The Wander West - 2022

  We left our park around 10:30 a.m.  I think each day we are sleeping in a bit longer.  It’s getting ridiculous!  It was such a nice park, we were reluctant to leave.  We drove first to the Trees of Mystery where you can walk amongst some of the largest old-growth trees, walk in the canopy on rope bridges and then take a Sky Tram up the mountain to see even better.  We then hiked back down the mountain about 1 mile.  It was a really nice place to visit.  Many of the trees there had germinated 3,000 years ago.  You just can’t get your mind around it.  It feels like you are walking in a movie site for Jurassic park.  Everything is super-sized, the ferns, the clover, and especially the trees.   Next, we drove into the Redwood National Park and we did a short hike there of about 4 km.  You finally have to stop taking pictures of all the trees, because every one of them is huge and the pictures don’t do them justice....

 Today we were on the road by about 10 a.m.  We stopped in Brookings, OR for lunch at McDonald's and to update our blog.  You can really tell there is a huge shortage of employees everywhere.  The service is terrible in most places.  We continued driving until the Jedidiah Smith State Park in California where we did a short hike through the Redwood trees.  So magnificent!  Then we found a campsite in Crescent City, California at the Village Camper Inn and RV Park. They are so friendly here.  Love our site and love the park.  After we registered and found our site we went into town to visit the waterfront.  They have a very old lighthouse which we could walk to and a huge break wall that we walked on.  The breakwall was re-inforced in 1986 with things called 'doloes' which were invented in South Africa.  They are used to break up the waves during storms.  They also are fitted with radio transmitters to measure their movemen...

  This morning we were on the road at about 9:30.  We made our first stop for coffee at a spot where about 6 guys were surfing.  It was really neat to watch.  The waves have been huge every day since we’ve been on the coast.  I don’t know if it’s always like this, but it seems to be a wild ocean.  We stopped for groceries and gas at Fred Meyer’s in Florence, OR.  It is a store like Walmart where you can buy groceries but also household items, clothing, furniture, jewelry, etc.  We arrived at Bullard State Park at about 2 p.m.  We have hydro and water here which is quite unusual in a state park.  It is also all paved and each site has a paved spot for your vehicle/trailer.  We hiked to the beach which was about 1 ¼ miles and then hiked for a long way down the beach and back again. We saw lots of really big jellyfish and the carcass of a sea lion that had about 6 vultures on it. Then we made supper and after supper, we got the ...

 Today we were on the road around 10:00 a.m.  We stopped at many lookouts on the way.  First to make coffee, then just for the views.  It is so nice driving on the coast!  We stopped at Depoe Bay where we saw grey whales in 2014.  We did see some spouts, but no real good sightings.  We had a reservation at Seal Rocks RV park.  It is right on the Pacific and we have views from our site to the ocean.  We walked on the beach for a while.  There are many large rocks right off the coast.  It was another lovely day on the Pacific Coast.  We love it here.  Oregon is the best state for coastal driving.  

 Today we first went to church.  We attended the Lighthouse Christian Church in Warrenton, OR.  It was right near Astoria.  It was a very evangelical service, mostly songs we did not know, but quite friendly.  A lady after church even gave us a small zucchini loaf that she had made!  We enjoyed it with our coffee a short time later, when we stopped down the road.  We drove to our campsite which was in Cape Lookout State Park.  It was a really nice park right on the Pacific Ocean.  We went for a very long walk along the beach.  Really enjoyed it!