On my last night in Brookings, the sunset was promising to look very colorful. I grabbed my camera and tripod and walked toward the trail that leads to the top of the bluff overlooking the beach. (See previous post for more about this bluff)
As I had hoped, the view was clear and the sky was dramatic as the sun set into a distant fog bank.
A couple watches the wave action on Harris Beach.
At last, the grand sunset!
I enjoyed my five nights at the Harris Beach State Park in Brookings, Oregon. The campground was very comfortable and the time spent on the beaches in the area was rejuvenating. Today, I’ll travel to Coos Bay for the next leg of my journey.
Wednesday (June 3): Claudia, Bruce and I checked out a few interesting places in and around Brookings today. We started at the harbor at the entrance to the Chetco River.
We peeked into a chocolate shop and asked for a recommendation for a place for lunch. We learned the “Hungry Clam” nextdoor was a local favorite.
Before eating lunch we walked around Azalea Park, just across the bridge from the harbor.
Tai chi at the amphitheater at Azalea Park
The chapel at Azalea Park
We had lunch at the Hungry Clam and it was terrific. We then drove east along the Chetco River to check out Alfred Loeb State Park and campground. We took a short hike in the area.
While we were down at the beach a couple of nights earlier, we noticed this large bluff behind the parking lot. At the top, we could barely see a few people at a viewing spot. We decided to check out that viewpoint.
The view from the top of the bluff was excellent!
I made a mental note to return to this spot for a chance to take photos of a sunset.
Harris Beach State Park campground is nestled in the trees alongside Highway 101
Monday was Memorial Day and a travel day for me. I left Redwood Meadows RV park and headed for Brookings, Oregon. It was a short drive of about 30 miles. I’m staying at Harris Beach State Park campground, just north of Brookings. I’ll be here five nights.
Harris Beach
Oregon State Park campgrounds are excellent resources! The campgrounds are beautiful with great amenities (restrooms and token-less hot showers!). Claudia and Bruce are staying here during the same time, so we are having fun exploring the area.
Approaching sunset on Harris Beach
Harris Beach is a great introduction to the Oregon coastline. A nice flat beach with many dramatic rock outcroppings, framed with frequent foggy edges. On the first night here, the sunset was colorful and ever-changing. Plenty of people gathered along the bluffs and on the beach to watch the display. It reminded me of the shared experience of watching a fireworks display.
On Wednesday (June 2), we drove north about 30 miles along the coastline to Gold Beach. Along the way we noted the various pullouts that we would explore on the return drive. It was pretty foggy on the drive, with occasional clear spots. It turned out to be the perfect weather combination for photographs!
Oregon bridges are an artform in their own right. Gold Beach.
One of the best locations was Meyers Beach, a long stretch of rock studded beachfront, with three different turnouts for cars to park. We walked the length of the beach and were treated to billowing fog, gentle waves, blue skies and great reflections. A long walk on the beach does a body good!
One of the paths down to Meyers Beach.The water was cold and refreshing!
Another great photo opportunity was Arch Rock Viewpoint. A short trail around the bluff provided wonderful views of the coastline and Arch Rock.
The trail around Arch Rock Viewpoint gave many great views.Arch Rock
It is difficult to cull down the photos to a reasonable number for sharing. As light and fog conditions continually change, new photo interpretations emerge. I am feeling the immersion of this landscape; it is refreshing, cleansing and uplifting.
Sunday (May 30) My last 24 hours at Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park were bittersweet. I knew I would miss the beauty of the campground, but the Memorial Day Weekend campers had begun to descend upon the park and it was getting very busy.
I awoke to sunny skies on Friday and decided to suck up as much solar power as possible. I spent the early afternoon chasing sunlight with my solar panels. I have a 120W suitcase-style panel that weighs 25 lbs. I also have a 100W thin flexible panel that weighs 4 lbs. I made some coupler cables so I could connect both panels to one charge controller, giving me the most amperage possible.
The forests here are magnificent, but they don’t allow for much useful solar charging time. I was able to give my battery a decent charge by continuously watching the little pockets of sunshine move through my campsite and position the solar panels accordingly. This recharge was enough to keep my refrigerator running another day, so I knew I was in good shape.
Redwood Meadows RV Park
On Saturday I packed up and drove 0.7 miles to Redwood Meadows RV Park, located on HWY199 in Hiouchi. (Don’t call it “hootchie”, just sayin’) This RV park initially looked a little run down, but once I settled in to my spot I started to like it a lot more. Based on the infrastructure, it looks like an older RV park. It has large grass areas between the rows of spaces and plenty of trees. I was located in the row closest to the highway (right behind the gas station/deli), yet the road noise was subtle. I think the building helped block the sound. There are also some tent spaces as well as yurts, tiny houses and canvas cabins. The grounds are well kempt. Verizon does not know about this little hamlet and the on-site wireless network is weak and often drops connection. No problem, it’s a good time to stay off the grid and enjoy the surroundings.
