2015-06-14 Oregon Into California

I made my goodbyes to the family the night before I left Southern Oregon and I stopped in the town of Rouge 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 thee 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 was would be.  I was looking forward to driving this route today. My relatives in Central Point told me of a story about a rest stop bear at the south end of a tunnel on this route. As it happened, I did stop 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 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 down next to the Smith River and I backed down into it. When I got stopped I learned I was not alone. There was another 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 skies were overcast so the lighting was 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.

Images Below