Coasting Along

The journey continues... we've had a busy couple of weeks cruising through Oregon and northern California. I have to confess it's all starting to blur and meld together - so many beautiful and stunning landscapes to absorb. It's a good thing we've taken so many photos and kept a few notes so we can keep everything straight.

The last posting left off on our departure from Breitenbush Hot Springs. From there we drove a couple of hours northwest to Portland to meet up with our friends Glen and Sue. Once again we were warmly welcomed by friends with wonderful hospitality and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We had a great and diverse weekend taking in the sights and culture of one of our favorite cities. We were treated to an evening watching a women's college soccer match - the Portland Pilots are one of the most winning teams in the nation and were amazing to watch in action. Go Pilots! Saturday morning we ventured downtown to shop at the city's premiere farmer's market. It is an outstanding market with hundreds of vendors, and an incredible array of produce - lots of local fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread, and even an abundance of wild collected mushrooms. It was really strange to be on the other side of the table for once, but we enjoyed seeing what other farms were growing and how they marketed there produce. Even though our own Saratoga market is a fraction of the size, we left the Portland market thinking we actually do a pretty good job on quality and variety. We left the market with a pile of food, took it home and cooked up a truly gourmet feast. Before leaving town we also got a quick visit with relocated Saratoga friends, Ezra and James and their newly adopted baby daughter, Vivian. They are all doing well and are happily getting settled in a great neighborhood.



From Portland we drove south to Crater Lake National Park. We intended to camp, but the weather had taken a turn back to a miserable 40 degrees and raining - we made a vow that this was our limit - and found a reasonable motel outside the park. The next day the weather cleared and we had a great time circling the lake, hiking a couple of peaks on the rim, and climbing down to the bottom of the crater to check out the lake up close. Another national park not to be missed. Again the color of the water was just stunning and changed intensity from every angle - thus another excuse to take lots of pictures.



Before heading out of the Cascades and going to the coast, we spent a frustrating morning trying to find a remote hot spring spot on one of the national forests that we were driving through. It took a a couple of hours of misreading maps and getting turned around, but after much perseverance we finally found the Umpqua Hot Springs. The scene was a little sketchy - with some "interesting" bathers hanging around, but ultimately worth the effort to find them.

Ahhhh.....

Finally, we hit the Pacific Ocean - what a beautiful sight. We didn't take the most direct route, but we finally got there. Oregon has a wonderful state park system stretching all along the coast. The vast majority of coastline is protected and free from development. It really makes you realize how much we have lost along the Atlantic shoreline and what a crime has been commited there.We spent the next few days slowly working our way south along the coast, camping in some beautiful spots.

We crossed into California and took a break from beach camping to explore the Redwoods; it was truly an antediluvian delight. Our necks were sore from all the straining to look up. We did some very nice walks through some of the old growth groves and a few of the classic drives. The only mishap was a pretty bad case of poison oak from all the tree hugging we did - oh well, should have worn long pants.

We continued driving south, trying to keep to the coast as much as possible, checking out the sights along the way. We explored another excellent farmer's market in Arcata - the oldest continuous market in the state - and had a chance to chat with a few of the growers. We then headed out to Cape Mendocino and the lost coast. Man, talk about remote, driving along the twisting, steep roads that make their way along the headlands were an adventure in and of themselves. The cape is the most westerly point in the continental US - another milestone for the trip.

We spent two nights camping at a state park just south of the pretty little coastal town of Mendocino. The 27th was Chris' birthday, so we took the day off from traveling and rented a canoe to explore the Big River estuary. It was beautiful and relaxing - we paddled upstream with the tide and downstream as it shifted - how nice. We also had time for reading on the beach and exploring the local brewpub. Pretty much a perfect day.

We cruised down some more crazy coastal highway and then briefly headed inland to visit our friend Elizabeth in Napa. The weather here is as crazy as the roads - it was about 60 at the coast and 104 when we got to Napa - but at least it was as they say "dry heat". We had a great visit, ate good food, checked out the community garden that Elizabeth spearheaded to get started, and got caught up on land trust gossip.

We needed one more dose of the coast - it's going to be awhile before we see it again - so we headed over to Point Reyes National Seashore. We were here a couple of years before and knew we wanted to come back. We backpacked in to one of the campgrounds on the beach for two nights. It was beautiful weather at the top of the hills, but stayed foggy and damp along the coast. To get our fill of sunshine we hiked up to where it was clear, read books and dozed. It was lovely.

So here we are in the first week of October, starting to look east. A few busy weeks to go: friends in Mill Valley, San Francisco, Yosemite, across the southwest, and then hightail it home. I think we need another 12 weeks...