Dan and Gena's life - on a boat, in a camper, and wherever else life takes us !!: Oregon coast

Monday, October 19, 2010
At the south end of Washington state, drove through an area hit by a hurricane in 2007 - huge area where all the trees were knocked down and salvaged by the Wyerhauser Company. They have replanted much of the area already, and smaller trees cover the scars of the devestation There were signs along the road that told about the hurricane, salvage operationm, and replanting (ie "Hey, don't blame us, we're cleaning up a mess made by the hurricane.")
All along the and even down the highway in the little town of Raymond are silhouette-type scultures of all sorts of animals, people standing, with children, on bicycles, in canoes - all dressed or adorned in pink (in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month). Very nice.
Factoid (courtesy of Dan): a slough looks like a small stream or river, but is strictly an inlet from the ocean, with the salt water coming in and out with the tide. In Virginia, the same thing is called a creek.....In Alabama, a creek ('crik') is a small stream, not just tidal!
We stopped at the Lewis and Clark National Park, looked at the fort (replica of what the expedition built for wintering here). We have been intrigued by the trees in this region, and I finally broke down and bought a tree book! The trees are amazing - HUGE, diverse, beautiful: hemlocks, Sitka spruce, redcedar.
We met a couple from New York who have the same type of camper as ours, and talked to them for quite a while. The guys talked guy stuff, electronics, gadgets, features. The women talked about the travel experiences. They live in their camper 7 months out of each year! They have been to 49 states, all the Canadian provinces, all over Mexico - they love the life, and Whave been doing that for years. They've been doing truck camping (started when their children were 2 and 4) for 45 years! Interesting, fun people - I'm so glad we met.
Ecola State Park, recommended by both our travel book and a friend, was spectacular. The view was described as the most beautiful on the west coast - I can see why. I could sit there all day! Took lots of pictures, and I'm going to have trouble picking my favorites for the blog...there was a trail leading down (way down) to the beach. We took it as far as seemed prudent (at ages 61 and 63). Dan actually thought hard about that last 30 yards (down a muddy bank using a knotted rope) I didn't consider it, valueing my intact bones as I do. As it was, we both got a bit muddy (left foot, right foot, WET foot!).
Continuing on south on Hwy. 101, Oregon is as pretty as I imagined it to be. Most of the time, we are beside the water. One stretch, we were high above a very wide, sandy beach, very narrow road, no shoulder, with a stone wall to keep you from going over the cliff. For a while, the road went somewhat inland, through farmland, very tall forests, and still with those majestic mountains in view.
We saw some unusual road signs today:
-Rock (?)
-Slides
-Tsunami Hazard Zone (with a cartoon-like drawing of a huge wave about to overrun a guy clawing his way up a hill) -- Yikes!
-Tsunami Evacuation Drill, 10/21, 3 pm -- Ditto!
-Entering a Tsunami Ready CommunityWe also saw (but it was closed) the Tillamuck Air Museum, housed in the largest wooden structure in the world (!) It certainly was a massive building, housing derrigibles and other really big aircraft.
Had a great oyster dinner in Newport, OR. Stopped for fuel, where the attendant (?) asked 1.) What could he get us, and 2.) May I wash your windshield!!!! Whhhhat? We both said “Are you kidding?” Turns out in Oregon (and in New Jersey), it is illegal for you to pump your own gas….who knew?
Enough for now - we’re stopping in Newport, OR for the night.