Day 11-15

Friday morning up and out in a leisurely manner.  We are on our way to Sequim Washington where our friends Kath and Tony Beecher live. 

Because we have a little time we thought that we would go by the Mima Mounds Park.  These were though to be burial mounds but have now been proven to be piles of rock left by glaciers as they melted.  It was quite an adventure to find these little babies.  We were following directions put out by AAA so felt that there should be no problems.  Well guess again.  What AAA did not tell us was that the name of the road changed three times and each time it changed we chose the wrong way.  We asked locals how to get to the Mima Mounds and got several different directions.  None of which added up to what we hand in the books (nothing on the GPS).  Finally mom went on her new phone and looked it up on the web.  Amazing, we found the directions and drove right to the mounds.  It was interesting to be out in the middle of nowhere and listening to the tweet of the birds and then to have world war III go off.  There is a gun club on the back  of the property which takes a way some of the  quiet. 

We finally arrived in Sequim Washington at the house of Kath and Tony Beecher.  Kath was my first student teacher at Valencia High School and has now retired after a full life of teaching.  She has moved up here to the Banana Belt of Washington to be with her husband, Tony a retired recording engineer.  Both have amazing hobbies.  Tony has taken an out building (what could have been a really good woodworking shop) and turned in into a train depot for model trains.  He has a really incredible set up that is in the early stages of development.  He has also joined a model railroad club and is turning them on their ear.  Kath has joined a quilting club and has taken over one whole bedroom assigned to that project.  Kath and Tony welcomed Cassie into their home but Doc and Bashful (two cats) were not so sure they wanted to be around Cassie. 

Saturday morning, Kath kept Cassie and Tony took us on a tour of the Olympic Forest.   Tony is a really accomplished photographer so we spent the day taking pictures and learning about my camera.  We started off at Crescent Lake.  This is a glacier lake that has two types of fish that are found no where else in the world than in this lake.  The day looks like it was cloudy but the sun was out most of the day and we were, for the first time without two jackets and long underwear. 

After hundreds of pictures we moved on to Solduk river and the falls.  Once again this was drive, stop, take a picture, talk about the picture and then go on to the next spot.  Yvonne and I hiked out to the falls.  Tony hung around the trail head taking pictures that he had taken in other seasons.  He is trying to take the same picture in all the different seasons as a study.  When we got to the falls it was interesting to find that though the falls were beautiful they were short compared to what we are familiar with CA.  We were lucky enough to be there when the sun was just right so that the rainbow jumped right at us. 

On Sunday we went St. Luke's Episcopal Church and were recruited to the choir.  They were very persuasive about us moving up there so that we could join the choir but....  It was a wonderful service and it was fun to just be in the pews and worship.

We came back to Kath and Tony's house.  One of the discussions about us visiting was that Tony and Kath had a few little projects that they wanted help with.  So we started on putting up shelves and  putting together a loom.  These projects  continued on to Monday but are all completed. 

Throughout the whole four days Kath cooked up a storm.  We had salmon, BBQ ribs, baked brie, apple dumplings, brownies, shrimp and rice, spaghetti, baked chicken and panzella salad.  It was like being on a cruise ship. 

Tony gave Yvonne quite a gift by recording some of her harp pieces.  It makes quite a difference to have someone who knows recording and has the right equipment making the recording.  We look forward to hearing the finished product when he sends us the CD. 

Tuesday, we're off to Kent Washington KOA.   We will use this as our base to see Seattle on Wednesday.  Kath and Tony offered to keep Cassie for us so that we can spend the day with out worrying about Cassie while we sight see in Seattle.  Cassie will hook back up with us on Thursday after being spoiled at the Beecher Doggie Resort.  

Day 8-10

 We are up on Tuesday and it was raining so we just had to sleep in and read.  We final crawled out of bed, had breakfast, and headed out to Tillamook to see the cheese factory then go on down the coast to see the "Three Capes."  It was amazing to see the factory in process.  They were making sharp cheddar that day.  We worked our way through multiple different kinds of cheeses and choose only 6 different ones to buy.  I found my favorite which is their "Trail Mix" (Smoked cheddar, summer sausage, sharp cheddar, peperoni stick and garlic cheddar). Nothing in it that I would turn away.  We came out of the factory with a little dog barking and raising hell and were so proud of Cassie when we found out it was the dog in the next car.  She was hanging out waiting for us to come back. 

