It was a cool and damp morning in Fortuna, but we Googled up a propane store to fill one of the tanks, and googled up an information store to fill our mind with information on the route we had in mind. Once we found out that it was very scenic (as was our guess - looking at it in Google Earth hereafter referred to as 'GE'), it was a bonus to find out that it was even paved! Since we had been to a gas store and a food store the day before, there was nothing to do but head out.
The road starts on the north end in a very historic Victorian town of Ferndale.
The road is indeed very winding and narrow, and the signs at the start had dire warnings about snow tires and chains!
It climbed about 2000' in the clouds, so I had to take GE and the info store's people's word that the scenery was nice. But there was no snow or anything in the snow family.
Eventually we came over the top and down to the coast in some very nice ranching country, and the weather cleared enough to see that there was indeed an ocean out there.
There was a cattle drive under way.
We found a nice ocean-front spot to camp just over the beach and settled in for the evening, but not before a good hike through the tide pools, watching the little sand crabs scramble and fall off the rocks as we approached!

Found a nice marker float off a net or trap of some sort. Will Google the number off it in the off chance that it will give clues as to it's origin.

I guess I should take this opportunity to apologize to the good folks of Chernoistochinsk, Sverdlovsk in the Russian Federation for not mentioning them in the list of exotic visitor origins. Oh ya, Deer Island, New Brunswick, too!!

This was the 7th night of the trip (I wonder if they know at home that I'm gone?) (Or if they would notice - if I didn't come back? :-)
What I was trying to say was that since there was no wi-fi for the second(?) time this trip, I was stuck in manual, analog mode in the morning, and my only wake-up call was watching the breakers crash on the rocks with the incoming tide - with my head still on the pillow! Gosh, sometimes you really have to rough it when you are traveling.
But the stars had appeared during the night, and the sun was shining brightly in the morning, exposing all the scenery to my bleary eyes. But a hot cup of coffee standing outside in the fresh sea air made it somewhat bearable.
Some deer appeared grazing on the hillside behind me, and an Alaskan air lines 747 cruised silently past just offshore.
I went for a long walk on the ever-narrowing beach and counted a number of different species, none of them species-at-risk.
I saw some Wilson's, a Spalding, and a 'whackit' - tennis balls. Bic, rossignol, and one unidentified - lighter. One Goodyear, and Modelo, Coors, and Bud light - beer cans. I also saw one grebe with an attitude, followed the tracks of what looked like a small cat, and some raccoon tracks.
You can really see the effects of global warming here (it was 8C overnight, if you are keeping track), because the ocean levels are really rising. Heck, some places I walked on dry sand last nite are completely covered in ocean this morning! Or maybe it's just the tides.
But by 11AM, I sensed that something was missing from this idyllic scene. Then I remembered! BREAKFAST!

For this entire side trip I have been using GE to great advantage! By maxing out the size of the buffer, you can save all the data on the hard drive for when you have no internet access. So, while in Fortuna, while walking about town or eating, I had the computer with Google Earth following the entire route, and saving all the terrain to memory. When actually on the road, I connect the GPS using the live-GPS feature and it shows my present location in high definition, and you can even tilt and rotate the view as you can when on line! So when driving, I knew when to expect every bend in the road, or river crossing, or potential viewpoint.
Almost like being at home with the big monitor - except for the sea air and the robins in the green grass.

Yesterday we made a short stop to check out the waterfront at Bandon, Oregon. The waves were crashing, the seagulls were tantalizing Harley, and the lighthouse was - lighting.

Gold Beach and Port Orford didn't have any good looking camp spots, but I had a look at the prop from the shipwreck of the Cottoneva in 1937.

We found the same spot as last year to spend the night in a high, quiet pull-off with a great ocean view.Today, we continued on south and crossed over the highest bridge in Oregon - 345 feet! I have been over it many times, but had never had the chance to stop for a look or a photo. So today I did!
I hope this one does not make anyone sick!
Soon after, we went through California 'customs' where they ask if you have any fruit.
And only 11 miles into California is one of the most notorious super-max prisons in the country,

. I recall watching a TV documentary on it not too long ago, then I spotted it on google earth as i was inspecting the route. Some of the worst gang members are kept here.

Pelican Bay State Prison

Going through Crescent City, I saw my first whale of the trip, but I'm not sure it will be a highlight. I saw a group of people on the beach and went to investigate and take some pictures. It appears that this immature sperm whale washed up on the beach late last week and some Marine biologists from Humboldt State University were cutting it up and taking samples, etc.