Beautiful view in the morning
Sunday was another sunny day. I drove about 3 miles over to the Stout Grove trailhead across the Smith River from Hiouchi. I had heard about Stout Grove from a couple of places and decided to check it out for photos. The trees are described as “not the largest trees” but they were impressive enough. The walking loop is about 1/2 mile with several little side trails. The nearby access, ample parking, restrooms and easy hike make this a very popular spot. Lots of families with small children were able to amble about through the tall trees and fallen logs. I spent about two hours in this area and would really love to come back on a drizzly day. I did my best to find photo opportunities that didn’t have much sunlight, instead looking for the even light of full shade. I used my tripod exclusively; I like the way the tripod slows me down and take a little longer to compose my photos.
The Smith River Recreation AreaI was mesmerized by this sceneOne last look up before leaving
Today will be my last day in California. Tomorrow I’ll drive about 20 miles to Brookings, Oregon and begin the coastal version of the trip. My friends Claudia and Bruce are also camping at Brookings, so it will be fun to spend time with them at a beach campground
Here are some photos taken while visiting the Crescent City Area. Many of the redwood forest photos were taken within a couple hundred feet from the main highway. Just a short distance can feel like another world.
The Crescent City lighthouse stands out in the mist.Reflections in the harborThe Jedediah Smith Redwood Park on a drizzly day.The fog and mist moved in quickly.Along a trail – I’m guessing there are some ashes beneath the sign.I think I might have to Photoshop some airplane wreckage in the background…This might be my newest favorite photo.
Tuesday (May 25): Today marks the beginning of a five week road trip. Destinations include the Oregon and Washington coast, central Oregon and the Lassen area of Northern California. I’ll spend the last six days at a Lassen campground attending an A-frame camper get together.
With the Pilot and Aliner fully packed, I hit the road around 11:30am. Interstate 5 was predictably crowded with truckers; this is a major north/south transportation corridor. I headed north to Williams, then west to Highway 101, and continued north on 101 to Burlington Campground along the Avenue of the Giants. I planned to stay overnight there to break up the drive.
Burlington Campground – Avenue of the Giants
Burlington Campground is beautiful. The campsites are spread among the towering redwood trees (aka – the “Giants”). The campsites are designed for tent camping and small trailers. Several bicycle campers were staying there, as well as motorcycle campers and a few other trailers or Sprinter-type vehicles. On-site restrooms and showers are available, as well as a handy dish-washing station.
Looking up – a terrific way to wake up in the redwoods
On Wednesday morning (May 26), I continued on my journey northward. Costco in Eureka was a popular (and affordable) place to buy gas and a forgotten loaf of bread. (Well, at Costco, you can’t buy just one loaf of bread)
Continuing north on HWY101, I noticed a couple of emergency road signs warning drivers of road restrictions ahead. The words “2 hour delay” got my attention. I pulled off the highway for a break and consulted the CalTrans website for more info. I learned a rock slide near Crescent City was under repair, with regular road closures (2 hours at a time) alternating with one-lane road openings for an hour. It turned out to be a one hour delay, so not a big deal. At least the road was open enough to get through. There were no desirable alternative routes.
Waiting for the road to open
I arrived at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in the later afternoon and set up in my campsite. I’ll be staying here for 3 nights. Another great campground! In the section I’m in, there are just a few spaces, and they are far apart. I’m surrounded by tall redwoods, layers of ferns and peace and quiet.
Space #77 at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
The campground has about 120 campsites, along with a few tiny cabins for rent. The Smith River borders one side of the campground. In the distance, I can hear the faint sounds of HWY 199, which connects Crescent City with Grants Pass, Oregon. Again, excellent restrooms and hot showers are available.
Camping among the redwoods and fernsSmall cabins are also available for rent
Thursday (May 27): Apparently, today is a good rain test of the new window installations. As I write this, a steady rain is filtering through the branches above me and pattering on the roof of my camper. As far as I can tell, the rain is staying on the outside. Fingers crossed.
A different challenge has presented itself, though. While driving the first day, I had the refrigerator set to run on 12v DC to keep it cold. It worked, but when I had arrived at the Burlington campground, the trailer battery was at about 60% charge. I determined that the refrigerator consumed much more 12v power than I expected, which didn’t leave much for charging the battery on the drive.
When I drove from Burlington to Crescent City, I turned off the refrigerator and let it “coast” while driving. This worked OK, the temperature didn’t drop too much and the battery got a fair amount of charge while driving on the road. However, is still wasn’t a full charge, and my arrival time at the Smith campground was too late to use the solar panel to provide an extra charge. Even though I would be running the refrigerator on propane, it still requires 12v to operate the control panel and ignitor.
I monitored the battery level into the evening and as it approached 60%, I shut off the refrigerator again to “coast” overnight. This worked, but I had to restart the fridge and continue to use the battery power. With the rain today, I knew I would have no chance to recharge the battery with solar. So….McGyver to the rescue.
I did a bit of re-wiring to disconnect the refrigerator from the trailer battery and connect the refrigerator to a portable rechargeable 12v power station. This removed all usage from the trailer battery. I’ll continue to monitor this method and if all my power sources are drained, I can move the cold food to an ice chest until I’m able to recharge the batteries. No biggie. The lesson learned is that the refrigerator will work fine on 12V while driving, but the first night after a long day on the road should include hookups so I can recharge the batteries.
So, with a rainy day, what is there to do? I am sitting in a rain forest, so it seems like a perfect day to get out and take some photos!
Roadtripping with Ron 