9.8.13 : venturing into oregon

On the morning of September 8th, I quickly made my coffee at the campsite and hit the road without dillydallying in anticipation of crossing into Oregon. I stopped for a photo by the sign and then crossed a bridge, descending into the most magical fog. I pulled off immediately, lucking into a empty state park right on the border that served as a perfect spot for a second cup of a coffee and some reflection on my trip so far. 

Knowing my destination was inland at my aunt and uncle's house (where I'm now temporarily residing), I made quick work of the coast, only turning the 4 hour drive into a mere 9 1/2 hours (a feat with how much exploring I do). 

The Oregon coast is something to behold. The scenery changes drastically within just a few miles, so it's hard to not pull off at every sign pointing you to a lookout. I made it up to Coos Bay before angling inland and was just blown away by the beauty I saw on the way.

9.7.13 : avenue of the giants.

The morning after my star-filled night, I hit the road fairly early after the unwelcome sounds of a screaming kid nearby stirred me from my cozy hammock cocoon. One of the first pull-offs on the coastline had an incredible lineup of cairns, which I ended up seeing quite a lot of on my trip. 

After a few more stops along the way to capture the ever-changing coastal views and a detour to drive through the Chandelier Tree , I entered the Avenue of the Giants, which is a famous scenic stretch of the 101 that runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I  was warned to be careful that I don't accidentally spend all day in there, as it's fairly easy to get caught up in exploring. Those warnings were on point, because I absolutely could have spent several days among those majestic trees. 

I stopped for a hitchhiker at one point, but resisted the urge to give him a lift knowing I like to go my own pace and explore (and because my mom might kill me if he didn't turn out to be a serial killer and get to me first). Instead, I passed on some cold drinks and jerky and wished him well as I continued my way north. At one point it was so pretty that I just wanted to sit on the trunk of my car and enjoy the surroundings, so I stopped and brewed a French press to enjoy in the cool air.  

It was by far one of my favorite portions of my trip and I look forward to future trips to more see more redwoods. Those suckers really are breathtakingly impressive. 

 (You'll see more of me in these photos, but it's mostly for scale purposes!)

9.6.13 : russian gulch state park.

I'd set my sights on Russian Gulch State Park after seeing photos online of a beautiful beach and bridge adjacent to the campground. I always made it a goal to get to wherever I was camping before sundown to have sufficient time to set up my hammock and cook my dinner before it got too dark, but this time I had gotten it into my head that I'd walk down to the beach to watch the sunset while enjoying my dinner, so it was of the utmost importance that I met my goal on this particular evening.

I made it to the park just in the nick of time to pick a spot that would work with my hammock and then walk down to the beach. As I walked down the trail towards the ocean, I envisioned a perfect sunset dinner on the beach. I got exactly opposite that. A stream ran down the beach into the ocean that let off the faint but apparent smell of sewage. In addition to the less-than-ideal stench, the beach itself was covered in horrid little jumping bugs (think about half the size of grasshoppers) that got everywhere  (seriously…in my clothes, shoes, hair…it was a mess). I tried to stay positive and walked down to the water and over to some rocks only to find myself even more swarmed by the pesky little insects. Defeated, I went back to my camp and emptied my shoes of the now squished critters before eating my dinner by my fire.

The evening was quickly redeemed when the clear night sky revealed one of the most spectacular stargazing opportunities I'd had on the trip so far. Since my sunset photo plans had been dashed to pieces, I set up my tripod to experiment with the stars. None of the photos were perfect (if you zoom in you can see some blur in the stars), but they definitely capture the beauty of the evening. I even did some experimenting with the red light of my headlamp, which I thought made for a cool effect.