Nomad Life - Day 105

With my catch-up with Allison and Johann completed last night, I was excited to be on the move again towards the Pacific Northwest!  Since a new work week had begin, I woke up (alarm required) at 0430 and started teleworking.  Along the way, I skipped breakfast.  Somehow, I missed a meeting (it was a last minute "pop up" and had not been sent to the calendar on my cell phone).  Fortunately, I was not the only one and the entire things was rescheduled - I was able to attend later.  I'd asked for a late checkout and the Travelodge (Eureka) was able to give me one (1200).  However, I needed more time to complete my work day.  Therefore, I worked for another 30 minutes in the parking lot (still on hotel WiFi) to wrap up my day.  With work completed, I departed (towards the south on the one-way US-101 in Eureka) and made a stop at a nearby Wendy's, where I got some lunch (1235).  I had hoped to take it with me but it seemed too messy; instead, I finished eating everything inside the restaurant.  It was a nice day (50s and sunny) and this brought out even more homeless people than I had seen last night.  Like yesterday, I was shocked at the number of dispensaries in the downtown area.  Lunch completed, I turned back to the north on US-101 and made my way, across town, until I could turn on to CA-258.  This road allowed me to drive towards the town of Samoa on the other side of the little bay north of Eureka.  I had to cross Woodley and Tuluwat Islands before I could head north towards my hiking target: northern end of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  I arrived at the trailhead 1305 and, after exploring the signage and admiring the good views, started walking (1315).  From a map I found, I learned that I was inside the Ma-le'l Dunes Unit-North, located on the ocean side of Arcata Bay.  The location offered excellent opportunities for birding and, by the end of the day, I'd seen 39 species!  Along the way, I encountered members of the California Conservation Corps - they were cleaning up fallen limbs and removing poison oak.  It was sunny and warm on the trails in woods - a perfect day in Northern California!  Before I was finished, I hiked on the following trails: Tsoutsgish, Dap Loop, Vighul and Hout.  The last two allowed me to spend time walking on the huge sand dunes and I eventually located a pretty beach.  Signage was not easy to follow and I probably logged an extra mile in backtracking and trying to find my way through the scrub trees along the water.  Somehow, though, I made it back to my car by 1445 and realized I'd walked about 3.5 miles total.  Once back in my car, I made my way back (via a gravel road and then pavement) to US-101 and drove north.  During the rest of the afternoon, I enjoyed driving with very little traffic and, occasionally, great views of the ocean and/or mountains nearby.  At one point, I was crossing a causeway south of the famous Redwood Parks (State and National) and encountered a large crowd of Elk - wow!  Soon after that, I detoured off the Freeway into Prairie Creek Redwoods (1545).  I have very fond memories of these groves of Redwood Trees, both from my tips to the area in the 1970s/1980s and because I spent a nice vacation with Mollie there in 2018.  I would have tarried longer but I wanted to keep moving north and get set up for my next day of work.  After exiting the Redwood forest, I stopped for gas at Klamath at the Pem-Mey Fuel Mart, located on the property of the Yurok Nation.  (I recalled that we'd stopped here in 2018).  I was able to get a gas fillup at a reasonable price (1605) and also got snacks ("dinner" and breakfast for the following morning) inside the little store (1610).  Back on US-101, I followed the winding road up and over a mountain pass until descending back into a flatter area where Crescent City was located.  After that, I passed a lot more beachfront views.  During this time, I listened to audiobooks, tried to see through the misty conditions and began to deal with much more traffic.  Before long, I passed into Oregon!  Just when I thought I had the route to my hotel (Blue Coast Inn in Brookings, OR) wired, Google Maps threw me a curveball.  This was my fault, of course, because I'd earlier tried to manually type in the location, rather than use the name of the lodging establishment.  As a result, I exited US-101 just before the Chetco River and turned on to South Bank Chatco River Road.  The key mistake I'd made was the words "South Bank"...  After driving about six miles into increasingly dark and remote woods (I was on the edge of the Rogue River - Siskayou National Forest), I came to a dead end and a "Private Property" sign,  It was at that point I realized I'd made a mistake.  It didn't take long to find the correct location (although I'm very glad I had cell service) and I was soon driving back the way I'd come.  Once on US-101 again, I found the Blue Coast Inn about two miles north of my mistaken turn (1735).  The Lobby Area had a sign about being closed due to a fire and I had to call a number for the staff.  When the Front Desk clerk answered, she told me she was out shopping - it took about 15 minutes for her to return to the hotel.  Only then was I able to check into my room and get approved for a late check out time the following day.  In my room, I was surprised to find that there was no desk.  Resourcefully, I used the ironing board - the computers fit on it just fine!  From about 1800 to 1900, I caught up on work-related tasks, resolved some finance stuff and tried to get caught up on some more blog entries (I've been falling behind since the end of November).  I watched a few movies and fun with playing with an old heater - I'll probably have to wake up during the night to reset it...  Bed time was at 2145.  So excited to be starting my week on the Oregon Coast!