From there we heading down the road to visit the "Three Capes."  This trip is a loop that travels about 50 miles and visits three different capes below the town of Tillamook.    It continued to shower on and off so when we got to Cape Meares we were pleased to find it not raining and we hiked down to the light house.  This light house is one of the oldest on this coast and had the largest first order lens.  We had a great time talking to one of the docents and then hiked back out to the truck just in time to  avoid the next wave of rain.  We visited the other two capes.  To top off this tour of the three capes was a visit to the Pelican Pub and Brewing Company where we sampled two different beers.
 

The trip back up was wonderful for a different reason.  Along the route were sculptures that talked to the difference of those who live in Oregon rather that California.  The blue cow reading we found in front of a preschool.  The two chickens we found along a farmers field.  While taking the picture the highway patrol came up and asked me to move along as I was a danger to people traveling along the road.  We were concerned I was going to get a ticket but that did not happen and we moved along.  When we got to the next town what should we find but another chicken.  Yvonne made me stop so she could get a  picture.  I made sure to pull into a parking lot and she went back to get the picture.  I know that these sculptures are important to someone but they were sure fun and made our trip happier. 

As we were driving back late in the day we found these rocks covered in living plants back lit by the close of a day with the rain beginning to recede. 

We headed back to our little home after a full day.  Had a walk on the beach and watched the moon rise in sky.  It is most interesting to be up at 9:00 and have it still be light out.  It was wonderful to watch the stars to come out and play with Cassie and the ocean.  Then it was time to climb into bed and get ready for the next day. 

Wednesday we were out by 9:00 and headed up to Astoria  and then on to Iron Creek which is on the northeast side of Mount St. Helens.  On the Oregon coast there are a series of  light houses.  This one was probably the most difficult to build.  It took almost two years to construct.  There is almost no room on the rock for anything else other than the light house. 

We continued on up to Astoria where we went to Fort Clatsop, the final stopping point of Lewis and Clark on the Pacific Coast.   After traversing the continent from the St. Louis, surveying and writing reports for President Jefferson, Lewis and Clark ended their journey and built a small fort on a bluff  above a river near the mouth of the Columbia River.  They spent a cold, wet 4 winter months there before they planned to leave and travel by land back home.  A replica of the fort

has been built and the small rooms and open fire pits would not have been very comfortable.  The whole undertaking was amazing.  Yvonne read Stephen Ambrose's  Undaunted Courage recently and provided a running commentary on the adventure of these men. 

We went off across the state to Iron Creek.  We throught that this campground was going to be just off the freeway.  I know that maps work but for some reason I did not check this out.  Iron Creek is not on Google Maps or on our GPS but we have  traveled with maps for a long time so what could go wrong.....

57 miles later we stopped at the ranger station and asked for directions.  We were close (8 miles).  It is a wonder primeval forest on the shoulder of Mount St. Helens.  The rain stopped and waited for us to set up camp and take a small walk.  The rain then held off enough for us to barbeque dinner and sit outside around a campfire.  What a wonderful night.  This forest is an old growth forest and you might have seen thousands of years ago. 

Because the campground was all the way around Mount St Helen's on the back side we were up in the morning early (8:00)  on Thursday and out the door.  Drove around the mountain to see the volcano.  The rain came in and the clouds came down.  As you can see the mountain was hiding from us.  Maybe next time.  It was educational to read about what happened and to see the devastation in the valley. 

When we read and heard about in in the 80's I just through that it was a volcano erupting.  Somewhere I missed that there were three distinct acts that made up this particular eruption.  First there were earthquakes (5.+) that caused the largest landslide in the Americas.  This moved tons of earth off the side of the mountain and weakened the structure of the side of the mountains.  Second, there as a gas eruption that blew out the side of the mountain and spread fine ash and golf ball size balls for miles around.  Third there as a lava eruption that melted all of the snow on the mountain and cause the floods that we read about.  It was a perfect storm and no one could predict. 

As you can see Cassie also is interested in what Yvonne is reading to us from the plaque out of shot.  We packed it up and headed back around the mountain to our trailer.  It rained heavily all the way  so we had dinner in the trailer.  Curled up and hit the hay.    

