California Here We Come!

You got Mark's entertaining blog yesterday, today it's back to normal (but you'll get him again tomorrow).  We continued our drive south along the Oregon coast, with more beautiful views along the way.  We crossed Thomas Creek Bridge, the highest bridge in Oregon at 345 feet above creek bottom.  I skipped the vertigo and let Mark enjoy the close up views. 

We stopped for views of Bird Island, the largest island along the Oregon Coast.  Breeding takes place here for a variety of birds, including tufted puffins.  The island wasn't much to see compared to the coast in general. 

This southern coast is the "banana belt" of Oregon and the temperature was noticeably warmer than the past few days (weeks!).  Sand dunes line the west side of the highway.

Soon we crossed the border into California, my homeland.  Smith River is called the Easter Lily Capital of the World, with around 90% of the world's supply of Easter lilies grown in this area.  We saw some of the bulbs being planted by hand in the fields along the road.  Crescent City, the largest town in the northern section, is not a pretty place and there is no reason to slow down as you pass through.  What is quite lovely is entering Redwood Country, and we enjoyed the views of these majestic trees for the next few days. 

The Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway south of Klamath is a pretty 10-mile drive through old-growth redwoods.  Along the way are also a few old tourist traps.  One has to stop at Trees of Mystery to get a photo of the giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  Some people pay to go inside but just checking out the entrance was enough for us. 

We made a quick stop in Arcata to visit the Arcata Pet Store and buy a few things for Tuna and our cat-niece Suzie.  I've ordered from them online a few times and it was fun to see the actual store.