Westward Inn Brookings

So we decided that we had had enough of motels, so we decided to camp out for a couple pf nights, we selected this beautiful spot outside the national park, it was surrounded by giant red woods and right next to a river... and (as we found out after paying and setting up camp ...

... lanes on 101. Oregon isn't too fond of them in the mid part of the coastal route. But, oh, the sparkling vistas. Very magical.<br>The staties were out and reeling in speeders, but the Vision stayed in cruise control mode or was busy navigating tight curves on cliffs so no worries here.<br>I am now very aware of tsunami evacuation routes from all the signage. That will be the first thing I look for now when I enter the small seaside towns.<br>

To get back to the Pacific, we must drive back north into Oregon and we choose a narrow, less-traveled road near Yreka, through beautiful forests and along the ugly and murky Klamath River. Once we enter California again we start to see the huge trees of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, but it is dark and we get a motel room in Crescent City and hope to see some more redwoods tomorrow.

We stopped in Pistol River and had a short ride on a horse. Anna's horse was called Fantasia and Dom's was called Dark Sun. We went up the road and through a couple of fields and we both really enjoyed it. At the end we were allowed to feed them too!

... we didn't arrive until dinner, we found the place to be a little "stripmally".  Apparently there is a lovely little harbour and the town is popular with those looking for a nice fishing vacation.  Our motel even has a freezer for the guests' fish.  You can even have dogs as long as you don't wash them in the rooms.  Anyway, tomorrow we are off to Portland for a couple of days. Megan and Kevin

... such a price difference. Taxes make up some of the difference, but then you have to factor in that Oregon is full service and that's what makes the difference dramatic. I don't even count the price gouging going on in the Monterey Penn, 5.79 p/gal. We drove back into California to see the Redwood forests in the Northern part that we had driven through with the trailer in tow. In tow, I had not been able to really ...

Tuesday After a lovely shower, then a hour of school work and a 1 ½ mile cycle down to the beach we drove south to Brookings, about 80 miles. The view from the road on the way down is very dramatic, sandy beaches, rocky beaches, cliffs, rocky islands and rough seas smashing against the shore. We decided to get some distance under our belt early today and then stop earlier. We are only a short distance from the Californian ...

... by a set of rocks forming which formed a mini-harbour. Apparently it is one of their favourite spots along the west coast - the California seal-lion spends winter off the California coast and then comes up here in the spring with their pups. More arrive all season until the place is packed - it's like a southern coast town for seal-lions. They don't even have to go far for food as the fish come in shore to feed. Reluctantly we ...

... back on the road to Occidental. My cousin's husband, Jim, told us to stop in Occidental for authentic Italian food. It's close to the Russian River where there is supposed to be some great Pinot Noir wines. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to taste any this time. The town was and is owned by two Italian families.(I think there was Godfather involved) One family owns one side of the street and the other family owns the ...

The morning still brought damp, cold weather, so we didn't waste any time and got on the road early in the morning. We will definately come back to the Harbor Vista campground again though....the sites were private, surrounded by greenery, they had hot showers and the ocean was steps away. We even found several "fun photo ...