Ride up the Oregon Coast

On Tuesday the sun was shining and the sky was blue so we packed a picnic and drove up the coast to visit the Samuel H. Boardman State Park for the day. This is a 12 mile strech of coast north of Brookings.
The trouble with Oregon Beaches (and I suspect that this is also true of Californian beaches, if not all beaches) is that though they are quite spectacular and special as individual beaches, when you describe or photograph them they all sound/look the same. Having said that we did see many beautiful beaches, some of which were accessible to us. From cliff top headlands we could see sweeping vistas of sandy bays and other headlands, lots of islands, but also some arches that had been created by the waves. . We spent some time watching the waves as there was a nice swell, though it wasn't too windy. Some of the rocky outcrops and islands forced the waves into lovely patterns and we were fascinated by the size and raw power of the waves rolling in and breaking either on rocks or sand.
I tried to gets some photos which demonstrated these feelings/observations, but it is very difficult to do that.
The land is coast was almost all temperate rainforest which comes right down to the cliffs, so many views were found by wlking through the forests, which in themselves were quite spectacular, though not on the scale of the Giant Redwood forests, as usual we were also on the lookout for birds and animals and I managed to get pics of a couple.
This was a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time just wave watching.

Eureka

Tuesday.

We have now returned to California and having driven through the delightful little town of Trinidad, reached that metropolis of the civilized world that is Eureka. Having arrived we have decided to stay two nights. Tonight we ate at a restaurant recommended by K.C. (a fireman friend from Folsom), called the Samoa Cookhouse. It is a relic of the Lumber Camp days of Eureka, when Samoa Island was owned by a lumber company and used it to house all the lumber workers. They had a communal cookhouse, which served one main dish, with soup, bread to all its workers. When the lumber company pulled out/went bust the cookhouse stayed on as a very well known local 'experience dining' location. We went and sat at long trestle tables, just like a school dining room, and were served up all you could eat soup, beef and pork, jacket potato and peas. It was great fun.
On Wednesday we took a quiet look at some of the wooden Victorian houses, some are quite grotesque, but fascinating.
One of the things that we have noticed is that there are a lot of 'down and out' types, within the town or we have noticed them on the road. I suppose the relatively warmer weather of the coast may make it a better environment to live.

Brookings - A Nice Place To Be

We are really enjoying relaxing in Brookings, the Harrris Beach State Park is just down the road from the city.

Roam around Brookings and a strange story

Another bright day dawned.

We had confessed to Steve and Mary that we now had possession of their bread knife (having forgotten to return it last week) and all was well with the world. A nice gentle start to the day was augmented by Sally getting a trip to a local ladies hairdresser in Brookings, leaving me a couple of hours to clamber over rocks at Chetco Park, a beach headland. Took some lovely pics and enjoyed the sunshine.

Dropped in to the local Tourist Info and picked up the start of a fascinating tale with its roots way back into World War II. A tale which makes Brookings unique in American history.
After picking Sally up from the hairdressers we ate a Chinese lunch at the Onion Steak House and Grill. It was really nice. We decided to explore Brookings a little more. We wanted to explore its little harbour, its beach and the river which runs in to the sea there. We successfully did all those things and had a gentle but pleasant afternoon.
First though we just had to go to Brookings Library. Why? To see a famous Samurai Sword which belongs to Brookings City.
Why? Because it was given to the city by a japanese man called Nobuo Fujita.
So what is the story? Brookings is the only place on the American Mainland that was ever attacked by the Japanese.
The story is: On September 9th 1942 a Japanese submarine modified to carry a tiny modified Zero plane surfaced 25 miles off Cape Blanco, the plane carried two incendiary bombs. The plan was to drop the bombs on the tinder dry West Coast of America and cause devastating wildfires which would create terror in the hearts of Americans and cause a lot of damage. The pilot was Nobuo Fujita, he took off and flew to the mainland, when he reached land he dutifully dropped his two incendiary bombs about 16 miles from Brookings, creating a strong fire. He then returned to his submarine. He returned to Japan a hero.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) one incendiary device failed to ignite properly and the other one landed away from people and property and because of an exceptionally wet summer did very little damage.
However the plane and the fire were seen by two spotters, though they could not identify it because it was foggy, but could see the smoke caused by the fire. They hiked to the spot and found the fragments of the bomb, a small crater and some smoldering tree trunks.
Because of war time censorship the news was not released widely.
So how did Brookings get the Samurai Sword? In 1962 the Junior Chamber of Commerce thought it would be a good idea to invite the pilot to attend the annual Azalea Festival as a guest. This of course promoted all sorts of argument, with intervention even from the president himself, however it turns out that the pilot had spent years racked with remorse at his action and was only too willing to come to Brookings to promote peace. Despite threats to himself and family he came over in May 1962. He presented his family's Samurai sword, which is over 400 years old, as an offering of peace and goodwill to the country that was a former enemy, a genuine act of contrition and friendship that made the sword a 'gift of peace'. Nubuo Fujita returned three times to Brookings, the last time he planted a redwood tree in the spot where the bomb struck. He died in 1997 and the sword is now proudly on display in the Brookings library.
So we had to go and pay our respects to it and to the promotion of international friendship and goodwill that it symbolises.
What a great story - Only In America

Sunrise at Harris Beach

Managed to get up early and wander down to the beach to get some Dawn Views of the beach

Travelling through Oregon to Harris Beach S.P.

