A Day in Brookings

Awwwwwww....the Oregon Coast!!!

Why would one want to go to , Brookings, Oregon??


The beach?.....blue sky?....the beach?.....fresh air?.....the beach?.....Carol's birthday?.....did I mention the beach?


So for those reasons, especially since it was Carol's birthday wish, we drove from Medford to Brookings and spent the day at the beach, at the butte, and among big trees.

Some of the stacks along the Harris Beach area

Our first stop on arrival in Brookings was the day use area at Harris Beach State Park.  Since our dog Katie has never been to the beach, we were curious about how she would respond.  She loves lakes and rivers, but the ocean? Her first take was "why is this water so noisy & salty tasting & chasing me"? But that soon gave way and it was just more water to play in along with sand to roll in. Check out her beach version of making a snow angel below. We walked along the beach at the day use area and then took a break for lunch with a great view of the beach & ocean.

After lunch, we hiked the Harris Beach Trail that takes you from the beach to the State Park entrance area.  Along this short trip we were joined on the trail by a deer who was evidently surprised that someone was hiking this trail and not sunbathing at the beach.  Once we reached the park entrance area, we hiked another short trail, the Harris Butte trail to the top of the Butte for a great view of the beach from high above.

View from the Harris Butte trail

View at the end of the Harris Butte trail

View from top of Harris Butte

We also hiked the Sunset Point trail which offered more views of the coast and made our return trip via the South Beach trail and campground.  We have camped here twice before in yurts and enjoy this State Park.

With our desire for the beach somewhat fulfilled, we decided to go looking for the big trees - Redwoods.  We drove to Alfred A Loeb State Park which is about 8 miles outside of Brookings.  We began by hiking the Riverview Trail which winds it's way along the Chetco River.  Last time we hiked this trail, it was lightly raining and very wet.  Today it was quite dry and the river was very low.  Still beautiful views!

In less than a mile the Riverview trail crosses the road where the U.S. Forest Service Redwood Nature Trail begins.  This trail takes you through the northernmost stand of redwoods on the Pacific Coast.  This trail was closed when we last tried to hike it due to a fungus issue that was affecting the trees.  This one mile loop had a lot of uphill in both directions, but it was awesome to see these giant trees of the forest!!  We also crossed a stream a few times on the trail and were treated to some small waterfalls.  Very nice hike.

Redwood Nature Trail

Looking up at a Redwood tree

Upon returning to the Riverview trailhead, we opted for one last beach fix and drove to the beach area by the Beachfront Inn along the harbor.  We had to hike along the beach for a few minutes to get away from the crowds and take in the sights.  What a beautiful clear sunny day it was.  Katie took to the ocean again and tried to play ball but couldn't figure out how to pick up the ball without a mouthful of sand. Yuk!

Beach view through a stack opening

Although we knew it was time to head home and that we would be back in heat and smoke, it was the perfect day to getaway and enjoy the beautiful Oregon coastline.  Sometimes you just need one of those days.  Too bad Carol doesn't have a birthday every week!!!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Seagull playing the roll of King Kong

The Snowy Range

As our trip to Wyoming & Colorado was coming to a close, we had seen many animals in the wild :  Deer, Elk, Turkey, Bighorn Sheep, Pronghorn Antelope, Badger, Yellow Bellied Marmots, Pikas, Wild Burros, and a large Brown Bear. However, we had seen no Moose.  Our son-in-law had seen Moose and a Mountain Lion in the Snowy Range area and since Joe (our hiking guide earlier) had mentioned some  hikes in the Snowy Range area, we decided to head out one more time to hike and search for the elusive Moose.

The Snowy Range, or Snowies as the locals call them, are a mountain range within the Medicine Bow National Forest.  During winter they provide a paradise for skiers and snowmobiles.  During non-winter months they provide many outdoor activities including hiking, camping, fishing, backpacking, etc.

We drove to a pullout near Lake Marie based on Joe's suggestion.  Although this lake was beautiful with the mountains in the background, there was even more beauty waiting for us.

Lake Marie.  Just the start of the scenery in the Snowy Range

We hiked along a short trail from Lake Marie to Mirror Lake where there is a day-use and camping area.

Mirror Lake - Snowy Range in background

Then we found the trailhead that Joe mentioned and hiked another short hike to Lookout Lake.  Along the trail we were surrounded by wildflowers again.   This time there were literally fields of Columbine in three different colors.  We have never seen so many Columbine flowers.  Absolutely Beautiful!!

Trail to Lookout Lake - Snowy Range Mountains to the right

Columbine

Trail just before Lookout Lake

Lookout Lake was also beautiful as the trail approached with large boulders lining the shore on one side and the Snowy Range with a blue sky backdrop behind the lake.  We took some time hiking along the lake to enjoy all the flowers and to take in the view of the Snowy Range and lakes.  Amazing!!   Thanks Joe for the suggestion!!!!

First view of Lookout Lake!!

