Washington

Our route through Washington. The blue line is the route & the little bubbles are info on the stops through Washington. You can move the map by dragging on it. Click on the bubbles for info of the stops & maybe a picture or video. Enjoy! (Give it a little time to load) Newport, WA provided us with some warm weather. The campground was very nice in the woods. Finally some warm weather.
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Soap Lake, WA

We made a pitstop at Soap Lake, WA. Soap Lake contains 17 minerals. Cowboys & Indians bathed in this water for its healing powers. It was said to be a "God given body of water for the ills of mankind". It has a soapy feel to it and it has suds that form along the shore, hence the name Soap Lake.

Cresent Bar, Quincy, WA

Here in Quincy, WA, we are right on the Columbia River. What a beautiful place.

What a view from our campground.

Our Pitstop
John stopped for his pot of GOLD.

Randle, WA

The sun setting in Randle, WA.

Well today we had some excitement. John & I went for a ride to see the other side of Mt. St. Helen & the Ape Cape. On the way to the Ape Cape, a bear ran across the road right in front of our car. It wasn't a full grown bear, but not a baby either. Man was it in a hurry. It ran across the street so fast. I was so excited, I was screaming with excitement. I tried to get my camera up to take a photo, but I dropped it & picked it back up & dropped it again. I was too excited to get the darn camera up. John said he ran across the street so fast, I wouldn't been able to snap the picture anyway. But it was something to see. We were both very excited. So... no photos....

So we drove to the Ape Cave. It was discovered in 1947 by a logger who almost drove his tractor into it. It was named after the outdoor club he belonged to, the St. Helens Apes. It was a cool 42 degrees inside. Very, very, very dark. We wore our head flash lights. But it would have been better if we would have gotten lanterns. The flashlights just weren't strong enough. The cave is a pristine lava tube full of fragile formations. It is 13,042 feet long, the third longest in North America.

After the Ape Cape we went to the east side of Mt. St. Helen. The road up to Windy Point Observatory was closed due to a mudslide. The road will have to be rebuilt and may take more than one season. There are also major cracks in the road and sink holes so deep, your car will disappear. The view point is limited from this entrance to the park as you can only go up to the first viewpoint.

If you are planning to see Mt. St. Helen in the near future...take the west entrance. A must see is the view from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. There are 5 visitor centers coming in off of Interstate 5, all but one are open. Previous posts show the views from Johnston Ridge Observatory. (check Mt. St. Helen Post)

Mt. Rainier

Yesterday we went to Mt. Rainier. Four years ago we visited the mountain & missed the view from Sunrise view point. So we headed up there first thing. Lots of road contruction to get to this view point. It was very slow going. Sunrise is the highest point you can go on Mt. Rainier in a vehicle. Of course you can always hike and get much higher.

We stopped just below Sunrise to take in some breathtaking views.
Then we stopped for awhile at Reflection lake & watched an eagle fly by & drop down to the lake for his dinner. Again we were unable to catch this on camera, but we enjoyed the view. The eagle dropped down to the lake several times. Also on the edge of the lake was a deer grazing.

Next we stopped at Box Canyon. There is a 180 foot drop here from the top of the canyon to the water.
John stopped for a little dip in the water.
Ice cold water!
While we were in the park & driving back through the forest to our campsite we only saw one eagle & one deer (at Reflection Lake). After leaving the park, right in front of someones home right in the town of Packwood there was a herd of elk. There was about 20 of them. There must have been some good grazing at this house. Then down the road just a few blocks there was another herd of elk. So we were lucky to see them.

Mt. St. Helen, WA

Well we enjoyed another day on the road. John & I visited Mt. St. Helen together 4 years ago & it looked a little different this time. First there was less snow on the mountain, but the main thing was...it had more trees than it did 4 years ago. On the way up to Mt. St. Helen we really had to watch for deer. They seem to enjoy running out in front of our car. It was the closest we have ever come to hitting one of them. Thank God we missed them. Today was finally warmer than the previous days since we hit Oregon & Washington.
Well hope you enjoy the above video of our day and yes I did spell barren wrong. So sorry. To late to go back & fix it.

Kites..Kites....Kites in Long Beach,WA

Long Beach, Washington

Well we finally left Oregon. We are now in Long Beach, Washington. While we were here in Long Beach we went to see the last 2 lighthouses we will visit on the coast. Below is a short clip of the lighthouses we visited in Washington & Oregon. We didn't see them all, I think we mixed 2 in Oregon.



We leave here tomorrow for Chehalis, Washington. Here we stayed right on the beach. Long Beach is on a peninsula and again we are in the fog. We are still chilly and need to find the sun. Once we head inland, it should get warmer, hopefully. John & I went to Cape Disappointment Light house. It is called Cape Disappointment because Captain John Meares sought refuge here from a storm but didn't receive any comfort. We also visited Northhead Lighthouse.

Kites....Kites...Kites...Kites seem to be the theme here in Long Beach. So many...they even have a kite museum. With all the wind here it isn't to difficult to keep those kites up.