After leaving Crater Lake we drove through some lovely Oregon countryside, down the Rogue Valley, stopping at the Rogue Valley Gorge, which is another beautiful spot.
We camped overnight at Thevalley of The Rogues S.P., which is full of trees in their their Fall colours. On Saturday we pushed on, eager to get to the coast and start the return leg of our journey, but taking time for a bowl of soup and some chips in a wayside cafe called Sue Sue's, which was definitely pink.

We have been very impressed with Oregon State Parks, so rather than returning to California, where the parks are a bit iffy, we took the road to the coast, but turned back North into Oregon again and stopped at Brookings. A state Park called Harris Beach, which is wonderful. it sits above a very rocky beach, with little islands, headlands and bays. Our first thought was "Goonies" we could almost see the pirate ship sailing amongst the jagged rocks of the beach.

Crater Lake - A difficult task

We had come this way so that we could see Crater Lake, as it seemed l ike a good idea. What we did not realise is that it is so gobsmackingly awesome. It merits almost every superlative you can come up with.

It is the remains of a volcano, which poured out its basalt innards, then the central cone collapsed down into the space left when the basalt erupted. Over the years the crater that was left filled with water to create a lake. There is no way out so the water just gets deeper until the surface area evaporation equals the reainwater entering.
The end result is an almost circular lake which is 6 miles across, with 1,000ft sheer volcanic cliffs all the way round. The lake is 1900 feet deep, absolutely clear and the deepest blue you can imagine. The overall effect when the road reaches the crater rim is achingly beautiful. You just stand and look and look and look. Photos of course cannot do it justice. It just has to remain in our memory as one of the most beautiful natural wonders we have seen. So beautiful that it is a difficult task to describe it.

Leaving Weed

Thursday 27th
We feel the approaching cold weather, the thermometer got down to 26 deg. and today we must move on. We want to move North into Oregon, so that we can skirt the coastal mountains by going through Grant’s Pass, this will take us to the coast, once there we will be safe from the approaching winter and we can make our way down the coast back to San Francisco.
So we packed up our trailer and with sadness left Steve and Mary. A bit like Bilbo leaving Rivendell, we were now leaving behind the last bit of California, beyond them lay the unkown’s of Oregon.
We travelled North on 97, stopping once to look back at Mt Shasta for the last time, then on across the border to Klamuth Falls, where we stopped to lay in supplies at a Walmart. The further on to the Collier State Park campground.
We found this to be a very agreeable campground, with full hookup, this enabled us to dump our black waste, which has been building since we left Red Bluff ten days ago. At $17 per night this is a definite improvement on California (Burney Falls would have been $30 per night for dry camping, but for Sally’s Access Pass). With approaching winter the campground is almost empty and we could take time to pick our spot.

Weed

Wednesday 26th
Today was another day for just loafing round, we made the decision that we would continue North the next day, so I spent some time trying to organise where we could go in Oregon when we pushed further north. A limiting factor is that many campgrounds close before the winter sets in, however I found a route which would take us to Crater Lake, then over to the coast using some campgrounds that would be open.
While Sally took another Dobro lesson with Steve I made my ‘Famous Chicken and Gravy with Rice’ dinner, as taught by Kathy, of ‘Jim and Kathy from Florida’. In the evening Steve invited a really nice couple over to share some Strawberrry Shortcake. We really enjoyed Chris and Maureen’s company, they have the sister dog to Maggie May., and we all just sat a chatted in the comfort of Steve and Mary’s nice warm house.

Visit Mt Shasta

Tuesday 25th

Today the weather was gray, it is now regularly below freezing at night, so the temperature was struggling to get above freezing under the blanket of cloud, we took time to get going in the morning, but by lunch time the skies had cleared and Steve and Mary took us through Shasta City and as far up Mt Shasta as you can go in a car, which is 8,000ft, still 6,000ft below the summit. From there we had a close up look a the mountain and great views ot the surrounding countryside, away to the South East we could just make out Lassen Peak through the misty haze.
On our return down the mountain we stopped in Mt Shasta at a Black Bear Eating House. Where the food is good and the portions enormous, together we had a very good meal and returned to the house stuffed. Another great day.

Weed!

Monday 24th
When we arrived at Steve and Mary’s we parked alongside their lovely home, they welcomed us with open arms, We had met them the previous week at the CBA Fall Camp in Colusa, when they learned that we were travelling North they had invited us to stay and we got on like a house on fire.. They really enjoy living in their house with its view of Mt Shasta. The house had a large living area, with a great view of their garden and the mountain, this leads out onto a large deck, where they can relax in the summer, though the weather has now turned colder, so they prefer to sit indoors, warmed by a large diesel (yes) powered furnace. Steve plays a great Dobro and banjo, while Mary does a lot of quilting They have a lovely dog, called Maggie May, she is the cutest little long haired Daxhound. Very small, very lively, great fun. Today Steve took me up to Yreka and we did a little shopping, followed by a bit of a jam then dinner. It was very pleasant and relaxing. In the evening Steve cooked a great steak on his outdoor BBQ, we had a wonderful day.

