Reluctantly, we left Quosatana campground on the Rogue River today, continuing our generally southward progress. Fourteen miles west of Quosatana down Jerry’s Flat Road, we turned south again on US-101, joining it at the Rogue River bridge on the north end of Gold Beach. There are allegations that Gold Beach is a port and they even have a Port Authority but that is bullshit because there really isn’t a port. I would agree with it if you called Gold Beach a small marina because they do have some tiny docks and some sunken boats, the tops of which are visible above the water at low tide. There is one sinker close to the shore that has been substantially junk for at least the last 44 years that I have been driving by, quite possibly longer, based on its appearance.
Just south of Gold Beach the terrain gets very rocky and the road follows the terrain. Cape Sebastian is next and passing through requires quite a bit of climbing and descending, reflecting the course the road builders had to take to punch a highway through this jumbled and beautifully forested terrain. At the south end of Cape Sebastian, the road descends down to run parallel with the shoreline which is lined with massive sea stacks and rugged reefs visible only when waves break over them. Near Pistol River, the road traverses a wide sand plain with small lakes that is separated from the ocean by long sandbars. It is quite beautiful here and I need to find a nearby RV camping spot on our next pass through this part of the world.
Not too much further down the road (20 miles), we approached Brookings where we pulled off 101 and headed about 500 feet west into Harris Beach State Park. The park is located atop some impressive rock cliffs and overlooks a myriad of giant rock formations protruding out of the Pacific. Harris Beach campground has RV spaces that, due to my handicapped ability to back up articulated vehicles into blind spurs, seem quite tight although after about five passes we were able to get our Barbarian Invader almost where we wanted it. The adjacent spaces have peninsulas of vegetation between them, preventing unwanted intimacy with the neighbors. The whole park is located in a grove of impressive Douglas fir and spruce trees that create gorgeous shafts of light passing through the branches in the afternoon. There are many dogs here and we both like that, preferring dogs to many humans we know. The RV spaces have full hookups, the park has ample restrooms for those who need them and the cost is $30 a night. Those wishing to stay here should consider making reservations in advance because the park is very popular and the spaces are filled almost every night.
We went down into the public day use section of the park late in the day. There are picnic tables in grass, a good-sized parking area and magnificent views of the long beach, steep cliffs and massive sea stacks. It is stunning scenery and the weather was crystal clear today. We probably should have made a longer reservation.
We got some good coastal pix. Click here