Chapter 25 - Smiling River Campground, Camp Sherman

 

Saturday, July 11th:
Last night the temperatures here at the Smiling River Campground dropped down into the low 50s and we slept like newborn babies.  The only sounds that we heard in the early morning hours when we awoke at the break of light around 5 am were the sounds of the rushing waters of the Metolius River and the occasional sounds of the wind in the tall evergreen trees surrounding our travel trailer.  This is heaven.  This is the only way to greet a new day.  This photograph of the Metolius was taken in front of our campsite not long after I crawled out of bed to explore this morning.

Our plan today had Kathy kind of giddy.  About 15 miles south of our campground is the city of Sisters named after the three Sister Mountains located just to the southeast of Sisters. Each of these tall and snow covered mountains rise to an elevation of over 10,000 feet which means that they are visible from most of the surrounding areas.  Anyway, this particular weekend was very important to the City of Sisters as well to Kathy for that matter for it was Sisters' annual Quilt Festival weekend where the stores all around the downtown city displayed quilts made by participants from all over the western states. There were hundreds of quilts on display and for most of the quilt makers this judgment day was the culmination day for all of their hard work making quilts during the prior year.  Kathy was anxious to get to the festival.  She loves this kind of artwork and to find it here in Sisters, Oregon.  What a surprise.

Sisters is an interesting city. The forerunner of Sisters was a short-lived military camp in 1865 and after its departure it remained as only a very small settlement that served as a source of supplies to the local sheep ranchers and loggers.  It was not until 1901 that the town of Sisters was formally established although as the local lumber industry declined by the mid-1900s, the population actually decreased to a population of under 500.  Fortunately with the improvement of the roads, the area soon became a tourist destination and in the early 1970s the Sisters City Council passed an zoning ordinance requiring that all stores maintain a store front that replicated an old style Western appearance. While the appearance of the downtown area resembles somewhat of a Disneyworld western town (not totally real looking), the city is attractive and very popular.  The population of Sisters has actually more than doubled in the past ten years.  The annual quilt show has definitely helped with the city's popularity and growth and this year the show is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Kathy was as expected thrilled with the show and not unexpectedly she disappeared for awhile so that she could explore the quilts and stores without being hindered by her slow and more passive followers: myself, Joan, and Terri who joined us again last night. We were fortunate in one respect in that we arrived at the show early since we were able to find a parking space and avoid many of the hundreds of visitors that were to arrive later and flood the walks and streets of this charming little village.

We departed the quilt show and the city of Sisters after around three hours and headed north to visit a completely different type of tourist destination, the Smith Rock State Park.  Smith Rock is really unlike anything that we have visited so far to date in that it is a series of huge volcanic rocks rising almost vertically above the winding Crooked River.  This area besides being a popular hiking destination, is a world famous rock climbing area.  By rock climbing, I mean scaling a vertical cliff rising hundreds of feet above the banks of the river below. While the weather was overcast which detracts from the quality of our photographs, we were thrilled to be able to watch as many as a dozen climbers scaling the rock cliff.

If Kathy and I were younger or at least in as good a shape as my sister, we would have attempted to walk the trail to the top of the rock cliffs or down to the river to the starting point of the rock climbing.  Instead we preferred just to sit on a bench and watch the action from this comfortable position while at the same time insisting that our lack of activity was due to our need to watch over Kathy's precious dog Cabo. This was to be our last "tourist" activity for this Saturday.  We relaxed the rest of the afternoon at our campground, followed by a dinner off the grill, and once again a great nights sleep.

Sunday, July 12th:
Today Joan's plan for us is to hike a trail that runs along the bank of the Metolius River first to view one of the many springs that rush out of the mountain side feeding new water into the Metolius and then followed up with a visit to the very primary source of the Metolius River at the base of the nearby Black Butte Mountain. We are fascinated that a river of this magnitude would be created simply by water flowing out of the sides of mountains.  We guess that all rivers must start somewhere but for us to actually visit the beginning is quite an experience.

This spring and early summer has been relatively dry here in Oregon as was this past winter.  It is therefore somewhat surprising to see the vast flow of water flowing into the river from the mountain side as shown in this photo to the right. There were other areas along the river where we could see water entering the river but the spring shown in this photo was by far the largest flow.

