Road Trip - April 2017, Part 9
Getting to the Oregon Coast is a long way from Sequoia. After a wonderful breakfast with some relatives nearby, and then a quick oil change in Fresno, I managed to get to Redding. I wanted to make sure I saw Shasta, since on the way down it was completely covered in storms. On the way, along the I5, I decided to revisit the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, and spent several hours there. I like revisiting a place: you can't see everything, and it's nice to explore things you missed the first time. It must have been the time of day, but there was a lot more bird life this time around, along with jackrabbits and a fox. Unfortunately the fox was too wary, but:
A lone egret, eyes out for frogs.
Wait...that's not a hummingbird, it's a moth the size of one.
The puffy clouds also played games with the light, sometimes to wonderful effect:
The next day I took a detour to Shasta Caves, which was pretty fascinating, but no great pics. Shasta itself was beautiful, stark white in a bright blue sky, but I couldn't find the right place to stop, so I just enjoyed it. At Grant's Pass I turned southwest to Crescent City. I really enjoy winding roads, and the traffic was light, so I probably broke some local speed laws...
The next day it was up the Oregon Coast. The road is slow, and you could easily spend a few days wandering, there are so many places to stop.
There are plenty of sand beaches, but the rocky ones are sometimes more interesting.
Hard to convey in a picture, but the giant sucking sound every time the waves recede from this one spot was deafening.
A vulture scans for dead fish.
After several side trips along the way, I made it to Rockaway Beach and managed to get one of the last rooms in town, just in time for a blustery and cold sunset walk on the beach:
The sun and it's companion sun-dog.
Loads of jellyfish in some places.
A surprising number of people out and about.
The crescent moon makes its first appearance.
Next day I got going early. My target was Oswald West State Park, and the hike up Neahkahnie Mountain. There are several ways up, I ended up taking the long way, starting from the Short Sands Trail, along the coast to Treasure Cove:
A sparrow staking a claim.
Don't look down...
...because it's a long way to the bottom.
...and then up the mountain from the west side. This is a fascinating tour through all kinds of micro-climates and geography. The view from the top is spectacular:
From the top, looking south.
The whole coast is a fantastic place to visit, and I hope to return someday. But sadly it was time to head home. I spent the rest of the day getting up to Astoria, then over to the east side of Portland before crashing for the night.