The rib cage, which was somewhat separate from the rest of the carcass.
I wanted to find out a bit more about it, so I googled a couple of stories on it.
The Daily Triplicate
The Eureka Reporter
It was just a few miles later that I realized I was not going to forget this whale for a while. Just walking around it on the beach had gotten enough on my shoes to choke a horse. We drove with the windows open for a while after that!

We made a brief stop at Patrick's Point to see if it was calm enough to fly my r/c helicopter, but there was a fresh sea breeze happening. Harley got a chance to pose, at least.


Spending tonight in Fortuna, just south of Eureka to check out a new coastal route that might work tomorrow!
Will be scanning it in Google Earth and seeking out some local knowledge of road conditions, etc.

We've been getting a LOT of hits on the old blog in the last while. Here is a greatly abbreviated list of some of the locations that visited. I edited out most of the common locations, but left the more exotic locales like Eskilstuna, Sodermanlands Lan, Tartu, Tartumaa, and Dodsland, Saskatchewan! Even Casablanca visited!

France Bziers, Languedoc-Roussillon
United States Palmyra, Virginia
United States Brooklyn, New York
United Kingdom Northampton, Northamptonshire
Taiwan Taipei, T'ai-pei
United Kingdom Nottingham
United Kingdom Leeds
Taiwan Chutung, T'ai-wan
United States Aspen, Colorado
Spain Sevilla, Andalucia
Slovenia Celje, Brezovica
Bulgaria Pazardzik, Pazardzhik
United States Hagerstown, Maryland
Brazil Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Sweden Eskilstuna, Sodermanlands Lan
Indonesia Surabaya, Jawa Timur
Brazil Curitiba, Parana
Brazil Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul
United States Surprise, Arizona
Portugal Lisbon, Lisboa
Greece Athens, Attiki
United States Satellite Beach, Florida
Hungary Doboz, Bekes
Morocco Casablanca
United Kingdom Derby
France Roumazires, Poitou-Charentes
Spain Madrid
Canada Nipawin, Saskatchewan
United States North Las Vegas, Nevada
Canada Denare Beach, Saskatchewan
Romania Bucharest, Vaslui
Germany Hamburg
Australia Melbourne, Victoria
United States Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Canada Brandon, Manitoba
Brazil Braslia, Distrito Federal
Singapore Singapore
Spain Zaragoza, Aragon
United States Lincroft, New Jersey
Canada Savona, British Columbia
Canada Bridge Lake, British Columbia
Canada Dodsland, Saskatchewan
Spain Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana
Portugal Prime, Viseu
United Kingdom Bristol, Bristol, City of
Italy Rome, Lazio
Mexico Mexico, Distrito Federal
Estonia Tartu, Tartumaa
United States Mesa, Arizona
United States Las Cruces, New Mexico
United States Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Netherlands Terneuzen, Zeeland


Here's a couple of shots of where we camped at Beverly Beach, and one of the common tsunami signs that are everywhere.



And here are the camping rates - roughly half the price of Canadian national parks for three times as much. No wonder only the rich can afford to camp in our parks.

We stopped for gas in Newport, and someone had to put on a performance on the dash of the truck!



Tonight should be our last nite in Oregon as California is now only a hop, skip, and a coffee further down the coast. According to GasBuddy.com, the gas prices are about the same as here - hovering around the $3. mark. Still cheaper than at home, and with the almost equal exchange rate, it is a better deal than last year.

Check the map at the top of the post for our estimated location for tonight - though I suspect we will be in a certain high-elevation viewpoint over the ocean. It has been windy, so we'll be looking for some cover, but I'm pretty sure there will be no internet of any sort there.

But I'm sure the satellite radio will be working just fine - especially now that I have it connected to a bit of an on-board sound sysem! And it's almost time to finish off that can of cat food, and maybe go eat some grass and look for frogs!

What a great day! Hung around downtown South Bend most of the morning.

Watched a few oyster boats coming in to unload at the seafood plant.


They have an on-board conveyor system that dumps the load off the front of the boat - into a connveyor leading into the plant.


Drank some coffee while watching a little colony of shore birds sleeping en-masse on the shore right in town. Took a few photos,

then headed south at a leisurely pace, soaking up all the scenery and wildlife along the way. Nice herd of elk were grazing not too far from the road.
We crossed the mighty Columbia river into Oregon, just as a freighter passed under the bridge.

The weather was on and off with sun and showers, which resulted in some great rainbow action around Nehalem Bay.


The warm, moist sea air is certainly a change from the cold dry at home. No more sparks from touching the cat!
We went by Tillamook, Or, home of some famous cheese, and also home to a huge blimp hangar and museum. I think these were the largest wooden structures in the world. The second one burned to the ground just a few years ago.


