Got back yesterday from our annual anniversary road trip, this time to the southern Oregon, northern California coast. 9 days of doing what we do best.
We headed down the super-slab on Saturday, 9-3-16 to Eugene, cut over to Florence on Hwy. 126 and then headed south on 101 to Brookings. It was game day at U of O on Saturday so we had lots of company on I-5. Checked in to Harris Beach State Park and settled in for the week. Nice campground for a base camp with good people running the place and well maintained facilities. The only thing that was a little disturbing was the fork lifts at the lumber mill across Hwy 101 from the park. You could hear the back up beepers at night. Other than that minor issue, it's a nice place with lots of good scenery and well kept camp sites. Nice sand beach with lots of off shore rocks to add interest. The trip down 101 has lots of scenery that can only be described as spectacular!
We spent the next week exploring the area. Mostly two lane blacktop, but enough gravel and dirt to keep you interested. Oh, they don't wave down there. Lots of JK's, a few TJ's and the odd YJ or CJ, but almost no Jeep waves. Saw a couple of California JK's rigged out as expedition vehicles that had more invested in add on gear than I have in my whole TJ. No dirt on any of them though. Cleanest, straightest off road rigs I've ever seen. There's a Jeep Dealership in Brookings for the odd part if you need it, along with a NAPA and an independent parts store.
Spent three days heading into the Redwoods in California. There are two major parts to the redwoods down there, Jedediah Smith in the north and Redwoods National Park to the south. The Jedediah Smith section is by far the best of the two. If you go, head out of Cresent City east on Howland Hill Rd. Put the top down and take your hiking boots and day pack. It's a dirt and kinda gravel road that takes you through the heart of some wonderful redwood groves. A lot of the trees along side the road are much bigger across than the TJ is long. There are a lot of them. Be sure and stop at the Stout Memorial Park and hike hte trail there, it's worth it. Cross the Smith river and head north on Hwy 199. About half way back to Cresent City there is another gravel road that heads north called Walker Road. Head up it to see a bunch of nice redwoods, and hike a bunch of nice trails. Good views of the Smith River, and access to gravel bars on the river for swimming and putzing about. If you get a chance, stop by the Park Information Center in Cresent City to talk to the folks there. They will set you up with maps and local information on what to see. Fern Canyon is a nice and easy hike with lots of beach access on the road in. That road is Davison Rd. If you like Elk, there are a ton of them if you look around a little. We were probably 50 yards from a really nice bull and just sat and watched him for awhile. He was a big boy totally unconcerned with us being there. We also saw a huge heard of probably 60 - 70 in a meadow just being elk.
All in all, a good road trip. Pictures in the picture section once I get them organized.
We headed down the super-slab on Saturday, 9-3-16 to Eugene, cut over to Florence on Hwy. 126 and then headed south on 101 to Brookings. It was game day at U of O on Saturday so we had lots of company on I-5. Checked in to Harris Beach State Park and settled in for the week. Nice campground for a base camp with good people running the place and well maintained facilities. The only thing that was a little disturbing was the fork lifts at the lumber mill across Hwy 101 from the park. You could hear the back up beepers at night. Other than that minor issue, it's a nice place with lots of good scenery and well kept camp sites. Nice sand beach with lots of off shore rocks to add interest. The trip down 101 has lots of scenery that can only be described as spectacular!
We spent the next week exploring the area. Mostly two lane blacktop, but enough gravel and dirt to keep you interested. Oh, they don't wave down there. Lots of JK's, a few TJ's and the odd YJ or CJ, but almost no Jeep waves. Saw a couple of California JK's rigged out as expedition vehicles that had more invested in add on gear than I have in my whole TJ. No dirt on any of them though. Cleanest, straightest off road rigs I've ever seen. There's a Jeep Dealership in Brookings for the odd part if you need it, along with a NAPA and an independent parts store.
Spent three days heading into the Redwoods in California. There are two major parts to the redwoods down there, Jedediah Smith in the north and Redwoods National Park to the south. The Jedediah Smith section is by far the best of the two. If you go, head out of Cresent City east on Howland Hill Rd. Put the top down and take your hiking boots and day pack. It's a dirt and kinda gravel road that takes you through the heart of some wonderful redwood groves. A lot of the trees along side the road are much bigger across than the TJ is long. There are a lot of them. Be sure and stop at the Stout Memorial Park and hike hte trail there, it's worth it. Cross the Smith river and head north on Hwy 199. About half way back to Cresent City there is another gravel road that heads north called Walker Road. Head up it to see a bunch of nice redwoods, and hike a bunch of nice trails. Good views of the Smith River, and access to gravel bars on the river for swimming and putzing about. If you get a chance, stop by the Park Information Center in Cresent City to talk to the folks there. They will set you up with maps and local information on what to see. Fern Canyon is a nice and easy hike with lots of beach access on the road in. That road is Davison Rd. If you like Elk, there are a ton of them if you look around a little. We were probably 50 yards from a really nice bull and just sat and watched him for awhile. He was a big boy totally unconcerned with us being there. We also saw a huge heard of probably 60 - 70 in a meadow just being elk.
All in all, a good road trip. Pictures in the picture section once I get them organized.
