They told me not to take the Agnes Road...

Before I left town the next day, I went back to the cemetery to take some pictures.  As I was walking out, I heard someone talking loudly.  Just over in front of the drug store, I saw my friend, M., talking with the bicyclist we had met 5 days earlier at the Cape Blanco Pioneer Cemetery!  I could not believe she managed to wrangle him... lol.  I waved from afar, and she saw me and waved back.

I went to the beach to collect some sand for my collection.  The sand in Newport was very light and fine.  The sand here in Gold Beach was very dark and courser.

I also went to see a jewel that my friend told me about the night before... the place where the seals gathered!  It was just across from the boat dock!  I sat on the deck and watched them for a while through my binoculars.  A sheriff officer came to unload his patrol boat, and he hollered over to me, "My opinion is there are no fish in the river, that is why they are all taking naps!"

 

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As I left Gold Beach, my odometer turned over... my new van engine turned over to 3,000 miles.  Thank you Dan!

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Since I was told by two different people not to take the Agnes road to Grants Pass, I decided to head farther south than I had originally planned, and went through Brookings-Harbor, crossed the California border, through Smith River to Crescent City, CA.

When I filled up with gas before leaving Gold Beach, the attendant told me about marking the back of my credit card with "CID" which any cashier worth their salt should know means "Check Identification".  It may be a pain for you sometimes, but it might save you headaches if your cards should ever be stolen.

He also told me that last year they had a lot of trouble with gangs that would hit cars parked at the pull-outs and steal stuff while the owners were out exploring the beaches or hiking the trails.  Well that was a real bummer to hear and put a damper on my day.  I didn't leave the van for long when I stopped along the way, and didn't go onto the sand at Meyer's Beach to look for sand dollars like I wanted. 

Below is a picture of the beach south of Meyer's Beach and I couldn't believe how foamy the waves were!  Believe it or not, there is a wind surfer in the background way out there.  I grabbed my binoculars and watched them for quite a while.  When they started coming in closer, I saw that the sail was a lime green butterfly wing.  Later I saw the surfer on the side of the road and pulled over to ask him if he wasn't absolutely exhausted!  He was about 60 years old with long grey hair and a long grey beard.  He said the waves were bigger than they looked and that is was pretty rough, but he had had fun.

 Arch Rock trail...  I love the ridges in these leaves.  My friend, C., thinks they are hostas...

 

I was texting with an old friend while I was hiking in this spot and he told me he was working his [rear-end] off and he was tired of it! 

So to make him feel even worse, (you'd have to understand our friendship) I sent him this beautiful scenic pic and said, "Where I am right this moment :) ahhhhh"

Another turnout on the Samuel H. Boardman State Park... 

Brookings and Harbor, OR  

I decided to just kind of cruise through this area.  Brookings is a good sized town, and Harbor is it's unincorporated neighbor.  My family once came here about 10 years ago for my then-husband to interview for a job.  We talked about getting fresh fish for dinner from the fishermen on the dock, and enjoying the sound of the ocean.  He did not get the position, and coming to this area makes me wonder how different all of our lives might have been if he had.  I have to exercise my faith though, and believe there was some reason God did not allow us to move here at that time.

Stopped for lunch at one of my favorite places... Taco Bell...

I made my way to the Azalea State Park because I was told it was beautiful from the gal at Taco Bell.  I found this wood and rock gazebo overlooking a grassy area that led down to an amphitheater.  The temperature was over 90*F and the breeze flowing through this gazebo was delightful, so I just sat there for a while to enjoy the moment and think about my adventure so far.

After I walked through the park, enjoying the warmth of the air, the smell of BBQs, and the sound of children and families, I tried to find a geocache near a pioneer cemetery just up the street.  It was hot, and my GPS was pointing me toward someone's garage, so I gave up.

I have mentioned Geocaching several times now, and if you don't know what it is, I invite you to visit a page I created for one of my computer classes.  We had to create a page on one of our hobbies, so I did it on Geocaching. My page explains all about what it is, and how we got into it, and how you can begin geocaching also.  Click on THIS GEOCACHING LINK.  Just to whet your appetite, "it is a sport where You are the search engine."

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Harbor along the water... 

There were some girls flying kites in the park strip between the harbor and the beach and my kite was calling to me, so I got to fly it for the second time.  Here is a pic... isn't it pretty?  It is a "Forest Butterfly"  Also, it is really easy and fun to fly.  The two parts are separate, so I can tug on it and really make the wings flutter  :)

I left Harbor before the sun actually set, and caught this picture on my drive south across the California border...

:)