JUST THE TWO OF US (DAY 3)

We walked from our room to the bridge after we woke up on Tuesday morning. That brief uphill walk sparked our appetite, so we feasted on a pancake breakfast at the Indian Creek Cafe before continuing our trip toward the Port of Brookings-Harbor, followed by a hike through the redwood forest at Stout Grove, and finally ending at our ultimate destination for the day: The Oregon Caves.

The bridge crossing the Rogue River in Gold Beach.

Combing the beach in Brookings, with the South Jetty shown in the background.


We entered Stout Grove from the Crescent City side (Hwy 101 to Elk Valley Crossroad to Howland Hill) and exited toward the Highway 199 side leading to Cave Junction.

Two little people surrounded by a bunch of great big redwoods.

Waving from a distance.

Midway through our hike at Stout Grove, we paused along the crystal clear Smith River.

A path cut through a fallen redwood.

The workout I received on this hike was enhanced by the distance I had to sprint from my camera to my wife after setting the ten-second time delay so I could jump into some of these pictures with her.

Contrast in sizes.

We left Stout Grove, drove an hour or two, and ended up at Oregon Caves.

The Chateau at Oregon Caves is a six-story structure spanning a gorge. Our room was on the top level, slightly to the right of center with two small windows overlooking the cave entrance and the brook that runs through the gorge.

Yeah, that's our room!

That one, right there. Top, center.

From our room, we could see the entrance to the cave (top right), the waterfall and brook across the road (center), and the continuation of the brook on our side of the road (bottom left). The brook filled a pond below us and provided a pleasant sound that lulled us to sleep. Click photo to enlarge.

In our room, Debra checks her email.

Before dining in the Chateau, we relaxed in the Chateau lobby and played a game of checkers. The lobby contains the largest fireplace in Oregon and possibly on the west coast. After dinner we collapsed and passed out in our room, getting some rest for the ninety-minute tour through the cave the following morning.