We went as far west today as we can go in Usain. We left the Pinewood Cove RV Resort midmorning and made the 2-hour drive over the very winding roads with moderate elevation changes through northern California on CA-299. This is a very scenic drive – highly recommend!

During the previous night one of the cats decided to barf on Lisa’s bed so we stopped at a laundromat in McKinleyville to wash all the bedding (not a big inconvenience since it was nearly time for that anyway). We then stocked up on groceries and diesel in town before heading up the scenic US-101 toward our home for the next few days in Sue-meg State Park.

Brrr…

The first thing we noticed upon arriving to this part of the west coast was the dramatic change in temperature. It was 85 degrees and climbing when we left Pinewood Cove, and it was 65 out when we opened the van doors at the laundromat. It’s definitely sweater weather here.

Agate Campground at Sue-meg State Park

Sue-meg (pronounced “soo-may” or “sue-meh” depending on your source) State Park was originally named Patrick’s Point State Park, and still appears that way on some maps. In 2021, the Yurok Tribe requested the name change as it was asserted that Patrick Beegan had been accused of murdering several Indigenous Americans. No matter what it’s called, the park is beautifully thick with trees, plants, and wildlife.

We are spending 3 nights at the Agate Campground, just one of several within the park. The individual campsites look to be carved out of the dense rainforest-like surroundings — very spacious and great for small RVs and tents.

Agate Beach

I assume my beach-loving wife chose the Agate Campground due to its proximity to Agate Beach. The trail down to the beach is just a short walk from our campsite, but it’s a long way down. No danger of a tsunami getting to our campsite atop the ridge.

Unlike most of the other beaches we have encountered, Agate Beach is mostly made of pebbles and rocks, not sand. There are agates here, but they are few and far between but plenty of other very cool rocks to collect. Most of the rocks are smooth and pre-polished. Lots of drift wood also gets washed ashore at this beach. Many of the smaller pieces are rounded and appear as rocks until you pick them up. We collected several pieces of those as well.

We ended up making two trips down to the beach before the day ended — one just after we arrived and another late in the day after dinner. The first time we went down in sandals, and quickly discovered there is no way of keeping the small pebbles out of them. The second time we wore our tennies and that was much better.

The view behind the beach is interesting as well. Moss covered rock walls take the place of the sand dunes we are accustomed to seeing protecting the beach.