusing. Shortly after starting down the trail there is a fork -- a nice looking trail angles off to the left, and what appears to be the main trail continues straight ahead. I opted to stay with the 'main' trail, but almost immediately the trail forked once more. No signs of any kind. For no particular reason, I opted for the trail to the right, as they both went downhill and I assumed they'd either meet up again shortly, or at least both take me to the same place. In the end, that's what happened.

The trail I took is nicely cut with switchbacks that take some of the sting out of the fairly steep descent. Lots of offshoot trails branch off this one, but I found it easy to follow what I assumed was the primary trail. Both this and the other trail did end up at the same spot, where a warning sign tells of dangers ahead in the sands and cliffs. Some amount of scrambling is needed from this point to reach the Oregon Coast Trail, but there are several choices with greater and lesser degrees of difficulty. When I returned, I decided to take the other trail, to be sure it ended up at the same place and to see what I missed. This trail is steep and straight, not one switchback, and is fairly slippery with packed clay, particularly on a day after a hard rain. There was enough forest duff along the sides of the trail to stay with and avoid slipping, but given a choice, I'd opt for the other, longer, trail with switchbacks.

Lots of mushrooms out in the forest today, including a few of these, which have always fascinated me. You see them in forests everywhere, but you don't really want to mess with them. They are mildly poisonous, also hallucinogenic. It's the amanita muscaria -- not to be confused with its cousin, the amanita verna, or destroying angel, which is deadly.

Indian Sands is a large area of craggy dunes that are not particularly soft. Much of that sandy-looking stuff is actually a hard, somewhat slippery, substance that's probably a result of continuous exposure to high winds. Much of it is also sand. I would have explored more today, but the winds were really strong and a bit obnoxious, so I opted to cut my visit short. This is my second outing to this particular point, although from a different trailhead. I'd hoped to continue on across that ridge, but -- it just wasn't fun.

Back in the car, I headed south towards Brookings but stopped at the House Rock viewpoint. Again, the winds were strong and annoying, so I only stayed for a moment. Lovely views, however, and plenty of hiking opportunities.

Interesting how the camera captured this image of Whaleshead Island in black and white. I took this photo from another stop, a wide pullout just before reaching Brookings. I loved the way the waves looked in the glare, and wondered how the new camera would handle such conditions.

Tonight's Sunset

2009-11-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

I just captured this from the Port of Brookings Webcam (link off to the right), and couldn't resist putting it up here. I think it's about the prettiest scene I've ever seen this webcam capture.

Have you missed me? I've been out of commission for awhile, with my camera in the shop for repair and on seemingly endless 'parts hold'. Nikon, bless them, decided yesterday to replace it and promptly shipped it overnight and I am now back in business and awaiting another lovely day for photography. I walked in the redwoods this morning, saw a huge herd of Roosevelt Elk along the highway with the ocean and surf in the background. Could have killed for my camera, but alas, it had not yet arrived. Kudos to Nikon, by the way. They not only replaced the camera with a brand new one, they also gave me a significantly upgraded camera rather than a direct replacement. Could be they just didn't have any of the other kind left in stock, but I'm sure they could have found something in the same price range to send. I took the new baby out for a test run and am very pleased with it. Not quite a DSLR, but nice.

Umpqua River Road and Oregon Dunes

2009-10-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

I needed to go to Eugene earlier this week so I took advantage of that and tried a new highway and dawdled hither and yon to see things I had either never seen, or hadn't seen for a long time. Driving up the coast to Florence I was treated to some big waves rolling in, all along the road. Just beautiful, and yet I found them a bit difficult to capture with the camera. These are probably about 20 feet high. My camera (which is now in the hands of Nikon once more) put nasty little black zones on the upper corners and I had a tough time cropping the photos to eliminate those corners while maintaining the photo. So -- that's my excuse. This photo was taken somewhere between Gold Beach and Port Orford, and that's about all I can tell you about that.

I didn't take many photos on the trip north -- lots of showers plus I had appointments and errands to run in town. I returned by way of Highway 38, which runs from just south of Roseburg to Reedsport. Although I'd heard that this was a fast alternate route, I never really realized that it was also an extremely beautiful drive. I found very few places to stop and photograph the river, but it was present for most of the trip. As you can see, the fall colors are just past their prime -- many leaves have fallen -- but still evident. The above photo was taken just east of the small hamlet of Scottsburg, which lies about 16 miles inland.

Looks more like a lake than a river, doesn't it? Just west of Scottsburg I found a lovely little park with a boat dock that extended out into the water. As so often happens, the photo of one portion of the scene cannot adequately capture the sense of being surrounded by this in all directions.

About three miles east of Reedsport I passed the Dean Creek elk viewing area, which was rather impressive. This photo was taken from a lovely interpretive center, but this meadow stretches for I'd guess close to two miles. The elk herd, which numbers about 100, were lazily grazing and resting further east in an area with no place to stop and photograph them.

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area extends roughly from Coos Bay north to Florence and is quite spectacular with many opportunities along the way to stop and enjoy the big dunes. I've passed them often, but hadn't been on them for years. I intended to change that this trip. My first stop was the Umpqua Lighthouse, which sits above the water and dunes in a really lovely state park. That big Fresnel lens was hard at work but naturally, it doesn't show here. I drove on down the road, exploring, to see what I could see and try to get closer to the water. I followed my nose to a parking lot on the coast near the two large stone jetties that go out into the ocean. Sullivan's book says that the area between them is a commercial oyster and mussel farm.

This shows how far inland the lighthouse sits from the beach.

This is the south jetty. The other is angled on the right horizon and the seafood farm lies between. I didn't go much further than this, since I had been a little dizzy all day and this required better balance than I could summon. Those rocks make for hard, sharp landings and are perfect breeding grounds for broken ankles.

The place I most wanted to stop was here, where the largest dunes are and where the dreaded dune buggies are banned. From here, one can walk the dunes out to the beach for a 4.8 mile round trip hike over loose, shifting sand. I've never done that, and didn't even come close today. I first found this place thirteen years ago during my first summer in Oregon. A friend from Georgia was visiting and we were staying in the adjacent Eel Creek Campground. Both of us were more than a little surprised at what we found when we went exploring, and I wish I could find the photos I took that late afternoon when the shadows delineated the swooping lines of the dunes and the sky was bright blue. This used to be known as the Umpqua Dunes, but as you can see the name has been changed to the John Dellenback Dunes and that is what the highway sign will read if you search this out.

The access trail from the parking lot is about a half mile and crosses through these ancient dunes that are overgrown with woods filled with Douglas fir, huckleberry and huge rhododendrons, among others.

When you emerge from the woods and access trail you are confronted with this huge dune. Not a lovely photo, but the man walking on top does give some indication of size. Once you reach the top of this dune it's possible to walk the crest of several similar and connected dunes for some distance. I didn't go terribly far because I was a little under the weather. The light wasn't great for photography anyway, but it's a place well worth visiting. When I was there with my friend, we played in the sand like a couple of kids, scrambling up and down the dunes.

From the top of the big dunes the vista is sweeping in all directions. I'd love to walk all the way to the beach and camp overnight but....somehow that seems unlikely to happen. Alas. Beautiful to see regardless.

I'd been looking forward to fish & chips at The Crazy Norwegian in Port Orford -- my mouth had been watering for days -- but when I arrived right at dinner time I found them closed. Seems that this time of year they are only open Thursday through Sunday. What a disappointment!

Prairie Creek Redwoods

2009-10-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

A neighbor and I made an impromptu visit to the redwoods today. When we left home, I had in mind the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park about 30 minutes from home. But as I drove, I picked up a wild hair to keep going south, so we did, all the way to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park south of Klamath, one of my favorite places. Once in the park, we picked a random trail and walked back into the trees for quite awhile, joyous with the deep foresty scents and the sunrays slashing through the giant trees.

Not the greatest photo -- the darkness in the forest is a bit much for hand-held (and admittedly, sloppy operator) photography. I include it here merely for proportion. My friend is an average-sized person, and she is dwarfed by this tree, which is only one of many of similar size we encountered.

As usual, I got carried away with the sunrays, but they are so exquisite!

We were fortunate to have bright sunshine and only a little fog here and there once we arrived at the park.

It's been so long since I've been mushrooming that I passed these by at first, without even a hint of recognition. A sure sign of fall in this part of the world is these golden beauties! These two are Yellowfoot, I think, and we found some Chanterelles as well. Now I'm itching to go on a mushrooming expedition.

A few of them made it home with me and will be part of my dinner.

The trail we followed was spectacular, winding its way through groves of big trees and all that lovely fern undergrowth.

After we returned to the car from the first trail, we continued on down the road to see "Big Tree". Indeed, it's a very large redwood! This photo of the base doesn't look much larger than other redwoods, but it's when you look up -- way up -- and see the massiveness of the trunk that you realize just how big it really is. If you look closely, you will see that the thick trunk stops abruptly, an indication that "Big Tree" was once much taller, but lost it's top to a lightning strike or some such many years ago. Normally, they do taper towards the top.

Although much of the coast we drove past was foggy, our area has a high surf warning today and some unusually large waves which, when they could be seen, were truly magnificent. That alone was a treat. The redwoods were just the icing. Chocolate icing, to be sure, but the surf was spectacular. I wish I'd had a chance to photograph it, but alas....maybe tomorrow.