Today we spent the day at the beach, while sand sculptures were being created. This is a sand sculpture contest and it is called SandSations. Indianas Bones won the first place award which was $1500. Not a bad deal for playing in the sand. Sweet Dreams came in 2nd place with a prize of $1000. Wow! Maybe I need to play in the sand too. Imagine a bedroom with all these ghouls. Oh my whats under the rug?

The 3rd place was Reptiles. This team of sculpturers came from South America & Paris. Imagine traveling that far to play in the sand. Congrats to all the winners!

*Remember you can enlarge the pictures to see the details of the sculptures by clicking on them. You can also save to the computer by right clicking on them. Enjoy!

Oregon Coast Update

Seaside, Oregon
We are still on the coast of Oregon in a quaint little seaside town. (leaving for Washington on Wednesday July 23) It is still chilly & damp. The beaches are beautiful, but I don't know how anyone can go in the water, although they do. The natives of Oregon think it is warm. I am in long pants and a jacket, they are in bathing suits. I just want to see the sun again. The fog is beautiful over the coast, but I prefer the sun. Let the sun shine in!

At the end of the road in Seaside is this turn around. It ends right at the Pacific Ocean. This is the end of the journey of the explorers Lewis & Clark. So it is an historic site. The fort Lewis & Clark lived in, while here in Seaside is called Fort Clatsop after the Indians of the area. It burned down & they built a replica.

Astoria is up the road from Seaside, the last town before you cross over to Washington state. This column is a monument erected in the early 1900's to honor the explorers & early settlers as they played a critical role in the exploration of the Pacific coast area. Astoria was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The column artfully dispicts the conflicts, triumphs and turning points of the American Indians along with U.S. and Oregon history.

The movie The Goonies was filmed in this house. Here in Astoria, many movies have been made. Kindergarten Cop, Shattered, The Ring II, Point Break, Benji the Hunted, The Black Stallion, Teenage Mutant Turtles III, The Temp, Short Circuit and Free Willy are just a few of the movies filmed here. Many commercials and a few series have also been filmed here in Astoria.

Pacific City, Oregon

We traveled the 3 cape scenic route. The route started with Cape Kiwanda. Here is the only place on the Oregon coast where you can watch dory boat fishermen launch directly into the surf. (While we were here one of those dory boats ran right into a surfer and the surfer lost his arm. The waves were extremely rough that day & no one saw the surfer. I don't know how he is doing now, but last we heard, they found the arm & put it back on.) The next cape was Cape Lookout. There was several scenic overlooks on the route. We stopped at this beautiful beach for lunch. This man made entrance leads to a natural cave that takes you to the other side of the mountain to another beach. Very dark inside. I am sure when the tide comes in the cave is flooded. On the other side the beach is small. Our last stop on the cape scenic route was Cape Meares, which has a light house. It is the smallest lighthouse I have ever seen. The reason it is so small is that it stands on a 256 foot cliff. If a light house is up to high it isn't efficient because of the fog. So it is a short lighthouse. Look inside the lighthouse & you can see Candy, Marge & John.

*Remember you can right click on the images & enlarge them.

Newport, Oregon

Sea Aquarium Newport, Oregon- We visited the aquarium & we saw some weird looking fish. Do you know what kind of fish is in this fish tank?

Depoe Bay- A seawall runs almost the whole length of the town. The coast has many rock formations, the water is very rough & it is very windy. This is a great place to watch whales. But we didn't see any. I guess they were having lunch. The town was very cute with lots of shops. It is a great place to watch winter storms. Apparently that is a winter sport here.

Cape Foulweather- Winds can reach up to 100 MPH here. We enjoyed this spot 3 times during our stay. We spotted quite a few whales here on the first visit. Unfortunately, on our next 2 visits, no whales. Big disappointment.

Devil's Punchbowl-Devils punchbowl was a cave at end of a cliff. The ceiling of the cave collapsed creating this tunnel. It opens into the ocean. John & I went back here 3 times during our stay at Whaler's rest. He loved this spot. It was very windy.

A beautiful view of the lighthouse in Newport.

Ten Star Fish

Sea Urchins in the tide pool

Tide Pools at Yaquina

Oregon Coast

Green Sea Anemone- Sea Urgents & Ochre Sea Star fish at the tidal pool at Yaquina Head. The purple sea urgents are apparently good eating (raw). Yuk!
Yaquina Head Lighthouse-93 foot tall tower is the tallest on the Oregon coast. It stands 162 feet above sea level. The beacon came all the way from Paris, France and the light beams out 21 miles.
There are 9 light houses along the rugged coast of Oregon. As you can see from all my pictures of the Oregon coast it is very rocky, foggy and turbulent. Every light house has its own light code. Yaquina Head lighthouse lights for 2 seconds on 2 seconds off 2 seconds on & 14 seconds off.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse-Second oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. Apparently it is also haunted by the ghost of Muriel, a young girl looking for the way out of the locked doors.

Cape Perpetua-an awe inspiring view in the Siuslaw national Forest.

Heceta Light house has the most powerful lens on the coast. (in the distance) It sends a beam 22 miles out to sea.

A view from inside the cave.

We stopped at a Sea Lion Cave. We took an elevator down to the sea level in the Worlds largest sea cave. Inside you find...guess what? Yes you got it ....Sea lions. Outside the cave you will see many of them on the rocks sunbathing with their young.