The Northwestern most point in the lower US

Beach Horse Back Riding At Long Beach, Washington

I know these last few blogs have been a little cheesy and it is because I have been writing in my log for the book and trying to show folks where we are in the worl right now. It could just be a break from having you read my long entries. This video entry is for Vicki and the great grandparents! Just so you can see the kids having a blast doing what they love!

I must apologize in advance, I am on a horse taking the video so it's a tad jumpy!

Heres a short video of us on Ruby Beach on the way up the Washington Coast inside of Olympic National Park

As Northwest As You Can Get!

Over the past week or so we have made our way up (and down and up again) the coast or Oregon and today we will reach our destination of the western most point in the lower US in Washington state on an Indian Reservation.

One of the cool places to visit in Oregon is Tillamook and once there there are a couple of places that you should see along with everybody else who visits this cool coastal town. If you are into French Cheeses then the Blue Heron Cheese Factory is for you.

Oh Yeah, they have a petting zoo for the kids too.

The Tillamook Creamery is a definite have to visit, I think. The factory tour is one of the best we've been on, the product for sale in the on site store is less expensive then you can buy it out in the world (and it probably should be all things considered) the people that work there are the genuinely nice and friendly making it real (even though they see 500, 000 people per year mostly in the summer. 3 t0 5,000 per day)

and the Ice Cream is so great it almost beats the Ice Cream at the Flamingo in Key West.

She may not know it but this is our new cheese connection, Mary Jo. In this picture, everyone but Michaela, forgot to say CHEESE!

This is also the land of smoked salmon and beef and cod and cheese and anything else you want smoked. But it truly is the home of some of the nicest people we've met. You can bring your catch of the day into Debbies D's Smoke Shack and they will fillet it and smoke it for you, to order.

I guess you could say that in Tillamook somebody is always smokin' something!

And when your staying in Netarts Bay, There is no movie theater unless you go into town so you're better off having your own movie theater under the dining room table in the motorhome.

Friendly Tillamook!

A view looking back at the Bridge that brings you into Waldport

On our first full day on the Orgeon Coast we rolled out of bed a little after 9 had our showers and put our selves together for a full day of exploring the coast south of us down into Florence. We stopped whenever we would see something that looked interesting to us. We were really struck by two things that first morning. The absolute beauty of the, most of the time, rugged meandering coast line and secondly all of the Tsunami Warning Signs. Now there is something we had never really thought of before visiting here. As you read the signs for what to do if you are in one of these areas, which is basically, the entire coasts of Northern California, Oregon and Washington you realize that you had better be ready to hightail it, if you have the presence to realize as a visitor that you just experienced an earthquake. I am not certain that I would know what it felt like but I was sure that I was paying attention while I (we) were out there walking on the very extended beaches during low tide. We stopped and had the rare lunch in a restaurant in the village of Yachats. This is pronounced YA- HOTS. At a little family restaurant called the Drift In. It was busy and not with just tourists but locals as well. Even with knowing as little as I frequent restaurants Iyou cna trust that if the locals are eating there it is a good bet that the food is good and the prices reasonable.

This is Little Miss Sunshine Smiles

After lunch our first site see stop was the Devils Churn. One of the places where the relentless pounding of the ocean has worn into the terrain of the coast and has created an active chasm that illustrates the power of the water and waves up close and personal. See if you can watch the video. Sorry it is side ways but this was my first go at the video and I do not know how to turn it 90 degrees. Here are a few pictures of the experience as well.

We left Waldport Monday at 11 and headed in a basically northern direction weaving along the coast of Oregon looking to land in the Camp Lookout State Park on the Three Capes Loop. We drove the summer congested 101 back through the active villages of Newport, Otter Rock, Depoe Bay and Lincoln City that we had passed thru just a couple of days before, in the evening, heading south. They are much busier during the morning hours as the thousands of us tiurist are doing what we do when we visit little sea villages. Then we passed the junction of Rt 18 that we had come in on from the east and as we continued passed on up 101 we were now moving further north than any of us had ever been in the pacific norhtwest before. On this leg it got less populated, more beautiful and a little more challenging or fun, depending on how you view it, to drive with a motor home. It almost felt as though we were in a rain forest. It was foggy when we got here to the coast, it has been foggy to some extend everyday and it rains mist from the fog a lot of the time but changes almost instantly evry 5 to 10 minutes or so.

