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Those of us who live in the PNW say that "we don't tan, we rust". You learn to deal with it. Just put on your rain-jacket and enjoy those beaches. Dedicated storm-watchers make special trips to the coast just to see it in the winter. But hope you find a few sunny spots as well. Looking forward to more.
Judy. We are quite used to it to. Our saying is a bit different; There is no bad weather, just bad clothes... But since Norwegians only are able to tan a few weeks during the summer, we always hope for better weather when we go on vacation... :)
A new day, a new drive and a new state!
We started out leaving Newport around 10 AM. The weather has been a bit better today, but still scattered showers and LOTS of fog.
Also today we got to see beautiful and dramatic nature along the coast. Devils Churn stands out as the highlight of the day! Sea Lions Cave ends up in the other end of the scale… Typical tourist trap, and even if it is the worlds largest sea cave, you don’t really see too much. And the Sea Lions were not in today…
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Then the trip went on further down the Oregon coast. We were a bit fed up with the weather, and instead of being able to see the nature, we instead started to notice all the places named something with “Creek” and their belonging bridges.
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A good break from everything was when we came into the dunes area of Oregon, and stumbled on Steve’s ATV Rentals. One hour of racing trough the sand dunes on ATV’s gave us the some new energy, and we took to the road.
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Because of the weather, which is reported to be the same the whole weekend, we decided to skip our next planned layover (Port Orford) and head on to Berry Glenn. Berry Glenn is just a name I picked from Google maps back in Norway. By the time the GPS said we had reached our target, we had still not seen any road signs and we were probably past it. Is it even a town? Ole was not happy with my research… As we continued on it was dark, raining and we were on our 2 last gallons of petrol… Somehow we ended up in a slightly bigger place called Trinidad. We got gas, directions and started looking for motels. The second place we stopped had a vacancy. $105 for something decorated in the 70’s, with shag carpet. Great!
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Also, we have passed the Redwood parks, which is next on our To Do list. We didn’t know, as it was dark when we were driving trough… So tomorrow we backtrack about 10-15 miles to see some Redwoods. At least we think that is the distance…
Oh, and another thing. Isn’t California “The Sunshine State”. I think both Ole and myself had a notion that when we crossed the border, the weather would magically improve. No such luck. Time to realize that California and LA is not the same thing…
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Bummer on the weather. August and September are typically our best months with consistent sunshine and high temperatures. In the past, it was not uncommon for this weather to extend into mid- or late October. Some years, even into November. Not this year. The last couple of years our weather has been very bizarre so I'm hesitant to even suggest what time of year people should visit year. We've had cold, stormy days in August, and t-shirt/shorts weather in January. Go figure.
Up until the last couple of days, temperatures in Northern California were up around 100 degrees Fahrenheit and they just took a big drop with this storm. I'm sorry it's bumming out your trip. I, too, seek sunshine and warmth when I travel.
I'm also bummed you didn't enjoy the Sea Lion Caves. I have been there when there are hundreds of 'em. It's fun to watch them swimming in and out, laying on the rocks. We always look forward to stopping there. But the sand dunes are definitely one of the funnest spots.
Enjoy the Redwoods tomorrow. They are worth back-tracking for. You might look for the drive-thru trees. There are several along there. Just ask around and I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.
Are you enjoying the coast in spite of the weather? If my memory of my long ago trip to Norway is accurate, you have a fabulously beautiful coast. So, does our coast compare well, in your opinion?
You will find the Southern California coast quite different, closer to LA....think bikinis and surfers. I hope the weather is good enough to bring them out when you're down that way.
Joda barna, vi følger med dere. Fikk også med meg hekken på en nydelig Taurus fra dag 1.
Jeg reiser til Stavanger i morgen tidlig på en ukes jobb. Skal lære H til å gå inn her, det kan bli vanskelig fra Stavanger. Femtende reiser jeg offshore og blir borte mer eller mindre en måndes tid.
Judy.
Please don't take my earlier posts as complaining. We have enjoyed our first days over here tremendously! We had actually excpected the weather and have little objection to it. Just means we will experience more different things as we now head on in to Nevada.
The coast can not be compared to Norway in any ways. We have some very beatuiful stretches of coastline, and our fjords are world known, but this is completly different, and very spectacular. Raging ocean, huge rocks and cliffs all over and half of Oregon probably has twice as much sandy beaches as all of Norway. Amazing stuff :)
Today’s adventure started at 9 AM, Trinidad.
We had been asking around, and it turns out there are much more Redwood country in the southern direction. No backtracking needed! We cruised down Redwood Highway for about 1.5 hours and took a left onto Avenue of the Giants.
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We were at the least amazed of what we saw. Not only are the trees spectacular in them self, but the feeling of driving trough the forest is pretty special.
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Me at end of log (I am 190cm short)
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We had not read too much beforehand about what was actually to see, so we just drove trough and looked for cool stuff. We found lots, and only fell for one tourist trap…
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It has been a long day, and we have covered lots of miles. We have seen lots of new stuff, especially as two Norwegians who have only visited the country one time each earlier on short business trips. It would be difficult to summarize, so I would instead urge everyone to have a look at the rest of the 354 pictures we took today in the link below (poorest quality already deleted…).
Besides the Redwood, what was most amazing was how the landscape suddenly changed as we reached the planes leading into Sacramento. Never seen anything like it.
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BTW, we passed a placed called Clear Lake. There was dead fish all along the beaches! It smelled pretty bad. Anyone know why?
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BTW2, we have reached sunny weather and T-shirt temperatures!
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We don't have the best weather up here so, when I'm traveling, I want sun and heat, too! And I'm disappointed when it doesn't happen. I can relate. Glad you finally found the sun!
Aren't the Redwoods amazing? I love the drive-thru trees. It's just a quirky thing that's fun to do.
Yikes on the dead fish. I have no idea what that's all about.
Hi Halvard,
Your report and pictures remain top notch, most enjoyable.
After Yosemite [you're going to love it] you will be amazed at the diversity when you hit Death valley, it's unbelievable. [ I presume that's the way you will head for Vegas].
Looking forward to updates.
Dave.
I guess an update is in order.
Unfortunately not that much to report today.
Started out in Sacramento. Since we want to have a full day in Yosemite, we planned to stay over night as close as possible and use today merely as a transport stage. Therefore we took the opportunity to do some shopping and sightseeing in Sacramento.
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Since none of us are especially into souveniors, I had something made to remember the trip
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Left the town around 3 PM. With just a couple of stops and detours to take in some scenery, the drive was actually 5 hours. Did not catch many names as we drove trough the small towns, and the only report/advise from today is to remember to stop and take in the scenery and smell the roses. Hope the sunset inspires to get people out on the road!
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Tomorrow we hit Yosemite!
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By the way. I have to give Ole all the credit for the pictures. We usually drive one day each. The one who is not driving is on camera duty, but when have a stop, and you guys get to see beautiful sunset pictures, thats Ole working the camera. We have found a good partnership. I stand for quantity and Ole for the quality.
Welcome to geek central.
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