A road trip, a few sights to see, and I almost get eaten by an elk.

Today I was supposed to go to the gym. However, I had a hard enough time dragging my butt out of bed, let alone getting enough energy to go to the gym.

I did, however, take a little road trip with Cody. And of course, I took my camera. We started by going to Crescent City. Cody, from an eBay auction, bought about 100 mason jars for 40 bucks (a real deal according to him). So we started our day by going to pick these up. Afterwards, we decided to go to Brookings (only another 20 minutes) and have lunch at the Chetco River Harbor.

And so I begin a little photo essay of my day.

First of all, after raining and being generally miserable for the last 3 weeks, it was amazingly beautiful. It was a warm 76 degrees in Brookings, Oregon. This picture was taken at the mouth of the Chetco Harbor. All around us, on the pier, people were fishing and crabbing. Short sleeve shirts were abundant, and I even saw one person wearing shorts. Had I known the weather would be so nice I would have skipped the sweatshirt today. Over all, one would be absolutely amazed at the fact that it is mid-January.

Even in January, people can find a good excuse to outside and do something worthwhile. This fellow, taking advantage of the exceptionally calm water was found kayaking near the main marina and Coast Guard Station. For those who find the swell reports of interest, it should be noted that the Pacific Ocean (outside the harbor) appeared to be about as flat and calm as the waters seen here. It would have made for an exceptional fishing environment. I love nothing more than standing next to my friend on his boat while we fly across an ocean that resembles the pictures seen here while the sun slowly climbs over the surrounding hills and mountains. I can't wait for summer. Hopefully as he is reading this he is thinking the same thing.

Any time I can find something that has an even half way suggestive theme to it, my crazy mind usually defaults to that of a 15 year old who finds such things insanely funny. In this case, The Hungry Clam caught my eye and I had to have a picture of it. On the flip side, there were not a lot of people eating there. This, in my own mind which I believe to be a decent critic of food, showed there might be better places to eat. A little down the way we found a place with about 6 cars outside of it, all with Oregon plates. Being trained observers, Cody and I deduced that the locals like to eat here. Hence, the food must be desirable. Our initial impression of the place was only heightened when I discovered they smoke their own meats for sandwiches. The smoked pork sandwich was killer. The pork was juicy, tender and overall just right. The fries, although they tout their fried fish, had no hint of a fishy taste (its always a turn off when a restaurant fries fish in the same fryer as the rest of their foods). Sadly, I didn't even think to see what the name of this place was. This is my bad. But if you find yourself heading to Brookings for lunch, let me know and I can tell you how to get there.

One of the other happy reasons for making this trip, Cody wanted to go to Wal-Mart. Now, love it or hate it, Wal-Mart has some really good prices. Cody recently purchased a gas camp stove. The fuel for this type of stove is not exactly cheap. Apparently he had it in his head that camp fuel was priced at a far better rate at Wal-Mart than it is anywhere else around home. To this, I can only say that he also believes in Big Foot. Poor man. After discovering that the camp fuel was absolutely no cheaper at Sam Wal's blessed mart, than anywhere else, he nearly exploded. We then wandered around aimlessly while he cursed his luck, soon leaving with nothing more than camping lighter and a funnel that would be of no use at all unless you were funneling salt into a shaker. But thank you Wal-Mart for the experience that it was.

This is whats called an elk. Specifically a bull. Now, while it may look fairly unassuming here sticking its tongue out at me, rest assured this is a cold blooded killer. About a second after I took this picture it made a move that looked like it was going to charge the truck. I am from the city. Since moving here to the north coast, I have seen herds of elk like this on many occasions. I have also always thought people are idiots for getting to close to them. This particular elk was only about 8 feet from the truck, thanks to Cody who thought this particular close encounter was about as good as finding gold. At any rate, this animal weighs several hundred pounds, and is extremely strong. Those antlers could have skewered me. So yes, when it looked like the bull might come closer, I panicked. I wanted to move away, right then. I have never been that close to animal that large. For good or for bad, I was looking for a gas pedal that simply was not on the passenger side of the truck. Cody laughed. I called him a few things that my mother would not appreciate hearing. But, looking back at it now, how many people have a picture of a bull elk sticking its tongue out at you?
Our trip ended with us returning to Eureka. And what did we find next to us? A man driving a car with its entire back seat filled with fast food wrappers and cups. I don't know what possesses a person to allow this to happen. Is it a desire to not litter a land fill with cups that will never biodegrade? This is Humboldt after all. Perhaps he is a bit if a hippy? Although I don't know what, if this is indeed the case, he plans to do with all this trash. We were both completely stunned by the amount of trash. It was the whole back seat. Not just one side. It didn't look like it had been set there for the purposes of disposal (especially since he was going the opposite direction of the city dump). It was simply astounding, and I HAD to have a picture of it.
So this was my day. Tomorrow I teach at the Core Academy. Afterwards, I am going to the Gym to make good on my challenge, even if it kills me.