This photograph to the left shows Kathy standing at the source of the mighty Metolius River.  When we looked down at the source that was only a small trickle of water coming from under the mountain and a small pond, but, it WAS THE BEGINNING. Maybe this is what really motivated us to travel almost 4,000 miles.  To visit the beginning.

Our final tourist activity of the day as planned by my sister Joan, our travel agent and our real motivator was a trip to the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery to see the source of the many fresh water fish that swim down our Metolius River.  The hatchery has been in existence here in the Camp Sherman area since 1947 and it was surprising large and well staffed on a daily basis.  There was even a help wanted ad if anyone is interested and according to the uniformed man that we ran into at the entrance, the position pays $13 per hour.  The photo of the fish in the huge tank that appears to the right is not the best, but we will testify that when Joan dropped some food into the tank, the fury of the Rainbow trout trying to get the small amount of her droppings was a sight to see.

This final photograph shows Kathy and I and Cabo on the bridge over the Metolius River that leads into the fish hatchery.  We had finally finished another wonderful day visiting this wonderful State of Oregon.  And best of all, there will be more wonderful sights to visit tomorrow.  Until then.

Chapter 24 - South Beach State Park to Camp Sherman,Oregon

Wednesday, July 8th (Continued)
One thing that we have discovered as we have traveled across our great country is that the internet system that we have grown to trust and depend on does not always work. Our connection in the very large and crowded South Beach State Park failed us as we reached the mid point of our last Blog chapter. This was unfortunate not only because we did not finish describing our adventure on the Oregon coat, but also because we knew that our next four nights and five days would be spent in a very isolated area in Central Oregon completely void of not only internet service but also of cell phone service.  Anyway, here we are back again so let us start getting all caught up.

The above photo of Kathy and I was taken in front of the Heteca Head Lighthouse which sits on a high bluff above the Pacific Ocean located about 30 miles south of our campground near Newport. The lighthouse which was opened in 1894 stands 56 feet tall and has a commanding view of the ocean and the large brown sandy beach below. The walk up to the light house was not more than 1/2 mile long up a picturesque trail that passed by the old restored lighthouse keeper's home (and of course a modern day giftstore) before finally reaching the lighthouse itself.

The photo to the right shows Joan and Kathy enjoying the trail up to the lighthouse through some of Oregon's beautiful Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine forests. The ever changing view of the Pacific Ocean on our left made this walk so enjoyable that we completely ignored the strain to our aging bodies caused by the uphill climb. 

This photo to the left was taken from a point just below the lighthouse. Our car was parked next to the beach area so the photograph gives a pretty clear picture of just how far we had to hike to get up to the lighthouse and it also shows very clearly why every step that we took climbing to the top was so well worth the effort.  What a beautiful view.  You have to be in love with the scenery in this State of Oregon and we have yet to experience the Cascade Mountains or the famous Columbia River Gorge.

This photo of Kathy and Cabo was taken down on the beach below the lighthouse.  The lighthouse in the background is partially hidden by trees, but in the photo it is almost directly over Kathy's (the cowgirl) head.  The sand on the beach was wet but firm which made walking very easy.  From what we understand the sand is composed mostly of pulverized volcanic rock as opposed to the sand on the South Florida beaches which is composed more of coral and limestone fragments. The result is that the sand here on the west coast is a browner color than the whiter sand found in South Florida. 

This final photo taken at the beach below the Heteca Head Lighthouse shows my sister Joan throwing a frisbee in the air with her dog Bodhi running as fast as he can so as to catch the frisbee in mid-air.  The strong breeze off the ocean made catching the frisbee more difficult but Bodhi was successful more times than not.  While it is difficult to see in the photograph there were wet-suited body surfers in the ocean trying their best to catch a wave.  I am not sure what the water temperatures are here on the coast of Oregon but the air temperatures are in the high 60s so there is no way you would catch this old Floridian swimming on this beach.

We returned to our campsite by mid-afternoon with our only plan for the afternoon to relax and then prepare for our 5 pm Oregon wine tasting get together followed by a cookout.  There was a problem however, that must be mentioned.  The mosquitos were just awful and despite the profuse amount of repellent that covered our bodies, we were eventually driven into Joan's Airstream to finish up the bottle and enjoy a dinner of cheese and cracker hors d'oeuvres. Oh well.

