Day 6 - Roseburg, OR - Crescent City, CA

After breakfast at the hotel we headed northwest for the Oregon Pacific coast.  Along the way we stumbled upon a nice little covered bridge out in the middle of nowhere.  Our favorite kind of find!  We had a beautiful drive along the Umpqua River through forests and valleys.  We also shared the road with lots and lots of logging trucks.  Timber is clearly big business in this part of Oregon.  We also came upon an elk viewing area (a meadow where they hang out).  These spots always make it feel a little fake, but hey...it was wildlife spotting!

We soon reached Winchester Bay and while it wasn't quite the ocean, you could smell it and feel it for sure.  We were also back down to sea level having been in the mountains since Sunday.  The ocean is Carolyn's happy place and I had barely had time to put the car in park before she was out the door to soak it up.

Nearby was Sunset Bay and while the clouds and fog had rolled in, it was still beautiful.  And I can imagine it at sunset too.

Further down the road was Cape Arago.  At the first overlook, we discovered a pod of seals, most of which were hanging out and barking at each other on the exposed rocks in the ocean.  They always make the most distinct noises when talking.

We're taking Highway 101 for most of our trip down the coast and our next stop was the Coquille River Lighthouse.  This is at a spot where the Coquille River meets the ocean; kind of a marshy area with lots of sand dunes.  The lighthouse was abandoned in 1939 after 43 years of service.

For the remainder of the afternoon, we continued south stopping at several pullouts and turnoffs to soak in the sight of the ocean meeting the rough, jagged land.  Every corner offered something different and exciting to see.  As evening set in, so did the fog which made the scenes even more dramatic.  We grabbed dinner at a wonderful Public House in Brookings, OR (may I recommend the flat iron steak as an entree and the peanut butter salty balls for dessert?) and were soon tucked away in our hotel at Crescent City, CA.

Day 7 will find us walking through redwoods, perhaps strolling through a fern canyon, and even more stunning ocean views!