Fri 19th - Brookings, Oregon

Harris Beach State Park
Site #B19 - $21, p/w.s, Temp 15C & sunny

It was another short travel day. If we keep stopping at all the beautiful spots along the coast, we may never get home!! We LOVE the sights and the sounds of the ocean. FANTASTIC!! And the sun even came out for us again today, even though rain had been forecasted. (It was raining when we left Arcata this a.m.)

Crescent City, California

So we are in Oregon now. Just barely -- at Brookings. Over 90% of the world Easter Lilies are grown here! Also, it is known for it's azaleas of which we've seen lots.

We are camped in Harris Beach State Park. We were told that the State Parks here are REALLY nice, and this one certainly is. We even have power and water which many state parks don't provide. Our site is quite secluded in the bushes and trees. There are a number of twisted trees in our site -- I'm thinking they must be the myrtle trees which are unique to this southern coast, but I had no idea that they would grow so big!! The local artisans make bowls, clocks and golf putters from them, so I'm guessing they must grow much bigger than the ones I've seen!!???

Brookings, Oregon by Harris Beach State Park

Anyway, it is certainly a much nicer campsite than those parking lots that I keep complaining about! We don't have internet here, so when you receive this email, we will have already moved on.

We drove the scenic route through the Redwood National Forest and it was every bit as beautiful as the Avenue of the Giants. The road was much wider and smoother, the trees as big, if not bigger and the lush green undergrowth was gorgeous!! Did you know that the bark on Redwoods can be 3 feet thick!!??  And....some scenes from Star Wars, E.T. and Jurassic Park were filmed in this Redwood Forest. So, from the forest to coast.



We only drove 160 km today but it took us 3 1/2 hrs. to get here! (We did stop for lunch and pulled in to many of the lookouts, but, it is also hard to go the speed limit when there is so much to see...!! I'm sure the Americans are cursing the damn Canadians in the red Dodge!!) As we were driving down one of the steeper hills today we noticed a number of senior bikers pedaling up. It was a very long hard climb, so we were pretty impressed when we saw all those white heads! Anyway, we pulled over at one of the lookouts and one of the bikers was there. It turned out they are a group from AB! This fellow was a retired teacher from Tofield and knew a cousin of mine! They (22 of them) road from Vancouver and are on their way to Mexico.

All through the Arcata area and along highway 101 in the low spots we've seen signs "Tsunami Hazard Zone". There are pamphlets in some of the stores outlining what to do in the event of one. It seems weird, but not really when you see the height and the power in some of those waves crashing on the shore!

We enjoyed a campfire tonight and tomorrow we will tackle a few more kilometers!!