More from Cape Lookout

Yesterday we did the Cape Lookout Hike. They trail winds back and forth along the top of the cape, with amazing ocean views on either side. Steep cliffs that made Steve nervous, as there are no railings or barriers in most p;laces. Lots of moss, beautiful wildflowers, giant slugs, and that snake (from the previous hike). Today we drove the 12 miles into Tillamook. Steve dropped me off at the Farmer's Market, where we agreed to meet later, and headed off for the Tillamook Airplane Museum. He said it was much better than he thought it would be--lots of vintage planes, most of which are privately owned and flown regularly when not on display. They're housed in a WW II blimp hangar, the largest wooden structure in the world at the time. It was used by the Navy during WW II to house the blimps they used to patrol the west coast, looking for enemy submarines.

The Farmer's Market was small, but fun. They had live music--a folksy band--and I learned a new verse to "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain." Here goes: "We'll have have chocolate ice cream when she comes. Oh, we'll get it from our mother, then we'll get it on each other. . . ." Made me laugh. I bought fresh snow peas for our supper, homemade peanut butter and banana dog biscuits for Ellie, and some shea butter lip balm and foot cream for me. I still had lots of time before Steve was due back, so I got directions to the local quilt shop and set out on foot--about 8 blocks. The shop, Jane's Fabnric Patch, is in a small old house, painted pink. It is crammed, and I mean crammed, with fabric. I bought some fat quarters for the Quilt of Valor I'm working on, and some fun new Laurel Burch Christmas fabric. An added bonus was that the person who waited on me is a kayaker, and gave me directions to a couple of places nearby that she and her husband like to go. We will try one out tomorrow, and see if the repairs that Steve made to his rudder system work.

Cape Lookout

Our mini-excursion into Astoria before breaking camp at Fort Stevens turned even mini-ier. It was pouring rain when we got to town about 10 a.m. The waterfront trolley didn't start running until noon, and The Bowpicker same thing. So we drove around the historic district for a bit, looking at the Victorian houses, then headed back to camp to pack up. We than headed south through Seaside, Cannon Beach, etc. Pretty drive, even in the rain. Much of along the coast, where we could see sea stacks and rugged shoreline. Lots of state recreation areas and trailheads that looked interesting. We've earned that Oregon passed a law in 1967 that made ALL beaches public. No one can build on the beach. Even if you own a house with a beachfront, you are not allowed to fence it off--the beach doesn't belong to you.

We are camped at Cape Lookout State Park, about 12 miles south of Tillamook (pronounced "muck" as in "duck" not "mook" as in "book."). It seems to be a smallish campground, at lest quite a bit smaller that Fort Stevens. There are only 38 sites with hookups--the rest are bare bones, not even with water at every site. Hot showers and flush toilets, though, and a little yurt village and some camping cabins. Our original campsite was advertised as "beachfront," which it was except there's a big dune between the sites and beach so you can't see the ocean. We ended up moving to another site more in the trees that has hookups. Very nice and private, and you can still hear the ocean. Ellie and I go down for a walk on the beach every morning. You can walk for 7 miles north along the beach, but only about a half mile south, and then only in low tide, because of the rocks and cliff. Yesterday morning, a bald eagle cruised right over our heads, checking us out.

Lots to do here. Yesterday, we took a 4 mile hike toward Cape Lookout. It was a nice combination of deep, lush forest and stunning ocean views. Saw a cool-looking snake right on the path--wish Arin was here to identify it for us. In the afternoon, we cleaned up and drove into Tillamook to visit the cheese factory. Besides making something like 1 1/2 million pounds of cheese a year, they also make (and sell!) great ice cream. Too many flavors to choose from--I finally decided on Tillamook Mudslide, rich chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate ribbons through it. Good pick! Next time, I'm going to have Udderly Chocolate, which is white chocolate and dark chocolate icr creams swirled together. Or maybe Oregon Huckleberry, or . . .or. . . . .After eating our dessert first, we went in search of dinner. Got a recommendation at a little seafood market right across from the cheese factory (will go back there another day for their clam chowder and crabcakes to go) for a place called The Schooner on Netarts Bay, about halfway back to our camp. Nondescript-looking place from the outdside, but with a nice view of the bay and great food. Steve had fish and chips with beer-battered fries, and I had grilled halibut crusted with hazelnuts. Delicious!Oh, and clam chowder, of course. We've made a point of trying it wherever we are. Each place seems to have their own recipe. It's all fabulous, but each is unique. Steve's favorite so far is still The Ship Inn in Astoria. I have to agree.

