One of the places you must see before you die is a highway in Oregon and Northern California called the Redwood Highway.

US 199 runs from Grant's Pass Oregon to Crescent City, CA and points south. It's a frikkin magic ride that takes you past crystal clear rivers running to the sea through canyons that they have cut over the eons. Those valleys are filled with redwoods and sequoias.

That's just for starters. Those woods are full of wildlife. I pulled off the road to an Elk Viewing Area. While the Elk didn't show up, I discovered a dirt road through the forest with a sign that said "Gold Bluff Beach".

As I was there for an adventure, I struck out through the forest on the one lane dirt road. It climbed hills and went through switchbacks that made me very nervous but after a six mile ride in the twilight under the redwood canopy, I emerged on a quiet beach with nothing but the calls of sea gulls and the roar of the surf.

The beach about a quarter mile back off the bluff.

It was like I was the first human there in a place so beautiful that I was moved to tears.

There are no words. It is something that must be experienced.

The beach sand is black and volcanic and it is covered with a variety of grasses, sun bleached driftwood and small bonsai-like trees sculpted by wind.

An eagle soared above the bluff and the towering trees.

And completely by accident, I discovered one of the most special places I've ever seen.

The knowledge of it is a gift that I give to you.

The Road to Gold Bluff Beach

Gold Bluff Beach

Eternal Surf