Port Orford

More ocean time

One of the reasons we wanted to spend time in Oregon this springs was to ride their scenic bikeways. We arrived in Port Orford with the intention of riding most of the 60 miles of the Wild Rivers Coast Scenic Bikeway. The strong winds had us thinking that this was going to be one long week if the winds didn't change.

When a person sees this painted on the road, it seems like a good thing to check out.

Yep, that's an ocean view.

We woke the next morning to sunshine and calmer winds. The first three miles going north were into some fairly strong winds. Now we understand why most people ride the Pacific Coast Highway north to south.  

Once we turned off the highway onto Elk River Road, the wind was blocked by the trees and the beautiful valley kept us smiling and pedaling

 The only problem was that the beautiful rivers and waterfalls kept making us stop and take pictures. Finally, we had to just ride.
 One rule of bike riding is that your bike follows where you are looking. I kept that in mind as we would find ourselves glancing down to the river in the gorge as we pedaled along. Fortunately, our handlebars didn't follow our eyes.

Turning around at mile 16 seemed like a good plan even though the river and valley kept calling us ahead.

We stopped at the fish hatchery on the way back down to see some huge trout for the lakes and tiny steelhead salmon that will be released in the Chetco River near Brookings, OR in the fall.

 

Piloted in 2014, the Tag Team Program helps ODFW fish biologists better understand the effectiveness of stocking efforts. It’s also a chance for anglers to participate in fishery management and, perhaps, come away with up to $50.

 

By releasing a known number of tagged fish into lakes, and totaling reports from anglers who caught a tagged fish, ODFW biologists can accurately estimate the percentage of the total population of stocked fish that were caught. With this knowledge, biologists can better stock the correct number of fish and the most desirable species. Not every tagged fish will be reported, so to sweeten the deal, some tags come with monetary rewards.

We were sure hungry after 34 miles of riding and headed over to the Crazy Norwegian.

The giant coconut shrimp went well with the great clam chowder and sour dough bread. All I needed was to ride the mile back home and take some Tylenol.

 

We broke up our hiking and biking days with visits to local museums and parks. 

Coast Guard Museum

 

 A lifeboat from the early 1900s at the Coast Guard museum.

The lifeboats were launched from Nellies cove over 500 steps down from the Coast Guard station.

A walk out on the Headlands Trail from the Coastguard Museum.

At the end of the trail looking down on agate beach, we could see the lighthouse way out there on the tip.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

 

On the lower work level of lighthouse, a volunteer gave us a tour before we climbed the stairs up to the light.

 The stairs were not attached to the wall but felt very sturdy. I guess they would have to be for it to still be in service.

The 18 second light is specific to Cape Blanco. Every lighthouse has its own pattern to help the captain of the boat or ship know where they are in foggy conditions.

The Hughes house built in 1898 was not far from the lighthouse. We stopped for a tour here also. The couple were from Ireland. After operating a successful dairy ranch for more than thirty years, the couple was able to pay a pioneer builder to design and build the comfortable, two-story home It is always interesting to glance back into the past.

I can't imagine milking 100 cows twice a day by hand. But then again, I have never milked one cow but Mike has.

It was also good to visit with the volunteers at these places as we consider where we could like to volunteer next summer or spring.

 

Who knew there would be more of Port Orford to share coming up?

Tidepooling at low tide

Finding sea creatures

Brookings, Oregon was a great stop with its mild climate which is extraordinary! Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and protected by the Cape Ferrelo headland, Brookings-Harbor is warmed by the “Chetco Effect” and faces south to catch the sunshine. Brookings-Harbor is known as the “Banana Belt” of the Oregon Coast.

 

The only reason we stopped in Brooking was because we had 4 days without plans after making some changes earlier. It worked out better than we could have hoped.

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Amazing sea stacks along the coast as we drove north in search of crab on a rainy day.

Cape Sebastian

 

We had unsuccessfully gone to the fish market in search of Dungeness Crab. A drive up the coast to Gold Beach seemed like a good idea on a rainy Saturday. The rain got heavier as we drove north but we had rain gear.

Success at Gold Beach a 2 pounder!

They cleaned and cracked the crab for us. We just needed to make a salad and Puglisi bread and we were happy campers. 

Arch Rock at one of the many stops along the 101.

Tide pooling in the morning at low tide.

 

Every morning brought a different find as we walked the sandy beaches listening to the crashing waves and seagulls. On our last morning walk, the waves stopped briefly at low tide and then started building again.

Along a narrow coastal strip from Smith River, California up to Brookings, Oregon, a handful of farms grow 95% of all Easter lily bulbs for the potted plant market. I was surprised to see fuchsia growing wild. It seems just about anything will grow here.

 

 Starfish party

Anemones

Our ride on the 101 was shorter than planned. The logging trucks on the way to the mill that the town was built around made us rethink our plan. The bike path had steep ups and downs and backroads were under construction. I was ok with not riding as the wind was picking up.

 

We are enjoying our slower pace this year than last. Our drives are much shorter and stays a little longer. Now 60 miles to Port Orford.

 

 

Hanging around in the Redwoods

Heading to the coast

What a difference 40 miles can make. It was 80 degrees when we left Cave Junction and in the 50s when we arrived at Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park in Redwoods National Park. We were lucky to find a walkup site and happy when the $30 per day was half price with our Senior National Park Pass. No hookups but enough light to use our solar to keep our batteries good. We like a little heat in the morning when the temps drop below 50 degrees.

Many of the wild flowers were in bloom like these trillium.

Across Smith River was Stout Grove and the Riverside Trails. We had to drive a short distance since the suspension bridge isn't put in until the river is lower in July.

Crescent City, CA

On the way to a hike on the back of the Park, we stopped in Crescent City for a beach walk and breakfast.

Returning after a morning dip

Battery Point Lighthouse Tours are given in accordance with the tides. You have to walk across an area to get to the lighthouse.

We were glad to have our hiking sticks with the slick roots on the path. Fern Falls were very small.

It was eerie as we walked deeper into the forest and not see another person on the path. It would have been neat to see a bear but I was glad we didn't.

Notches were  cut to allow loggers to climb high enough to be able to cut through a more narrow section of the Redwood.

Harris State Beach in Brookings, OR

The drive was only 30 miles. But we wanted to stay at the state park on the ocean that we had heard great things about. There were walkup sites available as we arrived in the morning and the host was glad to let us find a place and park with full hookups without waiting until the afternoon check in time!

Of course, we had to get some clam chowder with the most tender clams before going by the local seafood market and doing our laundry.

We enjoy checking out tide pools at low tide to walk. It is good to be here before summer break.

 Rather than sit at our campsite and read, we brought our chairs and books to the day use area. We enjoyed watching the people and dogs on the beach. It was good to have some downtime. The bluff behind us blocked the wind. Sometimes, we forget that it is 6 months before we stop for a while and we should probably pace ourselves.

In Bandon, OR people meet at low tide to make  "Circles in the Sand" for meditation several times a month.

 This guy looked graceful as he spent a lot of time with his rake on the beach making circles. Then the tide came in and washed them away. He seemed to be enjoying the sunshine and making those circles.

Chetco Point

Chetco Point in at the end point out on the bluff. We had an uneasy feeling as we followed the trail through the foliage across a wooden bridge to a bluff with a 389 degree view over the cliffs at the end.

It was a little uncomfortable getting close to the edge and seeing the rocks below. It wouldn't be so good to slip.

The bridge to the Point.

Low tide

We have 10 more days along  the coast as we head north soon.