Oregon - a Whole New Backyard Adventure!

We crossed the border into Oregon and discovered a whole new world awaited us, gas was a little cheaper (which is a good thing), people pump your gas here (by law) and the people are very very friendly! Our first stop was Diamond Lake which is 3 miles north of Crater Lake.  Crater Lake can only be described as ..... WOW! Breath taking views, the bluest water and the majestic peaks form what can only be described as God's picture perfect landscape.  Did you know that Crater Lake was not formed by a meteor, it was a volcano that fell into itself and formed the bowl for the lake.  We are so fortunate to be able to travel to these natural gems in America's backyard.  We spent three days at Crater Lake but could have stayed the summer, it is that beautiful.  The pictures we will post of this place can not do it justices.  After Crater Lake we drove back to the Oregon Coast and was not disappointed in the views along the coast.  We plan on stopping at Sunset State Park, South Beach State Park and Fort Stevens State Park each for three days and take in the views.  Our first stop was a little different for us, we pulled in and set up the motorhome to find that we did not have satellite service, no cell phone service, and no internet.....OMG how will we survive? Well,  one of us did really well and one of us needs a hobby besides something to do with electronics!  Pat caught up on her reading while George moped around for three days.  In his defense, he was also trying to get rid of a lingering cold.  The state park was beautiful but there was a canopy of huge trees hanging over the entire park and every morning we were blessed with a cold fog coming from the ocean. The locals around Coos Bay call it "the  Gloom until noon", but we did get out and see some very beautiful beaches, gardens and a lighthouse.  Leaving Sunset Beach we travelled north for a couple hours and pulled into South Beach.  The views from US 101 going north were amazing, Pat took hundreds of pictures.  The town of Newport is a quite little fishing village with two lighthouses, beautiful sandy beaches and it has internet, satellite reception and cell phone service so we are now all happy!  Feeling better we left South Beach and drove to the northwestern most point of Oregon.  It is the land of Lewis and Clark, where the Columbia River and meets the picturesque seacoast.  We did not see all of Oregon but what we did see left a lifetime of memories.

We camped at Diamond Lake and this was our front yard!

 Diamond Lake is 3 miles north of Crater Lake - awesome!

 

Sunrise over Crater Lakle

Is it chilly Pat?

This picture does not do Crater Lake any justice - it has is the bluest water we have ever seen

 

 

The Oregon coast was amazing

Our hook ups at Sunset Beach on the Oregon coast

Lighthouse near Coos Bay, Oregon

 

 

 

Devil's Punch Bowl on the Oregon Coast

Just us on the Oregon Coast

Another coast shot for your enjoyment

Rugged beauty

Interesting house on US 101

Old shipwreck at the mouth of the Columbia river

Replica of Lewis and Clark fort at Warrenton, Oregon

 

This our first trip to Oregon and it did not disappoint us.  From Crater Lake to the Oregon Coast this is a beautiful state.  We are driving to Washington state, another state that offers new and exciting opportunities to discover America's backyards.  After Washington we will start our trek back to Colorado with stops in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.  Stay tune for more amazing pictures(we hope) and our trials and tribulations along the way.  Enjoy your summer!

Southern California - Friends and Sites!

 

We left Tucson and headed west to the Pacific Ocean, Southern California and long but not lost friends. Sorry we missed a few as our schedules were just out of snyc.   Our first stop was Camp Pendleton Marine Base but we did notice driving into the base the gas was $4.00 a gallon, quite different from the $2.17 a gallon in Tucson.  But we settled in and made some calls to friends in the area.  Since we been in this area a few times, sightseeing is not high on our agenda.  Pat and Domnique Shores actually accepted our call and we made plans to meet the following day in Dana Point.  We were all stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany from 1983 to 1986 and travelled to the ski slopes in Austria together.  Pat ad Domnique were perfect hosts, we enjoyed breakfast an toured the harbor at Dana Point while we caught up with each other.  As always with good friends,  it seemed that we had been together just a couple months ago had a wonderful time visiting.  We left Pendleton we drove up the coast and stopped at Seal Beach and Port Hueneme naval stations before visiting our friends Frank and Alberta Rock.  Frank and George were stationed together in the early 70s at Ramstein and it has a few years since we connected when we spent a year in the Mojave Desert while George worked on the B-2 project..  It was great seeing them and they are looking pretty good for some old timers.  Continuing up the coast we stopped at San Luis Obispo so we could visit the famous Hearst Castle and Moro Rock.  We can tell you that Mr. Hearst spent millions of dollars on this little abode and it rivals any castle in Europe.  The architecture, paintings, furniture, fountains etc. are really something to see if you are out this way.  We changed plans at this point and decided that we should do something for Amy....so we drove to Travis AFB to do some wine probing in the NAPA valley.  We found a vineyard not far from the base and stopped in... what do you know...it is owned by Coors and ran by the sister that Kris works for in Colorado.  So now Amy will get some wine from the Coors family...hope she likes it!  We detoured again to do some family history in Humboldt County, California the ancestry home of Pat's great grandfather John Hiram Rease.   Now it was time to leave California and drive to Crater Lake, Oregon but that is a backyard story for another blog.  Hope you enjoyed our adventures in California, we did find out that not all of California is like Southern California which is a very good thing!

 

 

Dana Beach, the ocean views were remarkable!

George, Pat, Dominique and Pat Shores having breakfast overlooking the ocean

 

George, Pat, Alberta, and Frank Rock good friends for many years!

The mission at San Luis Obispo

Ronald Regan's Presidential library, Simi Valley California

 

Hearst Castle entrance

The heated swimming pool

How is this for a dining room?

 

We really enjoyed California this time around, the weather was great,  and the scenery was just beautiful.  However, it was the friends we connected with that we will remember the most of our swing through the Golden Bear State.  It is on to Oregon, which is one of the few states that we have never visited so our backyard exploring will all be new.  Stay tuned the summer has just began!