A drive up the rain coast on 109 (a slight diversion off 101) takes one past Seabrook – the most bizarre place. Could be the next locale for a new Stepford Wives;-( But, the drive was interesting – in and out of forest and beach. The most fun thing about the Washington beaches is that it is legal to drive on them. So, of course, that had to be done – –

Another diversion off 101 (105) takes one out to the quaint little fishing town of Westport and the Grays Harbor Lighthouse. The lighthouse seems to be miles from the ocean but once upon a time the water came almost to its base!

There are lots of names for this coast. Another is the Cranberry Coast – because there are lots of cranberry bogs making this an important cash crop for Washington and all the way down the Oregon coast.

In our travels there are many passes, especially since routes around the west often take us over the Continental Divide – many times! So, passes of 5,000′, 7,000′ even 9,000′ are frequent. So, this pass really made us laugh – –

Time to move on – inland and on to Oregon. In fact, speaking of passes – here was a pass. Driving along this beautiful road, with all its autumn colors, came around the corner and there was Mt. Hood rising out of the trees before us. These sights truly do take ones breath away!!

The next several days were spent in and around Sisters, OR at the best RV park – Sisters Garden! While this was the base for our Magic Carpet, the home of the Sampson’s (friends from Vi) was our base. Their new townhouse was very homey and a great place to come and go from. Nancy and Bill were also the greatest tour guides arranging for the best, and somewhat unique dinner outings (especially Open Door) as well as awesome day trips. One day the Old McKenzie Highway provided spectacular views of Mount Washington and the Three Sisters and surreal landscapes of lava beds that extended for miles!

Continuing on the Old McKenzie Highway into the Willamette National Forest and onto Highway 126, one soon gets to lots of waterfalls. A good lunch stop was Sahalie Falls and Koosah Falls. Truly mesmerizing waterfalls that send a mist of water spraying in the air – which makes for good rainbows;-)

There was also a round of golf at Black Butte Ranch, a visit to Redmond and a walk around Bend. The time went too fast and it was time to say goodbye to Nancy and Bill. It was such a pleasure to spend time with them and very gracious of them to ‘entertain’ us. A BIG thank you is in order;-) But, once again, the sun set on our time here and it was time to move on.

Schroeder County Park in Grants Pass (a very nice small county park) became the home base for the next several days while the Weaver’s fed and entertained us! Any time we are passing through southern Oregon, the Saltmarsh Ranch is a must stop for us. About once a year the four of us spend a few days catching up and it seems as though we were never apart. The best part of the visit here (besides the good company and stimulating conversation) is the brunch of omelets from fresh eggs just out of the nest and homemade biscuits;-)

This particular trip there was to be a hard freeze. SO – we actually had to work for our dinner by helping to ‘harvest’ tomatoes, raspberries and lettuce before the 30 degree night. The lettuce and tomatoes were the salad for dinner and the raspberries went on the homemade frozen yogurt for dessert;-) YUM!!

An awesome hike is to Avenue of the Boulders and Mill Creek and Barr Creek Falls accessed from Mill Creek Drive. At Avenue of the Boulders the Rouge River drops some 75 feet and creates spectacular water scenery as the water flows down and around the magnificent boulders. The trail takes one down to waters edge crawling over the boulders that were created the same time as Crater Lake was formed. An ancient volcano – Mt. Mazama – violently erupted approximately 7,700 years ago with a blast 42 times as powerful as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. When Mt. Mazama blew, room sized boulders were deposited some 20 miles away. Here – at the Avenue of the Boulders! And, we got to crawl all over them;-) When one has their fill of being children again, the trail will guide you to Mill Creek Falls, which is 175′ high, and then Barr Creek Falls, over 200′ high. Great morning followed by a lovely lunch with PIE at Beckie’s – –