Thomas Creek Bridge - South

2009-10-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Finally, I found a place to see and photograph this bridge. You must wonder why I went to so much effort, because it's not a particularly scenic bridge, as bridges on this coast go. But, it is the highest in the state, at 345 feet and that gives it a bit of panache it would not have otherwise. To get this photo I had to leave the main trail and slither and crawl down a steep side trail to find a basically unobstructed view. But, now my obsession with this particular matter is satisfied.

My past trips to this area have focused on the trail that leads from the north side of the bridge -- beautiful, and perhaps my favorite hike in this area -- but I was curious about this one. My first impression wasn't so good -- the trail that leaves the parking area is steep and rough and not terribly inviting. Fortunately, this is only an access trail that soon encounters the more pleasant and well-groomed Oregon Coast Trail. When you reach this first intersection, you'll want to go to your right. Then, just follow the trail through a nice forest and enjoy the ferns and trees and the sound of the surf filling your senses.

This tree fascinated me -- was it split by lightning at some point?

As always, I find sunrays breaking through the mist to be exceptionally beautiful. I was surprised to find a little lingering mist, as Brookings has been clear and sunny since daybreak. We're having one of those lovely, sunny, warmish fall days and I could not resist taking advantage, since days such as this have been punctuated with equal days of rain and grey skies.

To reach this viewpoint, take the left fork at the first opportunity and follow your feet. Today, a sign attached to a tree pointed the way, but if this area is anything like the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, signs have a way of disappearing! I wanted to find my way to the bluff in the distance, but when I arrived (the highway sign is for Indian Sands) and tried to photograph the view back up this way, my camera had a hissy fit so I left that for another day. Fabulous view from over there, even the parking lot, so if you're in this area it's worth stopping to see.

Fall on the Lower Rogue River

2009-09-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

About a Mile up the Rogue River Trail.

Today I satisfied some long-standing curiosity and drove up the Rogue River from Gold Beach to Agness and the Rogue River Trail. I had no particular destination, just the desire to see what was there to see. The drive upriver to Agness is about 33 miles and after the first 5 or 6 miles you're into beautiful country, with wonderful mountain views and an occasional good river view. There were not a lot of places to pull over and really see the river, but there were enough. A couple of bridge crossings really took my breath away. From Agness one has to backtrack a few miles to reach the intersection that goes to the trail. That road is odd -- one lane with turnouts on every curve as it follows the river. Signage is great, so no fears of being lost.

The day was surprisingly hot and sunny and while I only walked about a mile along the Rogue River Trail, I was disappointed that the river was not visible for most of that time. The trail was lovely however, and if I'd had the gumption to go further I'm sure I would have seen much more of the river. I opted to walk the section of the trail that travels east, through the Wild & Scenic designated area. I think it's about 15 miles, with inns along the way, or camping. There is another trail that follows the river west from Agness. I want to do that one someday, too. The salmon fishermen were out in hordes, from Gold Beach to the last place I walked.

I think these are wild rosehips, but I would not swear to that. The leaves look like roses. Whatever they are, they were rather spectacular and there were plenty of them.

I loved the way the light was shining through the silk of this seed pod. I was looking for signs of autumn, and these two photos really said autumn to me.

This bridge is about a half mile up the trail, crossing one of many creeks that feed into the Rogue.

This fabulous view is from a bridge about halfway up the road to Agness. I was headed back to Gold Beach at this point, but the light and colors here drew me to a fast stop. There are a couple of fishing boats in this photo, but a little hard to see.

I learned -- or re-learned -- a few truisms today. One, never trust a battery supplied for 'free' with a battery charger. I popped new and fully charged ones into my camera before leaving home, checked to see that it worked, didn't take spares because I never need them. These died after about 2 photos, 10 miles upriver. A lovely lady at the Agness Store saved my bacon. I'd like to have spent more time here -- lots of useful and fun stuff at reasonable prices.

Two, it's always hotter inland than it is on the coast. I have a hard time remembering that one when it comes to driving up the local rivers.

Three, if one is eligible for Medicare and accustomed to a cool coastal climate, one really should not attempt a hike in the hot sun when the temp is hovering in the mid-nineties. Along with that, one should also not make such an attempt when one has been on an 800 calorie diet for a week, even if it's a very healthy 800 calories. My body complained vigorously!

However, all in all it was a lovely exploration and now I know 'what's up there'. I'd like to make another trip, hike around Agness, and also more on the Rogue River Trail. Another day.

Whalehead Beach to Indian Sands

2009-09-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Whalehead Beach and Whalehead Cape in the distance.

My body and spirit were calling for a good workout this morning. The weather is fabulous -- warm and sunny and perfect. I opted for a hike that's close to home, since I had other things to do today. I'd intended to walk all the way from Whalehead Beach to the Thomas Creek Bridge, which would have been a round trip of a little over 5.5 miles, but once I set out I knew I was too lazy for that one, so I decided to go as far as Indian Sands, a round trip of around 3 miles. Nobody seems to know when the name Whalehead originated, but it has apparently been in use since the pioneer days. Whalehead Island is hollow to seaward and has a hole in the top. At just the right tides, water surges into the cavity and spouts out the top and is said to resemble a whale in those moments.

I never really know what to expect when I head off on the Coast Trail, but I've never been disappointed with what I find. In this instance, the trail led sharply uphill for awhile before reaching a lovely viewpoint, above. There are plenty of long uphill stretches in this first portion of the hike, which William Sullivan says is only a half mile. I'm sure he's correct, but because of all the long up and down stretches, it feels a lot longer! Great to get the body warm and the heart racing, however. At the half mile point the trail reaches and parallels the highway for a short distance, just long enough to bypass a deep, steep chasm. After that, the terrain is comfortable, with gentle ups and downs, passing through a lovely forest and paralleling a small creek for awhile, before reaching Indian Sands.

Views along this section were also lovely. Hidden coves abound along this coast.

This plaque was atop a mass of concrete at the above viewpoint. I love the wording on it. You can click on the photo to enlarge and read, but this is what it says:

Stan the Man
Husband, Dad, Granddad
A
Hard Worker Who
Loved and Cared for
Everyone

6-20-27

Went Flying
5-6-09

I'm guessing this mass of concrete contains his ashes. What a lovely tribute!

Indian Sands is an interesting place. I couldn't find any information regarding the origin of that name, but I'm sure it would be interesting. The Coast Trail skirts the edge of it along the forest, but the sandy bluff is huge and offers expansive views. I hiked around for awhile, following the path of deer and other smaller critters. I gravitated towards this rocky outcropping with the natural bridge on the left. You may need to click on the photo in order to enlarge and see that it really is an opening, not just a small inlet. This bluff is hilly, and walking uphill in loose sand is great for the legs and heart. After satisfying all my curiosity, I headed back to my car. All in all the trip took about two hours -- a perfect start to my day.

Crater Lake and the Upper Rogue River

2009-09-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

I did mention yesterday that the lake was blue, did I not? I found this combination of colors irresistible as the light and shadows played over the early morning stillness. Yes, the fatigue of last night dissipated enough by this morning that we opted to make the hour's drive back up to the lake for just this view, just this wonderful morning light. I'm so glad we did!

This is the Phantom Ship rock once more, cast in the reflection of the still lake. I cannot describe just how beautiful the scene really was, with that incredible reflection all around the entire scene.

More plays of blue and reflections, with Mt. Theissen in the distance. At this point, we turned around and headed back down the mountain, but just these few views from the east side were well worth the drive. Besides, we had other places along the highway we wanted to explore.

This photo is actually from day one -- somehow it looks better to me today than it did late Friday night when I was so tired and bleary-eyed. This big rock with the green lichen or moss is spectacular, in a rather subtle kind of way.

Our next stop -- the same beautiful rapids I stopped to see last night, but in much better light. Today, we walked the length of the path and discovered the Rogue River Gorge. I saw a bit of it last night, but there was so much to learn here! These rapids are just above the falls that feed into the Gorge.

This is the video I shot Friday afternoon, and 'lost'. Sadly, even this cannot show the full scope of this beautiful spot. There was a tree to my left that I could not pan past, thus only the major part of the falls is shown. It's a little dark because of the time of day but better than a still photo, anyway.

Is this not gorgeous? This is beyond the waterfall, where the river flows through this deep, narrow gorge at the rate of 410,000 gallons per minute.

You can click on this photo enlarge, read what it has to say about this section of the river. None of this comes close to describing how it feels to be there, to hear it and see it.

Next, we stopped at the Natural Bridges, where the Rogue disappears into the rock and reappears a bit further, bursting right out of the rock after its underground journey. This photo is from a bridge just below where all this happens.

This is where the river charges out of the rock. Unfortunately, the light didn't allow the camera to pick up on the dark 'hole', but you get the idea. You can see it boiling out of nothing. It helps to click on the photo, enlarge it, so that the dark shadows open up a bit to show the rock.

I think this is just below the 'hole'. Spectacular whitewater!

Another sign to click on, get the real details of this site.

This photo is from way above, showing the lava flow and rocks that cover the 200 feet of hidden river channel. The river reappears just beyond this stretch of rock.

Another interpretive sign that explains it much better than I can!

