When we left Eureka this morning
we were so glad we had the last two days to see the Redwoods because if we had
arrived in Eureka today it would have been tough to see anything. We drove north to Oregon in thick fog for the
first hour. Our route took us through
the Redwoods National Park again, and this time the coastline was barely visible. Almost as soon as we left the Redwoods NP, we
entered Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, so we were treated to more terrific
redwood specimens. We saw one area where
several of the massive trees were down, and they are much more red on the
inside than their brown-gray bark on the outside.
About 3 hours of our drive was the
type we are getting used to - 2 lanes twisty, curvy, roads. Great for scenery, but hard, intense driving
for Mike. Imagine driving in a state
park. Now picture doing it in
mountainous terrain, for over 60 miles, with rock on one side and steep
drop-offs on the other and rarely going over 35 miles an hour. That is why when
we arrive at a campground after a day’s drive like that we get set up, get out
a couple of camp chairs and unwind.
You know how when you are driving
around your town you know what is around the block or down the road? Mike said the exciting thing about driving
where you have never been before is that surprise of just what is around the
bend. Like the huge Paul Bunyan and Babe
the Blue Ox in front of a business. Or
the rustic looking resort that advertised “Food – Booze – Snooze”. Or the beautiful swift running river through
a gorge that was WAY below us when we pulled over to let traffic pass. (and had to get out to see)
As we crossed the state line into
Oregon we were greeted by sunshine – a nice welcome. After 17 days in California, (and we
certainly didn’t see it all) Oregon has become the 11th state for us
to see.
After traveling most of the day on
those two lane roads, we got on Interstate 5 and stopped at the first rest stop
for lunch. Remember the days before
there was a McDonald’s every 15 miles?
(I know some of you reading this are saying, “There really was such a
time?”) This rest stop was a nice one
and I thought about my Mom who would tell us about traveling to Indiana as a
child to visit her grandparents and they always packed a lunch and stopped at
rest areas or picnic areas to eat.
We arrived at Myrtle Creek, Oregon
after a 6-hour drive. We again have a
nice concrete slab to park the RV on (makes leveling it so much easier) and
grass to put a chair on. Our destination
on Tuesday is Crater Lake National Park, a place recommended to us by lots of
people. It is going to be a 3 hour
drive; longer than we like a day trip to be.
But we have to drive past a donut shop I spied on the way to our
campsite. J You have to be thankful for the little
things. . .
Only 3 pictures from the road
today: me with the gorge below; a view
out our windshield of the type of road we were on most of the day; Welcome to
Oregon. I said they must not have a
great state slogan or nickname to put on a better sign!
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