N. California Coast – Get Off the Couch

Having a job where I am on the road half of the month, I spend a lot of time in hotels.  It is easy to default to sitting in the hotel and staring mindlessly at the screen.  A better option is to get out and experience whatever that location offers.  Admittedly, I struggle with this decision periodically and just “chill out” in the hotel room.  If there is a stumbling block, it is likely to be how to get around in an unfamiliar location.  If it isn’t within a couple miles, transportation is required and sometimes that can be a bit of a hassle.  But, things get back into focus when I realize how much cost and energy people expend to travel around the country, or world, to get right where I sit and all I have to do is just get out.  The cost of a rental car for a day is not too much to invest.  Fortunately, despite feeling a little lazy, the opportunity to get out on the latest trip was not missed.

Scenario: 30-hour layover in Medford, OR.  Map says the shortest way to the coast on US-199 takes just under 2.5 hours to get to Crescent City, CA.  There are plenty of options along the coast including several state parks with groves of redwood trees.  The friend I brought along (Marty) had never seen a redwood tree and we could fill a bucket list item with that alone.  Despite the late-night arrival into Medford, we departed on the mini-adventure by 8:00 in the morning.  This gave plenty of time to enjoy the coast and still get back in a realistic time for a 3:45 wake-up the following morning.

The drive along the Rogue River was scenic enough to put this on the list as a future photo destination.  We made a quick spin through Crescent City stopping only for coffee and then headed south down Hwy 101.  In the interest of time, we went south for about 15 miles through Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park to False Klamath Cove and parked for a hike along the beach.  The weather was comfortably cool with a light breeze blowing the low clouds in and around the costal hills.  A beautiful place, the pictures tell the story!

My first thought as we stepped out onto the beach was that I even contemplated staying back and wasting this opportunity.  Had we made the decision to “chill”, we would have missed seeing the jagged coastline with the forest of redwood trees coming right down to the cliffs overlooking the beach.  We would have also missed the pristine dark sandy beach loaded with driftwood art.  We would have missed hearing the calm waves roll up gently against the rocks.  As Marty noted, it is simply impossible not to be overcome with peace and amazement in a place like this.

And, yes, Marty got to see and touch a redwood tree for the first time in his life. Mission Accomplished!!

Rental Car: $40…Experience: Priceless

The opportunity is there, take it!!