Day 43 - (08/30) Portland, OR ... Day 5

Dick had the Trailblazer serviced at a Chevy dealership this morning. It was time for an oil change and to have a brake issue checked. The outcome was better and worse than expected. They found no problem with the ABS. They say the occasional ABS light and corresponding brake chatter is caused by trailer weight. This is first time we've experienced it in three years of towing. We hope their diagnosis wasn't just a "convenient answer". We'll see.

This was the first day we all got together for an evening meal. Well, almost all. Kenny couldn't make it. It's getting to be quite a group ... we're up to 9 now.

The family grows even more in a little over a week. Pat, Amy, Donna, Annabelle and Erin will be joining us from Columbus. That will be a very special family time, for sure!

We (Carol & Dick) went for a Swirl treat before bed. You make your own soft-serve sundae and pay for it by the ounce. It was fun and very busy, even though it was late and cold outside. We were definitely the oldest people there.

Map Tracks

None for today

Day 42 - (08/29) Portland, OR ... Day 4

Even though we were out late last night, we were up early and off to Tim & Elizabeth's Lincoln Street United Methodist Church for a 9am service. There was no way to miss church. We're parked 50ft from the front door and Elizabeth was preaching. Carol volunteered (or was drafted by her minister/daughter) to play the piano ... their regular accompanist didn't show. The service was great and the piano music was flawless.

Elizabeth conducted a second service at Sunnyside Methodist Church and got home around 1pm.

We joined Kenny, Barbara and Lucy for a pizza dinner.

Map Tracks

None for today.

Day 41 - (08/28) Portland, OR ... Day 3

Tim, Elizabeth, Jacob and Anna returned from camping around noon. We all scurried around in an effort to get the children ready to attend parties and the adults ready to attend a Garrison Keillor - Prairie Home Companion concert at the Portland Zoo.

The concert was open-air, sold out and seating was on a first-come, first-seated basis. We (Dick & Carol) left for the zoo at 2:45pm in order to get good seats for a 7:00pm concert. We took the TriMet light-rail from a nearby station. The ride was fun, economical and very convenient ... we got off right at the zoo. We waited in line for about 35 minutes before we could get into the zoo, then waited in line for another hour before we could get into the concert area. That's a lot of waiting, but we did get good places to sit. Tim and Elizabeth joined us at about 5:20pm and we had a picnic dinner before the show.

Garrison Keillor and cast began performing at 7:00 and continued nonstop until at least 9:30. They even performed through an intermission where attendees were encouraged to stand, stretch, visit the restroom and get refreshments. The performance was as funny and varied as you can imagine.

The night got cold and the ground got hard as the performance continued. We were happy to stand and walk to the TriMet station when the performance ended. We got home about 11:15pm. We were weary, but were very happy to have had the experience.

Map Tracks

None for today.

Day 40 - (08/27) Portland, OR ... Day 2

We had breakfast at Petite Provence, a French bakery/restaurant on nearby Division Street. Our order included a cinnamon roll and a pecan roll. Though very nice, these pastries didn't make our best-of-trip list.

We did laundry, grocery shopped and had dinner with Kenny, Barbara, Shirlene (Kenny's mom) and Lucy. We laughed a lot and had a really good time.

Map Tracks

None for today

Day 39 - (08/26) Portland, OR ... Day 1

We head to Portland today for an extended stay (about 2 weeks) with Carol's "Portland Daughters" and their families. As you'll see, the grandchildren are a big draw for grandma.

We spent the early morning visiting with Eric and look forward to seeing him again at Lucy's baptism in a few weeks.

The departure from Eric's narrow driveway was challenging. We had to jockey the trailer around to clear a cement wall and make it onto a narrow road/alley. It worked ... we cleared the wall by about 5 inches!

The drive to Portland went smoothly. We finished the trailer moving task with our tightest backing act of the trip. We're tucked into Tim & Elizabeth's driveway between shrubs and tomato plants. Their busy street made it even more interesting. Maybe we're fortunate that our toughest exit and entry came on the same day.

It's a tight squeeze here.

Tim, Elizabeth, Jacob and Anna were off camping when we arrived. They'll be back on Saturday.

