California Road Trip 2016, Part 1

Did you know that this year if you (I) took off at Veterans Day and didn’t return to work until the end of the Thanksgiving weekend you (I) would only need to take 8 days off work?  That’s 17 days for the price of 8.  Sold!  We hit the road.  17 days and 16 nights on the road and in the camper.  But where to go?  How about south along the California coast, then loop back up north along a couple parks along the Sierra Nevada.  We were off on an epic trip, 2450 miles later we’re back home, here’s the story.

Up Early

We hit the road in the dark, how most good road trips start at least in my memory, and headed over the Cascades and on to the redwood coast.  One stop in Grants Pass at Ma Mosa’s for a stellar breakfast and then on to the redwoods down highway 199.  We were foiled last year on a quest to camp at Gold Bluffs Beach, due to what we were told was a landslide although we saw little evidence of anything that wouldn’t have been passable, but we weren’t turned around this year.  We quickly learned, don’t believe any sign you see (or book you read) in your travels, verify.  The road is closed, the campground is full, etc. no it isn’t, check it out for yourself.  We arrived just after noon, secured our site and headed to Fern Canyon.

Fern Canyon
Fern Canyon

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North Fork John Day, October 2016

Typically the last days of October are reserved for fishing, fishing and fishing.  Until this year October 31 was the last day to wet a line in most water bodies I frequent.  The combination of no more close to the season, a chest freezer full to the brim with kokanee, salmon, halibut and tuna, along with a weather forecast that wasn’t conducive to being in a boat on a high mountain lake led us in a different direction.  We headed to northeast Oregon for an extended weekend of exploring with a couple of potential hikes on our minds.

Last of the Fall, Blue Mountains, Oregon
Last of the Fall, Blue Mountains, Oregon

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Owyhee 2016, Part 1 – Succor Creek and Leslie Gulch

You think you have a plan, then something changes.  We were going to be floating the Deschutes, then just like that we found ourselves in the Owyhee country of southeast Oregon instead.  Plans for the Deschutes fell through so we took a look at the list of possibilities.  There was a break in the rain, which is absolutely required if you want to even think of travelling the roads around the Owyhee.  With that we were off across the high desert.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

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