On our Way to Weed!

Sunday 23rd

Having had a great day at Burney Falls we pressed on to Weed, where our friends Steve and Mary live.
On the way we stopped at a small town called McCloud.
Since leaving Lassen we have been firmly in Lumber Country. Although some gold mining happened here it has been lumber that has shaped the economy and the lives of the people who live here.
Burney, McCloud, Shasta City and Weed are all lumber towns, although the industry is now much a smaller employer than in the past it has had a significant effect on the town layout and communications.
So having decided to stop in McCloud for a morning coffee/tea we left the highway and cruised through the town, past the beautiful PollyAnna style clapperboard houses and trim gardens with white picket fences and parked by the now defunct railroad built to haul lumber. At the railhead is a small tourist community with coffee and gift shops. We chose the Mountain View Café (as we sat in a window booth we could see Mt Shasta looming in the distance), here we had a great welcome, a pleasant drink and a very nice Apple Crisp Muffin. After a short walk on the covered sidewalk and a long chat to some of the locals we got underway again. The road took us round the base of Mt Shasta.
Mt Shasta dominates this area in every way. It is volcano which has erupted roughly every 450 years for the last 5000 years. It is a single mountain which rises to 14,100ft. The surrounding area is made up of igneous rocks, volcanoes, lava flows, basalt extrusions, ash cones, etc, but none of them rise above 5000 ft. The area around Mt Shasta sits at about 4000ft, so the mountain rises a clear 10,000ft above the surrounding land. Mt Shasta has a double peak, Mt Shastina, a peak which only a little shorter. The whole mountain is permanently covered with snow and boasts 5 permanent glaciers. We first saw it at a distance of 120 miles and photographed it at Red Bluff, 114 miles away.
So having driven round Mt Shasta we arrived at our friends. Their house is just 7 miles from the peak of Mt Shasta, so we could see it very clearly against the bright blue sky of Northern California.

Burney Falls

Friday
We left Lassen Volcanic N.P. with the feeling that we had seen something quite special, as it dropped behind us we could still see the Peak, covered with snow. In front of us growing ever larger we could see the snow covered Mount Shasta, standing out white against the blue sky, still 65 miles away. We stopped at a Mom and Pop Cafe called J.J.'s in Old Station for a cup of tea/coffee and a homemade Blackberry Danish, very nice.
We were heading for a small State Park with a lake, water fall, and campground. As with Lassen Volcano, the water had been switched off in the campground, so we would still be using the tank of Emerald Lake water. The site was large and flat and our house batteries had recharged on the journey, so we were happy.
On Saturday we packed a lunch and set off to see the water fall. We were not disappointed as it is one of the most beautiful water falls tht we have seen. It drops about 100 ft, the main flow splitting into two streams as it flows over the sheer cliff of basalt lava. However for about 75 ft either side a curtain of water cascades from the rock itself, where the basalt sits on a layer of impervious rock. The water then drops into a wide pool, to drain into a river with steep sides and disappear towards the lake. The overall effect is very dramitc and beautiful.
We stood and looked for some time, then had our lunch there. Being adventurous we unshipped Sally's manual chair and walked down to the falls, which are as magnificent from below as from above, and then follwoed the river tothe lake, about a mile and a half away. I think this is the longest walk we have done with the manual chair (apart from trips round Walmart) and it was very enjoyable.
When we left Lassen Volcanic N.P. we were on our way to see friends in Weed, near Mt Shasta, so on Sunday we left the S.P. and drove on towards Weed.

Visiting a volcano

Photo's of day 2 in Lassen Volcanic S.P. Lassen Peak is only 10,400ft high, but dominates the countryside for 50 miles. Its jagged peak is the remains of a volcano, which itself sticks out of the side of a much bigger volcano which blew itself apart many thousands of years ago, leaving a ring of smaller mountains eleven miles wide. Lassen Peak is designated as an active volcano. It last erupted in 1914-15, throwing millions of tons of ash and rock from the North East side up to 30,000ft in the air, removing a significant chunk of the mountain. This series of explosions was caught on film and can be seen at the visitor Center. The volcano is now quiet, although all around it are the signs of continuing activity. We visited the Sulphur Works and were able to see (and smell) fumeroles of steam escaping from the mountain side, many depositing a rime of yellow sulphur and also hot mud holes, where steam boils up through thick mud to escape into the atmosphere. There are also hot lakes, but we were not able to hike to them.
All around us we could see various forms of volcano that have formed over the years. Many cinder cones, identifiable with their sloping sides and little dimples at the summit, even though they may now be covered with trees. Lots of lava fields and lava volcanoes. Many lakes which have been created by the chaotic topography and filled collapsed volcanic craters. It made for a fascinating scenary, unlike anything else we have seen. (even after the lava outpourings we have seen in the Rio Grande Rift Valley of Southern Colorado and New Mexico).