Friday - a short drive north

Before I tell you about today, I want to show you a few pictures from yesterday's walk through the Redwoods.   Its easy to be awed by the enormity of  the surroundings, but its important to notice the little things all around us.

And....to look at the whimsical side too...

Now, today's post....... once again the bedroom curtains opened to a grey, drizzly scene.  Ah well, time to move on anyway.  The problem was, we were moving north on the coast and that same depressing weather would be with us all the way.     We both feel strongly that life is what you make of it, so we left our lovely, wet campground with the knowledge that our next spot would be just as nice.   It was only about an hours drive to Turtle Rock Resort just south of Gold Beach, Oregon.  I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when we pulled in to the "resort".   The people in the office were uber friendly, but the campground itself looked pretty rough.   Plenty of long term residents and the ensuing junk stored around their trailers.   The grass needs to be cut and not all the sites are as advertised.  The setting is wonderful, the campground is just across 101 (with an access walkway under the road) from a wild and wonderful ocean beach and the wide, calm Hunter Creek runs along side.   We have a back in site near the road - bad side its next to the road, good side, its right next to the beach and the creek, is fairly wide and is a full hook up.

Hunter creek runs beside the campground 

giant rock on our beach

I made reservations at a small restaurant I'd heard about, so we took the dogs to the beach for a good romp before leaving them for the evening.  Lewis was higher than a kite to be on the beach again, but I didn't take a ball along this time.   He busied himself trying to drag around any number of driftwood snags.   Sasha did what Sasha does.   She did find a tiny dead seal pup washed ashore but was very good about just sniffing it carefully, whew!

We had dinner at Anna's by the Sea (it wasn't).  What a gem....a tiny gem, but a gem.  It has only 4 tables and 6 bar seats.  The owner is the chef and he works right behind you making each meal, one at a time.  That translates into a bit of a wait for dinner, but it was really worth it.  Dave had Black Rock Cod and I had Shrimp with truffle oil and a potato dish to die for.  The only minus (for us, that is) was that a very nice man was playing guitar and singing quietly and he was right in front of us, necessitating polite interaction.   You know  I don't like to have to talk to strangers, especially when I'm out to dinner with someone I really want to talk to......we worked it out and it wasn't really a problem.  I would have rather had him go away.

I think we'll be happy here for this Memorial Day Weekend, we'll just put a soft focus on everything except that wonderful beach.

sun setting behind Turtle Rock

Thursday - we made the most of our last day here

Not late this morning!  Not early either, just right and when Dave opened the bedroom shade we were blinded by the sun.....Yes!

Second cup inside then loaded the dogs into the jeep and headed off to Kellogg beach.  We were anxious to take a real walk on the beach, Lewis needed to blow of a little steam and Sasha needed new things to sniff.

Mission accomplished.

Sasha sniffs....Lewis runs

Lewis runs....Sasha sniffs

crab carnage

bottle cap "lizard"

After lunch, we left the dogs happily sleeping in Beluga and went looking for the "big boys".  We entered the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park from the south on Howland Hill Road.  It started out as a normal, paved road but quickly turned to a dirt track, wet and gummy in spots.  Wide enough for two cars to pass, but just.  It wove uphill around huge old redwoods with periodic narrow pull outs.   We didn't see many cars but everyone we did encounter were very careful and polite about pulling over and letting each other pass or take pictures or just wander around with open mouth.

Dave on the left - stranger in the middle

We parked at the entrance to the Stout Grove and took the 1 mile hike in to see the old growth grove.

downed trees support new life

no Dave, they don't smell pretty

I always lag behind Dave when we walk.   I think its because I stop to take pictures so often.  He says I walk erratically and dart off the path, so he tries to stay ahead of me to avoid collisions.   Humpf.

Today I emerged from the underbrush to find him gone.   There was only one direction to walk, so I just kept on going, assuming I'd catch up to him around the bend.    He was hiding on me, the devil....

I have more pictures of flowers. and trees, but I'm getting tired from all the hiking around today and sleepy from a big meal of lasagna,  so I'll show them to you tomorrow.  

Once again, I'll be sorry to leave here tomorrow.   No more time to decide to stay "just one more day", we've a schedule to keep now.  I love this campground, it feels so much like the Redwoods State Park, its like staying in a campground there, except with full hook-ups!  What could be better?

