I spent the day Monday reaching one of my primary destinations, the Northwest tip of Washington State, which makes Neah Bay the northwest tip of the contiguous United States.   Day twelve started in Aberdeen, at the aformentioned Tomahawk Motel.

 My  online friend in Aberdeen was silent, so I stopped briefly at Hoquiam’s Polson House, after breakfast, then moved on along the Ocean Beaches.

The Burton Ross Memorial Garden has a small, but well-arranged, collection of roses.

Ocean Shores is a lovely, somewhat swanky, resort area along the coast, just north of Hoquiam.  Gulls and people generally get along well.  It was disturbing, though, when a rowdy driver aimed his car directly at a large nesting area and laughed uproariously at the frightened, scattering birds.  No one else was much amused.

I drove inland a bit, past Humptulips,

to Lake Quinault, and the first of several beautiful temperate rain forests that are offered by the Olympic Peninsula.

Above, is a view of Lake Quinault.

After walking a bit near the Lake Quinault Lodge, a Victorian-style hotel, and having a very leisurely lunch at Quinault Cafe, I walked along three rain forest trails.

After walking a bit near the Lake Quinault Lodge, a Victorian-style hotel, and having a very leisurely lunch at Quinault Cafe, I walked on three rainforest trails.

This is, purportedly, the world’s largest spruce tree.  There are four species of evergreen in Quinault Rain Forest:  Red hemlock, red cedar, Sitka spruce and Douglas fir.

Here is a full view of a Sitka spruce.

There are numerous small waterfalls along Quinault Creek.  Here is Marriman Falls.

The Kalaloch (“Easy living”) area has one of the Washington coast’s largest piles of driftwood, and again purportedly, the world’s largest red cedar tree.

I stopped at the Forks Visitor Center, more out of homage to the town’s timbering heritage than to its most recent claim to fame.  “Twilight” references here were tongue in cheek, and there is a display inside, dedicated to the series.

After using the WiFi to post about Day 11 of this trip, I inadvertently left my camera on the ground, under my seat.  When I got to Seqiu, up the coast a ways, I found- No CAMERA.  Driving immediately back to Forks (20 miles, or so), I was greeted, on the opposite side of town, by about five high school-age boys, one of whom called out- “Ha! He came back.  Hey, dude, your camera’s on the clip.”  So, I drove back to the Visitor’s Center, and voila- there it was.  Only in a town like this could such a thing happen.  I celebrated with a clam strip dinner at this fine Forks establishment.

I went on to Lake Ozette, down the hill from Neah Bay, and spent a restful night, under the stars.

Next:  Day 13- Lake Ozette, Neah Bay and the Straits Coast

Day 14- The Emerald City

The day started with the mundanity of laundry, and a delicious breakfast from Coffee Time, in the Portland suburb of Tualatin.  My spirit guide set me on the way to Astoria, bypassing most of Portland.  I made three pit stops along the Columbia, first at Sauvie Island, just west of the city.  Here, there are large family-run fruit and vegetable farms, and a thriving sport-fishing enterprise.

The second stop was in St. Helens, the largest Oregon town on the Columbia, between Portland and Astoria.  This is a busy port and a welcoming recreational center, especially for weekenders.  I was fortunate to find Hawaiian Islands Cafe, where it’s easy to connect with the Internet, using the town’s WiFi from the city’s riverside park.  They also have great food.

My last stop before Astoria was at Rainier.  Here, a long bridge spans the Columbia, to connect with Longview, WA.

I last visited Astoria thirty years ago.  Astoria Column was the town’s centerpiece then, as now.

The heat does this sort of thing, but you get the idea.  Below is a distant, but somehow better view of the Column, taken from the Riverside Park.

In turn, the column affords views of all four directions.  Here are two of them.

From Riverside Park, one also gets a clear view of the mouth of the Columbia River.

I then crossed the westernmost bridge spanning the Columbia River.

That was my day, crossing one of our great riparian systems.  It seemed a bit long to cross the Columbia, because there are repairs being done to the bridge, so it’s a one-lane structure, in its midsection.  That’s okay; the Columbia is not one of those places into which I’d want to go car-diving.

Tomorrow, more from Washington State:  The ocean beaches and Olympic Peninsula.

I woke yesterday, semi-determined to get to Tillamook in time for a few samples of cheese and ice cream.  It didn’t happen that way, for two reasons.  I get Tillamook products at home and the major sites that appeared in the interim, were too good to pass up.  I spent about an hour at one of the Oregon Coast’s centerpieces:  Coquille Point, just south of Bandon’s Old Town and others rocks and islets caught my eye, as far as the Sea Lion Caves.  I also wanted to get to Portland before midnight, which I did.