After Devils Churn viewing we hiked the other side of this National Recreation area and ended up atthe rocky shores and beach area to the south. The kids played in the tidal pools left in the rocks for 40 mins and then down on to the beach and into a driftwood makeshift shelter someone had obviuosly taken quite a bit of time to create. They were pirates for a day that evening and the scene was gorgeous. After a considerable hike and playing in the greenery on the hillside that made natural forts, on the way back to the car, we loaded up and continued south towards Florence. We stopped every so often for more pictures and also momentarily at the "Sea Lions Caves". This is a place discoverd many years ago where the sea lions come naturally in abundance (during certain times of the year) and not at this time of the year. It has been made into a tourisat attration that charges 9 dollars for each person to get down 125 feet to the level of a naturally created cave where they lie enmass to rest from the ocean. They were closed when we got there so we talked to a guy outside who told us there were only a couple in the cave and not worth going anyway from his perspective. So we were glad they were closed. We continued our drive to Florence and the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. This is not only a huge stretch of beach but also the place to go to do Dune Buggy and Quad rentals to ride all over the sand back off the beach. We never found any place to rent from at the hour we were there so we went and played on the beach for a hour or so before it began to rain lightly. At that point it was getting late in the evening and we began the trek backto Waldport for supper and Olympic TV. It had been a good full day and it once again confirmed that we don't have to do all the fancy tourist gigs to provide solid entertainment value for the kids.

We're NATION WIDE!

Making it to the Pacific Coast and the first photo shoot!

Yesterday, we entered into the coastal region of Oregon. We came in through the town of Lincoln City at the intersection of our road, route 18, with the historic and picturesque, North-South running Highway 101.

Michaela mentioned to us yesterday somewhere after we reached the coast that she wants to visit Chicago and Las Vegas. Megan mentioned to her that we are now on the west coast and that we would have to back up and then travel north and south instead of east to west. Micky looked at her like, "So whats the problem, Grammie." She is definitely a road trip kinda girl.

Just before the coast as you are traveling from the East to the West, depending on the route that you take you can come to a set of foot hills, we came in through Salem, OR on route 99 before turning west on route 18. When we entered Salem, a bank sign we rolled by read 103 degrees and it was 7 pm. It had reached 105 degrees in the gorge the day before and it was supposed to be hotter on Saturday. We only stayed till 5 and it was deadly hot but to offset it we spent the day high into the hills surrounding the gorge and in the ice cool waters of a mountain stream.

As soon as we got down from the mountain we hightailed it for the coast and here is why!

As soon as we crossed over the foothills and down on the approach to Lincoln City the temperature dropped 40 plus degrees and everyone scrambled for a light jacket.

By the time we reached the RV park in Waldport at 9 PM, we had traveled 40 miles south on 101 through fog the whole way and the temps were in the low 50's. It was refreshing and wonderful after spending the last two days in the almost unbearable heat. Oh and by the way, for almost the very first time since being in the west we did not hear a train last night and I slept straight through the night (after having stayed up to watch Mike Phelps win his 8th gold medal, I love the Olympic Games)

Breakfast, Saturday Morning from High above the Gorge at the very eastern beginning!

A View from the Bridge of the Gods! Oregon to Washington and back again!

The Amazing Brownville Dam - Washington Side looking Eastward

The Fish Ladder viewing station from inside and under the dam

The Mountain and the Trail!

The Falls and how far they Fall!

The view from the bottom of the falls!

The view from the top of the falls!

Three Quarters of the crew, partially up the mountain!

The Magic Bus from Half way up the mountain!

A Few More Pictures from Yesterday

Central Idaho westward bound

Hells Canyon Overlook

Pictures from the Road (While we have service)

This is us on our last day in McCall, Idaho with our friends Ardie, Chris, Hannah and Cracker

Jug Handle Mountain in the backround is in their backyard Fresh picked berries, picked by Megan & Ardie, Huckleberry Pancakes in the AM,

Um, UM Good!
Jasper and Michaela - L o w -R i d e r's

Jasper buys a new BB Gun!

At the Grocery Store in McCall - Humm!

We finally make it to Oregon on Thursday afternoon

and change our clocks yet again

Can you find the humor in this photo? I sure thought it was funny. In fact I had to go two miles out of my way to turn around to take the picture and then find a place to turn around again after taking it.

Double click on the image to see what it says on the building.

Look at the color of the sky out here. Seems to be like this everyday!
See ya next time!