4/8, Friday. Sunset 7:46pm, moonset 9:36pm. Left work around 3pm. Hot these days. About 86°F. Later gone up to 88°F. Drove to Woodenshoe Tulip Farm. Typical Friday peak traffic. Google route me to 99E instead of I-5 or I-205, along Willamette River. Quite nice, but took over an hour. $5/pp. My first time here (my 4th year in Oregon). Even though it's a week day, still quite some visitors, even when I was leaving around 5pm. I enjoyed the flowers. It's just one big patch arranged by colors. Neighboring field lay farrow, so it's almost necessary to pay for parking if you want a good look. Driving north of farm, may provide a glimpse. Quite a few contraptions for kids to play in. A few little "cow train" that drives around the tulip field ($3) generating dust. I'm glad to have brought my umbrella.Drove to Cannonville for the night. ~9pm. Too tired to push further south.
4/9, Saturday. Sunrise 6:39am, sunset 7:47pm, moonrise 8:27am, moonset 10:48pm.
I set my alarm at 4am. 55°F. Filled gas at Grants Pass. Arrived at Lower Table Rock trailhead ~6am, hoping to catch sunrise. Check out my hike here last year a couple of weeks later, after the flower peak. This time, it's perfect. 
Lots of flowers, mostly blue lupine, yellow buttercup, pink Cow's Udder Clover (Trifolium depauperatum Desv. var. depauperatum, white little Plectritis (Plectritis Macrocera). Distance mountain ranges still have a tad bit snow on the top. Exceedingly scenic. There still exits two good size pools of water. See the goose on this photo. I was informed later, that in Feb, or even late Jan, you can find tadpoles and shrimp in these vernal pools, as well as early flowers like grass widow. The best thing is that I was the only one here, soaking in the fragrance of flowers, bird calls and beauty in the morning sunlight. As I was about to leave, saw a runner. On my way down, more people were hiking up.
Upper Table Rock. 9-1pm, I signed up for this Early Flowers guided tour hosted by the Nature Conservancy and BLM. Led by BLM botanist Marcia Wineteer. I took the very last spot (limit 15). I highly recommend these events. I learn so much. Saw only 2 Henderson's fawn lily (Erythronium hendersonii) in good shape (the rest are seeding) and about 3 clumps of the endemic Dwarf Woolly Meadowfoam (Limnanthes floccosa var. pumila). 
Marcia told us every plant along the way, as well as BLM's effort to clear some buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus, which is taken over the slopes and flowering excessively with strong smell. Deer eats the young ones.) in order to encourage grass and flowers. Once we (slowly) reached the top, we walked around the plateau. Marcia also told me a couple of other flower spots in the region, which I decided to check them out in the afternoon.Pets are banned from both Table Rocks. We saw 3 dogs this morning. Their owners, after being informed of the rule (so are a multitude of displays), continued their hike with the dogs.
Being on a solo trip has its advantages. I can change my itinerary on a whim. Marcia told me about the Pear Blossom Festival in downtown Medford (parade today at 11am) and two botanic special areas along Hwy-199. I decided to avoid crowds and check out more flowers.
Eight Dollar Mountain may have gotten its name from a nearby discovery of a gold nugget worth $8.00. Another story is that a man wore out a pair of shoes worth $8.00 walking around its base. On March 25, 1856, the Battle of Eight Dollar Mountain, a skirmish in the Rogue River Indian War, was fought in this area. The Eight Dollar Mountain Darlington fen is characterized by the California pitcher plant (Darlingtonia californica), a carnivorous plant which feeds on insects when they become trapped in the vase shaped leaves of the plant. This area is one of the larger, more easily accessible fens in the Illinois Valley. A fen, is a wetland created by continuous flow of alkaline water from uphill springs and seeps (cooler water). In contrast, a bog has standing water.Eight Dollar Mt botanical area names Eight Dollar Mt Road (as on the maps) to TJ Howell Botanical Drive. Total 7.5 miles. Thomas Jefferson Howell (1842-1912) was Oregon's earliest pioneer botanist and created the first species guidebook to regional flora for PNW "A Flora of Northwest America" (1897-1903) in It consists 3150 plant species, 89 of which were newly described by Howell.
- Mile 0, welcome sign. ~100m from Hwy 199. Vault toilet. 2 handicap parking spots. Main parking is on 199. Short (1/8 mile) boardwalk to a field of California Pitch flower, interpretive signages.
Mile 1. Little Falls Loop TH and campground. 
A few people camped there. I walked the 1 mile loop through serpentine soil (low in more commonly occurring minerals such as calcium and nitrogen, but high in metal). The Klamath-Siskiyou mountain range is oriented east-west (versus a typical N-S orientation). This provides an unusual habitat. The south facing slope here is dry and hot. Not much shade on the trail. The small campground has a few shading trees. I took an obvious but very short side track to a swampy field full of pitcher flowers, some in bloom. Then At the Illinois River side, two ladies were sunbathing in their birth suite. A father and son fishing and cooling in the water.- Mile 1.8, cross the river on Eight Dollar Bridge. A few were camping here. Quite nice.
- Mile 2.1, Josephine Camp, close to Josephine Creek. Lots of trash left behind. Saw one van.
I continued up, now the gravel road till maybe mile 5.6. Lots of dead trees. Not scenic. Good view across the valley with distant mountains still in snow. The lookout here has lost its signage.
Rough and Ready Wayside (4.5 miles south of Cave Junction - Oregon Cave is here). Soils at Rough and Ready flat consist of ultramafic alluvial deposits from Rough and Ready Creek. The ultramafic deposits have led to serpentine soil conditions favoring a unique plant community which is sparse and desert like in appearance. There's a wheelchair accessible paved walk way along the creek. I didn't walk too far, so didn't see anything unusual to my untrained eyes, except for one chocolate lily that's yellow - maybe a different specie?
I continued on 199 towards the coast. As the road enters CA, it passes Collier Tunnel. A nice rest area (closed at night). At Jedediah Smith Redwood park, I took 197 to connect 101. There, even though not entering the park, you see many big redwood trees. I stopped for the night at Harris Beach. Disappointing sunset, clouds were too thick. Had dinner looking over the beach. Parking here is for day time only, so I didn't leave my car.4/10, Sunday. Very cloudy. Sunrise 6:38am, sunset 7:48pm, moonrise 9:14am, moonset 11:55pm.
Disappointing sunrise. After breakfast, drove straight to Pistol River State Park, and hiked south to Crook Point. No trail per say, no people either. Fabulous view. South to Mack Arch, north to the beach I just walked over, with only one set of footprints. Plenty gulls. Saw 2 deer running upslope when I approached.
Blacklock Point from Cape Blanco Airport. Quite a few hikers. The trail is quite boring. The point itself is okay, nothing special for Oregon coast. I walked to the water fall (okay, has better view for the vertical cliff). Now I was on my own. I continued the trail to Flora Lake, and hit a marshy area with ATV track. Then I lost the track, soon very lost in the thick of brushes. Almost one hour later, after a few scratches, lots of sweat and dirt, and loss of my sunglasses, finally found the trail, all the while using my phone GPS as guidance. One problem: I didn't calibrate the orientation. 
Yaquina Head used to be my favorite spot for sunset and bird watching. Not many birds this time. Not much of a sunset either. Still a nice place to visit. Walked up the hill behind the restrooms for a better view. This site ($7 or Interagency Pass) closes at sunset. I was the last person out.
Drove back home almost at midnight. Very sleepy.