So, here are about eight shots of the venues from Day 9.  The O-Coast has lots more to offer, between Florence and Cannon Beach, as well.  Maybe someone will post on those in the days and months to come.

The above four are a taste of what awaits at Coquille Point, which is a major part of Oregon islands National Seashore.

I drove down along Seven Devils Road, next, and enjoyed the solitude and sanctity of the three beaches which are part of the Seven Devils State Park.  Few people would join me along the shore, from here to the Oregon Dunes, until later in the afternoon.

After a delicious lunch at High Tide Cafe, in Charleston- just west of Coos Bay, I checked out the harbor of the O-Coast’s commercial hub.

 

Then, after a latte, it was time to call on the California Sea Lions of Cape Arago and nearby Simpson Reef.  This species is the smaller and noisier of the two which gather along the Oregon Coast.

My next major stop was at Oregon Dunes, which are barrier sand dunes that stretch from just south of Reedsport to near Florence.

I walked the 1/2 mile round trip of the Dellenback Trail, which offers a taste of the three types of topography in this area- spruce forest, fresh-water marsh and high dunes.

I caught another urban break in Florence, spending a few minutes at the bay and its small vegetable and fruit stand, picking up some kiwi-lime marmelade.

Lastly, for now, is a shot of the Sea Lion Cave, north of Florence, near Heceta Point.  This is billed as “America’s largest sea cave”.  I would not know about that, but it is large enough to fit nearly a hundred Steller Sea Lion cows and pups, every Fall and Winter.  Sean, the cave docent, knows a wealth of information about the five species of sea lions, their interrelationships and their migration patterns.  He has also kept abreast of the flotsam coming east from the Fukushima Earthquake and Tsunami.

The Steller sea lions shown above are the largest sea lion species.  They are quieter than their smaller cousins to the south, but a full-grown bull can roar like a lion.

Below is the viewpoint from which Heceta Point Lighthouse is visible, on a clear day.

As I don’t have mastery of turning off the flash on my Samsung as yet, I could not photograph the sea lion cave itself.  So, here is a file photo, courtesy of the park. (Copyright of Sea Lion Cave).

After this, the combination of fog and diminishing sunlight sent me forward, with an “eyes only” appreciation of the beauty of the north coast, from Yachats to Tillamook.  I got into Portland and will enjoy the hospitality of small, but comfortable, Budget Lodge, just west of downtown.

The joys of the City of Roses will be posted as “Day 10”.

My Wednesday was not quite over when I left the Lost Coast behind.  There is nothing “lost” about Eureka, the northernmost commercial hub on the California coast.  It is a rather bustling port, with a solid maritime past.

Above is a logging display, on the grounds of Fort Humboldt, which the U.S. Government established to keep peace between Gold Rush-era settlers and the Yurok people.  It is now a sparsely furnished state park.

Downtown Eureka is full of solid, late-19th Century buildings, and several which are not up to modern earthquake-proof standards, and are identified as such on their frontage.

Eureka has a promenade and marina, where the community may gather. Life seems pretty good here now, after a long economic downturn.  Crescent City, some fifty miles to the north, also is bouncing back, but from a tsunami  a year or two ago.  Fog kept me from seeing very much of Crescent.

In between the  two, lies Redwood National Park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The redwoods here are younger than those in Humboldt State Park, which I featured in Part 1 of this post.  They have a different species of elk, called Roosevelt Elk. Two Roosevelt Elk were happily feeding, as I stopped for a traffic light just shy of Crescent City.

The fog and I continued on my way to Brookings, OR, where I spent a restful night.  Day 8 was to be equally as fulfilling.

Jack London heard the call of the wild.  I heard the whisper of nature’s giants, the coastal redwoods, throughout the day on Wednesday.  I have been to all parts of California, and have several favourite spots in each area- San Diego, Palm Springs, South Lake Tahoe, Telegraph Hill, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz.  The Redwood Country, though, speaks to me as a unit.  For my Tuesday night sleep-under-the tree canopy and stars experience, I chose Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area.  It is quiet and perhaps one of the area’s best kept secrets, being somewhat in the shadow of Humboldt Redwoods State Park and Richardson Grove, but certainly no less lovely than its bigger siblings.

The area even has its own gathering spot, run by some rather insular, but interesting characters.  It’s the Peg House, just across the road from the park.  The family does turn out some great sandwiches, including the Breakfast Burrito, which could probably have sustained me for the next week. Coffee is great as well, and they have Yerba Mate, for those who prefer.  There is a surprisingly good collection of books, on various subjects, for sale.  There is also “the sheriff”.

