In the past five days we have driven just over 1,000 miles
down the Pacific coast from Canada to northern California. This jaunt is a
bonus as we had not anticipated doing it but we are so glad that we did. For
one thing, it has kept us cool! I wore shorts for the first time yesterday on
our river trip. It was in the 50’s when we left Gold Beach this morning, but
after we turned inland this afternoon it went up to 101!
It is easy to see why everyone who could do so went to the
beach last weekend. This created a scarcity of campsites but we were fortunate
to find a place at Port Garibaldi OR. It is a working port and the Port
Authority runs the harbor, marina, and a campground. All of this is only two
blocks from the village so it is a fun place to hang out. We left the truck and
drove south on a loop road (131) to see more of the coast. We visited several
lighthouses, many overviews of stunning beaches, and had delicious seafood
chowder at a little shacky-looking place. Can you believe it was too cold to
walk on the beach?
On Sunday we braved the crowds and continued south on Hwy
101. This part of the coast is one small resort town after another and the
traffic was horrific for the first 120 miles. Once we reached Newport, most
everybody turned east toward Portland and we had a lovely drive all the way to
Gold Beach. This is the most beautiful part of the coast with the rocks and
spars out in the ocean, the sea caves, and the gorgeous coves and magnificent
surf.
We made Gold Beach our destination because we wanted to take
the jet boat tour up the Rogue River. On our way to Alaska in 2013 we camped beside
the Rogue at Grants Pass OR and were very fortunate to hook up with some
paddlers who allowed us to go with them. We paddled about 10 miles downstream
but were far upstream from the gorge of course. This time we camped at Kimball
Bend Creek, again on the river. This is one of the nicest places we have stayed
the entire trip. It was on a grassy knoll overlooking the river, very private
and just lovely. The CG manager got our tickets and the boat picked us up at
their dock the following day.
I have mixed feelings
about jet boats on Wild and Scenic Rivers but I realize that not everyone can
have the experience of a three or four day paddling/camping trip. I am very
impressed with the knowledge and expertise of the boat captains we have met.
They seem to have a lot of respect for the environment and appear to be careful
to stay within the rules and to insist that their “guests” do likewise. This
trip was 104 miles (RT) up into but not through the gorge. We saw lots of
individual paddlers and commercial raft groups doing multi-day trips and we
yearned to be with them. Our trip was great fun however; and we thoroughly
enjoyed it. Fortunately it was a very warm day because we were wet to the skin.
Today we ambled along the coast in very light traffic and
plenty of opportunities to pull over and enjoy the scenery. We stopped in
Eureka, CA for lunch and a stroll through the old town. I miss the Eureka of
the 70’s (I miss the Liz of the 70’s too)! Although the coast road (100)
continues on the ocean, 101 turns inland south of Eureka and we really needed
to do that. Within 25 miles the temperature had gone from 62 degrees to 101.
When we stopped for the evening at Gerberville, it was 96; and it is so dry!
The air is completely devoid of moisture and fairly crackles. I have been in
Death Valley and in the Mohave and I have never felt air like this. The area is
in a deep drought of course, and fire hazard is very high.
We will continue to Sacramento tomorrow and on to Reno on
Friday
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