Arriving at the Rugged Oregon Coast - Brookings, OR

Brookings, Oregon

Harris Beach State Park

Our destination..... ahhhh....

I was trying to find somewhere to spend my birthday in the mountains (the Big 6-0). Problem is in April it's still cold and snowing.  We didn't want to drive more than 8 hours either. Brookings, Oregon is in the "Banana Belt" so it's a warmer than most areas and just over the border of CA on the coast.  Perfect!  

We left Placerville early and drove up I-5 to meet my sister in Redding for lunch.  It was a quick visit but nice to see her.  I forgot to get a pic!  We stayed overnight at the Redding Elks Lodge and visited the Sundial Bridge. It was opened July 4, 2004 and crosses the Sacramento River, linking the north and south parts of Turtle Bay Exploration Park and the Sacramento River Trail System.  It is one of the largest working sundials in the world.  The deck is translucent and glows at night.  No part of the bridge touches the river to protect the Salmon habitat below.

(above picture from the website)

Redding, CA

Elks Lodge

W/50/Dump, $30, #10.

Old Chevy parked across from us.

We drove Rt. 299 from Redding towards the coast.  This is a very curvy route with some grades but nothing our truck couldn't pull.  We've driven it before and it is very scenic as it follows the Trinity River and past Whiskeytown Lake.  You can still see the burn areas from the past years fires as well as some newer burn area we didn't see a couple of years ago.  It's 275 miles from Redding to 101, then up to Brookings.  Nice and easy.  It was cold too.  36 degrees in Weaverville up in the higher elevations.

We drove past many areas with lots of Spring color.

The Trinity River.

Just before turning north onto 101 we stopped into the small town of Blue Lake at the casino to gas up.  At $6.49(!) this was the cheapest around.  At least once we got to Brookings you could get diesel for $5.79 at Fred Meyer. 

We passed by some Elk not far from Orick and the Redwood National Park.

Some bridge repair near Klamath made for an interesting crossing with the trailer.

An interesting landmark at Smith River.

We stopped for a geocache at the border.

I can't say enough good things about Harris Beach State Park.  Right across the road from the ocean.  You can hear it from your site.  Some sites have a perfect view of the ocean if you're lucky enough to get one.  This is a very popular place.  We switched to a site in the back in a FCFS section so we could extend our stay.  My only complaint is that Oregon has joined a few other states in charging extra to Out-of-Staters.  Usually $10.  I'm not a fan of this practice.  Seems very unwelcoming to me and not encouraging of tourism. The prices also went up this year.  When I made my reservation before they started charging for out-of-staters, it was $32 for W/E.  Now it is $35 for locals or $42 if you're not an Oregon resident.  Wow!  We don't normally pay over $30 but this was a special occasion :-)

There was some confusion when we changed sites so the very, very nice ranger let us stay in this FHU site for $32 instead of $44.  Happy Birthday to me!!  Site# B8.

   

Almost every site is very private with lots of natural vegetation surrounding you.  Ours was cut into a little hillside with huge trees and flowering Rhododendron around us but very open to let the sun in.

After we set up we went to walk along the beach and watch the sun set.

Every now and then a very colorful bunch of rocks appears.

Why is it that dogs seem to like beaches so much?

"Should I run left, or right?  Or into the water?!  Or all 3!!

He's glazing over with the possibilities!

Hurley will be 14 in June.  He's almost totally deaf and moves much slower, but it sure warms my heart to watch him get his "pup on", tearing up and down the beach.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!

Playing in one of the small rivers that flows into the ocean.

The reflections of the setting sun were incredible.

The sounds of happiness.

My heart and soul are very content at this moment.  What a way to end our

 first day on the Rugged Oregon Coast.