More From the Southern Oregon Coast

I'd had a wonderful two days reacquainting myself with Bandon's lovely beaches.  (If you missed that post, find it here.)  But I had another yurt reserved farther south in the town of Brookings, so on the third day I reluctantly began to pack up my car for the 80 mile drive.

Morning above Bandon Beach

But check in there wasn't until 4 pm, so with plenty of time to kill, I decided to take one last morning walk on Bandon Beach.

Part of Elephant Rock

The low-angle morning sun was shining from the east, flooding the beach with spectacular light.  Sauntering along the bluff high above gave me a perfect vantage to capture the seastacks glowing in sunshine.

Seastack reflection

Then I climbed down to beach level for another angle.  Some of the seastacks reflected quite nicely in the wet sand.

Face Rock

The churning waves in front of Face Rock were especially photogenic.

Yawning harbor seal

Then I strolled over to Elephant Rock to see if there were any Harbor seals around.  There were!  The blubbery mammals were chilling on some nearby rocks.

Seal pup and his mama

I spotted a seal pup and his mother nearby.  

Giving mom a kiss

The tiny baby seal was adorable, especially when he gave his mama a kiss on the nose.

Table Rock

Then, not wanting to miss low tide again, I headed over toward several prominent seastacks, where I knew from past visits had some great tidepools.

Tidepool life

And the tidepools did not disappoint!

Dueling seastars

Although the alien-shaped anemones were interesting, my favorite tidepool life form by far was the seastar.  I spotted several of these colorful creatures.  Lots of photographs may have been taken....

 

Lots of colorful seastars here!

I had to be out of my yurt in Bandon by 1 pm, so around noon I packed up the car and slowly headed south on highway 101.  

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

I made a stop at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.  Although the lighthouse itself wasn't open to the public, it was in a very photogenic location.  A sky full of interesting clouds added drama to the scene.  I even ran into the lady I'd met on Bandon Beach the previous afternoon.  We seemed to have similar schedules - the lady was staying at the same state park in Bandon, and yesterday I kept meeting her in the bathroom!

I sent this pic to my hubby to let him know I'd made it

Then on to the very southern tip of the Oregon Coast and town of Brookings, where I had another yurt reserved at Harris Beach State Park.  After unpacking and having some chill time, I headed back out to seek sunset at a place called "Secret Beach."

A bride and groom were being photographed when I arrived

I'd stumbled upon Secret Beach during my last visit, several years ago.  However, since it had been awhile, I couldn't remember exactly which trail I'd taken or where I'd parked.  Thinking maybe I'd started at the "Natural Bridges" trailhead, I left my car there and followed a path that led northward into thick, coastal forest.  This rough trail roller-coastered through the woods, dodging rocks and large roots.  I walked for over a mile, and was getting very hot and tired.  I was just about ready to give it up when I spied a downhill path leading towards water.  Following an extremely steep trail I came out above a beach sheltered by several seastacks.  This was it!

Cool clouds above Secret Beach

The first thing I noticed was a bride and groom doing a wedding photo shoot.  The happy couple was down on the beach while their two photographers remained perched in the rocks above.  Reaching the beach required navigating a near-vertical, rocky slope that dived about 50 feet from where I stood.  I was impressed that the couple had made it down there.  After watching their half hour photo session, both bride and groom managed to climb back up the steep bank (the bride still in her wedding gown!) and the couple and their photographers left.

Sadly, the skies clouded over right before sunset

Secret Beach was a very scenic place.  A tiny, sandy beach ringed by several large, tree-topped seastacks, it was a popular place for local photographers to capture sunrise and sunset.  Although the beach below looking intriguing, I was too chicken to brave the rock scramble to reach it.  I wasn't even sure I was going to stay for sunset.  Although I'd brought my headlamp and a bright flashlight, the thought of hiking back out in the dark forest by myself wasn't appealing.  Then I met a young couple from North Carolina who were planning to stay for sunset.  I asked if could hike out with them and they replied "yes, of course."

Redwood Nature Trail

I discovered the couple were National Park junkies like me, and we had a great conversation about the parks we'd visited and the places still on our bucket lists.  They had just visited Redwood National Park, and had driven a bit further to see the Oregon Coast while they were in the neighborhood.