Our last stop was Mill Creek Falls, although there was supposed to be another waterfall in the area as well, so I'm not sure if this is Mill Creek or the other. Whatever its name, it was spectacular and well worth the walk to find it. Unfortunately, the photo doesn't give much in the way of scale, but this was a huge waterfall barreling off the side of the cliff into the tiny Rogue below. Breathtaking to watch.

Quite a blow to our senses today, temperature wise. From the coolness of high elevations at Crater Lake, to 95 sweltering degrees in the lowlands between Shady Cove and the Smith River (and a passenger who didn't understand my disdain for AC), to a quick 30 degree temperature drop once we hit the western side of the Coastal mountains. In truth, I was a bit astonished at how quickly the temps dropped once we passed through the California inspection station and headed almost imperceptibly downhill. Ten degrees quickly, another 10 fairly quickly, until within 30 minutes we were at 60 really cool degrees. And fog, of course! For once, I was not unhappy to see it. And, while I love the mountains and rivers, it's always good to get back to that lovely ocean with the waves crashing into shore.

Crater Lake

2009-09-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

The first thing that hits your senses is the color. There's nothing subtle about it in the least. It reaches right up, smacks you in the face and knocks your socks off. And no matter how long you look at it, that sense of incredulity never seems to waver. This is the quintessential view as you reach the visitor's center from the south entrance. Indescribably, impossibly, blue. It's the deepest lake in the US and the 7th deepest lake in the world, and all that depth does some fancy light refracting to produce this color.

We found it difficult to tear ourselves away from almost every place we stopped. The road around the lake is supposed to be 33 miles, and since it took us about 5 hours to make the circuit you can see we spent more time stopping and gawking and taking photos and playing tourist than we spent driving. By far.

This is also from the visitor's center area, looking to the opposite side of the lake with one of the tour boats that slowly circle the lake. I'm astonished at how many people take this boat, because the only way to get on one is to hike over a mile down a steep trail, and of course, back up. That trail is also the only place where one can actually get to the lakeshore. We did not make the attempt. Old folks. Lazy.

I thought there was some slight chance that I would remember where all these photos were taken, but apparently not. It's been a looooooong day and I'm pooped, brain on serious malfunction.

I'm not in love with most of my photos from this day -- you wouldn't think it would be all that difficult to take fabulous photos of such a fabulous place, would you. Still, the color and reflections are there, always. We really lucked out with the weather -- clear, sunny, wonderfully warm. Didn't quite crack 80, according to the temperature sensor in my car, but it was warm and perfect, a great escape for coastal people who don't get warm very often.

I seemed to spend a great deal of the day trying to photograph that pointy mountain in the distance. I've flown over that peak many times, flying from Phoenix to Eugene, never knew its name. I now know that its name is Mt. Theissen, but that's all I know about it. I love the pointiness of it. There are, by the way, expansive views in all directions other than the lake, from the Rim Road. Not overly photogenic, but incredibly beautiful to see. At one viewpoint, we could even see Mt. Shasta in the distance, way down in California. Mountains everywhere - in layers, pointy mountains, rolling mountains, other lakes, and big valleys. Beautiful.

I also spent a lot of time trying to capture this light on the lake. As you can see, at this point we were on the east side looking into the sun, so while that light was lovely to look at, the camera had serious problems dealing with all the light. In the center of the photo is a rock outcropping called Phantom Ship, because from a distance it does look like a ship. It also looks something like a castle, to me.

Another view of the Phantom Ship, using the telephoto.

When we passed this en route to the park this morning I only got a quick glimpse that sent my heart right into my throat. On the way out of the park, I had to stop. This is literally right off the highway, and it's unbelievably beautiful. This, my friends, is the Upper Rogue River. Heartstopping. From here it tumbles into a big lake with a huge dam, travels around 185 miles and meets the ocean in Gold Beach, 25 miles from home.

There's a long walkway along the river here and this raucous waterfall is a bit mind-boggling. I shot a video -- or at least, thought I did. Can't seem to find it now that everything is downloaded. As you can see, it's a wild riot of tumbling water coming from all directions. So beautiful. Breathtaking. I would have walked the rest of the way down the viewing area, but we'd planned to return to the park in the morning so I thought I'd catch it then. Not so sure we are going to do that, now. Alas. We're both really tired -- but we'll see how we feel in the morning. Since I'm driving, I may stage a mutiny and drive back this far, if not all the way to the lake.

We are in the sweet little town of Shady Cove, about an hour from the Park entrance. My room is lovely, the owners wonderful. If you're ever up this way and need an affordable place to stay, I highly recommend the Maple Leaf Motel.

Labor Day Roaming

2009-09-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

My neighbor and I left home at 7am with no particular destination in mind, merely some exploration and photo ops. Since the day was clear -- no fog or rain or clouds -- we thought to take advantage of that and meander up the coast. Our first stop was Cape Ferrelo, which is just north of Brookings. My Oregon Geographic Names book doesn't offer much hard evidence regarding the name. It is presumably named for Bartolome Ferrelo, who was a pilot in the expedition of one Juan Cabrillo, a Portuguese who sailed north up the Pacific Coast from Mexico in 1542. Apparently, there is nothing to prove that the expedition actually made it this far north, but it is still assumed to be named for him. From the parking area, one has many options of trails to follow all over the cape, which I believe is about 300' above the beach. Quite beautiful, especially in the early morning light. After wandering and exploring all there was to see on the cape and the beach below, we continued our journey north.

Since we had no itinerary, I suggested we stop at my favorite spot near the Thomas Creek Bridge, where a short walk took us to this fabulous promontory. I've yet to determine a real name for this promontory. William Sullivan simply refers to it as the North Island Viewpoint. I absolutely love early mornings like this on the coast, with the play of mist and the contrast of light and dark as the sun creeps up the sky.

Another from the same spot -- with more of the misty moodiness that I love. Near here the highway crosses Bruces Bones Creek, a name which has always fascinated me. There is a yarn about this name, which says that in the 1950's a crew was in the area completing a survey for realignment of Highway 101. At the end of the day Bruce Schilling headed in the wrong direction, had trouble finding his way out of the deep gully, and in the end didn't make it out. One of the other crew members commented that they would probably find his parched bones when they returned the following spring. And the name stuck.

We stopped for a moment at the Cape Sebastian parking lot to check out the sweeping views in all directions. I was clearly still fascinated by the morning light and mist. While we're on the subject of place names, Cape Sebastian was apparently named for another long-ago exploration of this coast, this time by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1603. Again, it's not certain if this is the cape he mentioned, because like the other explorer his latitude readings were not terribly accurate, but it was named for him in 1869 nonetheless.

In Gold Beach we drove along the north shore of the Rogue River and found this rather fascinating little city of cat condos. Note the size of the seagull, for perspective. Apparently, people have built these little homes for the local feral cat population. Some have food dishes inside. So clever! Gold Beach, by the way, is named straightforwardly -- gold was discovered in the sands of Curry County in the early 1850s, so the name is quite appropriate. Apparently, there were hundreds of placer miners along this beach in pioneer days. And, although stories abound, the Rogue River was named by the original French settlers presumably because the local indians were a cantankerous bunch.

The Rogue in this area is teeming with wildlife. We saw a seal, cormorants and the river near the bridge was a regular traffic jam of salmon fishermen. The season is short and they're making the most of it. I found the water dynamics here fascinating -- as you can see, the tide is fighting its way in rather forcefully in the distance, but on the shore nearer us the river flow of fresh water was working its way out.

We continued north by way of what we later discovered was the Old Coast Highway. Quite a lovely drive along the water for several miles before reconnecting with the new highway, and leading quite unexpectedly to Otter Point State Park which offers hiking trails and this lovely vista. Our mind was on food and we were headed to Port Orford for some fish & chips at The Crazy Norwegian's, so we didn't dawdle here. I didn't take a photo of the food, but this is the second time I've been to this place and aside from being funky and fun, that crazy Norwegian also serves what may be the best fish & chips I've found. There's a lot to be said for that.

As we drove through Gold Beach on our return trip, I spotted this and we stopped to look. My friend says it's one of the most photographed sights on the Oregon coast, so I don't know how I've missed it before. She was the Mary D. Hume, built in Gold Beach in 1881 for use as a coastal freighter. Her history is long, as she served on this coast and up into Alaska until 1978 giving her the record for length of service on this coast. She was 97' long, served as a freighter for 10 years, then a whaler, then a tug.

Cape Sebastian

2009-09-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

Since the morning broke clear and sunny, I opted for an impromptu hike on Cape Sebastian, just south of Gold Beach. Sullivan's Oregon Coast book characterizes the hike as 'moderate' to the beach, with a 700' elevation drop. He also says it's 3.8 miles round trip but somehow forgets to mention that it's 700' back up that hill and I would not characterize that portion as moderate. It's a long, steady grind. But, this little old lady managed it at a respectable moderate pace, so it is doable.

Views up here are expansive, but not terribly photogenic. Ocean, ocean, and more ocean, for the most part. Winds can be strong, as evidenced by the windswept trees all around.

Much of the trail goes through lush forests as it snakes its way up and down and all around the cape. Vistas are everywhere in all directions, assisted by frequent side trails to various viewpoints.

At the base of the cape are plenty of rocks of a very treacherous nature. I used the zoom for this one, to try for more interest.