Looking back at Lookout Lake

As we hiked back to our truck we hiked another short paved area that went part way around Lake Marie to get better views of that lake.  All 3 lakes were beautiful and the mountains were amazing.  Here are a few more pictures of The Snowies for your viewing pleasure.

As mentioned earlier, still no Moose.  So Glenn jokingly gave his moose call -  "here moosey, moosey, moosey" - and hoped for the best.  Of course the call was received with laughs, but as we were driving out of the Snowy Range,  a large antlered animal at a lake caught our glance and yes, it was a Moose.  Of course the fact that other people were stopped along the road also was an indication that a large animal was nearby. We stopped and took in the sight and then proceeded to hike around the lake to get closer (Jaws music please).  We got to within 50 feet and decided that was close enough.  What a large and beautiful  Bull Moose it was.

The elusive Moose -- here moosey, moosey, moosey.

 Of course hiking and seeing wildlife works up an appetite, so pizza was in order.  We stopped in the town of Centennial (population of 270) at the Beartree Tavern and Cafe  where we were treated to some great pizza, enjoyed the outdoor seating, and listened to some live music by "The Lonesome Heroes" from Texas.  What a great way to top off the day and finish an amazing trip that was filled with such beautiful sights and amazing landscapes.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol      

                                                    

Rocky Mountain National Park

After hiking at the Vedauwoo and Happy Jack trails and seeing various sights in Laramie, we drove down to Estes Park which is located just east of Rocky Mountain National Park.  On the drive down we saw numerous Pronghorn Antelope which are quite common in eastern Wyoming and Colorado. Driving through the Big Thompson Canyon area to Estes Park, we saw two different flocks of Bighorn Sheep up close.

We stayed in a cabin in Estes Park and ventured into Rocky Mountain National Park two different days, each for a half day.  This was due to the weather forecast calling for severe thunderstorms each afternoon.

On our first day we drove to the Moraine Park Visitor Center, parked our car, and then road the park shuttle to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead.  What a view just from the trailhead!

View from Glacier Gorge Trailhead

We hiked a somewhat short yet very scenic trail (about an hour) to Alberta Falls. We were not disappointed.  The falls were beautiful and we spent some time enjoying the beauty and trying to get pictures without too many people in the picture.

Alberta Falls.  Notice all the people to the right.  Popular place.

A RMNP Panhandler

We then hiked a half mile connector trail (all uphill) to Bear Lake, one of the most popular places in the park. We took in the view but decided not to hike the short trail around the lake.  Instead we opted for a 3.6 mile  hike that took us to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and ended at Emerald Lake.  What an incredible hike!!  Besides the beauty of each lake, the trail wandered alongside streams and small waterfalls, in and out of meadows with wildflowers, and gave us incredible views of the Rocky Mountains surrounding us!!   Words and pictures just can't describe or show you the beauty of this area.  You will just have to visit it yourself someday.

Bear Lake

Nymph Lake

Dream Lake

End of the trail - Emerald Lake,  What a reflection!  See the waterfall cascade behind the lake?

Once we reached the end of the trail at Emerald Lake, we began our descent back to the Bear Lake area for the park shuttle.  As we did, large thunderclouds began to move into the area and we picked up our pace of hiking.  We heard thunder numerous times and even had a slight sprinkle of rain, but we made it back to the shuttle pick up area in time.  As the shuttle took us back to the Moraine Park Visitor Center, the lightening and rain began.  Later that day we read that the Fern Lake Trail (one I had thought about hiking) experienced a mudslide during the storm, injuring one person and was now closed.  A hiker on the Ute Trail (high elevation, above the tree line) was struck by lightening during the storm.

One of my favorite pictures along the Emerald Lake hike.

View of the Rockies from the trail

On our second day into Rocky Mountain National Park, we spent most of the time driving but did manage to squeeze in a couple of short hikes.  We entered via Highway 36 again but headed up towards the Trail Ridge Road that crosses the entire park.  We saw a rafter of wild turkeys and then came upon a 4 elk in a meadow area.  What beautiful and large animals!

A beautiful bull Elk

The Trail Ridge Road climbs high in the Rockies and offered us incredible views of the mountains and valleys.  It was really amazing!  We did stop at the Tundra Communities Trailhead (at over 12,000 feet) for a short hike and got to see Yellow Bellied Marmots and Pikas, along with numerous high elevation (alpine) flowers.  There were also some very interesting rock formations along the trail which included the Mushroom Rocks. After hiking we ventured a little further up the Trail Ridge Road to see another herd of Elk along the road.

Mushroom Rock on Tundra Communities Trail

Yellow Bellied Marmot on a rock

On our return drive we took a different route to exit the park and before leaving made stops at the Alluvial Fan Trailhead and hiked another short trail to view the Roaring River.  Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

The Roaring River along the Alluvial Trail

Although we saw so much in just those two half days,  there is still so much of the park that we did not see.

We never got to the west half of the park with its large lakes, the Colorado River, the Continental Divide and abundant Moose population.  Guess we'll just have to go back sometime.

But speaking of Moose.......well, we'll leave that for our next posting.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol