Mike & Kris - Enjoying The Ride

We couldn’t wait to get started on this two month adventure which includes California, Oregon, and Washington. With our newly renovated 5th Wheel, we set out on Monday, June 14th. Our first night was a quick stop over in Willits and we enjoyed the cool coastal weather and life under the big Redwood trees. But early the next morning we got what we were looking for..the beautiful Northern California coast and our first views of the Pacific Ocean. We stayed in Trinidad, CA and highly recommend this coastal town.

We were just a 1/2 mile from Patrick’s Point State Park and set out exploring our first afternoon. So many short trails that all ended with breathtaking views of water, huge rocks, and endless shorelines. They are well known for tide pooling too, but we couldn’t fit it all in because the next day we were headed to Fern Canyon. This amazing canyon’s walls are top to bottom lush, green ferns! Besides being beautiful, this canyons claim to fame is that it is the location Jurassic Park 2 was filmed. The whole canyon floor is a creek and they have installed foot bridges so you can walk from side to side without worrying too much about getting your feet wet. What a great way to spend a day. I almost forgot—the 12 mile drive to the parking lot was half the fun! It was a dirt road with a lot of potholes and we had to cross 3 small streams too. We ended the day by heading just a bit south to Moonstone Cafe located at Moonstone Beach. It was a great dinner and sunset.

As much as we enjoyed Trinidad, it was time to move north into Oregon. Our first stop was Bandon. What a fun town! Sights included lighthouses, haystack rocks, a quaint Old Town, and the ocean at every turn. We were worried we may find some of that June gloom that can be found at the coast, but not here. Every morning was bright blue skies. Of course, this may have been because of the wind! What a windy place it was. Since there were no trees in our campsite and plenty of wind, we debuted our new Swiss windsock. We even headed up the coast a bit to stop by Coos Bay for another great dinner at The Fisherman’s Grotto-yum.

Next stop-Cannon Beach. So much fun here. We met up with our friends Don and Loretta Blaser and had a terrific couple of days. We visited on the beach, went shopping in town, and may have had a drink or two along the way. What a great beach town. We will definitely be back again. In fact, we almost didn’t leave. We were packing up on Monday morning and Mike left with the pickup to fill up with fuel before the next leg of the journey. Next thing I know there is text from Mike saying the gas attendant accidentally put some gas in our diesel fuel tank. What a disaster. We were stuck (Mike never started the engine) until they could find someone to come and pump all the tainted fuel out of our tank and refill it with diesel. It took a few hours. We did get a wonderful lunch at a downtown restaurant and a free tank of diesel for our troubles so it wasn’t all bad. Plus we only had a 2-3 hour drive to our next stop so we didn’t get too excited out it. Just one of the many things that can go wrong on the way.

This time we headed east through Portland to a town on the Columbia River called Cascade Locks. Lots to see here. We started out early to head to Multnomah Falls. They were spectacular and not too crowded since we got an early start. Then we headed over to the Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery. Driving up and hearing the power of the water never gets old. We spent a lot of time at the fish ladders because there were so many fish trying to get upstream. This is our 3rd visit to the dam, but the first time we saw so many fish. The fish were called Shad and there were a lot! Over 4 1/2 million fish use this fish ladder in a year. Definitely worth a trip to see. While we were there, we headed over to the fish hatchery and visited the sturgeon viewing area. They have a 70 year old sturgeon named Herman and he is worth a look or two. We also crossed the Bridge of Gods to get to the Washington town of Stevenson. We happened upon windsurfers and kiteboarders. Wow it was amazing. We didn’t get a chance to ride the river boat–we will save it for next time!! Next stop-Boardman Oregon and meeting up with Jill and Steve and their kids. More to come…