Saw a 'first' along the way. Some of the power poles here are wooden. I know that that is not unusual, but these are square or rectangular,
made with laminated wood.


Nice to see and hear some red-winged blackbirds.
Decided to stop for the night at Beverly Beach State Park - where I also stopped last year. For only $18, you get an electrical site, with water, sewer,
and cable TV. This compares to around $35 in Lake Louise - where you get ... ... ... ... electricity.
Not that I cared, but I got in in time to watch the last half of the Superbowl. I know I saw signs in McDonalds in Washington in Spanish, but I was surprised to be watching the Superbowl in Spanish in Oregon! Must have been an audio glitch, as it reverted to English before the end!
I wasn't sure it was legal; watching American football, in Spanish, while drinking Canadian beer.
But alas, no internet access in the park!
Small price to pay for no snow, no cold, no chipping ice and snow off the windshield in the morning.

I had the feeling I was being watched as I stopped at the campground kiosk. Sure enough, a racoon was staring at me from his hideout under the eaves!(Click on any photo for a larger version)

I also watched 'Corner Gas' on WGN TV last nite (cable tv in the campground). Good to see the Saskatchewan culture is spreading across the US. Brent Butt and I share the same home town, you see!

There was just a little snow on the ground in Abbotsford in the morning, so that made picking a direction of travel easy - SOUTH. We crossed the border at Huntington, and headed south to Bellingham. A few stops were required to fill the wallet with US cash and hose some of the Canadian dirt off the truck and camper.

That completed, we go on I-5 and headed south. We had planned to go over to Whidbey Island, then take the ferry over to the Olympic peninnsula, but found that the ferry to Port Townsend was not taking any vehicles this week. With our choices narrowed, it as decided that we would take Seattle head-on, right down I-5. At least it was mid-day, on a weekend, and not during rush-hour.
Even so, it was 'sleepless in Seattle' for Harley! See video below.




More of our plans were thwarted. We turned off the interstate at Chehalis, and headed for the coast. A nice state park - Rainbow Falls - looked like it might be a good place to stop for the night. But when we got to the turnoff, there was no road. Or, more correctly, there was no bridge, or road.

The very recent storms and flooding had done a lot of damage in this area, with many roads and bridges washed out, and heavy equipment still working to stabilize land slide areas.

No matter, we pressed on for the coast at Raymond, and found a suitable spot at the boat launch (with wi-fi) just outside South Bend, Wa. At night we were serenaded by gulls and geese and a bunch of herons arrived in the dark to stake out their spots on the shore as the tide came in.

RoadTrip - day ONE, for real this time! Here's the back yard - hot tub and picnic tables almost covered in snow.
At 9:30 in the morning we had all the ducks in a row and we headed west.


There was some trepidation for a few miles as the road conditions and visibility were very poor. We did note that almost all the previous day's wreckage had been removed from the highway. Fortunately, the challenging conditions did not persist and by the west end of Yoho park there was even a bit of blue sky showing through.
Rock cut for new bridge in Golden canyon.



Made a designated stop at Tim Hortons (sorry Walter, didn't have time to call you) in Golden, and carried on west. Rogers Pass was not too bad either, and we set all the clocks back as we entered Glacier Park. Alan wasn't home or answering his cell phone in Revelstoke, so we visited the Tim's there and carried on. (We have to take advantage of this Canadian icon while we still can, as tomorrow we may be in the States and relegated to Starbucks)
Grabbed some gas in Salmon Arm and visited a snowmobile dealer there. I have met the owners twice down in Baja, and sure enough, they are down there again now!
On through Kamloops and then the Coquihalla highway.

Coquihalla toll booths - weather deteriorating.

Conditions crapped out on top and coming down the far side was dicey with ice, snow, slush, and poor visibility all the way past Hope.
We found and visited the 13th annual Early Bird RV Show and sale in Abbotsford, and drooled at some of the classy units they had there. Not surprisingly, they allowed me to camp for the night in the parking lot.

Well, we have reduced our living space to the truck and camper for the next few months, but we have expanded our horizons to any place there are roads, scenery, and the occasional ocean or desert! Oh, and we have gone from -20 to around 0C in the first day!

Surprisingly, gas prices were only a bit higher in BC, but they were less than home in this area! Gas is selling for under a dollar in this area! Not that it is a bargain, but is better than we have seen in a while.
Wildlife of note: A bald eagle was seen near Kamloops and a nice coyote along the first part of the Coquihalla. And a cute cat in the camper. He expressed a few 'opinions' for a while, but I think he realizes that we are headed to warmer places with grass, and mice and bugs and seagulls!

Managed only a weak wi-fi signal here at the airport, so will try this first without photos, then add some if possible.