We're kinda overdue on a blog post. Time to catch up - I guess we are just having too much fun!
We finished our volunteer commitment in Oregon. June went soothly, but in July, we quite often had to contend with various weather conditions (fog, rain, wind) that either delayed our start times or - in a couple of instances - cancelled our work day completely. Despite the occasional foul weather, we totally enjoyed Harris Beach, as it is one of the most scenic places we have visited.
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| Harris Beach, OR |
About a week before we left Harris Beach, our friends from Colorado, James and Mary, came out to visit us for a few days. It was great to see them and we enjoyed showing them the Redwoods and the coastal beauty of the Oregon coast.
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| James and Mary at Stout Grove |
No trip to the Oregon coast is complete without a tour of the Cape Blanco lighthouse, so this was another fun and fascinating experience.
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| Cape Blanco Light Tower |
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| Looking up the Stairwell |
We had previously discovered an authentic German restaurant, where they make and smoke their own sausages and meats. The German couple had relocated from Germany to this area in the late 1970's and opened this restaurant and campground. So on the final night before James and Mary's departure, we had an authentic German feast, complete with entertainment by the proprietor of the establishment.
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| Black Forest Kitchen |
We all had a wonderful time and look forward to the next time we can get together for some fun and adventure!
When it was time for us to depart the southern Oregon coast, we had a shorter than usual timeframe to reach the Seattle area where Loretta's granddaughter would be joining us for a week.
Traveling along the northern coast of Oregon, we passed through numerous cool looking towns and beautiful coastal areas that need to be revisited for more exploration.
We stopped in Tillamook for a couple of days and took the tour of the famous cheese factory and then enjoyed ice cream at their 'in town' location. Twice.
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| Tillamook Cheese! |
On a quick trip out to nearby Cape Meares, we saw a lot of the same birds as Harris Beach, plus their famous lighthouse.
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| Cape Meares |
While in Tillamook, we stayed at a really unique campground at the airport. No hookups, but very spacious, grassy campsites with a view of the nearby coastal mountains.
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| Campsite in Tillamook |
There was very little airport traffic, and only three (3) other campers during our stay. Watching a mother killdeer and her four (4) chicks was an added bonus to our stay.
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| Not-so-Clear Killdeer and Chick |
Continuing north along the coast to Astoria, Oregon, then east and finally north into Washington, we spent a couple of days at Silver Lake to be able to explore Mt. St. Helens. We went to every visitor center, saw every film, plus attended a park ranger talk about the famous 1980 eruption. The story of the people and events leading up to and after the eruption is facinating and deserves a post of its own.
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| Mt. St. Helens |
I told you that we were having too much fun!
Up next: Seattle and beyond.