This is about as far as I went, and you can see that I had a bit further to go to reach the beach. My camera lens had a hissy fit at this point and refused to function, stuck at optimal zoom. I was not amused, and since I felt rather naked without a usable camera, I retraced my steps. As I climbed steadily back up the hill, the fog drifted steadily into the shore, following my path and drifting into the fingers of land. We both reached the top about the same time. Interestingly, when I reached my car and could see both north and south, I found that only the north side was fogged in. The south side was as clear as ever.

All in all, a worthy trip with some lovely views.

An Incursion into California

2009-08-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Pampas Grass lining the roadway at Big Lagoon, in the Humboldt Lagoons State Park.

Yesterday a photographer friend and I traveled south looking for fun photo ops in what is an undeniably photogenic region of the world. Our route traced the coast, redwoods, elk habitat, wetlands, and two wonderful cities filled with relics of their Victorian era origins. Unfortunately -- most of the meandering trip was thick with fog. Fortunately, most of that burned off by the time we reached Arcata and Eureka.

This is a section of Highway 101 that I've driven many times -- including two trips within the last month -- but have never stopped to explore. I'm always en route further south, or have other time constrictions. This trip was all about exploration -- and photo ops, which means we traveled every side road and stopped often. It was wonderful! Twelve hours of travel, and we didn't even stop at any of the redwood groves. I'll save those for another trip.

This is also the Big Lagoon. We stopped beyond the causeway (no stopping on it) and walked back for quite a distance in search of that perfect photo. I was intrigued with this moody, misty vista and frustrated with my inability to capture exactly what I saw in it.

This fellow, and many of his relatives, was in the wetlands that lined the other side of the highway. Hard to photograph with my camera!

As part of our exploration, we opted to see what lay in the small town of Trinidad. As we pulled off the highway we were met with this wonderful scene of backlit fog in the forest.

Once in town, a little further exploration led us to this little lighthouse perched on the edge of the coast. I did mention that it was foggy! I really liked this little town. The homes along the coast near this monument reminded me of coastal New England, in a way. Very quaint and charming. By now it was 11 am, we'd been on the road since 7am and were feeling a bit peckish. The local supermarket had something cooking in the parking lot and the aroma alone drew us in. Turned out to be barbecued Tri-Tip sandwiches. We shared one (they were huge!) and continued on our journey.

Our next stop was the city of Arcata, home of Humboldt State University. Some friends of mine had recently visited here and reported that it was quite an interesting place, and I have to concur. You may notice a theme in these photographs: my fellow traveler was in search of buildings to photograph for a photo club assignment and since I love Victorian architecture, this was a natural. This wonderful home appeared to be in the midst of complete restoration. From it's perch on top of the hill, the vistas must be superb. We, of course, saw little but fog.

Arcata has a delightful 'Old Town' area with large town square which on this day hosted the Saturday Farmer's Market. Vendors lined all four sides, music filled the air. I didn't buy anything, but the beauty and variety of produce drew my camera like a magnet.

This wonderful old Ford sat on a sidewalk nearby. Don't you love those old curves?

From Arcata we continued south to our ultimate destination for the day, Eureka. A wrong turn fortuitously took us to the marina, home of a very large fishing fleet. Among the many jewels here was this huge bronze statue dedicated to the local fishermen.

Call me crazy, but I found something interesting in these two guys silhouetted against the marina. Old-town Eureka is across the bay. Humboldt Bay is huge, offers all the flat water for kayak exploration anyone could ever want, or all the small-boat sailing.

This incredible bit of Victoriana perches on the waterfront across from the marina. Now a private club, it was the home of a Mr. Carson, one of the founders of Eureka, built in the 1880's, if I recall correctly. On the far side of it is a beautiful public library and an original firehouse from the 1880's. A super public walking/cycling path lay on the water side of these buildings, going I know not where in either direction.

From here we wandered into Old Town Eureka, which is lively and filled with restaurants and shops and includes a boardwalk, although we didn't stop to walk around. A few errands later, we once more headed north, more or less sated photographically for the time being.

An Afternoon's Drive

2009-08-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

A photographer friend of mine called this afternoon to see if I wanted to go along for a drive on a backroad he recently discovered. He wanted to check the light, so off we went. He called it County Road 500. I can't find that on a map, but I can tell you more or less how to find it. Follow the North Bank of the Chetco River up a few miles until you reach a 'Y' intersection. The main road to Loeb Park bears to the right. You'll take the left road, which goes quite a distance and is a very good road with interesting vistas. At the end it becomes gravel, but good gravel, and we bore to the left when we reached a 'T' intersection here, followed the road downhill for about 3 miles to a river which remains unknown, but lovely. Here are the photo highlights of the journey.

I loved this little shed resting in its thicket of trees and blackberries. I also liked the way the light was hitting it.

The views to the east up here are terrific, even with all the devastation of past forest fires in the foreground. This was an unusually clear day here for this kind of distance.

At the end of the County Road there is this wonderful river and parking/turnaround area -- but it's all private property, seriously signed and posted. We didn't think anybody would mind if we had a quick look, and this is what we found. It's clearly the underpinnings for some long-forgotten bridge. I wish I knew the name of the river and the history of this bridge. I'll ask around and if I find anything interesting, I'll report back.

Thomas Creek Bridge -- in the Sunshine!

2009-08-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Since this morning dawned bright and clear and I had itchy feet, I decided to give this trail another try. The first attempt back in May was thick with fog, and while those photos had a certain charm, I also knew there were some fabulous views just waiting to be seen on the big bluff. As you can see, I was right! This photo is of China Beach, also the subject of a previous post and only reachable by a steep trail that travels three-quarters of a mile downhill through the forest. Beautiful -- and well worth the effort. By the way, the name of this post is something of a misnomer -- I did not actually hike to the Bridge nor is there a photo here of the bridge. When I first tried this hike, the effort was to find a good viewpoint of the Bridge, which really never happened. I could see the Bridge at one point today, but turns out that it's really not all that exciting to look at -- it's just high. So, go with it!

This is the starting point, and if you blink you'll miss it. Look on the north side of the Thomas Creek Bridge for a wide pull-out. I don't believe it has any signs ahead of time and this sign is shaded. Walk into the forest a short distance and the trail will fork. You'll want to bear left at this point. The other trail is the one that leads to China Beach, and it's not very obvious. You're likely to miss that one if you blink, too!

After a short walk through the forest you will emerge onto this large meadow. Last time I was here, it was filled with blue iris. The bluff in the distance is your goal here, and the trail will lead you there. Just be careful when you reach an intersection and the trail takes a hard left. You want to continue on towards the bluff, not take this left trail which leads to the bridge right back at the highway. If you want to see the bridge, it's easier to just walk down the highway from where you park your car. The wind out here was really strong -- these bluffs tend to be that way!

Once you get to the bluff, this is what first greets your senses (unless you bear right on the loop, in which case you'll see China Beach first). There are no safety rails here, no barriers of any kind between you and -- the rocks below. I'm not normally uncomfortable with heights, but I have to admit that being this close to the edge, on rough ground in high winds, made me just a teensy bit nervous. Not a place to lose your balance -- or drop your camera! I guess it's obvious, but this view is to the south.

I wonder if that tiny little beach down there has ever seen a human footprint? Would be awfully hard to get to!

I just love the character of this bent, twisted and knarly tree that clings right to the side of the cliff.

Isn't this a beautiful place? And almost hidden.

To reach the northern view, over China Beach, you walk through this leafy, shady arbor that seems almost out of place on this worn, windy bluff.

Did I mention that it's a long way down and that there might be a few rocks?

And did I mention that the winds tend to be a bit strong out there?

All in all, this was a quick and beautiful hike that almost anyone without physical disabilities could accomplish. The bluff is actually fairly dangerous, with all the sheer cliffs with no barriers of any kind, so perhaps it's not a place to take your kids. The trail tends to be narrow and a bit rough, but again, doable for most people. The walk to the bluff probably takes no more than 15 minutes, unless you dawdle as I do.

Loeb State Park

2009-07-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

I joined a local group in an annual cleanup of the Chetco River, here in Brookings, a couple of days ago and in the process made a lovely discovery: when it's foggy in town, it's generally clear, sunny and warm in the park, which is only about 7 miles inland, at a higher elevation. One of the local ladies smiled and said, "this is why you come up here"! To test her theory, with yet another foggy day underway, I returned today to do some hiking. The fog stayed with me for the first couple of miles up the road, then fizzled out into bright sunshine. Hurray!

I opted to follow the Chetco Riverview Trail, which leaves from the picnic area in Loeb State Park (above) and connects with the Redwood Trail that is in the adjoining Siskiyou National Forest. According to Bill Sullivan's book on hiking the Oregon Coast, the combined trails total 2.6 miles, with 400 feet of elevation gain. I can only tell you that my pedometer recorded about 8500 footsteps, and at times I felt the elevation gain was much greater as much of it comes in a short span near the top. I'm in pretty good shape, I think, but toward the top I was seriously feeling the hillclimb.

The Riverview Trail, as its name suggests, parallels the Chetco River for most of its length and travels through lush undergrowths of ferns and oxalis, and a varied forest of Oregon Myrtle, Western Hemlock and Red Alder, among others. This was my lunch spot, and very pleasant it was. A Great Blue Heron swooped in and landed on the opposite gravel bar -- a great reward!