Thursday, July 9th:
Today we decided to mostly ignore our role as tourists and instead prepare for our trip tomorrow to the Smiling River Campsite located near Camp Sherman in Central Oregon. Preparation is particularly important in this case because our next campsite has no electric, water, or sewer hookups, or heaven forbid, no cable TV hookup, nor is there a nearby laundromat.  We wanted to make sure that we would have no problems spending four nights at a "primitive" campground.  While Joan was an experienced primitive camper, this will be a new experience for Kathy and I and of course for Cabo.

Friday, July 10th:
Joan suggested that we take an alternate route to get to our next campsite rather than the one suggested by our Garmin.  Apparently her experience has taught her that the mountain roads on Hwy 20 east of Corvallis that lead over to Camp Sherman might be a bit too much for our Dodge Grand Caravan pulling our trailer.  We have climbed grades up to 6% but anything over that grade we were worried might destroy our transmission.  Our route east on Hwy 126 was south of Hwy 20 and around 30 minutes longer, but it was a beautiful drive as it followed the McKenzie River up into the Cascade Mountains and the extra time spent on the road was well worth it. The view in the above photo was typical of what we experienced on our drive today.

Despite the primitive nature of the campsite that Joan selected for our visit to the Cascades and the Three Sister Mountains here in Central Oregon, the campsite was without any qualification the prettiest that we have stayed in so far on this trip. Both of our travel trailers were positioned in the tall evergreen forests found on the western slopes of the mountain range and even better, our sites were located directly on the banks of the Metolius River noted as a great place to go fly fishing. Darn, we forgot our poles.  Our travel trailer is only 10 feet tall so as you look at the photo try to calculate how tall the firs and pines are that surround our small trailer.  Over 100 feet tall for sure. I measured the diameter of one of the Douglas Firs near our trailer and the diameter was 5'-0.  Who could not love such a setting.

This last photo is one of the favorite photos that I have taken on this trip.  It shows a young father with his two young sons.  I watched them as the carefully walked out on the large tree trunk that had fallen into the Metolius River near our campsite. After they had carefully positioned themselves on the huge log, the father started casting into the river with his fly fishing rod while at the same time continuously and carefully explaining everything that he was doing to his young sons.  I will fondly remember the scene for awhile; the two young sons will no doubt remember the scene for the remainder of their lives.

Kathy and I look forward to what Joan has planned for us tomorrow in this beautiful Land of Oregon. 
      

Chapter 23 - South Beach State Park, Newport, Oregon

Wednesday, July 8th:
Joan's plan for us today is to drive south down the coastal highway around 35 miles and visit two very scenic areas, the first stop being Cape Perpetua, and the second the Heceta Head Lighthouse.  According to Joan the views from both of these high points along the Oregon coast are just incredible although she also warned us that we would be hiking some uphill trails to reach the high points "so be prepared."

Cape Perpetua has an interesting history as it was named by Captain James Cook back in 1778 when he sighted the 800 foot high steep bluff rising above the Pacific Ocean during his search for the Northwest Passage.  He apparently observed the cape on St. Perpetua's Day hence its name.

Fortunately we could drive much of the way up to the top of the bluff and the final section that we did have to walk was paved, not particularly steep, and was very lovely not only because of the views but also because of the natural and lush green forest plants and trees that surrounded the trail. The view from the top of Cape Perpetua is shown in the photograph of myself above sitting on a stone wall. It was breathtaking and impossible to describe in words. Hope the photo helps.

Incidentally much of the trail to the top of Cape Perpetua including the stone wall that I previously mentioned and the stone shelter shown in this photograph were construction by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in 1933 so obviously Kathy, Joan, and I were not the first to blaze the trail to the top of this high bluff.  No photograph and particularly not the one taken by my iPad camera can really capture the beauty and the scenery of this magnificent Oregon Coastline.

This photograph of Kathy and Joan which was taken down near the rocky Pacific Ocean shoreline shows in the background a view of just how high Cape Perpetua. rises above the ocean surface and it is no wonder that Captain James Cook was able to spot the cape from so far out in the Pacific Ocean.







