The End of an Eventful Summer

We’re near the end of our tour here at beautiful Harris Beach State Park.  Soon we’ll say goodbye to our four-month home and do a little leisurely travel.  It’s been a memorable summer, both good and not-so-good.  But looking back at Brenda’s hospital stay, it seems like so long ago.  Aside from a few carryovers from the surgery, she’s feeling great and has been cleared to resume just about all of her activities. 
We spend four days a week at a day use area deck, using spotting scopes to show people the various marine mammals and birds.  We’ve met so many great people and families, given away hundreds of “I Love Oregon State Parks” stickers, and watched people enjoy the cool coast and beach.  While the temperature inland has routinely been in the high 90s or more, here our average high is in the 60s.  And while we haven’t had any measurable rain since early May, everything is still green thanks to the late night and early morning fog. 
We’ve enjoyed the great site that the park has furnished us.  Although we’re volunteering for the US Fish & Wildlife Services, the park furnishes us with a full-hookup site.  In return, each week we teach a Junior Ranger class (6-12 year olds) and alternate between an evening program on Seals & Sea Lions or a nature walk to “pay our rent”.  It’s something we enjoy doing, especially the nature hike along the park trails that are filled with flowers and have great views:

If you enjoy the history of lighthouses, you’ll love the story of the St. Georges Reef lighthouse.  Six miles off the coast of California, it’s about 14 miles from us and can be viewed on a clear day.  You can see it sitting by itself out on the horizon:

Another lighthouse nearby is the Crescent City Harbor lighthouse; but even it can only be reached at low tide:
Some images of the area, starting with a foggy day on the beach:
Brookings has a nice harbor, complete with places to buy fish and Dungeness crab:
A short drive down the road leads to a large Harbor Seal “haul out”, where the seals come to rest:

Just inland, the Winchuck River winds through green forest:
One of our favorite birds is the Steller’s Jay.  Here is one sunning himself – a way to get rid of nasty mites.
And finally, our spot on the day use deck is overrun by California Ground Squirrel that beg food from folks having a picnic.  This little guy scored a carrot, but would probably prefer a potato chip:
We haven’t written much about our stay here since we’ve been here before, but we’ll soon be traveling to new places, so check back!