At first, the sky filled with small, pebbly clouds.  I got excited - if those clouds lit up at sunset, they would produce an amazing backdrop.  But sadly about 10 minutes before dusk, dull, gray clouds took over the sky.  No light was getting through those.  Sunset was a bust.

Huge redwood tree

When my new friends and I saw that the sunset show wasn't gonna happen, we decided to leave.  I followed the young couple back up the trail.  They had parked in a different pull out than me, one much closer.  We only walked about a quarter mile before arriving at their rental car.  I'd walked way too far!  However, being the nice people they were, the couple offered to shuttle me to my car.  As I settled into the back seat of the couple's car, rain began to pepper the window.  We'd made it back in the nick of time!

More giants

It absolutely poured all night, and I was glad to be in a yurt instead of tent camping, like many other poor souls in the campground.  My yurt had was made of thick canvas, featured a wooden floor elevated from the ground, and electric heat.  I was dry and cozy as a bug.

The redwood trees had such interesting bark

The rain continued well into the next morning, so I waited out the weather reading a book and drinking several cups of tea.  From my past visit, I remembered a small redwood forest just east of Brookings with a short nature trail.  Foggy, rainy days were perfect for photographing these spectacular giants of the forest.  If the rain didn't let up soon, I decided to head there.

Oxalis 

The rain finally did let up, but it was still quite foggy so I decided to go check out the redwoods anyway.  Although redwood trees are common on the Northern California coast, Oregon has only a few small groves.  Apparently this is the northernmost redwood grove with a trail through it.  This short, 1.1 mile trail led me through these soaring giants.  My photos don't do justice as to how huge these trees really were.  They were really quite amazing!  As I traveled along the fern-covered forest, the clouds parted and sun began to stream through the tree canopy.

Harris Beach

After my short hike, I returned to Harris Beach State Park and walked down to check out the beach area.  Although it had a couple of seastacks, it wasn't nearly as pretty as Bandon's beach area.  Feeling kind of tired, I cut my walk short returned to the yurt.  I ended up having a lazy afternoon at the yurt, sitting around and finishing my book.  I didn't know it at the time, but I was in the beginning stages of an illness.  Two days later I came down with my husband's nasty cold, which he'd brought home from the office.

Sunset over Harris Beach

Low energy or not, I did manage to wrest myself away from my comfy yurt to capture one last sunset over the ocean.  Not wanting to walk a long distance, I chose a nearby viewpoint overlooking Harris Beach and set up my tripod.

Almost gone....

This night's sunset was the best of all.  A few low clouds provided some drama and the setting sun radiated a bright golden light that reflected in the ocean waves.  After the sun disappeared, it lingered in the sky for several minutes afterward.

Lingering light

It had been a wonderful four days spent revisiting some of my favorite spots on the southern Oregon coast.  But it was time to head home.  I had a memory card full of images to sort and edit that would keep me busy for many days.  And lots of good memories to tide me over until I could visit again.

Until next time!

Rainy Day in the Redwoods

(Continuing the recap of my Southern Oregon Coast trip in late April....)


Everyone thinks redwood trees are only found in California.  Well, guess what?  Oregon has a grove of its very own.  Thanks to a turn in the weather, I discovered this on the second day of my Southern Oregon coast trip.

Wet yurt

After a fun evening exploring and photographing the sunset at Harris Beach State Park (see post here), I settled for the night inside my cozy yurt.  I awoke later to the sound of rain pounding on the roof.  The drenching continued for the remainder of the night, and when I woke the next morning it was still coming down.

Twisted, mossy branches

Lucky for me, Oregon State Parks builds their yurts watertight.  Nothing leaked through it's heavy canvas roof, and the wooden floor kept me high off the soggy ground.  My yurt even had electric heat, which kept me snug and warm despite the damp, chilly weather.  I felt mighty thankful for my accommodations after overhearing a restroom conversation from a group of tent-camping young ladies complaining about flooded tents and soggy sleeping bags.

Interesting leaves

But.....the wet stuff continued to fall well into morning.  Waiting it out in my yurt, I read a book I'd brought along.  But after a couple of hours cabin fever set in.  I didn't travel this far to sit inside all day.  There were places to explore!