Day 4-7

Up early in the morning and off to Gold Hill.  Ron Danko and I work together to build Western Stage.  We both then moved into teaching Speech and then Ron moved to Oregon where he continues to teach speech and work in the Theater.  We have not seen each other for several years and Yvonne and I looked forward to some time with both he and Aurelie (his wife).  It took most of the day to drive from the Redwoods to Gold Hill.  We drove up along the coast an then through Crescent City and on into Oregon.  It was really clear that Crescent City is truly a crescent.  It was also amazing to see the high water marks along the road.  We then turned East through the Jedediah Smith Redwoods to see more amazing trees.   Then it was on to Oregon where I forgot and tried to pump my own gas.  The attendant was very nice but firm.  (It’s an Oregon law).  He would do the work for me.  

 We arrived at the KOA around 3 and set up.  Ron had suggested that we go down to Ashland and see a play (The Unfortunates).  While driving in we booked two tickets using our new Androids and we got two tickets.  It worked just great but we had not thought out the whole plan.  What do we do with Cassie?  Well we can leave her in the trailer and go see the show.  (now what is wrong with that picture?)  Finally, Yvonne stayed at the trailer with Cassie and practiced her harp and I went down to Ashland to see an incredible show.  No hope to describe the show as it is a musical that uses blues, rap, hip hop, and gospel to tell the story of prisoners in a German camp and what goes on in their head.  As weird as it sounds it was moving. 

We were up in the morning (Saturday) and down to Ron’s place for breakfast. He and his wife put on an  incredible spread during which we all showed pictures of our kids, talked about old times and where everyone was going or had been over the last several years.   Generally we caught up.  In all of the talking I did not take one picture.  We had a great time but Ron had a trick up his sleeve and we headed out on an adventure.  It turns out that Bob Butterbaugh and his wife Genie live just down the road and Bob has built the most amazing shop.  Basically a barn (three car garage with high ceilings), 220 to all tools, serious tools (drool), and storage for the lumber next to his home.  We got a tour, I got jealous and we spent more time catching up and hearing what the Butterbaugh’s were doing.  We were supposed to be back at the KOA by 12:00 to leave but it was closer to 2:00 before we got back. (Again no pictures)

We drove to Eugene and found our way to Dick and Ty Zeller’s house.  Set up the trailer and started talking again.  Dick and Ty were instrumental is helping us move to Eugene in 1985 and then moving to Resurrection Church, where for the year Yvonne was the Choir director.   They were a huge support for us in Eugene in so many ways.  We had a great meal (compared California and Oregon wines), lots of talking and then wandered their property and looked at their garden (more wine) and finally went to bed. 

The next morning (Sunday) we had a lazy morning and then off to Resurrection to sing with the choir and worship with a number of folks who were still in the parish from when we were there.  It brought back many wonderful memories.  Yvonne got to play their new organ   Dick and Ty had planned a dinner with folks from the church that remembered us and we remembered.  Two couples could come on Father’s Day Richard Heinzkill and his wife and Mike and Marin and again more stories and remembrances.  Also in attendance was Christine (Dick and Ty’s daughter) and her husband Bing and daughter Elizabeth Grace.  It was wonderful to talk with Christine.  She was about 7 when we left and now is a lawyer settling cases concerning radiation contamination of people working in the nuclear industry.

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Today (Monday) we were up and said heartfelt thanks and challenges to get together more often and then we were off to the Oregon coast.   As usual this time of year the fog is in but we stopped at the Heceta Lighthouse   This coast is so different from Northern California.   We also stopped at the Visitors Center at Cape Perpetua to look at another amazing view of the Oregon coast and read about history of the area.

and all of us walked up to the lighthouse covered in fog. The only decent picture was of the lighthouse keeper’s house.

We are now set up in our campsite in Nehalem Bay.  We slid in just before it began to seriously rain and were set up and having a glass of wine watching the water sluice off the roof of the trailer.  Tomorrow may be a tour of the Tillamook cheese factory and out to see the three capes if it continues to rain.  If it clears up we may go for a hike as Oregon will allow dogs on leash to be on the trails.  Who knows?  We will report to you what we did when we have an internet connection again. 

Day 1-4

Well folks for those of you that wonder where we are, we have left the Roost and are on the road.  Yvonne and I are going to spend the next weeks checking back in with each other and learning how to travel with our new dog Cassie (Cassandra).  When we have internet we will post, which might not be to often but.....