We had a few assignments in our hosts' absence. We fed the chickens (this is not a typo) and two cats, and watered the flowers. Carol then quickly connected with Barbara and made arrangements to hold and hug her new granddaughter Lucy.

Here's the little prize, Lucy

Ah, the smile of a contented grandma!

Kenny joined us for some Daddy-holding time.

And the picture wouldn't be complete without Mommy Barbara

The five of us ended the day with a fun dinner at Por Que No, a busy little Mexican restaurant a few blocks away.

Note: There will be little or no traveling for the next few weeks. We'll post daily comments until we get back on the road, however.

Map Tracks

Start: Salem, Oregon

North on I-5 to I-205

North on I-205 to Division St. exit

West on Division St to SE 50th St

Right on SE 50th St to SE Lincoln St

Right on SE Lincoln St to the Winslea home.

End: 64 miles @ Portland, Oregon

Day 38 - (08/25) Salem, OR

We started slow today, maybe because of yesterday's exercise or today's short travel distance.

We left Pacific City at 11:15am, drove a short distance to Cloverdale and ... yup, stopped for breakfast at the Blacktail Cafe. This is a cute place. It appears to be the only open eating place in town. The staff is friendly, the menu is varied and their meals are quite good. The service is really SLOW, so plan ahead to enjoy the atmosphere. They let us know Melba Toast (a.k.a. cinnamon rolls) was/were just coming out of the oven. They were outstanding They rated in the top three of our trip cinnamon roll contest (St. Mary, Jasper and now Cloverdale).

Blacktail Cafe

We continued the drive to visit Eric Witchey in Salem. Eric is a special family member to both of us. The story is complex and won't be included here. We don't get to see him very often, so this visit is real treat.

Trailer parking at Eric's was a bit of a challenge.

View overlooking Salem from Eric's house.

Eric is an accomplished writer and a gifted teacher.

Part of Eric's train layout.

More train layout ... he's crafted all of it.

We learned so much from shared insights.

We ended the evening with a wonderful dinner and conversation at McGrath's Fish House.

Map Tracks

Start: Pacific City, Oregon

East on Three Capes Scenic Drive to US-101

North on US-101 to Oregon-22

East on Oregon-22 to Salem

End: 67 miles @ Eric Witchey's in Salem, Oregon

Day 37 - (08/24) Pacific City, OR

It's a beautiful day. The sun is out, the sky is clear and the wind has dropped to a gentle breeze.

We're headed for the Cape Kiwanda RV Resort in Pacific City. It's a short trip through fields and forests. We passed Tillamook and resisted a stop at the Air Museum housed in an old blimp hanger just south of the city.

Pacific City and the RV Resort were a complete and delightful surprise. They are a beach treasure and a high-class resort in the middle of nowhere. The scenes below were just across the street from our camp site.

Sea stack a Cape Kiwanda beach

The gulls loved it too.

The beach is surrounded by lots of condos and beautiful homes.

This dune is on the north end of the beach.

The dune is a biggie ... a tempting climb.

This point extends west of the dune.

A closer look reveals an arch etched by the waves.

Looking southwest from the point.

Lots of folks visit the beach for swimming, fishing, kite flying and relaxing.

Carol relaxes as Dick musters the courage to climb the dune.

Up he goes ... the sand is hot and deep.

Here's proof. He made it to the top.

The dune climb was really strenuous. I was on all-fours the last third of the way. The view was spectacular. I could see a forest service helicopter dumping water on a nearby fire. The other side of the dune descends (even steeper) to a cove. It was worth the effort, but like we heard from a small boy ... "I'm not doing this again!"

We relaxed and cooled off with an early dinner of appetizers, beer and dessert at the Pelican Brewery overlooking the beach.

Map Tracks

Start: Barview, Oregon

South on US-101 to Three Capes Scenic Drive

West on Three Capes Scenic Drive to Cape Kiwanda RV Resort

End: 41 miles @ Pacific City, Oregon

Day 36 - (08/23) Barview, OR

The sun is out and it’s quite pleasant. Weather reports say it’s going to get pretty hot over the next few days. It’s a good time to be near the ocean.

Hitching-up at Bay Center campground

Dick started the day with a wrong turn onto US-101 from the campground access road. Ah, well! It’s a nice day. What’s the big deal about driving an extra 40 miles?

