Friday, July 3, 2015

Made It Out of California!

It took us a little over three weeks (and really we could have easily spent another three or more) to travel the Pacific coast to Oregon, making it just over the border to Brookings yesterday.

Our last day in Trinidad was a fun combination of very wild and much more civilized.

Samoa peninsula includes Samoa Dunes, referred to as one of the most ecologically diverse areas in California. The peninsula is about 10 miles by 1 mile with a pulp mill (there since 1900), a large Coast Guard station, an OHV recreational area and campground, a unique jetty constructed of concrete dolos, and acres of protected dunes.  We had no idea what to expect, and really enjoyed the wildness of the place. Bridges hopscotch across two uninhabited islands and return you to Eureka.

Coast Guard Station in the fog
Not a swimmers' beach


Love the wild of this place

Next we headed for Arcata to check out this delightful university town we'd heard so much about. It didn't disappoint and we had a wonderful afternoon walking the cute downtown and plaza area (without the camera). The eclectic mix of residents and tourists made for great people watching, and the local merchants were very friendly.  I had the best time in the herbal shop where Tessa was welcome to join us. There's nothing like lots of large jars of wonderful smelling herbal tea blends to make me happy :-)

The scenery from Eureka to Brookings is incredible, with more rugged coastline and redwood forests. But the back and forth and up and down on the narrow road made me glad it was a less than 90 mile travel day!

We have beach and fishing and harbor and chilling in the cool and breezy sunshine on our agenda for the next four days.

Our little riverfront park seems like a great spot to spend the holiday weekend.

At River's Edge RV Park, Brookings OR






12 comments:

  1. Now you are really full timers...you left you home state! I've always wanted to go to Brookings. I'll be waiting to see what you find during your visit. Hope you have nice weather for the 4th:)

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    1. It's busier than I remember so far, but that could be just the holiday weekend. It was definitely a milestone to cross that border :-))))

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  2. We did the Oregon coast last year. It was wonderful. Enjoy the scenery and the cool temperatures.

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    1. It is definitely beautiful here - and the cool is wonderful.

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  3. I keep begging the cowboy to head to the coast--it's so dang hot here! Tonight we are supposed to get a "cold" front!

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    1. Many of the folks here are from inland locations where it seems everywhere is hotter than usual. Unfortunately it's still very dry here :-(

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  4. Love that coastal highway, although can be a bit curvy. You're going to love Oregon.

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    1. So far we definitely love it - and we're only 20 minutes over the border :-)

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  5. Yippee! You crossed the border. Now you can put the Oregon sticker on your US Map...

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  6. So glad you enjoyed Arcata! We spent many long weekends there pre-fulltiming and always had a great time. It's definitely eclectic, and the herb shop is one of my favorites, too. It seems that every road to the Oregon coast is a winding one. Hope you're having as much fun in Brookings! :-)

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    1. I'm not surprised you like Arcata so much. Both beautiful and laid back, it just feels like a good place.

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