Day 15: 9/30/2010

Orman Guest Ranch-Fortuna, CA, 145 miles

Good Morning! Said the cows, horses, roosters, fog horns, and I'm pretty sure other animals were involved as well. Showers again! Oatmeal for breakfast and then off we go. We headed south on Highway 101 looking for redwoods! Oh wait... You don't really have to look around there. It's amazingly beautiful, everywhere you look. We were told by the campground host to look for the Newton Drury Scenic Parkway as a little detour.

Near the beginning of the day we found a drive through tree!! (And by found I mean pointed ecstatically at the various billboards announcing it). I didn't think we'd actually be able to drive through it, just see it, but we could take the car! It was really fun, but I had mixed feelings... It's a living tree... But as the hole was cut in the 1960's and the tree is still going strong and gorgeous, my guilt was minimal. Something about not being alive when the damage was done will take away any personal sense of guilt :p

Soon after, we turned onto the "coastal drive" pointed out on one of the official brown signs of the road. Yeah... coastal... By the time we made it back to 101, Mathew realized we'd somewhere connected to the Newton Parkway without knowing it, and we'd enjoyed approximately three short glimpses of the coast. Lol, still worth it!

Next... Trees of Mystery! I wasn't expecting Mathew to actually agree to this, but YAY! He rocks, as did this completely amusing tourist trap. First you're greeted by a massive stature of Paul Bunyan... That talks!! Along the trail there, the trees are named various things like "Elephant Tree," "Cathedral Trees," and "Upside Down Tree." Along the way you can stop and listen to the lectures... Now that is a brilliant way for parents to not have to take their kids there! "Honey do you want to go hear the lectures at Trees of Mystery? They're very educational..."

It was really a lovely walk and there's some pretty incredible history there. (In the forest I mean... not so much the business :p). A main attraction there is the Sky Trail, this huge tram that takes you up to a viewpoint in these big gondola thingies. Very cool, so long as I forgot to look down. And then on the trail back we learned about Paul Bunyan and his friends with these awesome sculptures and stories. One of the sculptures was a huge squirrel dashing down the tree. We took an arms length shot with it, classic. But wait, sculpture? RUN!!!!! Lol.

We stopped a few times for awe inspiring redwoods, some with gorgeous flowers and moss, as well as the famed "Big Tree." (The others are just dinky really... lol). We also say Roosevelt Elk, in the only place they're found in California! We turned in at Elk Meadows... To see Fern Canyon! Mathew had already been telling me about it. He used to stay at a camp around there with his family and they went there. It's gorgeous! I was lucky to have Mathew along or I would have missed it... It used to have a great trail going through it. That trail is now simply called a stream. Wet feet, five fingered ferns, and lovely trickling waterfalls. I kept my feet wet for a long time, but finally gave up the ballancing acts on logs and just walked through the creek so I could enjoy it with Mathew instead of far behind him. And on the way, Pretty Car made it through some streams!

We stopped in Trinidad to see a lighthouse with a lantern blown out by storm waves in 1912... Or rather, a model of said lighthouse :p Still quite photogenic though, and it was a night place to sit together for a bit on the beach.

Eureka! It's time for dinner! Lol, we stopped in the town of Eureka and wandered around a bit though some of the shops. We saw the Carson Mansion, which was built and ownded by a logging company owner and is crazy gorgeous. I was happy to wander through a used bookstore for a few minutes, and Mathew got a book on the history of the Carson Mansion. Then to the Grill for dinner. We went to one more shop on our way out, it had some really interesting historical photos we looked through, many of San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. Since it was near the end of the trip we'd have together, we wanted to rest and have fun the next day, so we decided on the Super 8 in Fortuna a bit further south. Night night!

Day 14: 9/29/2010
Honeyman State Park, OR-Crescent City ish, 212.9 miles
http://goo.gl/maps/vxSN

In the morning we used one of the most awesome parts of Honeyman State Park... Showers! Though apparently this is more common down here than in Alaska. When we left Alaska and Canada I told Mathew we could go faster because I wouldn't have the Milepost to tell me what fabulous things we had to stop and see... Enter Oregon Coast Mile by Mile Magazine :p It's not as good as the Milepost though, so it didn't slow us down nearly as much. It did tell us about lighthouses and bridges though!

On both days we've travelled Highway 101, Mathew and I have both loved the bridges! They're gorgeous, most of them have amazing arches and great columns on either end. Those ones were all designed by a man named Conde McCullough in the 1930's. I think only one of them was ever replaced, the rest are still up!

