We got up early, said our goodbyes, and hit the road. So to begin with, let's take a look at the road we hit:
It was a lovely day for a drive, and a lovely drive for a day. The Pacific Northwest coast is beautiful.
Not long after we left McKinleyville, we passed a sign that said "Elk Viewing Area." We turned down a side road, but saw no elk, although we did see some rabbits. So we drove a little further, and then I spotted some...
Elks!
...lying peacefully in someone's yard! They must have been tame.
We drove out of Humboldt County into Del Norte County, the northernmost county in California. We passed through the Yurok Indian reservation, and as we crossed a bridge over the Klamath River, I saw that the bridge was decorated with...
Golden Bears
...which probably had something to do with the nearby Golden Bear Casino. Just a hunch.
I also saw a sign which you don't often see in Southern California:
We then passed through Crescent City, and shortly thereafter came to:
Shortly after crossing into Oregon, I saw a sign that said "Arch Rock." I went to investigate.
Down a short path...
...to view some impressive offshore rocks and beaches...
including Arch Rock!
Shortly thereafter, the trip hit a low point. Passing through Gold Beach, I got a speeding ticket!
Then, passing through Port Orford, I spotted this fine dining establishment:
...which I had to take a picture of, to show to my friend Dave Conrad, the original crazy Norwegian!
We stopped for lunch in Coos Bay, at a place called:
A little while later, we stopped in a small town (Lakeside) for gas, and I was amazed to discover it was a full serve station! I didn't think they existed any more.
Passing through another small town (Winchester Bay), I was amused to see a banner hung over the highway proclaiming "Ocean Fest July 17-13." Quite a trick. They say time passes more slowly in small towns, but in this town, I guess it runs backward.
At a place called Hecata Head, I stopped for more pictures:
Hecata Head lighthouse
Hecata Head beach
Hecata Head sea lions
I also saw something a little disturbing. You know how you sometimes see roadside memorials - crosses with flowers, pictures, etc. - indicating where someone died in a road accident? Well, I looked over the guard rail at the side of the road, and saw one of those on a ledge a few feet down the cliff!
Touching, but a little creepy. I couldn't help but wonder... did someone go over the side in a car accident? Or did someone jump?
A short while later, I saw something I've been waiting over thirty years to see again. Allow me to digress...
Many years ago, before I met Terry, I was driving through Oregon one day, and saw a sign by the side of the road, informing me that I was at the 45th parallel - precisely halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. For some reason, that sign impressed me greatly.
Well, I knew we'd be crossing the 45th parallel on this trip, but I didn't know whether they had that sign on every highway, or even if the signs would still be there all these years later. But they were:
It takes so little to excite me...
Shortly after passing the sign, we turned off Highway 101, and headed inland, eventually coming to the little town of Tualatin (pronounced too-OLL-a-tin, not too-a-LAT-in, as I discovered to my chagrin). We stopped for dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ, and then headed on to our destination, our home for the next three nights, the Clackamas River House bed and breakfast:
...on the banks of the Clackamas River (w) .
We met our hosts, Mark and Beverly De La Brueres (bree-AIR)...
...and the house cat, Golden Nugget, aka "Nudgie:"
...and settled into our room.
Here are some more pictures of the house:
A TV/Reading room adjoining our bedroom
A deck outside the reading room
Views of the back yard, looking down from the deck
The living room
A knickknack shelf in the hall
Of course, it was rather late in the day by the time we got there, so we didn't do much that evening, except get settled in, do some laundry, and go to bed. We did have one adventure, though - I left the bedroom door open, and North wandered out of the room, through the TV room, out onto the deck and down the stairs, and was happily exploring the back yard when we noticed he was missing.