Elk Viewing at Dean Elk Preserve

May 31st- While watching the sea lions and harbor seals, we chatted with an Oregon resident who told us about an Elk preserve just north of us at Reedsport, Oregon.  We decided to drive up the coast and check it out.

Apparently, these Elk get a lot of visitors.  They were not shy at all.

This area is several miles inland from the coast and included a large meadow and wet lands area.  The whole area seemed to be teeming with life. 

It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and the Elk were grazing and resting in the meadow area.

The youngsters seemed to perk up when they noticed us.  They kept and eye on us as we moved around trying to get a good angle for a photo.

The older group must have been old hands at this tourist business as they did not even bother to get up.

We moved from the meadow down to the wet lands area and listened to the birds singing.

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It was very peaceful.

Sea Lions and Harbor Seals at Simpson Reef

May 30th -  Just south of Shore Acres State Park, about 2 miles, Cape Arago State Park and Simpson Reef.  Simpson Reef is one of the most popular reef areas on the Pacific coast for Sea Lions and Harbor seals to congregate.  At this time of year the Stellar sea lions and harbor seals were there by the hundreds.

We were on a vantage point about 200 feet above the water and as we gazed out toward the reef we saw a sea lion perched on a rock out in this shallow inlet.  What we did not notice until looking more closely was that there were numerous sea lions sprawled out amongst the rocks enjoying the sun.

All of the above creatures visit this area during the year.  California sea lions visit in August and the Elephant seals and Gray whales usually come through in the spring.

These guys were pretty inactive.  They did make a bit of noise and look around occasionally, but they did not seem to motivated to do any sea lion tricks.

The Harbor seals were an even lazier bunch.  They didn’t even look up.  If we hadn’t seen movement every now and then, I would have sworn they were all dead.

Well, maybe they had a rough week and needed some well earned rest!

Shore Acres Gardens by the Coast

May 30th- This has been the perfect time of year to see this area. It is Spring here….in all its glory! The weather is cool, and we have had beautiful, sunny days.

Shore Acres State Park is just adjacent to where we are at Sunset Bay. We drove over - though you could walk a 2 mile section of the Coastal Trail from our campground to get here if you wanted.

Shore Acres began as the private estate of pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson. Simpson built a showcase, 3 story mansion on this site. That house was destroyed by fire in 1921. When he later started to rebuild, financial losses during the Depression years caused both the unfinished house and the grounds to fall into disrepair. In 1942, Shore Acres was purchased by the state of Oregon for use as a public park. Unfortunately, what was left of the mansion had to be torn down. The gardens, however, were able to be restored.

The formal gardens…….with the Gardener’s cottage …….

I just love the idea of living right in the garden……..This is where the Simpsons lived after their first house burned.

So beautiful……and that is the ocean in the background……..

Beautiful….brilliant colored Rhododendrons and azaleas…….

The pond…….

Rose beds….they will be in full bloom in another month or so.

More flower pictures……I just can’t help myself. : )    These are from the greenhouse plants.

It was so peaceful….just strolling through these gardens…..taking the time to '”stop and smell the roses”……..

Watching the Tide Roll In…… Sunset Bay State Park, Oregon

May 29th – We left the Redwoods and drove on up the Oregon coast. We will spend the next 3 nights at Sunset Bay State Park (just south of Coos Bay, Oregon). This has been a good rhythm…..to spend at least 3 nights in most places. That gives us time to settle in and get the ‘feel’ of an area.

We have enjoyed having the time to just ‘soak up’ the sand and the sea……

We made a point of stopping at a number of overlooks on our drive, and even pulled off at one overlook to enjoy our sandwiches for lunch. It really is too bad that we can’t just park the camper here and stay for the night.

The beach at Sunset Bay is just a short walk from our campsite. We walked along the beach and were surprised to see these tree stumps uncovered by the low tide.

The Bay provided a sheltered area for little sailboats to sail right up. The larger schooner could brave the waves outside of the sheltering rocks.

We have been able to really spend time enjoying the seaside…..watching the tides and waves rolling in…..The sea is both comforting and deep……ever changing…….or forever a constant?