We saw many more great coastal views, and this time we got to tour through two lighthouses! Only one is still working, the other doesn't have a lamp anymore. First was the Umpqua Bay Lighthouse. The tour guides are all volunteers, and it started in an old Coast Guard building turned museum. They told the history of the lighthouse, it used to be run my the Lighthouse Agency... or something :p And then all the lighthouses were taken over by the Coast Guard. Even though this is a working lighthouse we were allowed to go all the way upstairs in it, and even stand inside the lamp! There was a step on the ladder painted red, and that was as high as we were allowed to go. The lamp is really pretty, all different reds and whites. It has to turn 24/7 or it will flatten the wheels it turns on! A really interesting fact we learned is that they used better and brighter lights as time went on not to be seen further at sea, but to compensate for more and more background light from towns and cities.

The other lighthouse we got to tour through was real, but the lamp is gone. It wasn't so much a tour, just a little museum set up downstairs and then you could go up the stairs... and ladder... to see where the lamp used to be. If the glass windows were still there it would have been nice views, but instead it's been replaced with plexiglass. Still kind of neat views though, it almost just looked foggy. Almost. Remind me sometime that going up a ladder means going down it as well! Outside there was a great beach area we stayed in for a bit. At one point Mathew walked inland while I walked toward the ocean, and a few seconds later I was making a run for him when the waves came closer than expected. Very fun!

For lunch we went to Seafood Restaurant 2 in one of the towns... apparently Seafood Restaurant was already named when this one opened up :p Next door was a gallery I just wanted to glance in before lunch... Ha. There was a really interesting man in there who saw a visitor with a camera and so we talked for a bit until I made an escape because Mathew was waiting. The man has a 4x5 SLR camera I wish I could have seen though!

Cape Blanco is another place with a lighthouse and an old manor house, but we arrived too late for tours. We saw the house from outside and the highlight was near the lighthouse (we couldn't drive close to it). In the parking area I got out to take some photos and nearly got blown over! So fun. Mathew was staying in the car, and when I started down a little trail from the bluff, he had to come out because I didn't realize how much it looked like I was going down a cliff! Oops... Very nice walk, and not nearly as windy down the bluff as on top.

Before finding a camping place, we crossed the Thomas Creek Bridge, which is the highest bridge Oregon, and stopped south of it to walk to a viewpoint... which turned out to be a terrible viewpoint :p You could just see the bridge through the trees. But It was a fairly nice trail to walk throhgh the trees, and you could just see the beach sometimes. Mathew rescued me on the way back with "don't look down, just take a big step." Finally... somebody who will save me from the s word and not tease me about it... at least until later. Yay :-)

We planned to camp at Tolowa Dunes State Park north of Crescent City... Don't ever try to find that place :p Apparently there is no camping, and the "coastal" route to get to it was backroads followed by dirt roads followed by hugely rutted dirt roads (this coming from an Alaskan). Really funny and amusing, but about a 40 minute detour followed by a lack of camping sites. We headed south of Crescent City for Del Norte Park instead... before realizing the tent symbol on the map was north of Del Norte... Eventually we found the Orman Guest Ranch and camping area! We got there just in time before the host went to bed, met a cat who did not win a possum fight but was still very sweet, and then followed the directions of "follow that road around until it ends and then keep driving to the trees" to find our campsite! It was a pretty nice place... Once you ignored the fog horn, tree frogs, and farm animals! Luckily, the farm animals were pretty quiet. At night anyway.

Day 13: 9/28/2010
Portland, OR-Honeyman State Park, OR, 295.4 miles
http://goo.gl/maps/3JPy


And we're off! I feel like we've headed south from Portland before... We headed the other way this time and took Highway 224 southeast to go through the Cascade Mountain Range... In daylight this time! It was completely gorgeous. We made it quite a ways before stop number one at the Clackamas River, which the road follows for a long time. We pulled off after a bridge and walked around a little bit. There were some really pretty rapids, some bit enough to be like small waterfalls, and under the bridge where we walked there were big boulders that were covered in moss! Really pretty.

A little bit further on where the road goes higher above the river, I just saw a gorgeous canyon part of the river and we pulled off at a pullout and followed a trail we probably wouldn't have spotted otherwise down to the canyon. It was so amazing! There was a little tram there that would get you across the river, it would have been fun to hang above the water :-) It was private and padlocked though, lol. But the canyon itself was incredible, aside of Tormented Valley near Skagway, this is now my favorite rock area! Mathew said it was volcanic rock. I loved the way you could see more bits of rock just below the water surface, and some was almost covered in moss so it looked really amazing. Pictures to come!

At that point we were probably already in the Cascades, but we started getting higher up in them and seeing lava fields! So cool. The black and dark grey rock looked amazing with the green and red fall colors. Yay! The prettiest areas were where there were no pullouts, go figure. But we drove off the road a little to Clear Lake Resort and saw a lovely lake with lava rocks around it, and it had a sign pointing toward waterfalls further down the road! We stopped at both waterfalls, and walked down short trails to view each one. I'm so lucky and glad I got to share all of these places with somebody I love!