Today we woke up to blue skies and sunshine--a first since we got to the coast. Decided to go kayaking on Netarts Bay. Drove down there, got launched, but Steve's rudder was not working, so he could n't steer. The steering mechanism on his hand-built Western red cedar kayak is made of wood, and it appeared to have swelled up in the damp weather and high humidity here. So we came back to camp and he took it apart, sanded it down and reinstalled it, ready to go maybe tomorrow or the next day. He's also going to be on the lookout for an aluminum replacement part.

Upcoming excursions in the next few days: more hiking and kayaking, a visit to Cape Meares Lighthouse, the Farmers Market on Saturday in Tillamook, the airplane museum(Steve), the Latimer Quilt and Textile Musuem (Sandy), and more ice cream cones (both of us!).

Fort Clatsop

We visited here last week, and again today. Fort Clatsop is about 7 miles from Fort Stevens, where we are camped. The fort is a replica of where the Lewis and Clark expedition spent the winter of 1805-06, just inland of the south side of the Columbia River. The fort supposedly stands within 20 yards of the original, of which there is no trace left. The river in the picture is the Lewis and Clark River, which flows into the Columbia just a couple of miles from the picture. When the expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia at the Pacific Ocean, they were on what is now the Washington side. They had been expecting, or at least hoping, to meet up with ship coming up the ocean coast and get a ride home, but were sorely disappointed. Thus, the name of the point--Cape Disappointment. They realized they would have to spend the winter before heading back overland, and Lewis and Clark took a vote from the expedition members whether to winter right there or cross to the south side of the river. Everybody in the party got an equal vote, including Sacajawea and Clark's black slave, York, which was pretty amazing. The majority voted to cross the river, which is how they came to build Fort Clatsop,named in honor of the local Indian tribe.

There are several nice hiking trails in the area, which we didn't get to, but we did kayak on the Lewis and Clark River this morning. We launched at Netul's (Neh TALL's) Landing, where Lewis and Clark landed, and started paddling upriver against the current and into the wind, figuring we'd work hard going out, then turn around and drift back with the wind and the current. Wrong! Just about the time we turned around, the wind not only shifted but started blowing even harder. It was harder going back down, even with the current, than it had been paddling up. We really got a workout. Oh, and did I mention it was raining?

Tomorrow we leave here and head for our next campsite--Cape Lookout, somewhere south of Tillamook, but less than 100 miles away. Tillamook is the home of a big cheese factory that gives tours, an airplane museum, and several quilt shops, among other things. We are planning a quick trip back into Astoria in the morning before we leave to hit one more museum, ride the waterfront trolley, and have an early fish and chips lunch at The Bowpicker. If it's too rainy to eat at the picnic table, we'll either eat it the car, or go back to the Ship Inn instead.

Fun at the Beach

We've been busy doing lots of fun stuff--hiking, biking, touring old forts. More about those in another post. This one's about clamming. When we were at the beach yesterday at low tide, we started talking to the folks who were digging for clams. It got us interested, and later in the evening, when the local cop on patrol in the park stopped at our campsite to say hi and give Ellie a biscuit, he also talked about clamming. They next thing I knew, I was driving to Fred Meyer (7 miles away) buying a clam gun. That's me and that's a clam gun, the closest thing I'll ever get to a gun of any kind. It doesn't shoot--it's sort of like a posthole digger. At 8 a.m. this morning we were out on the beach stalking razor clams. Since we had little or no idea of how to proceed, we followed some other folks around for awhile. Everyone on the beach was so friendly and helpful. One nice couple pointed out some clam holes for me and talked me through the digging process. Woo hoo!! My first clams! I dug up two under their supervision and then graduated to finding them on my own. I ended up with four nice big ones and two little ones. Nowhere the daily limit of 15, but it was a slow day for everyone else too. Ted, the park cop, had given us instructions on how to clean them, and that went much better than I had expected. Next, I chopped them, sauteed them with some onions and garlic, and served them over pasta. Pretty yummy!

