While I did not originally plan to visit Oregon in this trip, I was only about twenty miles from the California/Oregon line and about 26 miles from the nearest city in Oregon. I knew from researching the state for my 2008 visit that southern Oregon's beaches are beautiful. So, I had to visit Oregon in the morning. In the afternoon, I would see the Redwood National Park.
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As I drove up US 101, near the state line but still on the California side, the southbound lanes of the road were blocked off with traffic cones and people had to proceed through what looked like toll booths. Was California THAT broke that they were going to make people pay a toll to enter the state via a rural US route? I'd find out when I left Oregon.
As I entered Oregon, one thing I immediately noticed was the sudden decrease in gas prices. Gas was around $3.25/gallon in CA, but only $3.02 to $3.07 per gallon in Oregon. And, like New Jersey, Oregon even requires gas stations to have their employees pump the gas for the customer. Too bad I had recently filled up in expensive California.
This is my second visit to Oregon. It could be referred to as a "token visit" since I did not go far into the state, but at least I did have a destination....a beach. This is better than my brief visits to Iowa in 2007 where I bought gas, postcards, and ate dinner. Eventually I'll need to make a real visit to Iowa with an actual purpose.
I found a state beach in Brookings. As I had known from my research, it was beautiful. There was deep blue water and large rocks. The parking area was on a cliff with a paved walking path leading down to the beach. This worked well because you could get nice pictures from the top.
As is usual for the beaches in Oregon (as well as Washington), there were numerous logs and pieces of logs to walk through as one first enters the beach. Unlike northern California beaches, the wood was not odd shaped.
Of course the water was very cold, but I did wade in it a bit. It was probably the most beautiful beach I had seen so far on my trip. According to the signs, there were crabs living around the rocks, but despite looking quite a bit I found none.
After spending some time at the beach and taking lots of pictures, I had to get moving in order to see the Redwoods. But, I had trouble finding my way back. The cliff was covered in foliage and the walkway was well hidden because of it. After walking around quite a bit and going beyond the location of the walkway, I finally remembered the configuration of the logs near the path.
After getting back into California, I was able to find out why all vehicles were directed off the road. I was anticipating having to pay anywhere from $1 to $5 to reenter California. However, it had nothing to do with money. This was an agriculture inspection. I was asked if I had any plants, fruits, or vegetables in the car. Since I didn't have anything, I said that I didn't. But then I remembered I did have lemons that I brought from NY. The inspector seemed annoyed when I mentioned lemons, saying they were safe this time of year and that I could move on.
I did not do my research properly about Redwood National Park. Unlike a national park such as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Arches, etc., it is not a place where you have various staffed entrances and have to pay or show a pass. It is simply a geographic area where certain parts are protected and there are information stations. I had asked the GPS to find an entrance location. As I saw signs for Redwood National Park, I was nervous about actually entering without having some sort of receipt or paper that I had permission to enter. That wasted a lot of time as I later found out that this was not necessary.
On the way to finding a park entry station, I stopped at a beach near Crescent City to take pictures. I got pictures of seagulls plus a red squirrel with a very thin tail (very different from the gray squirrels we have with very bushy tails). I chatted with a couple visiting from Nebraska. (This is now the second time I've come across a couple from Nebraska. The first time was at EWTN in Alabama.) They saw the east coast license plate on my car and I explained I had been to a conference in San Francisco. They were a little surprised that my job would let me take the time to drive out, but I explained that I have my own business and was able to give myself permission. They thought that was pretty good. They deduced that I was not married and pointed out that once I am, there won't be any more trips like this, so I should enjoy it while I can. In talking further, apparently they are really interested in light houses. They did their research and drove out to see a particular lighthouse....only to find it was closed that day for cleaning purposes.
When I finally got to a ranger station for the park, I was given a map and told where the best places were to find big Redwood trees. One particular area was named for LadyBird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson. That area had some very impressive tall trees. Not all of them were thick; some were very thin but very tall. The road twisted and turned, with very steep climbs. As I'd stop in turn out areas to take pictures, I'd watch other vehicles flooring it going uphill amongst the twists and turns. Thankfully, I did not hear any sounds of vehicles crashing into trees.
People were free to hike into the forest, but there were also warning signs for bears and mountain lions. As I was alone, I decided to just stick to the main road.
After spending quite a bit of time at the area named for LadyBird Johnson, I visited the Prairie Creek State Park, which is both part of Redwood National Park and a California State Park. This area had trees that were about the same height, but most were much rounder and wider. The forest was thick. Once the sky became overcast, even when I set the flash to its highest power, I could not get very good photos.
Prairie Creek also had an area to view the ocean from a very high cliff. I briefly visited that area. However, because everything had clouded over, photos were not good and even the view itself wasn't that nice. However, it was still interesting to look at the ocean from that far up.
I decided to stay in Fortuna, CA, for the night. This was around ninety minutes from where I was. That's a fairly short ride as I usually go at least three or four hours to the next hotel. However, I wanted to get some rest and not drive in the dark, particularly knowing that the road twists and turns so much. It's pretty during the day, but could be problematic at night.
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Heading south toward Fortuna, I noticed that California decided not to put an exit on US 101 South for the city. They have multiple exits on US 101 North. This is a city of 10,000 people, so it really makes sense to have exits on both directions of the road. I had to drive eight miles further south, then get back on US 101 North to get to Fortuna. While I understand building exits costs money, for a state that is focused on the environment, driving an extra sixteen miles (eight miles south and then doubling back eight miles north again) wastes a lot of fuel when spread over a lot of people. It's not environmentally friendly.
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