May 8 - 9, 2026 Cape Blanco State park, Oregon

 High of 59 and beautifully sunny. 

Ice plant on the cliff over looking the ocean. We walked to the light house on the open windblown  trail lined with flowers. 

Iris and ocean below. The Cape Blanco Light house, It is on the western most part of Oregon. 

A field of cow parsnip near the ocean.  Iris on the cliff looking down on Needle rock.

Beach deer during the day and at sunset. Wild iris, catchfly, field  chickweed, rattlesnake master and  clover. 

Iris over the beach. Sunset. 

We hiked a horse trail we found last trip here along the top of the cliffs to the beach. John in a tree tunnel. 

Sitka spruce trees. Silky beach pea, scorpion weed, sea rocket, beach  morning glory and a clam shell. 

At the end of the trail we had to basically slide down a sand dune to get to the beach. The hike was pretty short so we hiked down the beach a ways. 

Raven at the ocean. Don't see many of them here at the ocean. John waiting for me on a driftwood stump. 

Seagull in the waves. The road back up to the campground. You can drive on the beach here. 

May 6 - 7, 2026 Cape Blanco State Park, Oregon

 High of 56, foggy and cloudy.

Fog on the Redwood Highway as we travel north. We stopped at Elk Valley tribal fuel market to get fuel, best price in northern California $6.35. We saw $7.55 and $7.45 in Crescent City. But in Brookings, Oregon it was also $6.35. 

Elk valley, there were even elk in the valley.  There had not been other years when we stopped. Elk of many legs!

The bus at Cape Blanco State Park, Oregon. Oregon now charges and extra 25% more for out of state camping in their state parks. It is $70 a night. Yikes. Welcome to Oregon, wild foxglove, rhododendron, beach angelica, false lily of the valley, sea rocket, and lupine. 

Views from the state park. We are right on the ocean.

Wild iris, purple violet, yellow violet, huckleberry, spring beauty, cuckoo flower, salal, oregon grape. Path to the edge of the cape. 

Ocean, knife rock and the lighthouse at Cape Blanco. Moss on everything here. 

Sea anemone, fringe cups, windmill pink, sea thrift, ice plant, cinquefoil. Woo hoo the sun came out! We hiked down to the beach. Lots of huge log driftwood. 

Whimbrel's in the surf. Flying whimbrels.

Cormorants nesting on the side of Knife rock. Small stream draining into the ocean.

Squirrel on the beach. beach rocks with embedded fossils and rocks .and plantain. Walking back on the beach.

John found a driftwood chair.

May 4-5, 2026 Klamath, California

 59 and cloudy.

Golden bear on the corners of the bridge in Klamath, we went to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park., fiddle heads, heart shaped leaves, trillium and Solomon's seal. Wood sorrel, false lily of the valley, anemone, fiddle heads and thimbleberry. 

John with a HUGE downed redwood. John with redwoods.

John with redwoods. Some elk by the visitors center.

Wild dangerous elk. John in Fern Canyon

Twisted stalk flowers hang below the leaves, wild cucumber, monkey flower, salmon berry, warning-bigfoot!, piggy back flowers. A waterfall in fern canyon.

The creek in Fern canyon. You get wet feet walking in the canyon. Fern canyon. The walls are covered with ferns.

John having lunch in Fern Canyon. There are a few different kinds of ferns on the walls of fern canyon.

Fern Canyon,

Vetch, cinquefoil, sand bindweed on the beach, sand dollar, giant vetch, daisy, beach strawberry, yellow sand verbena. Trail crew hauling a big piece of wood. 

Beach elk crossing in front of the truck. John on the beach in the Redwoods.

Beach at Prairie Creek Redwood state park.