Pacific Ocean and Redwoods

30^th September – West Coast at Last!

We said our farewells to Duane and Tami but in the knowledge that we will meet up in a month’s time as they are also heading back to Tucson for the winter.

The drive down the Umpqua Scenic Corridor was interspersed with rain and drizzle.  With both the weather and the scenery you could have been anywhere in UK.  At one point we came across an Elk Viewing point where we stopped for a break.

When we hit the coast at Reedsport we headed south.  This the first time we have seen the sea since January.  As we left one of the towns we noted the sign advising that we had left the Tsunami Warning Zone!

We spent the night at Cape Blanco State Park campground which was 240' above the sea (well out of reach of the average Tsunami).  A trail took us down to the beach where the waves were crashing against the rocks. We could hear the sea roaring below us all night.

1st October 2013 – California!

Due to the impasse between the two political parties governing the USA, and the vote not to pass the budget, we read that many government departments are temporarily suspended – including the national park service.  We had concerns this would impact on our visit to the Redwood NP.  However the Redwoods stretch along the coast of California for over 40 miles and are managed by both national and state parks.  Fortunately for us the state parks are still open.

We crossed the state line from Oregon into California expecting to encounter one of the Inspection Stations we had been warned about, as California does not like foreign fruits and vegetables being brought into the state. This is to protect against the transfer of any diseases (it also ensures you re-stock with produce purchased in California).  (They do however export all off there fruit) However the Inspection point was closed; possibly due to the suspension of government services?
 

Jedediah Smith Redwood state park unfortunately could not accommodate our size of RV so we continued south and ended up at the town of Klamath with a nice camping spot next to the River. The journey down Route 101 followed the coast line and we had several stops to enjoy the seascape views.

 

2nd October – Prairie Creek Redwoods

 

We drove the Redwood scenic parkway through Prairie Creek state park.  The Coastal Redwood trees are the tallest in the world growing to over 300ft and only grow on the west coast of USA.  They attracted severe ‘logging’ in the 1800s and only about 5% of old-growth exists today.  To grow so tall the trees need a lot of water and the coastal fog provides up to a third of their needs. 

From there we drove down to the beach for lunch and then took the Bald Hills Road into the national park.  These trails were closed; the pit toilets were locked and the trash bins nailed down too!

On the return through Prairie Creek we stopped at Big Tree and Corkscrew Tree.  We hiked part of the Cathedral Trees Trail and Ah-Pah Trail.  It is difficult to fully appreciate the height of these trees from their base and after a while our necks start to ache looking up all the time.  There are also other trees here including firs, spruces, oaks and rhododendrons. 

Roosevelt Elk roam free in the park and just as Paul was getting ready to photograph a bull elk, he sat down amongst the ferns and all we could see was his head and antlers.

3^rd October – Travelling South

Every morning it is that little bit cooler than the day before so we decide to continue heading south.  Being camped by the river Paul could not resist getting the fishing rod out first – especially when he saw someone with a 37” salmon caught the night before.  No luck; however we did see a couple of seals diving in the river trying to chase the fish.

We set off down Highway 101 and shortly after Eureka we turned off onto the Avenue of the Giants.  The scenic road parallels the 101 for over 30 miles.  Paul negotiated the RV along the twisty road, despite it being a little narrow between the Redwood Trees in places.  However after less than 10 miles and two road closures due to road works (which entailed doing a U-turn, not easy when you are 54’ long and can’t reverse) we got back onto 101 and continued down to Clear Lake.

 

4^th October – Lake Port

After watching wild turkeys and a couple of deer wandering around our campground in the morning, we took a trip into Lake Port on the side of Clear Lake.  We continued along the shore-line to Nice  and Lucerne.  A little disappointing as most of the lake-side was built-up with private houses.