BOO! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Day 51 – It was 42 degrees today & foggy when we got up. We waited until the fog lifted around 10 a.m. before leaving for a day of birding. We followed the directions in the “Oregon Coast Birding Trail” booklet; the end included a section on the California Redwoods Birding Trail. We headed northwest to the coast near Smith River, going first to Alexandre EcoDairy Farm, a lovely stretch of farmland and pasture with gravel roads and a pond. According to the Guide, a small herd of American Bison roam the fields. Oh, Give Me A Home Where The Buffalo Roam………never mind, we didn’t see any.
We did, however, see elk, long-horned cows, and some birds. Just beyond the tall grasslands & the dunes we could hear the Ocean. The Smith River ran nearby. The pond had geese, ducks, and various birds.
Roosevelt Elk, Alexandre EcoDairy Farm, Crescent,City, CA
Long-Horned Cattle, Alexandre EcoDairy Farm, Crescent,City, CA
Dickcissel, Alexandre EcoDairy Farm, Crescent,City, CA
Next we followed directions & drove through some wooded areas & more farmlands, heading to the Lake Tolowa Estuary. We meandered close to the Ocean & Tolowa Dunes, driving through what was left of a failed subdivision, stopping at the end of the road overlooking Lake Tolowa. We stayed awhile watching the birds in the marsh between the Lake & the road, then went back to the road we came in on.
Lake Tolowa, Crescent,City, CA
Hawk, Lake Tolowa, Crescent,City, CA
Further south we stopped at the Lake Earl Wildlife Management Area for lunch. Lake Tolowa & Lake Earl comprise the west’s largest coastal lagoon south of Alaska. This is a designated California Important Bird Area with 300 species of birds recorded. Not many species were there during our visit, but we did meet a lady and her wonderful search dog. We’d just sat down at a picnic table and unpacked our cooler when the dog bounded up and proudly stood by us at attention. He’d searched for us and he’d found us, and he wanted his owner to give him a treat. (I thought he just wanted our lunches, but the woman told us about the history of the dog while we ate. He was her second dog that was trained to search for people, dead or alive, when called upon by first responders to locate a missing person, etc.)
Lake Earl Wildlife Area, Crescent,City, CA
After lunch we drove south to Klamath, skipping some stops from the birding Guide because a heavy fog had rolled in, and you couldn’t see the Ocean, let alone a bird. Since the fog had not lifted by the time we reached Klamath, we decided to do the three birding sites another time & instead looked for places to stay in the area for our next camping layover. The town of Klamath was much smaller than I thought it would be, but there were many RV Parks to visit. The drive south on Highway 101 was beautiful with redwood tree forests on both sides of the road. In the heavy fog, it looked rather dark & mysterious.
About half of the RV Parks, all of them independent parks, were already closed, or will be closing shortly. We found one that was open and that looked right for us. Brief reviews follow, travelling north to south:
Mystic Forest RV Park – before Klamath, in the redwoods, near to Trees of Mystery, tourist attraction. Open all year. Accepts Passport America, $20 per night, full hook-ups. Small park, some shaded & some open sites, mostly inhabited by seasonal or full-timers. OKAY.
The Yurok Tribe Requa Resort – just before Klamath in Requa, near scenic viewpoint over the Ocean, part of the Yurok Tribal lands in a very poor area. Closed, no one there, may be closed for good. NO.
Chinook RV Resort – right on the Klamath River by Highway 101, open all year, about 1/3 full of maybe 4 rows of 10 sites each on an open grassy field. Boat launch and boat access. Accepts Passport America, $17.50 to $22 per night depending on how close to the River you are. MAYBE. (No one was there for us to talk to when we visited, so it was hard to get a good feel.)
Riverside RV Park – next door to Chinook, closing for the season today, on Highway 101. Park was bigger than, but similar to, Chinook. MAYBE.
Golden Bear RV Park – closed for the season, could not tell if it was a good park. MAYBE.
Klamath’s Camper Corral – open all year, not directly on Highway 101, you can hear traffic but it’s not bad, accepts Passport America, $27.50 per night for up to 5 consecutive nights. Over 100 sites in a park-like setting. Very clean and nicely landscaped; you can walk to & fish from the Klamath River. Full hook-ups, laundry facility. A few concrete pads, the whole park is a large grassy field with some trees. YES.
Klamath River RV Park – beautiful, small park on grass, right by the Klamath River, no trees, immaculate, closing for the season tomorrow. We weren’t able to get information but we think they take Passport America. If they were full, it would be a nice parking lot – with sites lined up in a row, but late in the year not many people. Not on Highway 101, on the other side of the River. YES, the right time of year.
Kamp Klamath – further down the road, not on Highway 101, open all year, a larger park that has trouble with flooding. On the River, fairly old, crowded with seasonal or full-timers, there are still some decent sites in two rows on a little bit higher ground. MAYBE.
The high today was 61 degrees but once the fog arrived, it felt colder. We got back to the RV early enough to sit outside in the screened tent for a short time. Tomorrow is our last day before the rain starts again.