Coos Bay, Oregon: We left Benbow, continuing north and stopped to drive along the Avenue of the Giants. Yes, we have been here countless times before, but it isn't much of a diversion from Highway 101, and one must appreciate any moment to stand under a massive Redwood and be awed. There was a landslide a while ago, so the entire road cannot be traveled, but we were able to stop to visit the Founder's Tree - 346 feet tall, and 40 feet in circumference - for the 20th time. Did he missed us?
We re-entered Highway 101, bypassing the "drive through tree" because we can't fit into a drive through tree in this RV! Except for stopping for lunch at a rest area with 7 RV parking spots (three were filled with people LIVING in their RVs in the rest area), there wasn't too much to report.
Months ago I reserved a campsite at Elk Prairie Campground in Redwoods National and State Park. This park is full every night in-season, and you must book or be shut-out. They also have tent sites and cabins, bath houses, and park headquarters. Sites are dry-camping only, with potable water spouts every ten sites or so. There are ranger programs and a lot of information on the Redwoods and the elk that hang around the area.
We arrived at a decent enough time so DT could hop on his bike and ride the beautiful side road away from the 101. He felt he was going slightly up hill on his way north, but when we reversed his route, he was flying - and rarely needed to pedal to return to our campsite.
Yup, that's a bear box!
After he returned and showered, I put out an appetizer plate - with the grilled chicken from my Caesar salad the previous night at the Benbow Inn - on crackers (with whipped cream cheese, Dijon and thyme). Dave carried our picnic up to the top of the berm behind our campsite, so we enjoyed a bit of sun as we enjoyed our al fresco cocktail party.
Dinner was a salad with tomato and avocado, homemade pesto, and fresh mozzarella. I boiled Little Ear pasta (they do take forever to boil), added frozen peas and sautéed turkey bacon... with a splash of cream and shredded parmesan.
Today, we just drove and drove up the coast. Sometimes we had sunshine, but we had a lot of fog as well. We stopped at a grocer for supplies, but just kept going until we reached Coos Bay - where we stopped at the Mill Casino RV Park. Always a good spot. A little expensive ($67 for a back in), but that seems to be the usual these days. We stayed in tonight (where would we go?), watching the news of rioting in Los Angeles. I made soft-shell tacos with homemade pico de gallo.
We need to be to Eugene on Tuesday, so I can't expect there will be much excitement on this blog until the NCAAs begin Wednesday, but I will report either way.
Until my next update, I remain, your coastal correspondent.