Tuesday, October 11, 2016

A few miles south of Brookings we explored the McVay Rock State Recreation Site. McVay is a well-hidden park home to the only "off leash" dog park in the Brookings area. Sam stayed on his leash - I was not sure how friendly the 100 pound beast inside the fence was and I didn't want to find out.

The beach was covered with smooth, colorful rocks with very little sand.  Of course, we found another 20 pounds of treasure to add to our collection at home.

Just about 9 miles east of Brookings on North Bank Chetco River Road (Oregon Highway 784) was the Redwood Nature Trail, the world's northernmost redwood grove. It was on the left less than a mile beyond the Alfred A. Loeb State Park and the Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest. The trail was just over a mile in length and was one of the quietest hikes we have made in quite a while. There was only one other hiker on the trail. Most of the time there was near absolute silence - it was almost eerie and beautiful at the same time.

Coastal redwoods (Sequoia sepervirens) up to 250 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter. Some may be as old as 800 years.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

We drove into Gold Beach for a couple of things at the grocery store, but instead of rushing back home we decided to do a little sightseeing while we were out.  Highway 101 has so many spectacular bridges. Patterson Bridge, completed in 1932, spans the Rogue River with a total length of 1,898 feet.

The Mary D. Hume, below, was built in 1881, retired in 1978 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.  It could have used a good bilge pump a few decades ago.  Now it will need a little extra elbow grease to get it back in ship shape. We saw a nice framed picture of the same boat in a bookstore.  Extrapolating between that picture and today made me believe there are only a few years remaining before the whole thing is under water. 

Don't you just love the architectural detail in every part of this bridge? The moon rising over the railing was just a happy coincidence adding a little extra artistic flair.

Out on the Rouge River North Jetty, we found this creative little project for housing feral cats.  Volunteers feed them, spay them, treat them and try to find them homes.  So far, they have rescued about 2000 cats.

A few Gold Beach volunteers built and maintain this feral cat sanctuary.  "The Cat Lady" feeds the residents nearly every day.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

The four of us (Kate, Mike, Joani and I) took a little drive down the coast.  South from Gold Beach along highway 101 was the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor.  There were many overlooks and parking areas providing access to some of the most beautiful coastline. 

We started from Turtle Rock in some pretty dense fog but knew it could change within minutes.  Sure enough, just a few miles south we drove out of the fog.  There was still a pretty stiff wind and it was interesting watching the fog racing over the hills and beaches.

The parking area for Arch Rock gave us access to a loop trail through some nicely forested landscape.

Before we completed the half-mile loop the fog blew in and we found the forest magically transformed.

Another few miles south was a turn out for Natural Bridges.  We only walked 50 yards to an overlook for a few quick pictures.  The trail continued on.  Presumably, there was access to the beach below as well as a trail across the bridges.  I might be a little crazy but there is no way I would hike across that fragile looking ribbon of rock.

Just before we reached Brookings we stopped for some beach combing at Harris Beach State Park.  There were tide pools and pretty rocks (but still no agates) galore.

The fog was still racing along offshore weaving in between the rocks.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

On the way to Turtle Rock, we passed an interesting spot that we decided to explore today. It was called Sisters Rock State Park. The park was so recently created (2005) there were no identifying signs.  It is not even listed on the Oregon State Park website.  Parking was at a turnout along highway 101 about 13 miles north of Gold Beach.

My first observation was "there is no way I was hiking to the top of that rock!"  The wide field picture below doesn't give a good sense of scale, but the Big Sister in the center I estimated to be more than 300 feet above sea level.  Our car was parked at about the same level, so today we were looking at a good hiking workout. 

The third "sister" is hidden by the hill on the left.  It is a small island sea stack.

That's Mt. Humbug to the north.  I'm pretty sure it would be worth a day of exploration and hiking as well, but that will have to be another trip.

View to the north.

We had seen a couple of people looking into the dark hole below.   As we neared it, we could hear the sound of crashing waves and realized it was a sea cave.

The tide was high enough to block the approach from the beach.  The waves crashed with a ferocity that made me nervous as I carefully climbed inside.  The fractured rock all around had me wondering just how stable the walls really were.

Sea caves were visible in the nearby rocks to the north.  Exploring them would require a boat or kayak or very low tide.

I liked the picture below so much I posted it on Facebook.

View to the south.

When we returned home to Turtle Rock RV we were treated to another nice sunset.  

Tuesday, October 4, 2016, Happy Birthday, Jon

We didn't go anywhere or do anything special or even take any pictures.  But it was a special day because 35 years ago our son, Jon, was born.  So just a little throwback tribute to say Happy Birthday, Jon!

Below, I got rid of the hair on my lip to try to look younger when I hit the big "five-0". Jon had said for a while that he would shave his chin whiskers if I shaved my mustache. Joani felt the need to document her two clean-shaven men. 

Monday, October 3, 2016, Turtle Rock

Another beautiful day along the Oregon coast made even better by having our beautiful daughter, Kate, camping next to us - Happy birthday, Kate!

The rock below is known as "Kissing Rock," but I think it should have been called "Shark Fin Rock".

The beach holds such an endless variety of rocks. So many colors and patterns it was nearly impossible not to pick up a few. Before you knew it, you would have a pocketful.

At low tide, the rocks stretched as far as you could see. The Oregon coast is known for its agates (usually translucent). It took a while to learn that not every translucent rock was an agate. We did pick up a lot of quartz and calcite. In fact, I don't think we ever found a single agate. We probably collected more than 20 pounds of interesting rocks and have to decide what we will do with them.

From this angle, I think you can see how this bunch of rocks might resemble a turtle. The strange thing is that the rocks were composed of much smaller rocks cemented together (by nature). I think that is called metamorphic rock and I suspect the turtle will not last long at least not from a geological perspective.  

Near sunset, often, the horizon is either covered in clouds or completely clear - neither optimal for impressive photos. Today was different - all I can say is "WOW!"

Saturday, October 1, 2016

We moved a bit further south to Turtle Rock RV Resort in Gold Beach, OR.  It was only 83.8 miles (79,937.8 total), but we took advantage of a wide turn out along highway 101 for lunch and a spectacular view.  In fact, the entire Oregon coast has been fantastic!

Turtle Beach RV Resort was in the Passport America network and allowed us to stay for two weeks at half price.  Full hook-ups, hot showers, laundry and beach access for less than $20/night - what a deal.