Leaving California!

Last night we stayed in Fortuna. (wasn't that the name of the town in Pirates of the Caribbean where all the pirates lived?) It was a lucky thing since there happened to be a Safeway there and we needed more water and wanted to grab stuff to make lunch for a little picnic in the Redwoods.

Well if you are planning to go to the Redwoods National Park you should know something. If you want to drive the "Avenue of the Giants" Its not actually in the National Park but on another property about an hour and a half SOUTH. We had already passed it and decided to give up on it and just hike the trails in the National Park. We spend a few hours hiking around (and eating our Sports Jelly Bellies which I personally do not like but Bill liked them and finished them off) and taking lots of pictures. It was an amazing time.

I sat for a bit on a bench in the woods and just listen. It is amazing the sounds of the different parks. Arches was deafeningly quiet. There are no birds, no bugs, no trees for wind to blow through. The painted desert was quiet but not the deafeningly quiet due to the rolling hills. The Grand Canyon is full of people noise and some birds. I much prefer the Redwoods. Full of noises and yet absent at the same time. There was no airplanes or cars or radios booming with bad music. There were birds and buzzing insects and wind rustling through leaves. There was a small creek on one of our hikes that bubbled and splashed. I could sit here for hours and just listen to the sounds. A man walks by oblivious to the wonder around him while he talks on his cell phone about work his young daughter jogs along beside him desperate to keep up but she looks disappointed that she can't stop and look around. Why do people like this bother to come to this beautiful place? He doesn't seem to comprehend the beauty around him just wants to check something off some imaginary list of things to do. Redwood National Park is not a thing to do. It is a place to experience. I feel so at home in forests. Arches, Painted Desert, Petroglyphs, Grand Canyons are all amazing and terrific things to experience but forests call me. I believe in a former life I must have been a squirrel or some other woodland creature. I love the sights, sounds and peace that forests bring. The sign says that Redwoods thrive in High Humidity and Moderate Temperatures… I think I have a lot in common with these trees.

One of the people working at the visitor center suggested we stop by the Klamath River Overlook. We head out to the overlook and when we arrive it is beautiful. There are a handful of picnic tables so we stop and have our lunch and get some excellent coast pictures. We finish up our day and drive up into Oregon. We decide to make it a light day since we are ahead of schedule and stop in Brookings, Oregon just North of the border. We notice immediately that gas prices has not gone up dramatically but that California really does suck (average price for gas was $3.39 per gallon.) Now Bill is out running along the surf on a very nice (but very cold) beach. The sun is setting in the next 45 minutes but it is a little overcast so we are not sure we will see much. The seagulls are swooping (mine… mine see Finding Nemo for reference) and the waves are crashing. There are dozens of people out in long pants and jackets.

I think Bill feels at home at the Ocean the way I feel in the forest. I think he could wander the coastline for days, weeks or years and never tire of it. I enjoy the ocean myself, the birds and splashing waves but I think Bill enjoys it on a deeper level then I ever can, maybe he was a sea otter or a dolphin in his prior life. Hehe Well Bill has disappeared from sight and sunset is only a short time off. I will go hunt him down and see if we can find a hotel and dinner.

I set off to find Bill and we take pictures of the tide rolling in and the waves crashing over the rocky beach. The sunset goes by unnoticed behind a layer of clouds when I begin to hear music. At first I thought it must be in my head. I can't imagine hearing music with the waves crashing on the rocks. Then suddenly I realize several hundred feet up on a ledge there is a man standing playing a trumpet out over the cove. At first I do not recognize the song he is playing but I hear beats of music between crashing waves. It is an amazing sound. The music dances among the waves and echoes through the cove. It begins to get dark so I walk back to the car on the cliff above and the further from the water I get the more I am able to understand. He finishes the song he was playing and begins playing "Life goes on" Obladee obladaa life goes on…ohh….. I sit on of the steps leading up the cliff side and listen the music mingle with the waves. The last song he plays is Moon River.

Shortly after he stops playing Bill comes up the cliff ready to find a hotel. We head back toward town and remember seeing a motel with an Ocean View and so we stop and find the prices reasonable. We plan to drive to Portland tomorrow which should only be about 330 miles. Then home on Sunday after a visit to Bill's daughter.