Blogs from Oregon, United States, North America

This morning was sunny and mostly clear. The standing water from yesterday evening’s hard rain was mostly gone. We drove east to Hwy 410, getting an occasional glimpse of Mt. Rainier. Hwy 410 was beautiful, with dark forests, the green waters of the White River visible through the trees. However it was very bumpy. It made my adventure road feel like a newly paved super highway. Well, not quite. At Cayuse Pass, elevation 4694’, there was plenty of snow along the sides of the road. The road had steadily climbed to the pass and then, of course, we went down. It wasn’t too bad, but Kerry does hate those steep downhills. After Cayuse, the road south became hwy 123 for a while before joining US Hwy 12. While in the Mt. Rainier National Park, the scenery ... read more

I’m running a bit out of time and was only able to stay on the Oregon Coast for two days and two nights. In case any of you have ever driven the approx. 50 miles along the Great Ocean Road just imagine doing that for two days. It is very rugged and beautiful and since I’m on this unbelievable lucky streak (and somehow needed to be rewarded for NOT seeing Orcas on San Juan) I went to have a look at a light house next to a seal rock just by chance really. I was standing there taking photos of about thousands of penguins crammed together on an offshore island when this women elbows me in the back and asked ‘Did you see it’? This little sentence has become my energy drink so to speak, I ... read more

I'd seen Springer. I'd seen all those images of Walmart frequent flyers that inundate the net. I'd seen all the films and heard all the anecdotes. I was prepared for total immersion into the trailer park lifestyle, right down to pseudonyms, Cletis for myself and Roxanne for the bride. I even had my outfit sitting in the wardrobe - blue work singlet, stick on tats and a durrie for the corner of the mouth. After 2 weeks, was it all a myth? Was my stereotypical image of US trailer folk merely a fabrication pedalled out by Jerry Springer in the hunt for ratings? We were beginning to think that way until.......... I won't mention the town's name but it's RV park at least gave us a small window into that genre. The trick is to look ... read more

We saw a multitude of different sights as we worked our way up the Oregon Coast. We all know what a bountiful bonanza Oregon was for the Early Settlers. We saw grand evidence of that in one of the most picturesque mansions I have ever seen. Perched atop a scenic knoll in the middle of a coastal town was the former home of one of the first Timber Barons and it was really something to behold. Completely restored, it was as pristine as the day it was built. Another surprising thing to us was the prevalence of Tsunami Warning signs. We are constantly thinking about Hurricanes in the East, but this Tsunami thing is something new to us. One sign in the local storefront window said it all- in case of Tsunami, Run Like Hell. There ... read more

Friday In the morning we set out to drive the 9 hours to Oregon. We hoped that Reba, Justin's Chevy Blazer, would continue with her reliable service and deliver us safely. It was a long drive, and we were glad to get out of the car once we finally arrived. Finding our hostel was difficult, as we had no map and Eugene has several one-way streets; but finally we show up. The area looks just like Berkeley and we quickly get our spot and set up our tent in the backyard. The people are all very nice, and there's a birthday party going on, but we're exhausted and opt instead for some cribbage playing in our tent before passing out for the night. Saturday We wake up early and pack up, looking forward to grabbing breakfast ... read more