Fort Stevens State Park

We are nicely settled in at Fort Stevens State Park, which is at the very tip of the north Oregon coast. It's a big park, with lots to see in the park and surrounding area, so it's a good thing we have reservations for a whole week. The picture of Ellie and I was taken at the wreck of the Peter Iredale , which happened in 1926. The Columbia River bar, where the river meets the Pacific Ocean, is apparently the most dangerous is the world. There are over 2000 wrecks here--it's called the "graveyard of the Pacific." Pieces of ships lost as early as the 1700's are still washing up on the beaches, including old cannons and keels. Yesterday we visited Astoria and the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which is the first nationally-ranked maritime museum. It was fascinating. We spent half a day there viewing all the exhibits, including a "lightship" (like a lighthouse, only a boat) that marked the entrance to the bar for 50 years. The other picture is the Astoria Column, which is at the top of a hill with a panoramic view of the town, river, ocean, and inland. It is carved and painted with scenes of area history from Indians to trappers to Lewis and Clark to steamboats on the river. Very beautifully done . There is a spiral staircase inside with 164 steps leading to the top (124 feet, I think). Unfortunately it was "closed for repairs"--they are putting in a new staircase and it won't be reopened until next spring. We had a great fish and chip lunch at "Ship's Inn" right on the waterfront and recommended by one of our guidebooks. The lady at the information desk at the museum recommended another place--The Bowpicker--right across from the museum as having the best fish and chips around, but it was a little take-out place with only outside seating and it was too cool and windy to make that fun, so we'll save that for our next trip to town.

There is still lots to see and do in Astoria and we will make at least one more trip back there, as it's only about 12 miles from where we are. It's a pretty little town, reminds me of a miniature San Francisco--very hilly and green, loads of charm, with beautiful Victorian homes. There's even a trolley that runs for several miles right along the waterfront that makes stops along the ways at historic sights. And it only cost $1 to ride!

Today is rainy. The weather forecast calls for showers today and rain tomorrow. I don't know the difference, but I suspect there isn't a lot. People here seem to be used to it--they are out walking and riding their bikes regardless. There is a nice paved hike/bike trail that goes all over the park , around the fort, and down to the beach.You can drive your car on the beach, and we did that to give Ellie some exercise--her favorite thing is to run alongside the car. She got lots of grins and waves from people in other cars on the beach. After I post this, we are heading into Seaside for a little explore. Seaside is the furthest south that Lewis and Clark got. There are the remains of a saltworks they constructed to retrieve salt from ocean water for their journey back in 1806. I'm hoping for a quilt shop and/or yarn shop too.

On the Road: Summer 2008

Today is Monday, June 2^nd. We left Salt Lake City Saturday afternoon for this year’s summer adventure—the Oregon coast. We’ll be gone all of June and July. The trip was inspired, at least in part, by a View/Navion rally at a place called Nehalem Bay in mid-June. Steve found out about it on the View/Navion Yahoo group in December and signed us up. At this point, it appears we may be pretty much taking over the campground—there are something like 70 RVs, just like ours, coming from all over the country. While he was making the reservation for Nehalem Bay, Steve started looking into the camping situation along the coast, and was horrified to find out that, even in December, many of state parks only had a couple of sites available for June and July. So he went ahead and made all reservations right then and there for our whole trip. This is something very different from our usual “find a great spot, stay till we feel like moving on, and then find another great spot” approach. We’ll have to see how it works out. We’re not usually very good with schedules and structure. Hopefully, we can cancel our reservations and only lose our initial deposit if something better comes along. “Better” meaning just as pretty but cheaper—Oregon state parks on the coast cost upwards of $24 a night. This, coupled with the rising fuel prices, is making this a more pricey vacation than originally planned. Guess what we’re using our “economic stimulus” check from George W. for!

