2014...

Really? It's 2014?!? I know. It's been that way for a couple of days, actually. It doesn't make it any easier for me to understand. I will turn forty later this year. Yep. 40. That's weird to me. I sometimes don't feel like I am the actual age I am - and I know I embarrass my family when I don't always act the way a 40 year old ought to act. ;) But it's interesting. Life is interesting.

On New Years Day, since I had the day off, we went for a drive down Highway 199, or Redwood Highway. It was amazing. We started out in our typical - if still beautiful - Oregon forest, mostly in the fog. Once we were past Cave Junction, however, we burst out into the sunlight. The highway goes through some very fun, twist mountainous canyons, which were very fun to drive through (for me, anyway). Then we entered the coastal redwood area, and it suddenly became a very unusual day. We didn't go exploring off the highway - we were just exploring at the time - but what we could see even just from the road was just staggering.

This fellow was just tired of standing. It's not terribly clear from the photo, perhaps, but the splinters at the end of this log were roughly the size of 4"x 4" lumber. The length of the tree at this point is probably 150', and it went across the road and into the forest on the other side. The road was damaged in a line you could see in the asphalt. 

Here's one of some sunglasses. ;)

After we made our way through the redwoods, we turned north and went to Brookings, which is in the extreme southwest corner of Oregon. It's a pretty little coastal town. On the north side of Brookings we turned left into Harris Beach State Park. It was simply amazing. The sand was a firm, dark gray - very fine sand, but not loose and blowing. It was also not silty and muddy like the sand we'd been used to in Galveston or other Texas beaches we've been to.

It may be hard to see in this pic, but the coastline is absolutely stunning as far as the eye can see. The logs stacked at the base of the hill are enormous  (if you look closely, you can see people amongst them). The waves were so beautiful, rolling in clear and glass green. They would hit the rocks in these middling sized rollers and breakers, throwing foam everywhere.

Here you see the ocean and sun reflecting between a couple of large rocks. This small gap filled in with each wave and then rushed back out in an endless, yet mesmerizing, cycle.

On the way home, we drove through Gold Beach and then over Bear Camp Road. The road is considered one of the most dangerous roads in the country, and several people have died there in the recent past. I knew the weather, however, and I was not worried. There hadn't been any measurable precipitation for a few weeks, and temperatures had been in the 50s, so I figured the roads would be clear and dry. They were. However, it was still a very long, slow road, with many twisting turns and steep slopes. It was very fun, if a bit nerve wracking (due mostly to the length of the journey).

So, happy New Year, everyone!