Enjoying the views on today’s drive… from a cool bridge to nice welcome signs to the water’s edge multiple times.
Brookings Elk Lodge RV Park does not take advance reservations. When we were about an hour out I called to let them know we were coming. Unfortunately, I was told they were full and they did not have anywhere we could dry camp for one night. Can’t we just park in the regular parking lot for one night? The response was , “No, we’re full.” Great. Now what? (Part of me wondered if we just showed up could we park in the regular parking lot overnight, but if not, we didn’t want to waste the time stopping.) I immediately started looking for a place near by. Found a couple places in Brookings and in Crescent City…full…full…full. Dang! Evidently there is a big Pirate Festival Weekend starting tomorrow and everyone is booked for it. Seriously??? Arrrrrr! I left a message with a couple RV locations to call me back. We found two casinos. One was a Seven Feathers Casino, which we called first. Its location was right off the 101. We were all set to head there until the lady remembered that RV area was blocked off for a car show this weekend. OMG! We called Elk Valley casino. We were good to go. But when we got there Barry wasn’t comfortable with the vibe he was getting. The area and a couple RV already there came across as a little shady, plus the “RV” spaces in the lot weren’t quite long enough for us. We both searched on our computers for another place to go. Howonquet RV called us back! YES, they have several sites open with water only. AND only $28.56 (including tax)! Perfect! Well, maybe not “perfect” considering we passed this place 16 miles ago. They are in Smith River, Ca. I remembered the big ship on the side of the road that she mentioned as a road marker. That’s how I knew about when we passed it. Eureka was going to be too far to continue, so Barry said we’d go back to this one. I don’t know how some people just “wing it” on a regular basis when it comes to where they stop for the night. I wouldn’t handle that stress very well. I’m glad Barry plans for us in advance. This is the first a planned stop didn’t work out since they didn’t take reservations, and it coincided with an event weekend there.
Howonquet was very relaxing. Our spot was a pull thru site that allows us to look forward to face the water, even though the hazy sky hinders the delineation of the horizon in the picture below. (Not sure if it was a marine layer or combo with smoke from summer fires.)
The new owners are working to revitalize this RV area into a resort. It could really be a great spot, but will take some time and $$$. It should be worth it in the end.
A little later we went for a walk around the park and onto the beach section. Saw some interesting plants that I have no idea what they were. Some were quite phallic in appearance.
VIDEO: Sea otters were out playing in this inlet area.
The rocks were so smooth and flat. Barry had to try a little rock skipping. He got one to skip 7 times, but of course, I didn’t video that one. 🙁 But he did have another good one…
VIDEO: Barry skipping rocks
I was impressed with how clear the water was.
Beautiful colors
The prime camping sites. These were booked, but we were just fine with the site we got since it was very quiet and private.
We talked to a really friendly couple on the beach. She was a local and definitely recommended getting up early to be through the construction that closes the road completely at 8 am. She told us we were about 45 minutes from it. Not knowing how much other traffic may be trying to get through prior to 8, we decided to get up at the crack of dawn and allow for an hour + to make it.
The sun had the orange-red glow around it noting the fire smoke reaching the coast, but luckily it wasn’t enough for us to smell on the ground or affect our breathing at all. It did put a uniquely cool red shimmer on the water
