Oregon & California: Day 3

On the morning of day 3 (Saturday, April 3) it was cool & misty.  We had breakfast in Coos Bay at a restaurant that had once been Denny's.  The food was more real under the new ownership.  Rusty found that he had to work that morning.  Jordan & Steve left him at McDonald's, where the internet connection was not very good (he later moved to Burger King) & drove off to the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, a part of Coos Bay.  They hiked down a ravine with a creek, to a boardwalk over mud flats filled with skunk cabbage & grass, on the shore of the slough.  It was beautiful.  They left Rusty waiting at least an hour after he was done with Burger King.

The Edgewater Inn in Coos Bay, OR

Steve on the trail to South Slough.

Creek in the ravine along the trail.

Skunk cabbage along the boardwalk at South Slough.

 

South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

After Rusty was retrieved, we drove on down the coast toward California.  We stopped at an overlook just north of Brookings, OR.  The coast was spectacular, once again.  We had lunch at a Chinese & American restaurant called Onion Grill Steak & Seafood.  We had pot stickers, egg foo yung & chow mein.  Yum yum!

 

The coast north of Brookings, OR.

Soon we entered California, bypassed Crescent City & drove through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  We drove a short way down a narrow dirt road filled with potholes, parked beside the road & hiked a half a mile along the River Trail (Smith River) to Stout Grove.  The redwoods were huge, an impressive first encounter. 

River Trail in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

Creek flowing into the Smith River along the River Trail.

Trillium, our favorite flower, on the River Trail.

Steve & Rusty in Stout Grove.

Stout Grove redwoods with sword ferns.

We made our way to Crescent City & checked into the Penny Saver Inn.  The desk clerk advised us to go the Chart Room at the marina for dinner.  The setting was lovely, the restaurant was charming, but the food was not very good.  Sea lions were sleeping on the sidewalk at the edge of the parking lot, next to the marina.  They were huge.  We spent some time touring Crescent City in the twilight.  Rusty & Steve walked from the motel to the cinema, where they saw Captain America. 

Sea lions at the Crescent City, CA marina.

Here are more photos from Oregon & California.