We also stopped at the Leaburg Fish Hatchery, and to get there we drove across a dam!!! So cool. We went to this viewing pond at the hatchery, and they had fish food! A little dispenser you could put quarters in to feed the fish. Mathew managed to get rid of some more Canadian change there :p It was so incredible the way the fish would all come over and splash around for the food. There were also these three ducks in the pond, and they were really funny as well. I think they were trying to be subtle about wanting the fish food... Mathew said the fish were all brown trout probably and then pointed out a really big one at the bottom... But not a trout! Catfish! They were -so- big, the largest probably 5-6 feet long, and you could just barely make them out when they moved. Crazy.

We passed through Eugene, Oregon on Highway 126 headed for the coast, and that took us back to Florence, OR on Highway 101 yay! Around Eugene we called the Florence Chamber of Commerce to ask about camping, because through the Cascades every campsite we saw was closed for the season... The lady suggested Honeyman State Park, though I definitely heard "Hinnemin" instead... It's just south of Florence and she said it was the best in the entire state. Lol, we doubted her word and planned to go further south anyway, but in the end we went there.

First we got fuel in Florence and I was hugely disappointed that the girl inside was just closing down the coffee stand, so we stopped somewhere else to get hot chocolate, yay! Then south to camp!

Honeyman State Park is awesome! It's right at the beginning of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. We got there early enough to set up camp and then went for a walk in the dunes. Rather hard to walk in, but it was really fun. Mathew was really fun to watch running down the dunes, and then we made sand angels and stared at the stars. I was slightly horrified to realize how dark it was walked back through the trees, but Mathew lead me along the trail very gallantly and didn't let any bugs get me. Near the end I remembered my camera makes an ok flashlight and felt pretty stupid, but havin' the guy you love lead you through a scary forest trail is totally worth it!

Back at the campsite Mathew made tea and we played some more Ziggity, which I think Mathew won mostly, and then to bed... On our brand new camping gear! Comfy!

Day 12: 9/27/2010
Alturas, CA-Portland, OR: 385 miles
http://goo.gl/maps/dRhF

Richard and Elona had an appointment in the morning in Sacramento so Mathew and I got up to say goodbye at 2:30am... Oh no wait, we woke up about six hours after they were gone, having said goodbye the night before :p We did a bit of last minute laundry and Mathew made a fabulous breakfast, yay! I love him :-) Then I called the dealership in Portland to get an estimate of when it would be done (12-2pm ish), and then Mathew pointed out how long the drive would be... oops. We made a dash for the door after quick goodbyes to Bungie and Sylvester because by then we'd just be able to make it before the dealership closed... Note to self: just because Alaska is bigger, doesn't mean everywhere else is close together!

We made it about 30 yards down the road before looping back for the forgotten leftovers, our lunch, and then on the road again! We stopped to get gas in Rescue Car and then north to Eugene to take I5 to Portland. We saw one of my favorite signs of all time on I5: "You are halfway between the equator and the north pole." Lol, love it! We made one stop on the way for restrooms and otherwise just drove... and drove... and drove... and made it with 15 whole minutes to spare! It was quite fun trying to call the dealership while driving through the Cascade Mountains, too... great continuous service up there.

Mathew dropped me off to do the paperwork and then went to fuel Rescue Car. Then we somehow managed the get everything back into Pretty Car and off to dinner! At first we decided to just drive and find a local place... But the row of uh... dance halls... we were passing, did not cry "quality establishments." Lol. So we put Applebees in the GPS and off we went! We managed to stop eating soon enough to have decent leftovers -and- try out the dessert shots! Non alcoholic, but something about a shot glass with chocolate in it... sigh.

After that, it was time to find REI to replace the missing items from before... Some navigation fun going through extra parking lots finally got us there about 14 1/2 minutes before closing time, and I dashed in saying I needed a sleeping bag and pad. The associate who helped me out was quite fun, he used to work in fisheries management or some such in DC and commented he loved dealing with one of my favorite ex senators... sarcasm on both counts :p He found me an awesome sleeping bag, still down and rated to 15 degrees, but I can move around in it more -and- the pad goes inside it! Awesome!! The pad I got is similar to the Thermarest ones, but it's shaped like a mummy bag instead of straight, and veeery comfy :D We also got a Thermarest pad for Mathew, as we'd been swapping the pad and the yoga mat before. On the way out of the store, several minutes after closing time, I heard the cashier announce the amount I spent, which I thought was hilarious.

