From the Oregon Coast to Mexico's Lagoons

Posted by Bob Bowers Jul 9, 2009

It's interesting that a trip to one place can bring back memories of quite different destinations. I've been on a road trip through California and the Pacific northwest for three weeks, something I like to do at least twice a year. In Oregon, in addition to some time in Portland, we spent two weeks on the coast. Oregon's Highway 101 runs nearly 400 miles along some of the most spectacular scenery in the U.S. The state has taken advantage of this, opening the entire coastline to the public and setting aside 85 state parks and beaches along the way, an average of more than one park every 5 miles! It was natural to write about the beaches and parks along this route, which I did. The time spent there also suggested a number of other articles, which will be forthcoming shortly.

What was not expected was that sights here suggested a series of articles based in faraway Mexico as well. From the sea lion caves in southern Oregon, we spotted two California gray whales, spouting relatively close to shore. This brought back fond memories of two trips to Mexico's Baja California peninsula to see the gray whale nurseries along the western coast. Tourists staying in Guerrero Negro, some 450 miles south of Tijuana, can closely observe as many as 2,000 mother and baby whales in the shallow Laguna de Ojo Liebre. Click here to read the article I wrote about this fascinating migration, and to see five photographs of the whales. Of course, once I started thinking about the trips to Baja, I also remembered the strange, exotic and endemic Boojum trees, which quickly led to another article. Hopefully, I'll get to finish writing about Oregon and California before I forget what I've seen on this trip.