Sore Necks - 24 August 2012

Our intended route for today was 90 miles which GoogleMap said would take under 2 hours: we managed to stretch that by 50% and take all day.

Our first diversion was to an overlook at the mouth of the Klamath River; the unexpected treat here was the fleet of small boats on the river with fishermen tending their nets.  The Yurok are permited to set nets in the river to catch Steelhead Salmon and they were busy hauling them out of the river.

Back on the main road for a mile or two and then off again to undertake an activity that I had first read about in a book as a child; a tree big enough to drive through.  For a mere $5 you can drive through (more than once if there is not a queue) a Coast Redwood.  The mirrors on the rental did not appear to want to fold in so, with a few cms to spare on each side, we idled through.

Our next stop was to walk a short trail at Ah-Pah where they have completely removed and rehabilitated an old logging road.  Even with before and after photos it is impossible to see where the road once was.

Ah-Pah is a short way up an alternative route to Hwy 101 which is entirely through old-growth redwoods thus providing stunning vistas at every turn.   Just before the other end is the pull off for "Big Tree", a 300ft speciman that is actually missing the top section of the main trunk.

After lunch it was time for some serious walking so from the Visitor Center we walked along the Prairie Creek trail as far as Big Tree, then took the Cathedral Trees trail back to our starting point.  Wandering along through these forest giants was the source of the sore necks as one is constantly craning to see the tops 200-300ft above the trail.  A walk like this is not recommended for those suffering vertigo.

Although the coast redwood is the tallest living entity, the cones are ridiculously small, about the size of an olive, and not the source of most new trees.  Around the base of old trees are root burls and if the old tree is stressed, new shoots sprout from the burls and because they share the established root system these new trees grow very quickly - compared to seedings from cones.  Thus it is common to see older trunks surrounded by younger trunks and on the Cathedral Trees walk there was one group that comprised at least 28 significantly sized trees plus other much smaller shoots.  All seperate trees but all the same tree.

Up Bald Hill Road is the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and interpretative walk which was most informative.

Tired out for the day we headed back to Hwy 101 and stopped in at Trinidad, a cute little spot overlooking the harbour with a copy of probably the shortest lighthouse in the world, 25', enhancing the vista.

Dinner was a particular treat; The Samoa Cookhouse is the only remaining cookhouse in the west.  Originally built around 1893  to feed the employees of the lumber company it was opened to the public in the late 1960s as a restaurant with a difference. It is still run as a cookhouse so the meal you get is the meal they are cooking that night.

The choice is to eat it or not.  The portions are lumber-jack size and although we had put in a long day in the forest the cookhouse bread, soup, salad, chicken parmesan, slab of pork, potatoes, peas and desert were a challenge and seconds were respectfully declined.  It was all you could eat for $15.95 - great value and a totally different experience.

144 miles today, total trip 6644. States: California

Rocks to Redwoods - 23 August 2012

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Oregon coast road and today was a particular highlight as we meandered from bay to bay. We began the day with breakfast at Port Orford overlooking Battle Rock, rather reminiscent of Lion Rock at Piha.  Port Orford is rather a grand name for what is essentially a wharf onto which they lift all the fishing fleet each night.

There is clearly not sufficient shelter available for the boats as southerly winds can reach 120mph and occur around three times per winter. There are apparently 5 other harbours in the world where all the boats are lifted from the sea each day.

Port Orford also has an interesting wetland boardwalk through a marsh area that has been enhanced and now functions as a filter for stormwater run-off before it feeds into a lake.  It is well done and an interesting diversion.

Hwy 101 provides viewpoint after viewpoint, some beside the road, others down short side roads. Otter Point was a wild wind-swept landscape with erosion eating away at the cliffs and another sea-stack well on the way to completion by the relentless waves.

Sea-stacks are a feature of this section of the coast, providing great habitats for the seabirds.  Although the wind got fairly brisk early on, we were still able to pick out the occasional whale spout.

We walked all the way down to the Natural Bridges, hoping for a better photo angle than was provided by the easily accessible boardwalk; only to find that the track took you to the top of the bridge allowing access to walk across the two, if you so desired, but we were still well above sea-level and obviously it is rather hard to take a picture looking out to sea through the natural arches when you are standing on top of them.

Just as we approached the state border we could see the sea-fog forming offshore and billowing in across the land, obliterating views ahead.  It is amazing how localised this effect is here and it is a significant factor in the presence of the Redwoods as we learnt in the introduction video that the sea-fog supplies 50% of the redwoods' moisture for the year, even though 100 inches of rain fall in the winter.