US-101 stayed true to its course today. We followed the coast passing Seaview and Ilwaco. We stopped at Cape Disappointment State Park with thoughts of camping there … and we were disappointed. The camp was full. Too bad, it was a very nice campground right on the ocean.

Waikiki Beach at Cape Disappointment campground

Beach visitors build interesting structures from driftwood

We crossed the Columbia River to Astoria, Oregon.

2 mile bridge across the Columbia River to Astoria, OR

We continued on through Gearhart, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita and Rockaway Beach. Whoa! Did I say Gearhart? We just happened to have a Gearhart on board this trip … Carol Ann Gearhart Winans.

A Gearhart entering Gearhart

Gearhart was very small, but it had some businesses

Oregon & US-101 presented outstanding views

We stumbled onto a county campground in Barview, between Rockaway Beach and Tillamook. It was great – full service, wide sites and close to the beach. The wind blew pretty hard until after dark.

The trip to the beach for sunset pictures was really COLD

The US Corp of Engineers was building a jetty

Stiff winds blew across the surf

A peaceful sunset view ... but, the wind continues to whip us

Please Note

Many have noticed that blog pictures don't expand when they're double-clicked. We finally determined that the blog software deletes the required code whenever pictures are moved by cut-and-paste. We know how to avoid the problem in this and future posts. We also know how to fix old posts, but it's quite time consuming.

Map Tracks

Start: Bay Center, Washington

East on Bay Center Rd to US-101

South on US-101 to Barview Jetty County Campground at Barview, Oregon

End: 136 miles @ Barview, Oregon

Day 35 - (08/22) Bay Center, WA

It’s another sunny day in the mid-60s.

We decided to leave US-101 today as a way to travel closer to the ocean. We took a back road on the southern edge of the Quinault Indian Reservation, passed the Quinault National Fish Hatchery and joined WA-109. The scenery began with a shallow bay surrounded by open marshes. Evergreen forests emerged as we moved south. A rain forest developed as we approached the ocean.

Beach view on the way along WA-109

Initially, there was little commercial development and lots of beach to enjoy. Business activity picked up dramatically as we drove toward Oregon. We passed Moclips, Pacific Beach, Hoquiam, Aberdeen and South Bend ... all familiar names, huh? It seemed like RV Parks were everywhere. If someone had a yard or vacant lot … they tried to fill it with RVs.

We made it to the Bay Center KOA Campground around 2pm. We’re on the end of a long peninsula, on Willapa Bay, deep in fishing territory.

We noticed another Airstream family in the park and made contact with Terry and Suzanne Broughton from Ft. Meyers, FL. They’ve been travelling for over two months. We shared experiences and had a seafood dinner together at Dock of the Bay Restaurant. The meal and service was OK, the visiting time was delightful.

Terry & Suzanne Broughton (Ft. Myers, FL)

There was a trail to the bay was just outside our trailer. Carol walked it and took these evening pictures.

View from trail’s end

All’s quiet at sunset

Map Tracks

Start: Quinault, Washington

South on US-101 to Quinault National Fish Hatchery turnoff

West on the fish hatchery road to WA-109

South on WA-109 to US-101 at Hoquiam, Washington

South on US-101 to Bay Center Rd (between mileposts 42 & 43)

West on Bay Center Rd to Bay Center KOA

End: 135 miles @ Bay Center, Washington

Day 34 – (08/21) Quinault, WA

Some days we think we control how the day goes. Today we got a taste of reality. The day controlled how we went.

We started the morning with the intent of camping in a National Park campground near Quinault, WA. There was no specific attraction; Quinault was simply on the way to somewhere else. Follow along as the day turns Quinault into a delightful surprise.

First, we stopped at Ruby Beach for spectacular views of sea stacks.

Ruby Beach (looking north)

Ruby Beach (looking south)

Then we entered Quinault Rain Forest and drove the South Shore Road to find a camp site. Willaby Campground – had just one site large enough for us, but we gave it up to a family who had entered behind us. Falls Creek Campground – sites were too small. Gatton Creek Campground – entrance was so narrow we couldn’t go in. Oops! Now what?