According to my Oregon Geographic Names book, the river is named for a small Indian tribe that lived along its lower reaches. Loeb Park is named for a man who donated the 350-odd acres in order to preserve the grove of Oregon Myrtle trees where the picnic area sits.

Since most of the Redwood Trail is either up or down hill, there are not large groves of the big trees and the trees are also not as big as those in other areas, but they are still lovely. Some are larger than these, but none of those photos was usable. This too is a mixed forest, with Tanoak and Douglas Fir, Bigleaf Maple, mixed in with Oregon Myrtle and Red Alder.

Much of the trail is within earshot of one or another of many creeks that feed the Chetco, often crossing them on wood bridges, thus the soothing trill of moving water follows most of your travels over this one-mile loop, and it's dotted with a number of small waterfalls such as this one.

Back at the picnic area in Loeb Park, I walked out on the rocky bar to soak up a little sunshine. Although not shown here, there were a number of autos parked along the river right on the rocks, and plenty of young families with splashing children enjoying the river. I expect that in the winter this scene is considerably different, with the rocks underwater and the river raging. At the moment, it's a lovely river to float down, splash in, or even swim in some the deeper holes, such as the one below.

I absolutely love the clean, clear clarity of this river, from the foreground shallows to the deep green pool beyond. I opted to sit right here on the rocks and read for awhile, soak up some much-needed sunshine before heading back into the fog.

Yep, as I drove down the mountain and neared Brookings -- it's still there!

Southern Oregon Kite Festival

2009-07-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is the 17th annual version of this festival held at the Port of Brookings and judging from the license plates covering the western states and beyond, it must be a fairly big deal festival of its kind. I arrived right around opening time of 10am, and the crowds were already thick.

Never having been to a kite festival, I really didn't know what to expect. I've seen photos of large balloon-kites, and I'm sure those will be out before the weekend is over, but this morning was a competition of sorts, apparently, with people making kites dance to music. I had no idea kites could be controlled and tweaked such as this, and found it fascinating to watch. Harder to photograph! It's a surprisingly athletic endeavor as well, judging from the two or three that I watched. The young man above was flying what I think they referred to as a quad kite, which has 16 strings to control! As you can see from the photo, it's a two-handed job.

This is his kite -- hard to see in the fog and hard to photograph well using a telephoto, so it's a tad blurry. Too bad this isn't a video, as he literally makes it dance, obedient to his every whim.

When did kites get so fancy? This one was on display in a vendor's booth. I liked it's color and symmetry. I was tempted to buy myself a beginner's kite, but didn't. When one lives on a breezy beach, it could be a good toy to try and master. Addictive, too, undoubtedly.

I'm sure the weekend will bring much excitement and far more visual stimulation than any of this, but I was not of a mood to tarry.

An Early Morning Walk in the Fog

2009-07-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

There's something magical about a beach early on a foggy morning. Maybe it's the mystery, maybe the peace. Hard to say. Our weather this summer has been a roller-coaster ride of warm, sunny days followed by cool, foggy days. While I would prefer more of the warm, sunny kind, there is something to be said for the balance. Houses never get hot and we appreciate the sunshine all the more when it finally breaks through. This morning I walked from home around 7am, headed to Harris Beach.

Fascinating how the variety of flowers blooming along the path has changed so completely since my last photo essay of this walk. These are a variety of fuschia. They glow even in the fog.

This early, even the morning glories were still showing themselves, twined amongst all the other greenery.

Too bad there's not something here to show scale. These were tiny flowers massed low on the ground.

These wild roses have been blooming for awhile and look as if they may be on their last legs, but they are still lovely and there are many of them.

Wild sweet peas are showing in all their spreading, glowing, rampant beauty right now, all along the highway and on cliffs. Everywhere!

I find it tough to capture the feel of a foggy beach completely, but somehow this photo works. These houses have never looked so good!

Lots of birds out on the water today, including some very large ones that I couldn't see well enough to identify. These two caught my eye on shore -- particularly that black one with the long red beak. My birdwatching friend tells me he is an American Oystercatcher. A first for me!

Back on the path headed home, the fog had lifted a bit, but still held a little magic. What a wonderful way to begin a day. Thanks for coming along.

Crissey Field State Park and Welcome Center

2009-07-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

Just south of Brookings, less than a quarter-mile from the California State Line, is a newish state park and Oregon Welcome Center. The center, above, seems to fit well with its surroundings. A trail to the beach can be found on the north side of the center from the parking lot, or from the center itself down graveled paths to the trail. Finding the trail from the beach is another story -- I was about ready to start scrambling over driftwood.

When I first arrived the morning fog still shrouded the shoreline, but that quickly lifted to warm sunshine. This is a very long beach -- stretches well south into California and connects at low tide across the Winchuck River Mouth to another long stretch going north. And quiet -- very few people.

This Sea Star seemed to have just washed up in the surf -- either dead or dying, no doubt. Fascinating critters, to me.

I walked far enough south that I was probably in California -- no way to be certain. There is a huge outcropping of mussels here, but since I wasn't sure what state I was in, and since my Oregon shellfish license wouldn't help much in California, I opted not to take any home for dinner. I'd say these rocks have already been harvested of edible size mussels anyway, for now. I turned around at this point -- was a good walk back to the car.

Looking north towards Brookings from the mussel beds -- beaches as far as the eye can see. Very peaceful and beautiful.

All in all, this is a very nice place to visit. As I was driving out, I saw trailhead signs for a Winchuck River Trail and for a wetlands trail. I was tempted, but had had enough for one day. Next time -- and soon.

Crabbing at Dawn -- and a Walk to Chetco Point

2009-06-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

This morning the tides were right for some early-morning crabbing and I was on the dock by 6am. Not surprisingly, the scenery was lovely in the dawn light. Pelicans and seagulls cruised in packs, searching for and occasionally diving for breakfast. I was more interested in this than in the crabbing, but of course, I tossed the trap out first, then played with the camera.

All those reflections are so lovely...

I caught two about this size, both female and thus illegal to keep even if it was the right size, which they were not. As I was trying to free the second one from the net, my bait splashed into the water and sank -- the crab took quite a bit longer to free. The bait holder on this net is small, and the fish head too large to allow it to close, so I knew I was taking a chance. With no more crabbing to be done, I hopped into the car and ended up by happenstance to be near the Chetco Point park area, so thought I might as well go for a walk.

The sun was just coming over the hills. This park is right in town, is in fact behind the sewage plant. I'd visited briefly on my first trip here, but today I walked all the way out to the point and down to a rocky beach where one lone surf fisherman was at work. I didn't disturb him -- decided I'd rather go up on the point.

This lovely dawn view was just to the left of the previous photo, on the other side of the narrow neck of land. The views from the point itself are expansive and lovely, but not very interesting photographically.

So - no crabs for dinner today, and not another good combination of time/tide for a couple of weeks, but that's OK. I thoroughly enjoyed being on the water that early, and also the unplanned walk on the point.

Port Orford

2009-06-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

One of my neighbors called early this morning to see if I was up to a trip to Port Orford for the day, and of course I was. We had quite an adventure and I saw many things that were new to me. The day was clear and sunny, but very windy and a little cool -- lovely, nonetheless.

I'd driven through Port Orford often, and stopped often at its beautiful beach, but hadn't seen the rest of the town. Because there is no protected marina here, the sizable fishing fleet lives on land, with the boats hoisted in and out of the water on a daily basis by two very large cranes. Since this was Sunday, the boats were all at home. I've never seen anything quite like this.

There is a state park in town on the site of what was a Coast Guard lookout tower, way out on a high bluff. Trails cross the area and the views are superb in all directions. We spotted these lazy sea lions way below where we stood. After we'd walked around here for awhile, the tide was reaching its low for the day so we headed back to the rocky beach in town to see what sea life we could find. We found plenty!

This looks more like tropical waters to me, but it's not..

There were countless starfish of all sizes and colors clinging to rocks amidst the closed anemones, or basking on the sand. The big guy in the middle is a great big sea star -- kind of creepy, but beautiful in its own way. Note the mussels in the photo on the lower left -- Port Orford is known for its mussels, and since I have a shellfish license I was tempted to take some home for dinner.

If you've been reading this for any length of time, you know my fascination with patterns and reflections on wet sand. I thought this one was particularly pretty.

After we'd tired of the beach we still weren't ready to return home, so we drove further north to visit the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. This sits about 6 miles off the highway and I'd never driven out to it, so this was lovely. The road out was lined with cranberry bogs and wildflowers in fields -- foxglove, daisies, wild azalea, lupine, yellow daisies by the hundreds. The wind out on this bluff was strong -- it was hard to stand still enough to take a photo.

To take this one I had to lean against the car for support, still couldn't stay very still. You might not want to try enlarging this one, but it's a pretty view and gives some sense of the location. After this, windblown and chilled, we headed back to Port Orford for some suds and some of the best fish & chips I've ever had, at a funky, crowded place called the Crazy Norwegian. I think a nap is next on my agenda!

Brookings Harbor

2009-06-25T10:52:00.001-07:00

I made my second and still unproductive attempt at crabbing this morning, then somebody on another crabbing pier told me that I was trying at the worst possible time. So much to learn! But, it was a beautiful, calm, sunny morning and my neighbor and I had two happy hours sitting and watching the harbor action. As I watched the folks prepare that sailboat to go out, I found myself itching to go with them.