After completing a long hike especially by my much younger sister Joan who agreed to walk back (uphill) to get the car and then come back and pick us up along Hwy 101, we continued heading south to reach our second objective, The Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Chapter 22 - Corvallis to South Beach State Park

Monday, July 6th:

Our plan today is to drive only 60 miles from Corvallis over to the Oregon coastline where we will be staying at a campground in the South Beach State Park located only a few miles south of the city of Newport and less than 1/2 mile off the Pacific Ocean. Despite the short distance over to the campground our drive is expected to take at least 1-1/2 hours since to get from Corvallis in the Willamette Valley to the coastline we had to climb over Oregon's Coastal mountain range.  While the highest point that we reached on the drive was only an elevation of 900 feet, much of the drive was on a two lane winding road where our top speed reached no more than 50 mph.  The drive again was beautiful as all of the hills were covered with Oregon's famous Douglas Firs and other tall evergreens.  Our campsite was a pleasant surprise with large paved spaces, and plenty of shade trees and scrubs. In addition, one of the trails over to the beach area was right next to our campsite.  The photo above shows both our travel trailer on the left and my sister Joan's shinny Gulfstream trailer on the right.

Once our two trailers were both hooked up, Kathy and Joan took their dogs (Cabo and Bodhi) on a walk over to the beach on the 1/3 mile trail located right next to our trailer. The photo to the right shows Kathy and the dogs on the beach. One thing that we quickly discovered is that the temperatures here on the Oregon Coast were quite a bit cooler than in the Willamette Valley and for that matter, in the rest of Oregon. On the beach the temperatures were in the mid-60s whereas over in Corvallis only 60 miles east, the temperature at the same time period was in the mid-90s.

After lunch we decided that we would head north for a short drive into Newport both to do a bit of shopping as well as to explore an area within the City of Newport known as Nye Beach.  Nye Beach was a popular tourist destination located directly on the Pacific Ocean. The area was occupied with dozens of quaint shoppes, restaurants, small hotels, and many neat condos and small cottages. The beauty of the area kind of reminded us of one of the many villages along the coastline of Ireland that we had visited a few years back.   

This photo of Cabo and I was taken by Joan while Kathy wandered in and out of the many small shoppes that lined the streets running up and down the hills above the ocean.  In the background in the photo of Cabo and I (almost impossible to see without enlarging the photo) is the lighthouse on Yaquina Head that protrudes far out into the ocean. Tomorrow part of our plan is to visit the lighthouse. 

We returned back to our campground around 4 o'clock just in time to begin our "cocktail hour" and sit around, relax, and discuss the good times that we had today and what fun things that we have planned for tomorrow.  My sister Joan has done an outstanding job so far planning and acting as our tour guide.  We could never have seen Oregon as we have so far without her help.  Tonight the temperatures are expected to drop into the low 50s. Great sleeping weather but we may want to wear our flannel pajamas. 

Tuesday, July7th:

Today Joan has a full day planned so she suggested that we get an early start and get on the road by 8:30 am. This is no problem for Kathy and I as we have been usually rising by 5 am. Our first plan this morning is to visit the old fishing piers, The Bayfront, in the City of Newport, population around 10,000.  Newport was originally settled in the late 1860s when it was discovered that the Yaquina Bay upon which the city sits was loaded with oyster beds. Fishermen soon flocked to the area hoping to profit from the sale of oysters that were considered a prized delicacy in cities like San Francisco. The city was finally officially founded in 1866.  Fishing is still a large business here in Newport although tourism has probably taken over as the largest industry. 

We walked out on the docks by the numerous commercial fishing boats many which had probably just returned from a night of fishing.  Several of the boats still had men working on board probably cleaning up from the previous nights efforts. I could not help notice however, that many of the boat slips were empty possibly because the boats and their crews were still out fishing. It is also possible of course, that the fishing industry has gotten considerable smaller over the past few decades. Whatever the case, this visit to the docks was an interesting experience.  

This photograph of Joan communicating with a dog on board one of the many fishing boats in the harbor is a classic.  The dog probably had been aboard the fishing boat all night while its owner and its crew had fished and now that daylight had arrived and the dog was anxious to get off the boat, the sight of a human walking along the dock had peaked the dogs interest. Anyway, I love the photograph.