Then to the camping site Mathew looked up that morning that was 45 minutes south... Or not. We both agreed that the long drive and stressful REI finding mission meant we were allowed to hotel it again. Priceline returns, followed by the same Ramada Inn as before, yay! We played a few games of Ziggity, a card game. Mathew one two out of three, but I went out with a BAM the time I one... no really, I spelled the word BAM to go out... Night all!

I'll continue updating this in order, but the next plan of action (today is October 4th) is to be in Arizona by the 6th, traveling through Yosemite and Joshua Tree National Park on the way.

Day 11: 9/26/2010
Alturas, CA

The day began with waffles! Amazingly sourdough yummy waffles, made by Richard. Fantastic! Mathew started making the ice cream, and I bounced around excitedly because really, ice cream maker! Then we relaxed for a while and Mathew and I sat on the porch and had some computer time, during which I accomplished very little :p

Then we piled in the car after Elona made a picnic lunch! I have no idea how long the drive was... I was asleep mostly, lol. But eventually we arrived at Mill Creek Falls and did a little hike, probably no more than 25 minutes up and less time back. But it was to a water fall! Very very pretty. Also, at the trailhead there are some longer trails, and there was a sign in sheet so the parks service would know how many were out on the trails! Seemed like a nice idea.

Then a bit further to Soup Springs, where Richard and Elona had camped before. It was nice and peaceful there, only one other person up at the campsite, and we stopped and had our lunch there at one of the picnic tables. Trixie spent the whole time bouncing around and exploring... and begging for food, lol, she's very cute.

Back at home I managed to con Mathew into letting me taste the ice cream, yum!! Then a tour of Richard's RV trailer thing. Very nice! I wouldn't want quite that much for camping, but it would make traveling much simpler :-) And one really nice thing about it, the house doesn't have AC, so on really hot days they can just go use the AC in the trailer! Then Mathew showed me the pop-up trailer they'd used for years, which was way more awesome than I expected. That thing is awesome!

More relaxing on the back porch with Bungie and Trixie, and these cute little birds using the bird pool! This was followed by an awesome dinner of barbecued chicken by Richard and amazing German potato salad by Elona. Yummy! And then of course... the ice cream! Mathew went all out and served us all the ice cream, complete with whip cream. It was raspberry, my favorite berry!! Yay! Then we said our goodbyes and goodnights, as Elona and Richard would be leaving at 3am the next morning for an appointment in Sacramento (eek...). Mathew and I started to watch a movie on the computer and... Sleep!

Day 10: 9/25/2010
Alturas, CA

I woke up later than everybody else, so I got to meet everybody at once when I finally made it out of the room. I'd already met Bungie the black lab and Trixie the Chihuahua in the darkness, but now I got a name for Mathew's dad's wife Elona (since I had subtly not asked at 3am...), and of course, finally got to meet Mathew's dad Richard. Yay! They all seemed very nice at first impression.

I figured everybody had already eaten and such, but I was in luck! Elona made us all homemade hash browns and eggs for breakfast, which was fabulous. Then we all walked down to Rainbow Lake, where Bungie went for a short swim and Trixie did her best to avoid all water. It was great watching her get across the rocky stream of water from the springs that fed the pond. Each of the ponds are stocked with a different fish, in this case rainbow trout.

When we got back, we all hung out in the yard for a while, and I met Sylvester the cat while he was lounging in the shade. Generally Sylvester has to come to you the first few times, but he didn't leave the shade when I snuck over. Yay! He also loves attention while he's eating, which is the easiest place to pet him. Very fun. And he has the most adorable meow ever, even my mom would like it because it's sooo quiet.

Laundry time at last! Some amazing leftover German Lasagna for lunch followed by more relaxing on the back porch and then Mathew took me on an ATV ride! I definitely like it over snow machines and 3 wheelers :p It was really pretty and fun and we stopped at a nice stream and wandered around. There was a cow up there! Richard's house is waaaay up in the hills above Alturas and the ranches, but the ranchers let their cows wander up in the hills most of the time I guess. I really enjoyed the ATV ride, but not detouring a fallen tree. And it was dusty! Not really enough enough to notice out there, just when we got back :p

The back to the house to get ready to head for dinner! First to town to fuel Richard and Elona's car, then to the grocery store for ice cream making supplies!!! We also picked up a movie to watch later.

After that, to "The Lodge." It's actually called the California Pines Lodge. When we arrived and searched out a table, the waitress Cindy laughed at Richard for not making reservations, but we did get a table. Lucky we didn't arrive later! Cindy knew everybody's names, but her response to me was "I don't remember -this- one!" Very funny :p

Everybody else got prime rib and I got the mixed grill, which had chicken, ribs, and steak. And the salad bar! Amazing. And then ice cream for dessert... with sprinkles!! When we got home we watched "Up in the Air," but few of us made it all the way to the end... Night night!