We started our journey on Tuesday  the 11th, and yes David we got out by 8:00 even though we were not ready the night before when you called.   Our first stop was on the other side of the Golden Gate bridge to let Cassie find out what it was like to be in a crowd.  She did great.  She was most interested in seeing what was around the next corner. 

While we were standing there the folks next to us wondered about the  large sailboat out on the water.  One of the America's Cup 70 foot cats were practicing.   They are quite the boat.  I do not think the Cassie was interested but I hung around as long as I could watching this monster take off with almost no wind.

We packed back up and headed out through Petaluma on our way to Humboldt Redwood State Park and the Burlington campground.  This is a blast from the past as Yvonne and I been here early in our marriage.  We were trying to figure out when but you know these old minds.  The road had changed and it was not as we remember it.  It took until the next day for us to figure that they had added a freeway through this area and the road that we had traveled is now called the "Avenue of the Giants." We pulled in and set up.  Big trees everywhere.  We have thousands of shots of just trees.  They are quite amazing.  A simple meal of  chili and sausages to start the trip.

Next door to us was a  dad and two little kids.  He was camping with his kids (6 and 2 years old) because this was his vacation time and his wife was trying to complete her dissertation.   The two little kids immediately came over to play with Cassie and entertained us with their exploits and adventures. .  It turns out that he is an assistant Scout Master and was kind enough to offer dutch over cobbler because his kids were often in our camp. 

The next day (Wed) we slept in and then hung around camp and read.  Eventually, at the urging of Cassie we were off on our own adventures.    One of the problems of traveling with a dog is that you cannot take them on any trails in the National Parks so we went just outside of the park to take her through the forest and then introduced Cassie to a river.  She was besotted.  We are still not comfortable about letting her off the leash but the twenty foot line allowed her to get plenty wet.  One of us will have to get into the water before she will swim but......

We are now working on having her stay in the truck while we take short hikes into the woods to see the really big trees.  Sometimes she just curls up and goes to sleep and sometimes she lets us know that she is not happy.  While we were talking to one of the rangers, she suggested that we park the truck at the opening of some of the drive in sites and then walk Cassie along the road.  The rule is, if it is paved the dog and go there.  So off we went and had more adventures.  The ferns are amazing.  To see the amount of growth that comes out of a downed tree reminds you about how the forest sustains its self.

Back to camp for our first real dinner.  Prior to the trip I found a little Weber gas barbecue so we just had to try it out.  So BBQ chicken and weird sausages and salad.   While that was happening Yvonne decided to take her harp out and practice a little.  Immediately the kids were there to see this weird musical instrument.  We finished dinner and were off to bed.

The next day (Thursday) more sleeping in and reading under the trees.  We then decided to travel the length of the old Redwood Highway (now called the Avenue of the Giants) stopping often to see more big trees and try to find places that we remember from our first visit to the Redwoods almost 35 years ago.   It is hard to appreciate the size of some of these treas until you stand next to them.  This is the largest tree in the park and that little dot next to it is Yvonne.  We visited the two other campgrounds in the park and understood why we had chosen Burlington last time.  It is the nicest of the group and the oldest.  More room between sites.  What a great day of just lazing through he park. Back to the campsite where we grilled salmon  and had an amazing dinner.  A little harp practice and off to bed.

Up at 0-dark- hundred (Friday) as we need to be in Gold Hill Oregon early.  We had tickets to a show in Ashland (The Unfortunates).  Out of camp by 8 and on the road.  We traveled up through Crescent City.  Stopping often to look at the ocean and watching the folks launch their kayaks to go fishing.

Yvonne did make me stop to see the blue ox but I promise you that we did not go inside of this amusement park.  (check out the ox).  With a full day of travel behind us we arrived at the KOA in Gold Hill.  Plugged in and then decided that we had not spent enough time with Cassie so I went to the show and Yvonne stayed with Cassie.

What an wonderful presentation.  It was a little weird to go to the show without Yvonne but as the trip goes along Cassie will get better and when we are back in this area we will try to see another show where we both can go.

Today (Saturday), we will stop and have breakfast with Ron Danko and his wife and then head off to Eugene to be with our friends the Zeller's.

That gets you all caught up.  Will post more later in the week.