Redwoods, Rhododendrons and the Pacific Coast

Over the last two and a half decades, we have road tripped the length of the Pacific coast from British Columbia down to California numerous times. The untamed and moody Pacific coast has a magnetic charm, but after our latest trip to the Northern California coast and the Redwood forests, I realized I have never written about the uniqueness of this coast.

Redwoods and Rhododendrons

May/June is the rhododendron season in the Redwoods National Park, part of the California coastal forests. We planned this trip in early June to catch the rhododendron blossoms if we were lucky enough.

We chanced upon a lot of rhododendrons among the beautiful, dense redwoods of the Ladybird Johnson trail. The delicate, pastel hued, transient native rhododendrons blooming against a backdrop of giant, resilient, timeless redwood trees is an example of a perfect contrast as well as a beautiful harmony.

Like any partnership, is this conflict intentional?

We spent too much time walking the Redwood forests , and obviously I had too much time to reflect 😀

Wild and rugged Pacific

We are not sandy beach people. Like true blue Bengalis we have nothing to do with swimming, surfing or paddle boarding in the ocean 

However, to win our hearts a beach has to be rocky, strewn with driftwood, feature tide pools full of sea stars, anemones and mussels in low tide, have hidden coves to find and creeks to cross, with the mighty Pacific crashing on the sea stacks as the tide rises.

There are so many Pacific beaches that meet these criteria, and at least fifteen of them feature in our top ten list!

On this trip, we fell in love with the St. George Point beach in Crescent City, California. You have to climb a sea facing bluff through a trail of tall overgrown weeds and spring wildflowers to get to this point where the ocean below is completely rough, with multiple spectacular sea stacks.  

 

One of them is this pointed pinnacle jutting straight out of the ocean. We ended up spending two evenings there until sunset, with only the high winds, seagulls and ospreys for company, as it was completely deserted the second evening. This remote and wild beach reminded us a lot about Snaefellsnes peninsula in Iceland where the ocean has a powerful, overwhelming presence.

 

People

We were hopping between the viewpoints along the scenic drive hugging the ocean in Trinidad, California. The viewpoints along this drive are so well laid out and easily accessible, with a different perspective of the seastacks and the coastal forests at Tepona point, Houda point, Moonstone beach. At Houda point, I found a plein air artist painting slices of the seascape and forested hills. After watching her work for a while, I went and introduced myself.

She is an impressionist painter who comes over from Georgia to paint the Northern California landscapes every summer - it was such a privilege to chat with her about her art, retirement and love of the outdoors. 

We spent a few days in Brookings, Oregon as well. One of the days when Arindam came back from his early morning photography adventures, he seemed very excited. He ran into another photographer from the area who shared tips, secret beaches, best sunrise locations and so on - little things that photographers care deeply about . In all my years of traveling with Arindam, I have seen photographers share a secret bond and have their own language, and can warm up to each other quickly.

I later found both the artist and the photographer on Instagram and happily followed them right away!

Wildlife and wildflowers

I did not expect it, but all the small trails leading up to the beaches were vibrant with wildflowers! Brightly colored California poppies in a maze of unnamed tiny flowers dotted most of the coastline. Dainty white lilies of the valley with their shiny green foliage covered the forest floors.

We were so excited to find an abundance of the short-lived lavender and white Oregon Iris leading the way to the Arch Rock viewpoint - the structure of these petals is so intricate with deep purple veins running through them.

While driving north from Crescent City, we found an open meadow where a large bull elk herd was grazing.  They were looking majestic with their full-grown antlers. The leader with a slightly ash colored body standing upright and tall, keeping the herd in control. 

 

 

Some were grazing, some locked horns in play or rivalry, but all kept an eye on their leader’s signals. I have seen herds where a single bull elk rounds up his ladies, but this is a first where all the elks were male.

One of the evenings, while heading out of the Wilson Creek beach in Crescent City, I spotted an animal hopping fast from the ocean towards the forest right across.

It was in a hurry, looked kind of cute and not one I had seen up close before. Turns out it was a sea otter! 

 

Very fascinating to see one on land!

Our last stay in Brookings was on the ocean, and with my book, snacks and coffee I had an amazing time observing seagulls playing in the surf and sand, dozens of pelicans riding the waves on high tide, and a turkey vulture ferociously protecting and gliding into the air clutching its rather large prey. 
It is all quite dramatic!