Our Road Trips

8/27/2014

Today, while making the 99th post on this blog, we are preparing to start our trek back across the US, headed home. We are going to take our time, but we will be generally moving SE. We really don't have a target date to be home, but sometime in October is it for now. So hang in there, there is a lot more to come.

Sunday, we had several reasons to just take it a little easy for a day. Sat. night's fiasco trying to get home was among the reasons, a need for a day of rest, and stay out of the way of the locals as they moved home were others. So we stayed at the camper, made a nice breakfast and relaxed. We did get ambitious and give the camper a bath, get the last of British Columbia off. I checked all the posted rules about washing vehicles and found nothing, so we proceeded, only to get scolded by the volunteers at the camp ground, who turned us in to the Rangers. We both felt like kids who got caught steeling cookies or something, but they were nice about it and we ended up telling them in a 15 min story about our last 4 months...turns out the head ranger is the son of a retired Portland Firefighter who is traveling with his wife...all was good. Barb walked down to the beach while I was finishing up to take some pictures of the beach in front of this camp ground. The Oregon coast is an amazing place...beaches, mountains, rock formations, huge trees, etc.

On Monday morning, we set out for Coos Bay, about 230 miles south on US 101. What an amazing day!!
We stopped for lunch in a tiny town called Oceanside and had a delicious lunch while looking at the beach. We continued south stopping at numerous places to view amazing places like Devil's Punch Bowl, Cape Perpetua, and lots of other pull outs for photo opportunities. We never made it to Coos Bay...it was getting dark about Florence so we decided to stop in Reedsport, 190 miles from where we started at Nehalem Bay. We were still full from lunch, so we got a motel room and settled in for the night. Barb had been doing all the driving and was tired out...lots of stops. And tomorrow we will retrace our route with stops at what we missed. It will be another long day.

On Tuesday morning, after a so-so breakfast at the motel, we headed back north. First stop was the Oregon Dunes Recreation area, endless sand and folks who want plenty $$$ to give you a ride...we passed on that. Sea Lion's Cave was next, the elevator was broken so it was closed except to take pictures and buy souvenirs..imagine that. So after a few dozen shots, we moved on to Cape Fowlweather...aptly named by Capt. Cooke a very long time ago. Photo ops abound...lighthouses, big trees, very cool bridges, mountains, valleys, rock formations, tunnels, beaches and more beaches. One place states on a sign we were 500 feet above the sea, another place we must have been 750...what an amazing ride. We stopped & toured the Cheese factory in Tillamook, a Mytlewood Factory outlet and had dinner at the recommended Pacific Seafood Restaurant in Bay City (excellent) and it was time to stop and take sunset pictures. The day just flew by. We got home last night after dark again...lots to see & do everywhere we go, it seems.

Today, we are packing up and moving to Rufus, Oregon. It is 4 hours east and along the Columbia River, and the trip will include a pass through Portland. We will visit Mt St Helens from there and there will be lots of pictures of the Columbia River Gorge too...but getting Wi-Fi may be an issue...we will see.

Thanks for riding along, it has been an amazing ride...lots more to come.

Steve & Barbara Larson