2015-06-14 Oregon Into California

I made my goodbyes to my family the night before I left Southern Oregon, and I stopped in the town of Rogue River for breakfast. As with so many times on this trip, when I stop for gas or (as this day) for breakfast, I am often met with curious citizens inquiring about the Samurai and all the gear on board. It has been a nice means of connecting with people. These encounters, while they may delay an efficient getaway, make the trip more interesting.

I’d been on this route in the past. I knew how beautiful it would be. I was looking forward to driving this route today. My relatives in Central Point told me a story about a rest stop bear at the south end of a tunnel on this route. As it happened, I stopped at this place and sure enough, even before I got out of the car to stretch my legs, there in the shade was a silhouetted bear. I managed to squeeze off two mediocre shots and was looking how I might do better, a loud air horn sounded and I realized this was a nuisance bear and it was being run off by a worker.

As stated before, this route was extremely scenic. On one section of the drive that proved too good to pass on, I found a dirt spur road that dropped next to the Smith River and I backed down into it. When I got stopped I learned I was not alone. There was another rig parked to the side and out of my view. There was a gal travelling on her own with two cats who’d stopped to clean up after one of her cats got car sick. I took my pictures and visited for a bit, then got on my way again.

A bit further down the road I entered the Jedediah Smith Redwood Grove and stopped to enjoy the forest for a while and take more pictures before resuming my travels.

The first encounter with the Pacific Ocean on this route is just north of Crescent City California. I kept moving until I reached the harbor at Crescent City. There, to my delight, were Common Murres and Common Loons (non-breeding) rather close in where the commercial fishing boats were tethered dockside. I took some time to work these subjects and others that would allow me the opportunity. The overcast skies caused the lighting to be photographically cool. But what the hey, it was fun. Before I left Crescent City for Eureka, I wandered to see what the other sections of this bay might have in store.

Subjects in this set include American Black Bear, Common Loon, Common Murre, Great Blue Heron, Harlequin Duck, Roosevelt Elk, Surf Scoter, and scenery.