Heading north, I encountered the South Fork of the Eel River.

Then, the Redwood Show was on, throughout the Richardson Grove and Humboldt Redwoods, including the Avenue of the Giants, which I followed as far as the Honeydew turn-off.  Here are four shots; with the rest being saved in my Flickr account when I get back to Prescott:

This grove is just north of the little town of Miranda, at “Auto Stop # 2”.

Next is a loner, about four miles further north.

In Humboldt Redwoods State Park, on the Gould Grove Trail, lies this reminder that redwoods have shallow roots, but are durable, even in death.

Towards the west end of Humboldt, there rises the Rockefeller Forest.

Once out of the redwoods, one enters the King Range of the Coast Mountains.  This is the area often called The Lost Coast.  Much of it is accessible only on foot.  The towns are small, and don’t seem to get many visitors.  That’s a pity; this area has great beauty all its own.

This scene is east of the village of Honeydew.

Next is Mattole Beach, the north trailhead for a Lost Coast trek, which would last 3-6 days.

I enjoyed a cheeseburger made with local grass-fed beef, at the Yellow Rose, a bit up the road from Mattole Beach, in Petrolia.  Ironically, as I was driving out of Mattole Beach, I stopped as a large shape emerged from the roadside brush.  “It’s a boar!  It’s a bear! No, it’s an Angus!”  CaliMan behind me in a pickup, pulled out from the line and drove around me, yelling at the cow as he went on his way.  The RV driver approaching us gingerly made his way past the sizable beast.  Me?  I spoke words of farewell to Elsie, and went on to lunch.

After Petrolia, there is starkly exquisite Cape Mendocino.

The black rock beach speaks of ancient volcanic activity in the region.

The road from here leads back inland a bit, to Ferndale.  It is a steep route, with sheer drop-offs in a few places- so if you go, be alert for the cows, the CaliMen (they are still in a hurry, even on the curves) and the occasional slippery stretch of gravel.  I will write part 2 of this post tonight- concerning Eureka and Redwoods National Park.

Tuesday was one of those days when I had to make choices of elimination.  I could not get an Internet connection at the Abalone Inn on Tuesday morning, so I got packed up and went on with my day.

The itinerary called for spending the greater part of the day at Point Reyes, then going to the Heirloom Exposition at Sonoma County Fairgrounds, in Santa Rosa.  I found I was able to visit Tomales Bay State Park, Abbott’s Lagoon, Mc Clure Beach and Pierce Ranch, all on the northern side of Point Reyes National Seashore.  At Pierce Ranch, the battery went dead on my camera.  That killed going to Point Reyes itself; besides, it was getting past 1 PM and I had to consider traffic coming back to Santa Rosa from the Bay Area.

What I got from the day, though, was a greeting from a bull elk, high on a ridge, as I was in the canyon below, heading down to McClure Beach.  He bugled and whistled, several times, and stood watching, intently, as I kept on my way along the trail.

I also got a good introduction to some of the plants of Point Reyes, and how they were used by the Miwok people.  Here are three views along the trail from Heart’s Desire Beach to Indian Beach, in Tomales Bay State Park.

The trail shows how the Miwok used various plants found near the beach, for food, medicine and fabric.  An example would be the mountain blackberry, which has leaves similar to poison oak, but a rough-surfaced stem, as opposed to the toxic plant’s smooth stem.

Here are a scene of Indian Beach, and one of Miwok traditional housing.

Lunch was a new twist on clam chowder, Tomales Bay clam chowder, which has crisp bacon and a lemon-tinged broth, followed by dungeness crab cakes and a slice of Wild Huckleberry Upside-down Cake.   This got me through the rest of the day, and was served up at Nick’s Cove Restaurant, in the shoreline village of Marshall, northeast of Point Reyes.  I’m glad I opted to stay inside. A few others who went on the patio were being pestered by bees.  This seems to be a rather widespread issue along the northern California coast right now.  At any rate, my waitress brightened up, once she didn’t have to deal with the bees herself, as the outside guests came back in on their own.

I spent about forty minutes yesterday afternoon, at the Heirloom Festival, in Santa Rosa.  I got a couple of videos regarding soil and food production, from a natural foods perspective.  I also enjoyed speaking with various heirloom seed producers from northern California.  We have an heirloom seed distributor near my home.  He lives in Chino Valley, AZ.

I found few other campers, upon settling in for the night, at Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area, the southernmost park along the Redwoods Highway, between Santa Rosa and Crescent City.  A bonus was that I got to charge my camera battery, in the men’s restroom.

It was a fine end to a topsy-turvy day.