We just happened to find the Rain Forest RV Resort. We had no references to suggest it was here. It is, it consists of 31 sites on the shore of Lake Quinault, and it’s delightful! It’s clean, quiet and nicely run.

RV park entrance

RV park grounds

Our site

And … we’re parked about 40 yards from the largest Sitka Spruce tree in the world! Furthermore, Quinault Valley has six of the largest living specimens of conifer trees. These giants only look up to redwoods and sequoias.

Largest in the world

· Sitka Spruce (58.9ft cir, 17.7ft diam , 191ft high)

· Western Red Cedar (63.5ft cir, 19.5ft diam, 174ft high)

· Douglas Fir (40.8ft cir, 13ft diam, 302ft high)

· Mountain Hemlock (6ft+ diam, 152ft high)

Largest in the US

· Yellow Cedar (37.6ft cir, 12ft diam, 129ft high)

· Western Hemlock (27.9ft cir, 8.9ft diam, 172ft high)

“Our” Sitka Spruce

Dimensions of our spruce tree neighbor

This is one BIG spruce tree!

A drive along South Shore Drive offered new views and a peek at well kept homes and yards in the lakeshore community.

We saw this beautiful waterfall on South Shore Drive

We enjoyed a special dinner at The Salmon House Restaurant overlooking Lake Quinault. The restaurant and the RV park have the same owners. The meal and the service matched the quality of everything we’ve seen from the resort. Carol had salmon; Dick had chicken cordon bleu.

Carol played “ladder golf” with camping neighbors (Janet & Carrie) from Forks. Reminder: we need to make one of these games!!!

Sunset on Lake Quinault

Did you know?

+ The Quinault Valley gets an average 12 feet of rain per year

+ Lake Quinault is 210 feet deep

Map Tracks

Start: La Push, Washington

East on Washington 110 to US-101

South on US-101 to Quinault, Washington

End: 87 miles @ Quinault, Washington

Day 33 - (08/20) La Push, WA ... Day 2

What a beautiful morning! The sun is out, a light breeze is blowing, and it’s about 60° F. We made waffles for breakfast and prepared for a move.

Morning view

We have to move from our ocean view site because a prior reservation claimed our spot. We’re now a row back and directly behind yesterday’s site. We can see the ocean with no problem.

Touring started about 11am. We headed down US-101 for the Hoh Rain Forest and made a fun stop for Carol. She had spotted a place called Den’s Wood Den in the National Geographic Guide and it was on our route. Dennis (Den for short) is a chainsaw wood sculptor. We had a great time talking with Den and his wife … and bought a bear. Who would have thought we’d bring home a chainsaw bear sculpted from cedar?

This is the place

Life-size sailor (the one on the right)

This panther and the cubs are made from a single piece

Carol's bear is the one on the left

This is going to be the base for a desk Den's making for his wife

A bit about the artist

We and the bear then drove to the Hoh Rain Forest, took a short hike and drove through the Hoh campground. Everything was very nice. Here are some views.

Entering the Hoh Rain Forest

Moss seems to grow anywhere in this climate

Crystal clear stream

The next three pictures describe a huge fallen tree. There are many here, but this one seemed to go on and on ... we called it the Eveready Tree.

The Eveready Tree

Many stand tall (this is a spruce)

The root systems were tangled works of art

This one looked like swirled clay

No big deal. Carol lifts one-handed

We’ve seen lots of advertizing for Twilight since arriving in the Port Angeles area. We sheltered old folks had no clue what it was about. Well … the book series and corresponding movies are centered on Forks, Washington and include references to nearby La Push and Rialto Beach. We drove through Forks today and got clued in a little. Yikes, this town lives and breathes the Twilight connection!

Twilight place … Miller Tree Inn

Twilight place … City Hall

Twilight place … the old High School is being preserved as a new one is being built

We had a late lunch/early dinner at the Twilight Lounge. We ordered (you guessed it) Twilight hamburgers. They were cute, but just OK.

A fun day ended quietly with travel planning and a few games of Bananagrams.

Map Tracks

Start: La Push, Washington

East on Washington 110 to US-101

South on US-101 to Upper Hoh Road

East on Upper Hoh Road to the Hoh Rain forest

Return

End: 98 miles @ La Push, Washington