Raindrop-soaked purple flower

Shortly after 10, the rain tapered off enough that I felt comfortable venturing to the beach.  Dodging huge puddles, I took a paved path that led down to the northern portion of Harris Beach.  Although I took lots of seascape photos, crummy light meant none were good enough to post here.  I did, however, make a couple nice images of some lovely purple flowers, twisty tree branches, and an interesting leaf pattern that made the final cut.  :)

Riverview Trailhead

But as I was heading back the rain struck up again.  Ugh!  I lost time sitting in my yurt for another hour drying off wet jacket and boots.

Chetco River

Originally planning to tour the Samuel H Boardman Scenic corridor, I wasn't real enthused about exploring ocean vistas with cloudy skies and rain.  However, I then remembered a recommendation from the camp host.  While checking in the previous afternoon, the camp host enthusiastically gave me a rundown of the local sights.  She happened to mention a redwood grove - the only one in Oregon - that was only a short drive from the campground.  Although rainy days aren't good for ocean photography, they're perfect for capturing mossy, green old growth forests.  In an instant my plans changed.

Moss-draped trees

The redwood trail was only a 2.5 mile loop, so I studied my hiking book for nearby paths.  Another trail following the Chetco River from nearby Loeb State Park connected nicely with the redwood trail, for a perfect 4-mile ramble.

The river was a unique shade of blue

I found Loeb State Park via a quick 7-mile drive east of Brookings.  The trailhead was easy to find, although nearly deserted on this rainy afternoon.  And while unloading my backpack, tiny raindrops began to speckle my jacket.  Uh-oh!

Redwood Nature Trail

But I'd come prepared to hike in the rain, and pulled pack covers over my backpack and camera bag.  Now to find those big trees!

Lovely, mossy creek

The riverside trail was lovely.  Paralleling the wild and scenic Chetco River, I was enthralled by it's unique aqua blue color.  Moss-draped trees and huge ferns lined the path with wildflowers, mostly bleeding hearts and monkeyflowers, brightening the greenery.  Despite the falling precip, this scenery often inspired me enough to pull my camera out of it's dry haven.

First redwood sighting

A mere 0.7 mile jaunt took me to a road crossing and a signboard announcing the beginning of the Redwood Nature Trail.

Majestic!

Only one other car was parked in the tiny gravel pull out and I met it's occupant as I strolled past the trailhead information sign.  I wouldn't see another soul the entire hike.

Fungi on the tree

I knew this trail was a loop, but only seeing one trail, I followed it into a lush green forest lined with ferns and other vegetation.  A mossy-bouldered creek burbled nearby.  Although there were no redwoods in the vicinity, I no sooner crossed the creek when I spotted my first one.

Huge log on the forest floor

What magnificent works of nature!  These redwoods rose skyward, their tops seeming to vanish into the clouds.

Line of redwoods

I loved the bark patterns, and delicate green needles of these grand trees.

I loved the views looking up

Of course, the mist that had followed me from Loeb State Park began to morph into more serious rainfall.  My camera began to get wet, and from repeated trips in and out of the bag, the inside of my camera bag began to also get damp.

The tree on the left was especially huge

The weather began to seriously curtail my photo-taking.

Hard to capture the redwood's grandeur

Still, it was a treat to walk amongst such giant trees. 

This downed log came up to my waist

There weren't any people around to use for scale comparison, so you'll just have to take my word that these trees were humongous.  The downed log in the photo above came up to my waist.

Waterlogged Trillium

Of course there were lots of wildflowers thriving in this forest. I captured a couple of waterlogged trillium blooms and the above photo was my favorite.  I also spied some interesting fungi growing on some of the trees, and attempted to get a few shots of it (before my camera got totally soaked).

Mossy bridge

The trail meandered through a huge grove of redwoods before winding back down to meet the parking area and road.  By now, it was raining hard and my boots, jacket and pants were dripping wet.  Time to get back to my warm, dry car.

World of green

So I retraced my steps back along the Chetco River.  Even on a rainy day, the river views were quite lovely and I made a mental note to return again, hopefully in drier conditons.

Chetco River once again

Back once again at my yurt, I hung all my wet clothing in front of the heater, and laid my camera gear nearby.  Rain drumming on the yurt's roof made a pleasant sound, and I settled back with my book to wait for my gear to dry (and hopefully the rain to let up).

Bleeding Hearts

Fingers crossed the evening would be rain-free.  I wanted to try and capture another spectacular ocean sunset.  Would I be successful?  Find out in the next post!