THOSE TREES! THOSE ELK! OH MY.
Day 57 – Beginning of Week 9. Rob got up at 7 a.m. & I got up around 7:45. It was 39 degrees & sunny when he got up. We’re going to take advantage of every non-rainy day that we have. Today we’re driving south to explore between Klamath and Orick. We were told about a very nice scenic highway through the redwood groves with lots of hiking trails & some prairie land where Roosevelt Elk are frequently seen grazing. Sounds like a good day.
HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN.
Day 56 – We were up at 7:20 a.m. It rained during the night. 40 degrees this morning, light rain. We’ll probably be staying inside today, catching up on things, and doing more laundry. There’s a nice little laundry room at this campground, very clean, 3 washers & 4 dryers. Since we have full hook-ups here, the kitties are happily ensconced on their electric heating pads. We’ll be here for a couple more days; we’re waiting for several items to arrive from an Amazon order – replacements for a couple of things we blew out at Panther Flat due to an improperly working inverter – our blender & our water-pik. Then when we’re camping further south in a bigger city, we’ll be replacing the problem inverter.
HELLO SUNSHINE!
Day 55 – We got up around 7 a.m., foggy, 38 degrees. The fog rapidly burned off & there was bright sunlight, no clouds. We’ve entered the rainy season for coastal northern CA (November thru April), and we’ve heard that it can rain everyday. We’ll take the sun when we can get it, and do our exploring & most of the picture-taking then. Soon enough we’ll be south where they can’t get enough rain, if any!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VIRGINIA/MOM! WE HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY DINNER! SEE YOU IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
Day 54 – It rained all day today and it was 35 degrees this morning when we got up. It had rained a lot during the night & the ground was already soaked this morning. We’re right by the Klamath River which floods often. Initially it had looked like it was going to rain for six days straight, but now the weather forecast has it stopped tonight thru Saturday and not starting up again until Sunday morning. This campground is on acres of grass, very park-like, but we don’t want to get stuck in mud and puddles if it rains too much. The owner said if the River rises too much, he will ask us to move to higher ground.
Day 53 – We got up 7:30; 45 degrees, cloudy & foggy. Lots of rain was coming, & we had our coffee & got ready to depart for our next campground. The girls seemed a little confused; they’d gotten used to relaxing & lying around. They sensed with our activity that they’d soon be on the road again. We’re going to Klamath, 40 miles south & west of here, near the coast & the redwood trees.
40 miles
3 PONDS & SALMON??
Day 52 – 39 degrees & foggy this morning. One more day of exploring & then we must leave; gotta find a dump station somewhere. (We now know we can make it at least six nights without dumping, something we needed to know before future BLM camping in the desert.) Some heavy rain is coming this way beginning early tomorrow a.m. So today we’ll wait till the sun burns the fog off, pay our $7.50 for tonight, and head out to find three ponds.
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.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAYLE! WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN MARCH! DID YOU GET THE TEXTS? NO INTERNET CONNECTION & LOUSY PHONE CONNECTION; TOOK A CHANCE THAT YOU MIGHT RECEIVE TEXTS……
Day 50 – Beginning of Week 8 – Redwood Trees! We got up at 7:30 a.m., 46 degrees & sunny. Today we will explore the redwood forest by car and on foot. There’s an area in Redwood National Park which has been recommended to us by several people. It’s a dirt road, Howland Hill Road; it’s located near Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. An incredibly scenic drive, there was a turnout & small parking lot about 4 miles in where you can park at the trail head and walk through Stout Grove, home to some of the most magnificent old growth redwood trees available for people to easily walk to.
Day 49 – Colder this morning, 48 degrees and foggy, 7:30 a.m. Very wet out & overcast when we left for some more exploring – this time heading west on 199 to French Hill Road (County Route 411) and straight up a mountain on an unpaved road. Our goals for the day had been to drive to the other campgrounds & dispersed camping areas off Highway 199 & west of Panther Flat, taking a long loop drive on County Routes 405 & 427, back to the 199.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING.
Day 48 – 50 degrees at 8 a.m., sunny and calm. Very quiet here even though later last night several campsites were filled, people came in and quietly set up, then left again this morning. Quick overnight stays, I guess. One loop of this campground is closed for the season – the one closer to the highway; this loop is open all year – closer to the River. Rob put the California sticker on the campground map, extending the spaces filled to the west coast.
Added California