We’re already feeling a little schedule-crunched as our first night reservation is tomorrow at Fort Stevens State Park (I think) on the northern Oregon border. We left Salt Lake Saturday mid-afternoon and got as far as Jerome, ID. There was nothing in my favorite cheap campground guide for that area, and we ended up doing something I’d always made fun of—spending the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be—we’ve actually stayed in worse places—and it was free. Yesterday, we drove from Jerome to Baker, OR, a town I’ve always liked ever time we’ve passed through. We drove up a beautiful, green little canyon 18 miles to Union Creek, a NFS campground on Phillips Reservoir. Lovely sites in the pines with views of the lake. There is a wonderful hike/bike trail that goes for miles along the shoreline and through the woods; it was beautiful with wildflowers and little springs and streams. I managed to get in one hike with Ellie, but could have easily stayed a couple of more days, riding our bikes and kayaking the lake. That’s why I don’t like schedules!

Today we drove about 4 hours to get to Deschutes State Recreation Area, about 12 miles east of The Dalles off I-84. Another lovely place. We are camped on a grassy site under a big shade tree, just a stone’s throw from the river. Several families of Canada geese, complete with fuzzy young goslings, share the campground with us, as well as lots of other birds, including red-winged blackbirds and goldfinches. This campground also has a shoreline trail, which Ellie and I hiked today, and a rails-to-trails bike path that Steve and I hope to ride some of tomorrow morning before heading off to our next stop. The picture at the beginning of this post is our campspot here.

Home again!

I spent 10 days in Sun City West with my folks while Steve toiled away in the wine cellar of "the castle" in Prescott. This is the result of his labor so far. The unit with the diamond-shaped compartments will be painted on the inside and faced on the top and edges with the same redwood that the tall wine racks are made of. The rack on the left will actually go in the unseen corner to the left, and Steve will build a corner unit for the corner that rack is now standing in, if that makes sense. There will also be shelves built and hung above the diamond unit. Then eventually, more and different kinds of racks and shelves on the opposite wall. You can't see it in this picture, but one whole wall is made of stone with a drip system hidden behind it, so that water can seep down like on the inside of a a cave. Very cool! While he was measuring, sawing, and sanding, I was hanging out with my folks. It was low-key but fun. My mom and I went to a spring training game in Surprise. AZ Diamondbacks vs the Texas Rangers. It is a beautiful stadium, and we had great seats on the 3rd base line, just to the left of the D'Backs' dugout. We got close-up views of them warming up as well as in action. I was a huge Tigers fan growing up in Detroit, back in the days of Kaline, Cash, and Colovito (okay, and Maris and Mantle too), and it was fun to see the big-leaguers in action again.

The picture of Lake Powell is supposed to be down here, instead of up there. . .oh well. That's where we spent the night heading home, after we left Prescott on Monday. It's called Lone Rock, and is in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, just north of Wahweap. We camped right on the beach. It was very beautiful and uncrowded--maybe three others camped on the whole beach. There were a few boats out in the lake, but it was too cold for water sports. At least that's what we thought-apparently we were wrong. Late in the afternoon, we heard the roar of an engine, and looked out the window of The Palms to see a pick up truck racing right along the shoreline. Not far behind and off to the side a little, in maybe a foot of water, was a boogie boarder, his tow rope tethered to the back of the pickup. Now that was something I'd never seen before!

We got home Tuesday, and today is Saturday. We've been cleaning out the RV and settling back into life at home. Tune in again next trip--June and July on the Oregon coast, including the Navion/View Rally. Till then, hope all your own trails are happy.