Crater Lake!

Yesterday we drove south to Crater Lake. 

The drive up the mountain was long. Both life and death were present in a mixture of old, fire destroyed trees and new growth breaking through. 

Snow sprinkled the ground the higher we got. We arrived at the North rim lookout, parked and walked to the edge. 

Wow! I did not expect the water to be so vivid, clear and calm. It is majestic. 

We took pictures and admired the lake for a while before continuing along the rim to the lodge. 

We stopped an ate lunch overlooking the western side of the rim. Not a bad place to relax. 

We hung out for a few hours, hiking around and chatting with park rangers before headed 40 miles south to Lost Creek Reservoir. 

We arrived to camp early and hung out with our neighbors for the night, John and Terri, a retired couple from coastal Oregon. 

Tomorrow my favorite guy turns 29!! 

We're headed to Redwood National Park today. 

Oregon coast

The past two days we've spent crusing down the Oregon coast. 

After leaving the Portland area, we headed west towards Astoria, a sleepy fishing town on the northwestern tip of Oregon. 

Just south of Astoria we stopped at the Lewis and Clark national historic park. We learned about the captains journey and how the wildlife and waterways made a great choice for a winter camp, Fort Clatsop. 

One of the park rangers suggested we become junior park rangers in order to "earn" our stamp and patch for the park. So we completed the exercises and took our oath to protect and serve the park system ( easy for us)! 

We continued south through Cannon Beach and Seaside, to Tillamook ( home of the Tillamook cheese company), camping at Cape Lookout state park along the ocean. 

We had a quiet evening and even a few furry raccoon visitors after sundown. 

This morning we continued south to Florence, visiting the worlds largest sea lion cave. 

We decided to head east towards the mountains in Eugene and then onto Bend where we lay our heads this evening. 

Tomorrow is Crater Lake National Park! 

Sea Lion Cave, Florence Oregon

Stay tuned! 

McMenamins at Edgefield

Yesterday we arrived in Oregon! Yey! We're in a new state!!! 

We treated ourselves to a stay at one of our favorite places, McMenamins at Edgefield, just east of Portland. 

Ben surprised me with a trip to Ruby's spa and we took a dip in the soaking pool before dinner at the pub. 

Such a treat to revisit and pamper ourselves. 

This morning after a wake up dip in the steaming soaking pool we filled our bellys and set off to Portland. 

We're on our way to Astoria, where Goonies was filmed ( one of bens favorite movies). 

Stay tuned!!