Lots of critters out and about -- mostly birds, including this and several other brown pelicans. Fun to watch them dive, although I didn't see that they were having any more success at finding breakfast than I was. We also saw some water mammals of some kind -- little round heads poking out of the water and watching us, but not so close that we could figure out what they were. Either a baby harbor seal or an otter, probably. Cute.

The crab dock is right below where I'm standing here, and the big hammock hanging on the sailboat always looks so inviting. Can you make it out? It shows as a thick white line hanging above the center of the boat, but in actuality it's big and comfy looking.

The crab dock is on a long, narrow jetty that separates the Chetco River from the harbor. This is the river and its mouth, taken from almost the end of the jetty. You can see how calm and still and beautiful the water was -- at a minus tide.

So -- no crabs, but lots of fun and now I know when to try again.

Stout Grove via Hiouchi Trail

2009-06-22T14:31:00.001-07:00

Today dawned one of those picture-perfect, chamber-of-commerce days that simply call for an excursion, so who am I to argue? I wasn't sure where I wanted to go -- but by the time I finished my morning weight-work I felt a call to the redwoods so off I went. I was curious about the Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, because it's so well-known, but didn't want to drive down there merely for 1/2 mile loop trail. I wanted some hiking.

A quick look at William Sullivan's Oregon Coast Hikes book (which includes Crescent City, CA and the redwoods), and I'd found a perfect trail. The Hiouchi Trail leaves from the Highway 199 bridge over the Smith River and follows the river for about 2 miles, then crosses Mill Creek before reaching the Stout Grove. Later in the year I believe there is a footbridge over the creek, as there is over the river at the same place, but today I had to ford the stream on foot. Thanks to Sullivan's book I had been fore-warned and wore my river sandals. The creek was only about 10 feet across and no more than mid-calf at it's deepest. The cool water felt great on my feet. The round trip took me about 3 hours, with lots of dawdling along the way. Beautiful!

Not far from the highway the trail passes through this old redwood stump, which was really cool. Kind of like a hobbit hole -- I found lots of those today.

Ever been inside a redwood? This was a first for me. Cool view up.

Another hobbit hole. I found the lighting on this spider web interesting.

Much of this trail travels through a mixed forest and it's very beautiful -- and beautifully maintained with lots of stair-work such as this, many of them much steeper!

Another hobbit hole - but I loved this knarly old stump for much more than that. It called to me for some reason.

Lots of wildflowers along the trail, including these tiny roses with a great big scent. Only a few were blooming, but the air was filled with their aroma.

Wild honeysuckle just about to open -- and right next to the roses. I can only imagine how wonderful this spot would smell when both are in full bloom.

And what would a hike in this are be without wild Rhododendron? Quite a few still blooming, although I think it's fairly late in their season.

The wild and wonderful Smith River is visible through the trees for most of the trail, but now and then a wide vista like this opens up. It's a lot tamer looking than when I was here a few months back, in the rainy season, but it's still impossibly green and clear and utterly beautiful. Look at all those tall trees!

I loved this brilliantly-lit tree in the midst of the dark forest.

I think this is the Stout Grove, but I wouldn't swear to it. One big bunch of redwoods looks very much like another, and it's very difficult to capture the scope of these forests, so I tend to focus more on scenes that catch my eye for one reason or another.

This big boy is definitely in the Stout Grove -- don't you just love those knarly roots and burl?

Again, not sure where these are -- but does it really matter? What matters is that there are 10,000 acres of first-growth redwoods in this park that have been saved forever. It matters a lot.

Small Things -- a Photo Essay

2009-06-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

The overcast we've lived with for the past couple of weeks broke today so I took the opportunity to go down the road to Harris Beach once more. While the rocks and surf are as beautiful as ever, I was more captivated by the wildflowers and other small vignettes that greeted my walk.

Look at all the life on this rock! Those sea snails and such are alive and thriving, waiting for the next tide to wash over them.

I wandered up into the dry sand and driftwood near the cliffs until the hot sand sent my bare feet back to cooler, surfaces. I was surprised to find wildflowers thriving in the sand here.

I wasn't the only one happy to see the sun today. Lots of kids and dogs out there, and this rather photogenic little bit of sea flora.

The path up to the parking lot was lined with blackberries and other wildflowers.

Something about this old wooden bench near the top of the path appeals to me.

Another surprise -- wild Azaleas blooming at the top of the path.

I hope you enjoyed this little walk on the beach with me. This is one of those days when I'm so grateful to live here. My soul is satisfied and happy.

Interesting Visitor to our Port

2009-06-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

She first appeared earlier this week, caught on the Port of Brookings Web Cam that I haunt, and was quite a surprise. Since then, she's popped in and out of the harbor at various times and piqued my curiosity quite a bit. Last night, I was able to read the name and info on her bow in this photo and I did a little on-line research and found a great article.

She is the US Army Corps of Engineer's hopper-dredge, the Yaquina. At 200' long, 58' wide with a draft of 17', she's much, much larger than anything that generally comes into this harbor, and this is about as far as she can go, I assume. From my observations, she tends to ease into this point, turn around, and head back out. The first day she was here for awhile, perhaps overnight, and then for awhile the next day.

Her configuration, with that deeply open hull, is really interesting. She's built to handle rough seas, but I have to wonder how that open hull handles in such weather. On the other hand, I'm not too familiar with anything that doesn't have sails.

Out she goes again. Hard to tell if she's working (dredging our channel) or just stopping by for some reason, although in a conversation with a crab fisherman on the dock this morning, he said she was working. But then, she leaves the channel and sits out off the coast for long periods of time. But again -- what do I know?

She was here once more, early this morning, then sailed away......

This is where she pulls in and turns around. I went down to the harbor to the Farmer's Market, stopped at the public fishing pier to take this photo. Foggy and wet this morning but all was not lost -- I learned the art of crabbing off our pier!

If you have the time and inclination, read the article. It's really quite interesting.

Pistol River via Carpenterville Road

2009-06-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've been curious about Carpenterville Road -- also known as the Old Oregon Coast Highway -- since I've been here, and since I needed to visit the recycling center on that road this morning, I decided to follow and see where it went. I knew it ended up at the highway once more further north, but where did it go in the meantime? It's a nice, two-lane winding road with decent grades at each end -- but in the middle, it follows a high ridge that drops away on both sides to spectacular views, when I could catch glimpses through the trees. To the west, of course, lay rolling hills and the distant ocean; to the east, a very large valley gave way to larger mountains in the distance.

Wild azalea, rhodies and foxglove blossomed abundantly along the highway and I never saw a settlement that might have been Carpenterville, although it shows on maps. According to Oregon Geographic Names, a wonderful tome of a book given to me recently by a friend, the name comes from a family that settled in the area in 1921 and ran a small sawmill, among other things. When the highway was built, the family opened a store and tourist cabins and in 1932, a post office was established and named for the family, but closed in 1944. I saw houses here and there, old and new, but don't know which might have once been the town. No photos, because the road was narrow and there were few places to stop -- and really, nothing to photograph other than trees and ferns and wildflowers -- which is not all bad.

Once I returned to the highway, about 17 miles north of Brookings, I drove on a short distance to Pistol River State Park and the four-mile-long sandy beach that connects it to Cape Sebastian to the north. I thought surely the name Pistol River must have a great story behind it. Apparently not. According to my book, a certain James Mace lost a pistol in the stream in 1853 and it's been called Pistol River since that time.

The morning clouds were just lifting, the tide coming in gently as I waded barefoot along (and sometimes in) the water's edge. This view is looking north, with Cape Sebastian in the distance. One of these days I need to explore the Cape, as there are apparently spectacular views from there.

Looking south, with lingering mists and foamy surf. This is the longest stretch of walkable beach in the south coast area, and certainly one of the most accessible. Pistol River State Park also features long stretches of sand dunes, which are fun to scramble up and down. Nothing like the Oregon Dunes further north, but fun nonetheless. This is a small one.... I really didn't go into the dunes this morning, as the surf called to me. Another time.

These huge beach rocks fascinate me -- such stories they could tell, if only they could speak! Look at all these colors....

They're also pretty darned spectacular to watch as the tide swirls in around them.

Dive Bombing Bee

2009-06-02T05:23:00.001-07:00

I've been happily lazy for the last week, but yesterday even with the threat of thunderstorms I needed to get out of the house and into nature, so I walked down the highway to Harris Beach again. As always, it was a beautiful walk on the beach, very peaceful and calming and satisfied my needs perfectly.

This is an empty lot right on the highway that has an incredible display of poppies and other wildflowers and I couldn't resist stopping to try and record them -- even with the lack of sunshine. I'm always a sucker for California Poppies and I'm glad that I finally live far enough south that they grow in profusion. But -- check out the bee that's frozen in time just left of center over the background of water. I wasn't sure what it was when I first saw this photo -- but it's clearly a bee if you look closely. Cool. Click on the photo to enlarge it -- see for yourself .

I promise to have more interesting posts coming up, but it may be a few days. We are due for thunderstorms the next couple of days, but I'm planning to hike with a local group on Saturday, so expect to have good photos and stories after that, as we're going in search of some rare plant up in the hills complete with old mines and great views.

Stay tuned!