The next place that we visited was up the coast and out on a peninsula known as Yaquina Head. It is here that a famous lighthouse is located that was first lite back on August 30, 1873 and it is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The lighthouse has been the setting of at least three movies over the past few decades and we have to admit that it quite a sight to see. It is 93 feet tall and it is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon. But even better than the view of this lighthouse is its setting on the rocky coast of Oregon.

Just below the lighthouse is a beach known as Cobble Beach which consists almost entirely of cobble stones made from volcanic rocks which are said to be 14 million years old. As planned by Joan we arrived at the lighthouse and Cobble Beach during the low tide which allowed us and many others to walk out onto the volcanic rocks that are covered with mussel claims, star fishes, and other critters and to witness the enormous beauty of what is normally underwater in an incredible spectacular setting. This is what traveling is all about when one gets to visits these special places in our great country.

This photo of Joan and Kathy was taken with the backdrop of the beautiful Oregon coastline. This place is so special that we are not looking forward to ever heading back east. Oregon is just a special place with its beautiful coastline, its Willamette Valley and it eastern Cascade Mountain Range. We still have another two weeks here in Oregon and we are looking forward to every minute of our visit.    

     

      

Chapter 21 - Portland to Corvallis, Oregon

Friday, July 3rd:
Today the employers in Portland gave their employees the day off.  This must be the case for I-5 through Portland had fewer cars and we sailed down the highway and into the Willamette Valley with no difficulty. For the first time in almost a week our drive was without stress.  Our destination today is to reach Corvallis, Oregon which is only two hours south of Portland, and then check in at the Benton Oaks RV Park which we understand is very close to my sister Joan's home. Visiting my sister has always been the main goal of our whole adventure so today is kind of like the culmination of our entire trip.

Benton Oaks RV is actually part of the Benton County Fair Grounds so we are not sure what to expect as it is not a typical RV Park, that is, no swimming pool, no laundry, no registration office, etc. Despite the unusual nature of the park and its attachment to the fairgrounds where rodeos are held, and sheep, cow, and goat judging takes place, we were issued a very nice shaded location to park our trailer. Our space was on the exterior of the property and next door to a scenic field where grass is grown and seeds are harvested. In fact shortly after our arrival huge harvesting machines worked through the grass fields causing a dust storm of gigantic proportions. Fortunately we were warned of this pending activity and we closed our windows and vents before we headed off to begin our visit with Joan and Terri.

We spent the afternoon and early evening with Joan and Terri at their lovely home before returning to our travel trailer about 7:30 pm.  While their address is listed as Corvallis their home is located just to the west of main part of the city in the foothills of the Coastal Range of mountains that lie between the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Ocean. The home is designed such that windows cross the entire front of the house which faces the mountains. This design allows a wall to wall view of the mountains from within the home. My sister takes credit for the design of their home and she desires a standing ovation for the delightful end result.

Saturday, June 4th:
Today being the 4th of July our plan was obviously to attend the 4th of July parade in downtown Corvallis. Also part of Terri's and Joan's plan was to take us to a Farmer's Market held every Saturday followed by a walk through the historic downtown area of Corvallis.  It was very easy to fall in love with Corvallis.  Most of the homes particularly near the downtown area were beautifully landscaped. Many of the front yards were completely covered with trees and plantings allowing no room for grass. Such an approach in design seems like a lot of hard work especially to maintain but the end result is perfectly charming. We also noticed while walking through the downtown shopping area that the streets were lined with trees on both sides.  The end result of the trees while obviously adding beauty, also meant that the sidewalks were all under the shade of the trees. One other final observation was that almost all of the shoppes appeared to be owned and operated by locals as there were virtually no national chain stores at least within the main downtown area. We had been told that the 4th of July parade was opened to anyone who wanted to march in the parade.  This turned out to be the case, and before I knew it both Joan and Kathy were marching with the hundreds of other folks down the parade route. Kathy who is never shy about getting involved, then started marching along with The Statue of Liberty. Oh the joys of living in a small town.

After walking along the Willamette River and then through downtown Corvallis, we walked through the local Farmer's Market where Joan and Terri purchased all kinds of berries.  The market was really a special place for shopping with all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and meats, as well as plantings for sale, and here and there even groups of entertainers were playing music for donations.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at Joan's and Terri's culminating with a few glasses of wine and a great steak dinner.  We returned to our travel trailer and had a great nights sleep as the outside temperatures slowly dropped.