My thoughts and mood have been running a bit deeper, lately, and I find myself looking at life…..my life and life in general…..and questioning. The big questions……of purpose, meaning and place in this world……

Interwoven and intermingled with the travel and the sightseeing the adventures and the wonders of this beautiful country are those deeper thoughts. Those who know me know that it is not all that unusual for me to drift off in this direction. It is not the traveling, or the seaside…..they are not the impetus…nor the escape……

Hiking Among the Redwoods

The Damnation Creek Trail is a 4.2 mile round trip trail that follows the route used by the Tolowa Indians to reach the ocean to gather shellfish and seaweed. This trail drops 1,000 feet through groves of old growth redwood and Sitka spruce to the outlet of Damnation Creek at the Pacific Ocean. I couldn’t find any info on why the creek was named ‘Damnation’…..I thought that it was perhaps the 1,000 ft elevation drop.  ;- )

The hike was awesome! Good trail most of the way……

It is hard to describe the lushness…….the ferns, clovers, mosses and other undergrowth….

And the sheer SIZE of the redwoods! We felt like we were walking in some pre-historic landscape where the dinosaurs roamed……

We hiked down and down…..through this landscape of giants……until we began to get a glimpse here and there of the ocean………

As we emerged from the trees and beheld this amazing ocean, we fancied that we felt a bit of what the explorers Louis and Clark must have felt…..”There it is……the Pacific!”

The rocky shoreline……giving way to the sea……The Damnation Creek flowing into the Pacific.

We found a rock to sit on, and had our lunch……

And explored the tide pools along the shore…..

And just sat and enjoyed. The weather had warmed, and the wind was still (for the first time since we had been along the coast) and we were in no hurry to start the trek up.

By the way…..the hike up really didn’t seem so bad. We had made it down in about 1hr 45min (stopping for pictures, etc.) and hiked the 2.1 miles up in 1hr 15min without any problems.      : )

The Avenue of the Giants

Saturday, May 26th – We left the Mendocino area driving north on Hwy 1 and Hwy 101. It really feels like the start of this next part of our ‘adventure’. All along the way, today, I took some time to tuck the kids, and my family, and thoughts of home into that special part of my heart where they stay and are cherished, but where I can make room for the travels ahead of us without feeling so torn……

A couple of notes……We are traveling well. The camper is comfortable, and much nicer than the pop-up was, now that we are in the damp and cool Northwest. We are looking forward to seeing how much better we can handle the Alaska weather, this time around.

Jade is fine, and apart from just ‘being a dog’, she really is little trouble. She might even be just about the best dog we could  have for traveling.

Oh - We got a new ‘toy’ while at Laura’s....a Kindle from Amazon. Actually, Fred and I each got one.  Fred was reading through so many books that we were stopping to buy more and running out of room to store them. While at Laura’s, we downloaded a number of books, and they don’t take up any room! The perfect solution for travel! I still like my ‘reference’ books in book form, but we can read any number of other books without stopping to buy more. : )

Along our drive, today, we detoured down the “Avenue of the Giants”, or what used to be the old Hwy 101, to get our first look at the giant redwoods.

It is hard to imagine the size of these redwoods……

The Coast Redwoods  only grow in a narrow band along the Pacific coast of California and southwest Oregon. They are in the same family as the Giant Sequoias that grow on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Giant Sequoias are thicker, but the Coast Redwoods are taller, growing to almost 380 ft. Standing next to them, the redwoods seem impossibly wide and tall!

We stopped along the Avenue of the Giants for several ‘famous’ log houses…..This One Log House was crafted from a single log.

The room is 7 feet high and 32 feet long……And the gift shop serves a fairly delicious Mocha.   : )

The Eternal Tree House is a 20 foot room hollowed out of a living redwood tree.

I could picture living here…….Just needs a bit of fixing up…..   ;- )

We drove on through the Redwoods National Park and are staying at the northern end at Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.

This campground is nestled in amongst the giant redwoods. Our campsite has a secluded feeling…..underneath the trees and surrounded by ferns that must be at least 4 feet tall. The undergrowth is lush and green.

Giant stumps from the clear cutting of the virgin timber in the 1920’s dot the campground. It is damp and cool and shady underneath the redwoods, and green moss grows on everything……One could easily feel closed in….yet I would describe the feeling as being protected……or sheltered…..Certainly a sense of experiencing the redwoods.

We will be here 3 nights, then we will be working our way up the Oregon/Washington coast, stopping a few nights in each place.