December 2-4, 2023 Brookings, Oregon

 High of 55 and rained all day.

We drove south into California through Del Norte County- the Redwood gate to the Golden State, Historic Smith River- Lily bulb capital of the world, among other things to Crescent City to have lunch.  And back to Oregon- the sign in the rain. We had lunch at Crescent Seafood, excellent sea food restaurant. I had Bang Bang Prawns. Breaded fried with bang bang sauce--which is very spicey. Very good.  Christmas fish in the restaurant. 

Wrapped these two. Trying to decide which style I like better. High of 56 today, cloudy, windy and rainy. It has been raining hard, nonstop for 2-3 days. We went down to the beach to check out the storm waves.  All of the logs on the beach down by the surf. And big waves. It was miserably windy , cold and wet. We were soaked in just a few minutes. 

Big waves coming in fast, right after one another.

The waves were coming in at all angles, bashing into each other. The logs were rolling in the surf. It was wild. 

The little stream that I did not want to cross the other day turned into a raging muddy, frothing river. On our way south there rain had caused a rock slide. The road was closed yesterday. Today it had one lane open.

The view from the scenic view point through fog and rain. We are now at Mad River Rapids RV park in Arcata, California. 

It miraculously quit raining and the high was 62 . We wanted to view sunset from somewhere scenic. We headed to a dune trail I saw on Google. It is in Ma-le'l Dunes. We started too late to make it to the beach for sunset, But it was a pretty place. John on the trail.

We came to a valley full of fog. Decided to hang out on the high point for sunset.

Sunset was blocked by fog and clouds. There was a smidgen of color. The park is on the Mad River Slough off Humboldt bay.

Mad River Slough.

Fog moving in over the Mad River Slough. We stopped at The Redwood Curtain Brewery on the way back to sample some brews. Breaching The Redwood Curtain used to mean negotiating Highway 101 as it dwindled into a 2 lane, pot holed dirt road that twisted in and out of river canyons and slalomed around individual redwood trees. Cal trans has transformed the road into a 4 lane highway but the notion of the redwood curtain persists and Humboldt county remains a place apart, separated by landscape and culture, if not distance from the rest of California.

Deer tracks on the dunes, ferns along the trail. I loved this photo of the godwits and willets on the informational sign. And there is rabies on the dunes! The door of the Redwood Curtain brewery.