China Beach

2009-05-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

With the day dawning bright and shiny and fog-free, I once more attempted to find the trail to China Beach, in Samuel Boardman State Park. I'd studied the map and also notes from Sullivan's Oregon Coast Hikes book, but all were fairly vague and I knew that no matter what, this would be a steep trail. I really didn't know what I was getting into, but I really didn't care. I love poking around trails and seeing where they lead. This was my reward.

I found it interesting that Sullivan characterized this trail as a short hike from the highway. That's a fair description, as far as it goes. At .7 mile each way, it's not a long hike, but with about 345 feet of elevation change over that distance, it is very steep in places with some nasty switchbacks and lots of slippery gravel of the kind that makes me nervous on descents. Not a trail for the inexperienced or out-of-condition hiker, in my opinion. And there's the return trip UP those 345 feet! Beautiful, however, and yes, the reward for my efforts was great.

This shot from near the top of the last ridge, near the highway, shows just how far away that ocean is!

Like all the trails in this area, the scenery is magnificent -- often dark and feeling rather like the forest primeval, other times sun-filtered and equally magical.

Hard to describe the feeling of emerging from the forest to be met with this!

The trail follows this wash up to and across the ridge in the distance, then on to one more ridge before reaching the highway.

This is what it's all about -- impossibly blue water, gentle surf washing ashore, cliffs and rocks and nesting seabirds -- and not another human in sight. Works for me! All in all, with all my wandering on the beach and stopping for photos, the hike took 1 hour and 45 minutes and was not particularly tiring. In fact, I felt great afterwards!

Azalea Park

2009-05-19T10:35:00.001-07:00

Today I went in search of Azalea Park, right here in Brookings. With the Azalea Festival coming up this weekend, I wanted to see if they were in bloom -- and I'm sorry to say I seem to have missed the peak of bloom but still, I found the park to be utterly impressive. While it doesn't rival Hendricks Park in Eugene, for example, it is really quite large, quite beautiful and filled with the Azaleas that are native to this stretch of coast complemented by a fair share of Rhodies, which actually were more impressive overall right at this moment. The salmon beauty above, however, is an Azalea. As a southern girl, I really appreciate these.

This is only one of many nooks and open areas through out the park, which covers about 30 acres and offers picnic tables, a large kids playground plus an ampitheater that is home to the American Music Festival held each summer.

Some of the many Rhodies that are in riotous bloom right now.

Not everything here is Azalea or Rhodie -- lots of bulbs and other small flowering flora plus some big evergreens.

I love these huge, richly-colored Rhodies! Because they're bigger and come in a wider variety of colors, they almost outshadow the smaller, paler and finer Azaleas.

The Azaleas still have their own charm....

I'm looking forward to the Music Festival and other happenings here. Stay tuned!

Harris Beach State Park

2009-05-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

I finally, FINALLY, got my feet -- yes, my bare feet -- upon a beach this morning. And as so often happens, after my fruitless driving and hiking in search of a beach, this one is actually within walking distance from home, within the Brookings city limits. Since the morning dawned bright and sunny and fog-free, I satisfied my early-riser instincts and left home around 7:30am for the short walk north on the highway. It can't be more than a mile, door to door, with perhaps only half that actually along the highway. There are paved bike and pedestrian paths for much of the way nearer the park.

This is not a place where one can walk right onto the beach. The parking lot sits on a bluff and you just about have to at least get out of your car to take in the entirety of the view. A paved path travels in switchbacks down the bluff to the beach, but it's fairly steep and takes a good effort to walk back uphill, so if this degree of activity doesn't appeal to you, I'd advise finding another beach. It worked just fine for me.

It's no secret to anyone who's been reading this for awhile that I love the early morning light on a beach. There's a sparkle, a magic, that appeals to me. This was a great beach for walking barefoot -- lots of clean sand, easily avoidable rocks, and while the water temp certainly wouldn't fool anyone into thinking they were in Mexico, an occasional wash of surf against ankles felt good. On the other hand, this area is a marine sanctuary and at the right tide shoes would make tide-pooling more feasible.

Another reason for barefoot beachwalking is the many streams that cross the beach as they funnel out of the hills. Almost always, these are too deep and too wide for crossing without getting wet feet. Mostly, I do it because it just plain feels good.

I could have walked further along this beach in either direction -- it's expansive and varied -- but once I was at least temporarily sated, I retraced my path home. In total, about an hour and 45 minutes of walking that couldn't have been much nicer -- that warm sunshine felt fabulous. And just because this one is so available doesn't stop the quest for others that are less available. It's the search and exploration I enjoy, as much as the fact of actually finding a beach.

Wild Rivers Coast Wine, Art & Music Festival

2009-05-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

I took a little break from exploring the great outdoors today and drove to Gold Beach for this annual festival. What a beautiful day! Warm, sunny, crystal clear and breathtakingly splendid as I drove the 25 miles north along the coast.

As you can see, I arrived way too early, but it gave me a chance to scope it all out, take a few photos before the crowds arrived. Eventually I set about getting into the swing of things, tasting a little wine, having some lunch and listening to a bit of jazz. By the time I left, the place was hopping with people.

Lunch -- a luscious fish taco that left me wanting another....

Jazz. This was the "Word of Mouth" Live Jazz Quartet and I must say, they put out some pretty cool tunes.

And wine..... red, red wine, for me.

OK, I admit it -- clearly my focus was on the wine, not the arts and crafts, and while I couldn't try a wine from each of the 16 wineries, I tried several and can highly recommend these three wines from these two wineries. I apologize for the out-of-focus label (honestly, not the result of too many tastes of the red inside), but both these Cliff Creek wines were superb, as was the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Spangler, above. The Cliff Creek cab was sold out but he had a bottle for tasting and I'll be looking forward to the release of their 2006 vintage sometime in the future. Their Claret is a delightful, perfectly balanced Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. the Spangler cab was so yummy I took it outside to linger over for awhile. I'd buy any of these three wines, any day. Since I had to drive back to Brookings, I didn't taste any of the other wines from either winery but I expect they would be equally as well-made.

Southern Oregon wines are not as well-known as the Willamette Valley wines, but because of the rather extreme climate differences, they are able to grow warm-weather grapes that simply don't flourish in the Willamette Valley. I expect that within a few years these wines will be much better-known.

Back to the great outdoors next time!

Sun and Fog

2009-05-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

I set out this morning in search of a good view of the Thomas Creek Bridge (the highest in Oregon) as well as a portion of the Oregon Coast Trail that supposedly leads down the cliff to China Beach, which appears to be long and broad and lovely. Yes, the fog was just burning off but I had faith that by the time I arrived, I'd have great views. Not so! I had a lovely walk through woods and meadows and reached the bridge (which, in all honesty, I could have reached in 5 minutes by walking down the highway from my car, but that would take away all the fun and I was frankly disappointed to end up right beside the highway. I'd hoped to find myself nearer the bottom, with a more spectacular view). Unfortunately this is all I could see of it. It's not a very long bridge, but at 345 feet above the water, it's impressive. I'm still in search of a way to get to the base of it, but there is time for that.

The trail branched off often and disappeared often and there are no signs, so while I came to some high bluffs that must surely have spectacular views, including one point where the trail stopped almost without warning at the edge of a steep bluff, I only glimpsed water and surf once. Even though the sun broke through in rays here and there, none of it penetrated the coast or the water below, for the most part. More wild iris than I think I've ever seen in one place inhabited the meadows here in great numbers.

All in all, I must have walked for about an hour and never found a trail that might lead to the beach. But -- just as I neared the parking lot upon my return to my car I saw that a trail branched off to the right and that one has good potential for reaching China Beach. I didn't follow it because by now, Mother Nature had made it clear that she was in no hurry to lift the fog from the coastal views and beaches I sought. It was a lovely walk, nevertheless. Here are a few more photos.

This is my favorite of the bunch, and it's right off the highway.

This one, I believe, was just beyond the bridge.

This one is way out on the edge of a high bluff and looks more as if it belongs in the deep south than the southern Oregon Coast!

One thing I learned from this morning's adventure is that one should never assume Mother Nature is going to cooperate fully in the time frame you expect. In the future, I'll not only check the port webcam, but I'll actually pay attention to what it shows me. What a concept! Lovely, lovely, walk -- even without seeing the water.

Natural Bridges Cove Hike

2009-05-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

I headed north out of town this morning with no pre-conceived agenda other than finding a place to put my feet upon a beach. That's not as easy to come by on this stretch of rocky coastline as it might sound and after passing viewpoint after viewpoint I turned into a parking lot to turn around, and got a little sidetracked by this sign. I didn't know where it would take me, but I wanted to find out.

And off to the left, this one. I'd stumbled onto a section of the Oregon Coast Trail and itched to follow where it led. I was a little stunned by the almost rain-forest-like lushness I found as I ventured off the highway.

This vista of Natural Bridges Cove awaits with a nice viewing platform not far from the parking lot, but the trail continues onward and so did I. As you can see, the day was a bit cloudy, but not unpleasant.

This trail was beautiful! I'm a hiker who hasn't been on a trail in probably two years and my feet and soul ate this right up. Meandering up and down gentle rises, around rocks and past small coves and inlets that can absolutely only be seen from the trail -- fabulous! I don't know much about the Oregon Coast Trail, but I intend to learn more and follow as much as I can. I found good information and maps on the official Oregon Coast Trail state site, which also offers maps and info on the Samuel Boardman Park.