Sunday, July 5th:

This morning before we headed out to again spend the day with Joan and Terri, I decided to experience a few minutes attending the goat show at the Benton County Fairgrounds. The goat show, which they were calling the ABGA Goat Show (the American Boar Goat Association) was a contest where judges reviewed different categories of goats (young and old) and awarded ribbons for best in show.  I was surprised to see how many goats were being judged, there must have been at least one hundred or more, and the wide range of ages of the owners presenting their goats, from preteens to adults.  Most of the goats seemed to cooperate fairly well although the owners were constantly adjusting the goats legs and their positions. A few of the goats did not appear to like being pushed around and they protested with load BAAs. I spent only around 15 or 20 minutes watching the goats and their owners but I totally enjoyed watching the goings on.  It was probably only a once in a life time experience for this elderly Florida resident. When I returned to our trailer I spent a few minutes cleaning off the bottoms of my new sneakers that were covered with fresh goat poop.

Our plan with Joan and Terri today was to do some shopping this morning and then head out to one of the local Willamette Valley wineries, the Tyee Wine Cellar, that opened their business at noon.  The winery was one of the older wineries in the area with the first vineyard planted back in 1974.  The farm itself according to the owners had been in their family for five generations.  The tasting room was small but with only Joan and I actually sampling the wine, the size of the room was not distracting and the atmosphere was delightful as we enjoyed sampling five different wines.  At noon even five small samples of wine can loosing up my otherwise tight wallet, and I ended up purchasing four bottles of their wine. I am sure that this coming week, Joan and I are going to enjoy the wine and fondly remember our visit to the Tyee Winery.

One of the interesting things that we discovered on the grounds of the winery was an old apple tree that according to the winery's literature was planted by one of the Oregon Trail settlers back in the 1850s. The tree was in rather bad shape but it still was bearing fruit and despite my urging none of the girls was willing to eat one of its apples.  I guess old guys are just not appreciated.

On our return trip back to Joan's and Terri's home we drove through one of Benton County's parks that was named the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge. According to what Joan had read, there is an old farmhouse in the park that was apparently owned by the original owner of the land.  After driving about two miles into the 5,325 acre park we finally came across an old farm house that was in some need of repair but otherwise was an interesting and obviously an historical old home.  I told Joan that we were enjoying our visit to Oregon so much that Kathy and I were going to make an offer to purchase this old fixer upper farmhouse. Joan told us quite seriously that the house was not for sale.  We were quite despondent during our return drive to Corvallis.

Tomorrow we all head for South Beach on the Pacific coastline where we plan to spend the next three days and four nights.  Until then.

Chapter 20 - Issaguah to Portland, Oregon

Tuesday, June 30th:
Our drive down from Seattle to Portland reminded us of the Indianapolis 500 Speedway. Four lanes all filled with cars, trucks, and RVs all traveling (except for one) at speeds in excess of the 70 mph speed limit. Even when the highway dropped down to three lanes, it did not change my level of stress which was on a hot boil from the onset and ready to explode. Furthermore, through most of the four hour drive the scenery was boring as it was highly commercialized. No beautiful mountain peaks; no fields of corn, wheat, or grape vines. This was not a good introduction to our next three days which we had planned to spend at the Jantzen Beach RV Park located on Hayden Island in the Columbia River just north of Portland, Oregon. One thing that we definitely were not going to do was to visit busy downtown Portland. The Jantzen Beach RV Park was very highly rated which very much influenced our decision to stay there instead of at another park in a more rural setting. In hindsight, we probably should have selected a park closer to the Pacific Coast but our dye had been cast. Not surprisingly, considering the approaching 4th of July weekend, the park was full although there was plenty of room between the RV spaces, the park was well landscaped, and the facilities offered the full gambit of activities from swimming pools, fitness room, billiard room, laundrymat, etc. and there were lots of nearby stores.  We will make the best of it and it should mean that we will have a chance to slow down before our visit with my sister Joan on July 3rd.

