Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Backtrackin'

Camp #9, Dunes Recreational Area, coast or Oregon.

Somewhere along the way I decided that being in the general area I ought to visit Mt. St. Helens. So I took a deep breath and backtracked through Portland and north;on the southward run from Seattle I didn't notice the mountain at all. Going north it's kind of difficult to figure out how that was possible. Both Mt. St. Helens and Rainier are very prominent. The problem with visiting all these cool out back of beyond places is that you have to drive, and drive, and drive to reach them. I have taken to stopping at visitors bureaus (or whatever they're called). These people go crazy trying to tell you everything! And usually have some good tips re where to stay and etc. So the Eco Resort Park was highly recommended and there I went. A beautiful place out out there on the road to Mt. SH. It became memorable because I had my first nightmare (that I remember) There was a big earthquake and something cold and wet was pouring on my head. It was very real. Decidedly creepy. In the morning, packed up, had breakfast at the Resort restaurant and set sail for the mountain. Wow.
Crazy cool to look at knowing what happened but even more so after seeing a film about the eruption and hearing 2 ranger talks. Glad I visited but probably wouldn't ever stay at Eco again.
Following the afternoon at the Mt. went back through Portland (I'm really good at hitting during rush hour and mostly by dumb luck managed to get on my target route back to the coast. There's an interesting winery corridor on Route 18 west, southwest of Portland. It would be worth a visit rather than a drive by.
One really irritating thing in Oregon, other than gas station attendants, is the 55 speed limit on secondary roads. Aggghhrhhgh!
On Tuesday set up Camp #8 at Beverly Beach. This site is a little farther from the beach so not so windy and a little sunny. The beach, though as gorgeous as any, is considerably more windy and no fun at all so I went exploring all the nearby towns and scenic overviews. Saw whales; in Depoe Bay by the Whale Watching Center (hmmm)!

This morning when I woke up my first conscious thought was, "I want a gun." It was 5:45 a.m and the crows were carrying on about something. Then at 6:30 the kids one space over were out riding their lazer scooters and there's a whiny screamer. Was fixing breakfast when I ran out of propane; that's not supposed to happen. Packed up and took off for the next spot down the coast around 11:00. My first order of business was to get my car washed. Somehow I wasn't surprised when the guy said he's have to charge me for "extra dirty". We feel so much better now. Then I had to brave Wal-Mart again hoping that they'd managed to get my docs ok for a RX refill. Finally. So I'm headed south to check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium. They're rated 10th best in the country and deserve it. This is a totally awesome facility. Left there around 3:00. This trip down the coast via 101 is really turning out to be all I'd hoped for. Saw (another) lighthouse today (Heceta Head), crossed a bunch of fantabulous bridges, more bays, more beaches. Life is hard. Tonight I'm camped somewhere in the Oregon Dunes National Rec area in a nice little campground where the featured activity seems to be running dunebuggys.

Tomorrow and for the next few I'll be visiting with my old friend Penny somewhere outside of Eugene. Happy 4th to you all.




Finally back on the coast. It took a little while to find a state park with camping. Currently staying at Beverly Beach which is a lovely park - as most of them are. But the beach is relativley inhosiptable - gorgeous but so windy and cold that it's not much fun. Today decided to visit a bunch of viewpoints and tourist spots in the area. Saw whales - right by the Depoe Whale Watching Center; found out that Wal-Mart doesn't carry hatchets








Finally back on the coast