I must have walked about a mile before I turned back towards my car, sometimes deep inside the lush forest, sometimes in open meadows alongside the highway but always wrapped in nature. As always, I was a bit enthralled with the wildflowers....

And the lush flora....

And of course, the expansive views of the coast near where I reversed my path back to my car. I would have walked more, but the trail seemed to disappear near the highway or perhaps I just didn't want to look for it. I'd had a good hike and didn't mind returning home now.

North end of China Beach -- how to reach?

I never did get my feet upon a beach today, but there's always tomorrow.

An Early Morning's Stroll

2009-05-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Brookings Thursday about noon. After a crazed day and a half of unpacking, then a bit of rest to recoup energy, I decided to go for a stroll in the early hours of this Saturday morning to discover my new 'hood. This lovely vista is about a half block from home, although there is no way to get down that rocky cliff to the beach below. But that's OK. I just needed a nature fix, an ocean fix, and I got that. As you may know by now, I also love watching the morning sun break through the mist and light the day. I was just in time.

I found a lovely place to sit in privacy and watch that beautiful coast above -- and this is the view to the side from where I sat, when I finally pulled my eyes from the coast. Not bad!

And this one was right behind me.

Lots of wildflowers in the meadow -- many of these sweet iris.

And these.....

All it was a lovely morning's stroll. Next time, I'll try it at sunset.

The Sylvia Beach Hotel

2009-04-23T15:51:00.001-07:00

One of the jewels of the Oregon Coast is the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport. A few weeks ago I gave myself a very special gift and spent two wonderful days and nights reading and relaxing and watching the storm and the surf raging outside the window of the reading room.

I apologize upfront for the photos -- they are not the best nor are they adequate, but they are the only ones that remain from that wonderful experience. For some inexplicable reason, I seem to have deleted the rest from my computer.

Their website has words to the effect that the place is not for everyone -- it will either welcome you with open arms or spit you out and I think that is really true. It's funky, it has resident cats, an emphasis on books and reading and relaxation and contentment. There are no telephones, televisions or radios and please, keep your cell phones on vibrate and take the calls outside. If you want to be entertained, there are games and puzzles and plenty of books in the library. Quiet conversation is encouraged in the reading room, with the emphasis on quiet. There is no smoking, no pets, and no young children. It's really my kind of place!

Each room is named for a famed writer and decorated in the style of that writer and his or her era. Colette, Faulkner, Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain, Agatha Christie, Alice Walker, E.B. White, Emily Dickenson -- and more. Many have fireplaces, some (as in the Lincoln Steffens room where I slept) are small, some more spacious. Some have ocean views, some do not. Mine had the ocean view -- a lighthouse view -- but I found it didn't really matter because the only time I stayed in the room was to sleep and then the shades were drawn because I faced the parking lot. I could have saved myself some money with a non-ocean-view room, and if I return, that's probably just what I will do. On the other hand, if I were going with romance in mind, I'd gladly pay more and head to the Colette with it's vibrant reds and white, or Stella (think Tennessee Williams) with it's mosquito net bed drapes and tropical air.

The hotel sits right on the beach and commands a spectacular view of the ocean. The dining room occupies that lower level with the big windows and you can take my word that coffee and breakfast just naturally tend to taste better when you can watch the surf right outside while you wake up and start your day. On the other hand, the food is so good it really doesn't need any help to be fab.

My purpose for making this visit was to experience and enjoy the hotel and to get away to think about some life decisions that were plaguing me in Eugene, so the weather forecast for rain and wind and storms didn't really matter. This room, the third floor reading room, was where I intended to spend most of my time and I was armed with a few books plus my laptop for writing. As it turned out, that's exactly what I did! Between the blue chair in the far left corner, and the dark green leather chair in front of the window, on the left, I rarely left this room for the entire time, other than meals and sleeping. I read, gazed out the window, sipped gallons of herbal tea all day and wine in the afternoon and evening (buy it there or bring your own -- they'll supply a glass, no charge). Right behind where I stood to take this photo is another nook with a lovely fireplace that warms the air day and night, if someone is willing to feed it.

This was my view from both chairs -- utterly peaceful, serene, calming and conducive to quiet contemplation and deep thoughts, if you don't feel like reading. What you can't sense at all is the sound -- the wind was howling and blustery and up on the top floor in particular the building occasionally shook and trembled, with much rattling and squeaking as it rode the storm's fury -- and this was a relatively small storm!

When I arrived, the sun was still shining and I ran out onto the beach for a nice walk in the sun and wind wrapped in the taste and smell of salt air. Clouds began to encroach quickly, but I was grateful for this small taste of sand and surf and sun. I ventured out for a few moments the next morning, but the wind was raw and cold and wet and I quickly scurried back inside for coffee and breakfast.

Breakfast is included in the cost of your room and, like all meals, is served family style. The buffet table overflowed with a wide variety of luscious baked goodies. One morning we had pumpkin pancakes with a pecan butter and sausages and the next morning an incredibly good Mexican tortilla filled with cheese and other scrumptious flavors and ingredients.

The dining room is open to the public, has one or two seatings per evening, requires reservations at least one hour in advance and offers a choice of 3 or 4 entrees. I opted to eat here my first evening and dinner was superb – some kind of pureed soup, carrot? then a Caesar salad, both served with baskets of incredible, freshly baked home-made bread followed by fat asparagus with garlic and red peppers, steaming bowls of fragrant rice, and a perfectly cooked concoction of huge prawns and scallops in a rich cream sauce. I could barely contemplate dessert, yet couldn’t resist a few tastes -- a luscious almond cake drizzled heavily with melted dark chocolate and sliced almonds. Afterwards – it was 9pm by now, a two-hour dinner – I rolled myself up two flights of stairs and into the welcoming, high bed and slept for 8 solid hours.

If you find yourself in Newport and want to treat yourself to something really special, I can't recommend the Sylvia Beach too highly. In fact, if you are anywhere near Newport, take a detour if need be. Go!

My Southern Oregon Coast Experience

2009-04-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

I first fell in love with the southern Oregon Coast on a cold, stormy day in May of 1996. It's a love affair that has never died. In May of 2009, 13 years later, I will retire and move to the small town of Brookings, which is about as far south as one can go on the Pacific Coast and still be in Oregon.

I remember very clearly the first day I drove up this coast. I'd driven west from Atlanta at a very leisurely pace, stopping for a week at the Grand Canyon, a few days at Sequoia National Park, a week at Yosemite, stopped in Napa and nobody I wanted to see was in town, so I kept driving north up the coast highway. I'd never been north of Mendocino, so yes, this was my first visit to Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and Redwood National Park. A day in the redwoods and then across into Oregon and jaw-dropping scenery that pulled me into its magic and hooked me forever.

It wasn't a pretty day, weather wise. On the contrary, I drove all day in a wild wind and rain storm and wasn't phased by it in the least, other than the effort of keeping my car on the road because of the wind. I simply didn't care -- the coast was/is so beautiful, weather didn't matter. I thought then -- and agree now -- that this has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of highway that exists anywhere. Simply breathtaking between the California border and the town of Port Orford. Beyond that, the road travels inland much of the time up to Florence, but down here, you're right on the water, with all the surf and rocks and nature anyone could want.

By the time I crossed the state line, I was already on sensory overload from the redwoods, where I'd hiked and explored deep into various groves and found what was touted as the tallest tree in the world. When the first expansive vistas of that rocky coast opened up, I thought nothing could possibly be this beautiful. I stopped often between rain squalls to gaze in awe and try to capture the grandeur on film.

I spent that first night in Newport and ended up driving the entire coast up to Astoria and back down through the Willamette Valley, where I eventually settled. The entire Oregon coast is spectacular, and you'll find various definitions of where the 'southern' Oregon coast begins, but for my purposes, I'm going to focus on the area from Newport south to Brookings and on down into the California redwoods as far as Humboldt State Park and Redwood National Park, in general. I expect to focus on the area from Port Orford south to Brookings and on into the Smith River and Jedediah Smith State Redwood Park, more often and in greater detail, since this is my 'hood.

This photo was taken in 1996 at a beach near Florence, and that's about all I can tell you other than that it was very early in the morning and I was fascinated by the lifting fog and the sun rising over the hills.

By this time, I'd settled in Corvallis but was still drawn to the coast. I'd driven over and spent the night in a tent at one of the many state parks with beach-front campgrounds. The early riser in me had me out exploring by dawn.

This photo was taken at the same beach, probably a little earlier. Are you seeing the beauty I saw yet? I hope so. In fact, I hope you will fall in love with this beautiful area and be compelled to follow along as I explore the many inlets and beaches and trails and rivers that are so prevalent along the entire coast.

I get a little crazy sometimes with the camera -- aside from spectacular beauty, I also find great beauty in the natural patterns formed by nature, such as these patterns in the sand on some unknown beach.

Yes, this is the photo in my page header, taken off the Brookings Harbor in April 2009. Can't beat that late afternoon light reflection!

So - welcome to My Southern Oregon Coast. I hope you'll visit often and enjoy what you see and read. I'll be going to festivals and local events, hiking, cycling, and hopefully doing some sea-kayaking as I explore the myriads of expansive beaches, tiny inlets and coves and river mouths, and great groves of redwoods. Join me!