Casa Rubio is located on Pelican Bay, named for the pelicans that return every year to glide with the waves and gather on Pelican Rock. The bay forms at the mouth of the Winchuk River, which marks the California-Oregon border. In addition to seals, otters and seagulls, the pelicans share the bay with whale-watchers and surfers.

Whale watchers gravitate to the bay in Spring, and again at year's end, from mid-December to New Year's. During those times, Grey Whales reaching 40 tons, 45 feet in length, may be spotted on their 10,000-mile round trip from their cool home off the Alaskan coast to the warm waters of the Baja Peninsula. The third week of March is a particularly good time to watch for breaching. The waters at the state line are known among experienced surfers as some of the finest beaches for serious surfing. Some mornings, teams of wet-suited surfers hit the waters early and ride the waves for hours.

Oddly, all this activity does not in the least disrupt the sense of serene seclusion the bay embodies. During a long walk on the beach, you may find your reveries interrupted only by the call of a seagull, the smile of an occasional stranger also out for a walk, or the reach of a particularly ambitious wave clambering up the sand.

17285 Crissey Road Smith River, CA 95567 1-800-357-6199 (707) 487-4313