A trip to Klamath, CA and Whale Watching

We headed south from Brookings down Hwy 101 toward the Klamath River in northern California. On the way, we stopped at this beautiful overlook just as we crossed into California from Oregon. We thought that this was a view that few folks think of this terrain when they think of California. 

We passed through Crescent City and stopped at the marina (Rick loves marinas!). We learned that this marina was also hit hard by the March, 2011 tsunami that ravaged Brookings. Fortunately, the marina has been rebuilt and was fully functional now. 

One of the major fishing industries focuses on the Dungeness crab. Next to the marina, we saw hundreds of crab pots which was impressive, to say the least. We will be thinking of these pots whenever we have crab for dinner!

 The Klamath River enters the Pacific Ocean just has it has for eons -- no marina, or jetty here. The river blasts past the sand bar and joins the ocean in a rush of current.

There is a great overlook point above the river where occasionally whales can be seen in the ocean. Sure enough, when we got there, a National Park Warden was there looking for the whales and showing folks what to look for. Orinda tried binoculars, but given her limited vision, had a hard time seeing anything. 

Soon, Rick saw a whale spouting. Wow -- that is very cool! We learned that these were grey whales that move through the area. 

 There seemed to be several pods of whales - here you can see one spouting while another rolls just behind it. Rick had seen one other whale several years before, but never a fairly large number of them at once.

 It was great to see several whales, even though they were quite a ways out in the ocean. Even with the 300mm telephoto lens, they were challenging to see, but very worthwhile.

Last, but not least in the Klamath area, is the Trees of Mystery shop. Orinda was delighted to get her picture taken with Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. 

What a deal, plus the gift shop sold excellent fudge and hot coffee! We had a great excursion through the Klamath area and enjoyed our day greatly!