There have been a lot of great surprises since the last blog. Oregon being one of them, what a great state. Seems like the best things usually end up being the ones you knew nothing about therefore you had no expectations of, and Crater Lake was definitely one of those. After finding a campsite we watched the sun set from the top of a snow patched mountain. Crater lake was formed after a volcano imploded and the hole filled with snow melt and rain water, making it the cleanest water for a lake of its size in the world. This made for a pretty amazing view from the mountains looking down into the clear blue lake. We hiked down to the lake the next day and went for a quick swim but the water was too cold to stay for too long.
On our way to the coast we made a quick stop at the Umpqua Hot Springs. Partially man-made but fed by naturally hot spring water, this place was pretty surreal. I think the picture will probably be the best way to describe this place.
After one night in an RV site and one night parked on the street we made it to Cape Perpetua. Cape Perpetua claimed to have one of the most beautiful views of the Oregon coast which lucky for us we got a quick glance of before the coast became enveloped by fog. We then headed down the trail and along the way Amy became hungry and began eating berries that appeared edible. One can never be too certain if you are just eating what appears to be an odd colored raspberry or if you're venturing into the scary territory of horrible food poisoning and even worse, certain death. Thank god we bumped into John, a Forest Ranger who took us under his wing and showed us all the wonderful fruit and leaves we could eat on our way to some amazing tidal pools. If you ever find yourself on the Oregon coast try the salmon berries they are delicious!
We stopped over in Newport for the night and in the Morning made our way to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We learned a lot. But best of all Brett got a special show from his most favorite animals, the sea otters. After some delicious foood at Local Ocean we headed into Portland to visit some old Arizona friends, Jessi and Tom. They showed us a good time. Portland was a great little place full of culture and life and our experience there can be summed up to arcades, strip-a-roake, train hopping, waterfall hikes and delicious food.
We weren't done with the coast yet so we headed back to Tillamook, the land of cheese for some cheese tasting. From Tillamook we took our time meandering from seacoast coast town to seacoast town. Cannon Beach was first where we recognized the rock that the pirate ship came out of at the end of the classic 80's movie the Goonies. Then on to Seaside, a classic beach town with divey motels, arcades, bumper cars and the best Corn Dogs probably in all of North America. After one night in our first Motel ( yes we caved and spent a night of luxury with queen sized beds and hot showers) we were on our way to Astoria for more Goonies! We saw the actually house, hiked up the astoria column and drove across the longest Truss bridge all the way to Washington.
The 101 in Washington is not continuously on the water but is still an amazing drive. Lush green forrest led us all the way to Quinault, a little lodge town that lies just outside the rainforest of Olympic National Park. In the morning we did a quick hike through the rain forest which was abundant with various plant life and tiny critters running about. Then a quick stop at a beach over taken by sun bleached logs and by night fall we found ourselves in Port Angeles.
The next morning we took a quick ferry ride into Victoria B.C. with our bikes just for the day, because riding your bike in America is just not that cool when you can do it in another country. One day in Canada and we were back to our U.S. campsite for the night.
We weren't out of Olympic National Park just yet. The next morning we drove up to the sub alpine region of Hurricane Ridge where temperatures dropped to a shivering 50 degrees. No worries we were well prepared with jackets and beanies and enjoyed a brisk hike with a park ranger who educated us on the plants and animals. Apparently an Olympic Short Tail Weasel can kill a rabbit more than twice it's size! Don't worry they are only endemic to the Olympic Peninsula. We enjoyed beautiful views and plenty of deer sightings before the fog rolled in. After a quick lunch off we rolled to the emerald city.
Since we're getting comfortable with using Ferries as our second mode of transportation we skipped driving around the Puget Sound, put Billy on a boat and sailed across. After a failed attempt to park at a Target we found the home of Eva, an old ASU buddy of Brett's, who welcomed us with open arms. That night we headed out for some delicious fish and chips at Fish Fry and a few games of Pinball which is a game that actually has a lot of strategy. We are now back at Eva's writing this blog after a full day of delicious coffee, chocolate goat cheese truffles, Pikes Place, flying kites in gas works park and a stroll through the amazing Seattle library. But the day is not done. No Seattle trip would be complete with out seeing some local music. We'll see if we can stay awake long enough to see the first set it has been a crazy couple of days!
Crater Lake
Hot springs
Thimbleberry
Aquarium
Rainforest
Tide pools
Portland
Goonies rock
Ferry to Victoria
Hurricane Ridge
Ferry to Seattle
