9/4/2017 - Around Brookings

Monday - Today we scheduled a day off, sort of.  We had a few errands, so we drove around Brookings, and across the bridge into Harbor -- car wash, groceries, post office, etc.  We drove past one really pretty purple bush, don't know what kind.

The smoke is bad again today.  Joe turned to drive out to Loeb State Park, a sister park to the one we are in, but closer to the fire.  In fact, I think they are using it as a fire staging area.  We only went down that road a little over a mile before we came to the road-closed barricades.

We drove through an azaela park on our way back, but none of them were in bloom, so we came back to the camper and rested, took a little nap, then decided to finally go down to walk the beach, even with the smoke.  Driving through the campground, we spotted a deer munching in the brush in an empty campsite.

At ground level at the camper, the smoke seemed a little better, but it really collects in the valleys and beaches.  Makes everything a really eerie color.  We picked up another bag of rocks and driftwood, got our feet wet in the cold surf.

There were some kids playing in a tidepool, which was just a little warmer than the surf, but kids don't seem to have a built-in thermostat when it comes to water.  One dad was covering up his son with sand, which was probably warmer.

These kids were building a raft, using seaweed as rope.  The little girl saw us picking up rocks, and brought me over a piece of seaglass she had just found.  Joe had just found a piece too, so we added 2 pieces to our collection.  There's supposed to be a seaglass beach ahead of us, so I'm hoping to add a lot to my collection when we get there.

Although the sun was still shining (it was about 5:00), it wasn't putting out much heat, and it was a really strange color through the smoke. It was in the 90s in town, but on the beach, it was about 70 degrees.

We saw a few tents of driftwood that had been built -- lots of driftwood on these Oregon beaches -- but this "den" looked like a good idea, I'm guessing someone might have spent the night in it.  I would love to haul all this driftwood home with me, but it just doesn't fit, so I have to settle for just a few pieces.

 I finally got my toes in the Pacific -- but I didn't leave them long. Actually, I wasn't even sure I was going to, but a wave sneaked up on me and got me wet, so then I walked in the surf just a little.

We drove back into town for dinner, then made it an early night.  We are doing a jetboat ride on the Rogue River tomorrow, back up the road 25 miles at Gold Beach.  See, I knew that was going to be in my future.  So, it's an early-to-bed, early-to-rise night.  We have to be there at 8:30 for our 6 3/4 hour (104 miles) "Wilderness Whitewater" ride.  I hope I survive.