Posts Tagged With: Clearwater Falls OR

Hiouchi, CA Sept. 11

Sunday and Monday have been days of scenery. No informative museums, no historical events to understand. But the drama of wildfire did impact our travel.

When we were planning this trip, people told us to make sure we kept an eye out for news about wildfires. Saturday night we went to bed, wondering if our planned route to visit Oregon Caves south of Ashland Oregon was the wisest decision. Highway 199 travels from Crescent City California up to Grants Pass Oregon. This would’ve been the most direct route from the National Park sites of Oregon Caves to Redwoods National Park in California. We debated that option or going directly west to the Oregon coast, and then south to Redwoods, skipping entirely the Oregon Caves location.

The Smith River Complex wildfires were directly across the 199 route, although not a huge fire. The fire has been going on for two months and the road was supposed to be open, although periodically with a pilot car to lead the way. We went to bed, uncertain, but when we woke up Sunday morning, decided to be cautious and go directly west, and then south along the coast. This would mean we would miss the Oregon Caves National Park site, but we have seen a lot of caves already.

When we checked into the motel Sunday afternoon, we found out our decision was wise. Route 199 was closed for a period of time completely, other times had a one hour delay in travel. In this case, the wildfires triggered a rock slide to close the road completely. When it reopened on Monday, there was still a one hour delay due to the wildfires.

Of course, we won’t know what we missed at Oregon Caves. However, the road west from Bend over to the Oregon coast and then down Route 101 to Crescent City California was a gorgeous route. Going west, we traversed the Cascade Mountains, stopping to see a lake and two waterfalls in the Umpqua National Forest. One waterfall was the highest in southwest Oregon, the other a cute falls Chris labeled the Hobbit waterfall. Chris did a fantastic job on the curvy, mountainous roads, since my legs were acting up and she drove this entire section.

When we reached the coast of the Pacific Ocean, we stopped in Port Orford, a town we had visited and lodged at in 2010. The views were still fantastic. The fog and clouds alternately lifted and returned as we drove from Port Orford all the way down into California.

Redwoods National Park is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation as the state and national parks here run together. The two park services work to inform visitors and to conserve the redwood trees along the coast of California.

We are spending two nights at the Hiouchi Motel in the small town of Hiouchi California, population just under 300 people. The Smith River Wildfire Complex had caused the power to be out for several hours, but was expected to be restored later that evening. We went to Crescent City, California, about 15 minutes away to have dinner instead. When we returned, power was on. It has been on ever since.

Today we went on a hike through the redwoods by ourselves, hiked down to an ocean portion of the park, and participated in a Ranger led hike in the afternoon among the redwoods.

Dinner, like breakfast, has been next-door at the Hiouchi café. The café has been here since the 1930s. Once again, good food in a very small town. Some of the other customers included firefighters and support personnel. We passed numerous pieces of fire fighting equipment, fire staging areas with tents and RVs, and signs along the roadway expressing appreciation for their work.

After breakfast, we stopped at a local wood carving shop next door to the motel. The business has been around for 40 years, and is finding it more difficult to get newer people interested in the skill. I will admit we did make a purchase or two.

Ed and Chris, Hiouchi CA Sept 11