Rainy, Lazy Weather and Future Travel Plans Made

Location: Sunset Harbor RV Park (el. 14 ft); Crescent City, California

(click pictures to enlarge)
(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 Cell Phone)

Today is day 6 in this park and I've been reminded again that staying a week in the same campground is too long, sometimes. My feet and fifth wheel hitch are itching to move on down the road. This stay hasn't been as bad since it set into raining on day 2 and just stopped yesterday afternoon (day 5). It was a good rain though with on very brief periods of heavy rain and wind. Mostly it was a light rain that came in waves as the clouds moved in from the ocean. The daytime highs were in the mid to upper 50's with lows in the upper 40's. Nice temperatures. I could easily track the rain bands on Accuweather radar to find the times to go into town for shopping or exploring. There was even a little freezing rain that fell. It wasn't hail and wasn't snow, it was right in between which added a variety to the weather. I may not have even know about the freezing rain except it happened while I was in the shower and I could see it hitting the skylight. Liberty is safely tucked behind a high, dense hedge which protects her from the wind. This is the perfect camping spot when weather is blowing in from the ocean. The rain was nice; I liked it a lot. It is hard to remember the last time it rained on us. It may have been the dirty rain on the moving day to Choke Canyon State Park. If so, that was 2 months ago. That may help explain my behavior. Ignoring the fear of men in white coats coming to get me, I took a short walk in the rain. I didn't get soaking wet, but just enough. Although the air here is very clear, this rain was perfect for clearing and cleaning everything. The nightly benefit of the rain is that the raindrops falling on the roof of Liberty sure makes for a peaceful way to fall asleep. It may not be as peaceful as being under a tin roof, but it is mighty close. 

As I mentioned in the last post, I needed this down time to let time catch up to me. I lazily let that happen. No, no, no, I'm not using that as an excuse to be lazy. Well,,,,,, maybe a little. I did use the time to figure out my travel plans for the next few weeks. When I left Louisiana back in December for this western swing, my long range destination was Crater Lake State Park in southern Oregon. I had heard and seen pictures of the blue water and wanted to see for myself. I remember how shocked I was to see the blue waters of Lake Huron last year and wanted to compare the two. When I say "long range destination", that doesn't mean taking a straight line to that place. That would be too much like vacation time where a family has to get there fast to enjoy the destination before having to return home just as fast to be back at work. Being retired, I could go in any direction at any time but my ultimate goal was to see Crater Lake. I am about 150 miles away from it, as the crow flies. It is still very early in the Spring season and many of the roads in Crater Lake park are still snowed in. I had been checking online about the weather condition in the park and thought about heading there when I left here. The rain event that came through here over the last few days was a snow event up in the mountains around Crater Lake. In fact, one of their webcams was blocked by the recent snowfall. I don't mind driving in snow, except when towing Liberty, but I don't like camping in it. 

With the mountain snows in mind, I looked for a different travel route. Traveling the Oregon coast was also on my "to do" list. Geographically speaking, the coastal area is relatively flat for a short distance before the land rises to the mountains of the Cascade Range. This flatter, coastal area is warmed by trapping some warmer air between the ocean and the mountains. So, I put off seeing Crater Lake for a while and decided to head up the Oregon coast to at least the Washington state line. This means I will have to stay in some campgrounds near the coast. I will be forced to walk on the beaches while doing some beach combing or I will be forced to visit some spots that overlook the rocky cliffs and shoreline. I guess I can apologize early about having so many ocean pictures in the upcoming blog posts. If ya'll get tired of them, just let me know and I'll turn around and face east to take some pictures of trees and mountains.

So, moving day will be Friday and I have reservations at a couple of Oregon State Parks along the coast. I plan to take my time as I go up the coast so the spring weather can get a little warmer before I turn and head inland. Warm weather and crossing high mountain passes sort of go together like grits with sugar and butter. (my yankee friends may have to  google "grits". :)

The pictures today were taken as I wandered around Crescent City during breaks in the rain. The skies aren't bright blue but the darker clouds seem to add something to the pictures. I think I will be able to look back on these and quickly remember the good feeling of the cleaning rain. 

This is the Battery Point Lighthouse. The road is only passable during calm days at low tide. There wasn't a bench to sit on, but there was plenty of driftwood that served the same purpose. 

Another view of the Battery Point Lighthouse

This is a concrete jetty that helps protect the harbor. They have placed a "danger" sign up to entice people to walk along it while at the same time protecting the owners against legal liability if someone gets hurt. Win/win, uh? 

Notice the cable that is anchored to the right side of the concrete. I'm guessing it is used during very bad weather.

This was an area with a lot wave action. There were some that went over the entire concrete. After dozens of attempts at trying to catch one in action, I gave up and settled for this one. 

Looking back along the jetty towards the lighthouse. The sky was changing constantly while we were in between rains.

The sea lions have taken over this floating dock. I'm not sure what they would do if a boat tried to tie up. About half seemed to be asleep and sunning themselves while the other half was barking. Maybe they take turns. :)

This picture shows the low lying clouds as they moved over the hills to the south of town.

I found a "thinking bench" on the spit of land near the end of the harbor.

It was a very comfortable bench and I enjoyed it for about half an hour or so before another patch of rain came along. That is Freedom parked in the lot in the background. I was the only one around which is usually a plus.

The view from the bench

Looking back at the bench as I climbed a little higher

Following the path up while looking back towards the bench

A little higher still, but can still see the bench.

The rocky outcrop

Nice views from atop the outcropping.

Another view. Yep, that is the bench down there. :)

Looking back over the city. In the left center is a Coast Guard cutter next to their small outpost. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.