Elk River Road, Port Orford, OR (4/5/2020)

When I told him my interests, the RV park manager recommended a drive up the mountain on Elk River Road.  "It's real pretty up there, and there are some waterfalls."  What an understatement!

When the rain stopped after three straight days, I was more than ready to check out his recommendation.  It was still spritzing as I drove past the fish hatchery and the county maintained road ended.  Now it was Forest Service road, and those good people aren't known for their road maintenance.  It was actually in pretty good shape, except for occasional rock slides and trees down on the road, not to mention numerous areas of sunken pavement.  These areas, up to 50-60 feet long and a foot deep, may have been caused by erosion or possibly by earthquake.  Nothing was fully blocking the road, partly due to the efforts of those who drove it before me, pushing debris to the side.

Driving into this wilderness area, for me, was much like entering Jurassic Park, minus the dinosaurs.  Elk River is absolutely gorgeous, with more than ten miles of rapids, cascades, waterfalls and incredibly green vegetation.  I felt like I had just woke up in a donut shop and discovered I had somehow lost twenty pounds while I slept.  In other words, I was beyond excited.

I know the photos cannot fully convey the beauty of this place, not to mention the almost surreal feeling of being alone for a while in a huge wilderness.  The main drawback I found was the road stayed well above the river as much as 100 feet, and the trees and bushes lining the road prevented the open views I wanted.  Since I couldn't eliminate the trees, I tried to use them to frame the action down on the river.  In the end, there are so many photos I want to share it will take more than one travelogue to post them all.  I'll start with shots of the river itself.

And one more that shows the rope someone put up for swinging and dropping into the "swimming hole".  What a great spot for local kids.

There are a few places where one can drive down to the river, and I took every opportunity to do so.  However, those spots are great for fishing, not necessarily great for photography.

Here are a few of the road "obstacles", nothing serious mind you.

I'll be back in a couple days to wrap up this adventure.