Coast to Coast (unofficially)

This morning we woke up at the crack of noon (eastern daylight time – 9:00 here).  After breakfast we biked a short distance to the Redwood National Park visitor center in Hiouchi so the kids could get their passports stamped.  We had already gotten the sticker from the state park the day before.  After that we packed up and traveled down US199 a bit and did another short hike in one of the other Redwood groves.  From there it was down to Crescent City for lunch by the ocean and the walk out to the lighthouse.  You can only get to the lighthouse at low tide which was between 2 and 4 in the afternoon.  This is why we were killing time in the morning.  It was cool to walk over the rocks and check out the tide pools that form in between. We saw starfish, anemones, snails, hermit crabs, and some small fish.  The weather had gone from sunny in the forest to cool and foggy by the Pacific.  Kind of like going from the suburbs to the city in San Francisco!

Battery Point Lighthouse

Pirate faces

After a quick stop at an espresso bar / coffee hut (they are everywhere out here!), we headed up US 101 back into Oregon for our first trek up the Oregon Coast.    

We made a few stops at scenic overlooks to view the rugged beauty of the Oregon coast.  Lots of rock formations in the water and meandering rivers that meet the Pacific in long snaking ribbons.  The Oregon coast is basically one big park.  It's dotted with state parks and recreation areas up the whole coast. 

Pointless path to nowhere

Face Rock (face is looking up and to the right)

We made it into Coos Bay right around dinner time and after a quick tour of the downtown options we settled on Shark Bites.  The food and beer were great although the food took forever.  Tonight's beer was Deschutes River Ale.  We headed out to the state park we had booked (Sunset Bay State Park) which is a few miles outside of Coos Bay. This was to be our first electric hook up since before Yellowstone and our chance to see if the fridge worked on electric power.  

Shark Bites

We arrived as it was getting close to sunset so we quickly checked in and got the bikes down.  We were able to bike over to the beach in time to watch the sunset over the bay.  There were some very low clouds so we didn't see the sun set on the horizon, but instead we saw it set on the solid line of low clouds in the distance.  Still, it was spectacular.  

After we all dipped our feet in the water, we had hit a milestone - coast to coast travel.  However, Bella pointed out that it wasn't "official" since there wasn't a marching band present.  Your guess is as good as mine.  We all had fun on the beach and reluctantly went back to the RV as it was getting dark to rest up for the second half of the journey.

Enjoying the sunset

Enjoying the sand

Horsing around on the beach