Wednesday, July 1st:
Last night Kathy and I decided to drive the 90 miles (without the trailer) over to the city of Astoria located on the Columbia River near its mouth on the Pacific Ocean.  This area is known not only for its beauty but also because it was near the location where the Lewis and Clark Expedition spent the winter of 1805-1806 and more importantly, it is the location where the Pacific Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor began its fur trading operation in the northwest in 1811.  Their fur trading post they named Fort Astoria obviously after the company's owner. Astoria has the distinction of being recognized as the first permanent settlement on the Pacific Coast.  The photograph above was taken from a site overlooking Astoria

Astoria is wonderful place to visit not only because of its history but also because the city has a certain charm particularly with respect to the many older homes on the hillside over looking the city. Many of these homes have incredible to-die-for views.  We particularly liked a home that was built in 1885 that is now a museum named the Flavel House Museum named after its original owner.

Another feature that we found in the city that we would never see anywhere in Florida, were the huge evergreen trees many like the one in this photograph, that are well over 100 years old. In fact everywhere that we have driven in both Washington and Oregon the evergreen trees are very tall, much taller than anything that we have seen in the east. One thing we also observed today while driving across the northwest of Oregon, were logging operations that were cutting down hundreds of acres of these massive trees. We understand why they are being cut down but it was nevertheless kind of sad to witness the end results.

Kathy and I and Cabo spent time walking along the waterfront in Astoria. This photograph, one of many that we took, shows Kathy and Cabo in front of a large and old anchor in front of the maritime museum.    

This final photo of Kathy and Cabo in the Astoria area is one of my favorites.  It was taken as was the first photo in this chapter from a tall hill overlooking the city of Astoria. The river in the background is a tributary of the Columbia named the Youngs River.

After a few hours of walking and driving around Astoria we decided to continue our visit of this northwest corner of Oregon by driving down Highway 101 along the Pacific coastline.  Our first stop which was just south of Astoria was in one of the parks of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park System, specifically a park known as Fort Clatsop. Fort Clatsop is the site where Lewis and Clark and their men spent the winter months of 1805-1806.  The fort itself is just a recreation of the original fort but despite its fantasy nature, it was a fun place to visit particularly because of its beautiful setting in the tall evergreen forest.

Kathy loved this photo of Cabo with Lewis and Clark's Indian guide Sacagawea and her baby.  In keeping with our recent cowgirl theme, Kathy loaned Sacagawea her cowgirl hat.

The first major city that we encountered as we drove down Hwy 101 was the City of Seaside. Seaside was clearly a major tourist destination based on what we could see of the town from Hwy 101. Nevertheless our curiosity got the best of us, so we drove down their major street, Broadway Street, that was headed directly for the Pacific Ocean.  This narrow mostly one way street was loaded on both sides with tourist oriented shopes and the sidewalks were crowded with people of all ages. This photograph taken at the turnaround at the end of Broadway (no parking allowed) gave us a view of a huge sandy beach that sat directly on the Pacific Ocean. It might have been fun to get out and walk around but no way with these crowds.  One thing that I forget to mention was that in Portland this afternoon the temperatures were in the mid-90s.  Here on the Pacific coast the temperatures were no higher than the mid 70s.  It was hard to leave this area when we finally headed "home" at around 3 o'clock.  

Our final stop in our trip south on Hwy 101 was to be the Ecola State Park where we hoped we would be able to see some great views of the Pacific Ocean and the rocky Oregon coastline.  We were not only not disappointed, we both agreed that the views from this park were something so wonderful that they would never be forgotten. No photographs can capture what the human eye can see but if we are to choose only one photograph to hang on the wall of our Estero home, this will be the photo.

This final photograph of the old man in blue resting on his back end was also taken from the Ecola State Park.

We drove back to Portland on Hwy 26 which took us across some beautiful Cascade Mountains with our highest point reaching just over 3,000 feet.  Traffic was relatively light and the winding road through the mountains was a pleasant way to end the day. Unfortunately once we reached the outskirts of Portland, the traffic came to almost a complete halt. The final ten miles back to our RV Park took us an agonizing 45 minutes.  Boy were we happy to get back.  We quickly made the decision that tomorrow we will travel no further than a few miles from home. We must prepare mentally for the awful drive through Portland on the morning of July 3rd.  We only hope that the coming holiday weekend will keep everybody off the roads.