All to soon we were over the border into California, until we arrived at the first petrol station and saw the price. A quick u-turn and we retreated to Oregon for petrol that we had previously considered too expensive; it was now an absolute bargain.

With the tank full, we set off to enjoy a fabulous drive through the Redwood State Park and then an easy interpretative walk amongst these forest giants.  They really are most impressive and we look forward to seeing more further down the coast tomorrow.

151 miles today, total trip 6500.  States: Oregon, California

Oregon Coast - 22 August 2012

Hwy 101 clung tenaciously to the cliffs for much of today and at one point we read about the first three-foot wide track that was put through where the postal men crawled on their bellies clutching their horse's tail to stop being swept off in the fierce winds and lashing rain.

Not far into our journey was Cape Foulweather, the first geographical name assigned to the American west cost by Captain Cook, so it is clear what the day was like when he was here.

However, we had none of that; we enjoyed a cloudless sky, no wind until late afternoon and amazing visibility; 70 miles down the coast and 37 miles out to the horizon at the best vantage point.

But before that came the little hamlet of Depoe where they claim to have the smallest navigable harbour in the world.   Now, I have not measured any but I have seen quite a few tiny harbours in Cornwall that I would judge were significantly smaller than the harbour at Depoe.

Not wishing to start a trans-Atlantic dispute we moved on south to Cape Foulwind where there were 4 (?) Grey whales swimming off-shore.  For a closer look we dropped down to the Devil's Punchbowl and the whales, obligingly, came in closer as well and put on a great show with their water-spouts and one even treated us to a display of it's fluke.

Grey whales normally migrate up this coast to feed near Alaska in summer and then back down again to breed near Mexico in winter and we were not here for the times when those trips are made. However, some juveniles stay in this area and so sightings are common all year round.

Cape Perpetua is the location of the best viewpoint on the Oregon coast, at over 700ft above sea-level the views are extensive, 70 miles down the coast and 37 miles out to sea.  The view thus encompassed over 2000 sq miles of sea and there was not a thing to be seen in it; no fishing boats, no ocean freighters, nothing at all - just blue.

For a few miles the cliffs stop dropping straight into the sea allowing a totally different geology, topography and ecology to develop; the Oregon sand dunes.  Acres and acres of huge dunes, creating lakes, swallowing mature pine forests, and at one point coming within feet of covering Hwy 101.

The man-made features of note through the day were the lighthouses and the bridges spanning the larger rivers along the route, all different and quite stylish.

203 miles today, total trip 6348. States: Oregon.

The Pacific at last - 21 August 2012

Today we finally had our first glimpse of the Pacific, even though we have been on the coast for a few days, we have been in inlets such as Puget Sound and Willapa Bay.  Today there was nothing to the west of us until Japan.

Not far from our overnight stop was Long Beach (WA, not CA) where each August they hold the Washington Kite Festival so we detoured to have a look.  Not being the weekend it was a little quieter than it might have been but nevertheless there was still sufficient colour in the sky to make quite a spectacle.

We were able to watch Ray Bethell, holder of 11 multiple world records, flying three stunt kites simultaneously; one in each hand and one controlled by strings attached to his belt: most impressive.  His record is 39 kites simultaneously - not sure how he manages that!

There was a team of six guys flying stunt kites in formation as well as all manner of tube, box, delta, wing, and fantasy kites colouring the sky.

But we could not stay all day, we had to move along and we continued south to Astoria.  Named after, but never visited by the first multi-millionaire Astor, it is has a historic Finnish section and many Victorian era buildings and a fantastic viewpoint up on the hill overlooking the Columbia and Young Rivers which meet here.  Lewis and Clark finally reached the Pacific Coast on the north bank of the Columbia before they turned back to report their findings to President Jefferson.

But, to reach Astoria, we had to cross the longest trestle bridge in the world, 4.1 miles across the Columbia River with an absolutely enormous ship passing under us as we crossed, giving a sense of scale to the bridge.

Our next stop of note was the neat little seaside town of Cannon Beach where the attraction is a fabulous golden sand beach and a string of sea stacks, huge rock outcrops left behind as the sea has eroded the land.  The largest, Haystack, is off the beach at Cannon Beach but others can be seen dotted up and down the coast.

Having had a thoroughly enjoyable relaxing day we needed to cover some miles to our destination at Lincoln City so there was only time for occasional photo stops as we motored south.

173 miles today, total trip 6145. States: Washington, Oregon.