The thief strikes again.....beautiful Rhododendrons this time.

Wednesday - memory lane

Slept in late, again.....coffee inside again....is a pattern emerging?  This cool, cloudy weather isn't good for us.
Luckily the surroundings are so, so beautiful, otherwise we'd be outta here.   Since breakfast was so late, we took the dogs for a walk in the woods before lunch.

I followed Dave and Lewis over the bridge and into the woods

this huge sequoia had fallen to the forest floor probably a hundred years ago.

Dave stands beneath the root end of the fallen giant

a big mushroom in the land of the giants

Lewis is very excited walking on these damp, green, wooded paths.  He leaps and jumps into the ferns by the side of the trails, eats the tender grass spikes and just really enjoys himself.   At one point  he jumped especially high, barely letting his feet hit the ground.  Something flew off the path and we stopped to look.

Evidently he stepped on this giant, spotted slug!  It didn't seem injured and slowly slid off the gravel of the path into the softer grass.  Ewwww.

After lunch we debated about whether to find a beach to take a walk or drive back into the Redwood National Park for a stroll into one of the ancient groves.   Well, we took a wrong turn on the way to Kellogg Beach and ended up in the middle of Crescent City!   Turned out to be a good thing, we got great advice about where to find a peaceful stand of trees, directions to a couple of different types of beaches and it helped us make a better plan for tomorrow.  We also found out what the huge cement thingys we kept seeing all over were.    Turns out they are tsunami control thingys, to be piled up on the breakwall to help dissipate the waves force and minimize the ensuing damage.

tetrapod
these things were displayed in various spots as if they were some sort of sculpture!

see the tetrapods piled up in the background?

The Visitor's Center had a beautiful display of Rhododendrons in every color of the rainbow.

When I got back in the jeep, I wasn't surprised to find that the posey pilferer had struck again....What am I to do with him?

 It was getting late so we decided to save the Redwoods for tomorrow and since it was pretty cold and windy,  we thought we'd just follow the coast back and take a quick pre-look at some of the beaches for a romp with the dogs in the morning.   Wow, that was quite a run on sentence, forgive me...its late.

another look at the Battery Point Lighthouse

an unexpected pond of water lillies

Kellogg Beach, finally!  We found the beach we were looking for - accidentally!   Forty years ago Dave and I first traveled across the country in our old Suburban.   He had build an insert for the back that allowed us to sleep inside, store our clothing and cooking items, and also sit inside to eat or play cards.  We were thrilled with it and I suppose it was our first RV experience.   We stayed in it every other night or so, alternating with motels for showering and sleeping in a real bed.  Kellogg Beach was the first time we walked on a Pacific Coast beach and we marveled at the fact that we were on the very edge of  this huge country.   Babes we were....

Tuesday

Drip, drip, drip, plop, plop, plop, splash, splash.  We were both awake early listening to water dripping on Beluga's roof.  We've had so many water incursions in the past, I guess we're just really tuned into the sound of water.    This morning it wasn't anything catastrophic, just the water dripping down from the giant trees.   When we finally got out of bed and opened the blinds we saw that it was a very dark and grey day.   Coastal fog or a rainy day, it was hard to tell.  No matter, it is what it is and we had some errands to run.  Better do those mundane things on an ugly day, right?

Second cup inside.  Then off we went into Crescent City looking for a grocery and hardware store.  AND, lunch.

mural on ACE hardware store's wall

We drove down to the harbor looking for an interesting place for lunch.  The ocean was wild, crashing into and over the break wall.  This little city has had its share of tsunami's in the past and we can see the wide swatch of empty land where a huge wave wiped out well over 250 homes and businesses in 1964.

insane waves crash into the breakwall

a black and white day

Battle Point LIghthouse

building mural of the Battle Point Lighthouse

We stopped at Fisherman's Restaurant for lunch.   Dave has been dying for seafood, so it looked like just the right place.   We really enjoyed our choice - fish and chips. The portion looked huge and we said we'd have some to take home to Lewis and Sasha, but.....we ate it all.   We'd never had Lingcod before and enjoyed every bite.  Lingcod, evidently, is neither Ling nor Cod.  What it is, is delicious!  

these two were clinging to the bottom of the dock, ready to slide into the water

The big guy and the fella in the water were having a "conversation".....