It’s been a little bit of time, but I thought I would write a trip report and share pictures for those who might be interested in the road trip we took May 30 – June 12. I do want to say thank you to NWWanderer for sharing her blog with me which outlined her Oregon and California coast trip!

We had rented the same cabin on Orcas Island in the San Juan Island that we did last year, but unlike last year, we decided to take 2 weeks and incorporate it into a road trip. We wanted to try and see as much as we could, naturally, but our top priority was to take it easy and relax. After all, there is only so much one can see and do in a limited amount of time!

G and I left from So Cal and drove up through California, Oregon, and Washington to the San Juans. There we spent one week, before driving back along the Olympic Penninsula and then along the coast.

We are more budget-minded travelers, so luxury hotels and 5 star dining establishments are not what we are about. We are also not B & B folks, either. However, we did find a couple of nice, inexpensive places along the way, and a restaurant or two where the food was good and price was very reasonable.

ROUTE:

We really did not want to take major highways at all. In fact, the more rural and remote the road was, the happier G was! We did take I-5 up through the San Joaquin Valley to northern California. We weren’t sad about that, as 1.) this part of California is dull, dull, dull and 2.) we left on Wednesday and needed to get to Anacortes, WA by Saturday morning and we figured this was where we could make up the most time.

Leaving No Cal, we decided against going through Willamette Valley (well, actually, G wasn’t thrilled with it – I’ve no idea why), so we ended up taking the 97 east of the Cascades up through Bend. This gave us a different perspective of Oregon, as this part of Oregon looks like a high desert.

When we got to the Columbia River and crossed over to Washington, we were going to take the 14 to a road that would cut behind Mt St Helens. However, there was a fatal accident at that junction and we couldn’t access. Not knowing the area really well, we checked the map and decided to take 141, which was even more remote! Luckily, we happened on a visitor’s center who provided us with better maps and helped us mapped out our route. We did lose quite a bit of time that afternoon, but it was a beautiful drive.

We did drive into the Seattle-Tacoma area and picked up the I-5 again to reach Anacortes and ferry to take us to the San Juans.

To return home, we drove down Whidbey Island (thanks, NWWanderer – great suggestion!) and caught the ferry at Keystone to Port Townsend. We picked up the 101 and drove onto Forks. We stayed on the 101 until we reached the Bay Area, where we cut over to the I-5 once again and drove down into So Cal. We had thought to stay on 101 or 1 for the entire coast of California, but we both wanted to get home and figured since we live in So Cal, we can easily do the coast between Santa Barbara and San Fran at a later date.

If anyone is interested, my pictures are at: www.pbase.com/chele60

MOTELS:

As I stated, the places we chose to stay were for the budget-minded traveler. Yet, among those there were a couple that stood out that we personally liked. The first was in Forks, Washington, and called the Olympic Suites Inn. This property is at the north of town and way off the road, so it is very quiet. Also, this property used to be a condo or apartment complex, so all the units don’t have the feel of a motel room. They have a livingroom, kitchen (utensils and such are $10 a day), separate bedrooms, small private balcony/patio. The town of Forks is nothing fancy, but the area is great for visiting the western portion of ONP.

The second motel that we found of note was the Lighthouse Inn in Crescent City, California. The property was clean and very comfortable and nicely decorated. The room was large and the bed was comfy. It’s located right on 101, so there can be quite a bit of traffic, but it is also across from the harbor, which makes it nice.


RESTAURANTS:

Restaurants for us, like the motels, were for the budget-minded, but we did find some we were very happy with.

Forks, WA: The Smokehouse is located just outside of the north of town and doesn’t look like much from the outside. Yet, they have some of the best fresh salmon I’ve tasted! G had the fresh halibut (he doesn’t like fish all that much) and he really enjoyed it. They have a variety of seafoods and steaks, and they also have smoked salmon for sale. Their desserts are very good as well.

Florence, OR: We stopped for lunch at a place called Cackleberries, located right on the 101. Another place that doesn’t look like much from the outside and is sort of small on the inside. The waitstaff is very friendly and food is very good, simple fare. I had a ½ roast beef sandwich that was very good and a cup of clam chowder that was the best I’ve ever had. Supposedly they have their own receipe and it is just wonderful. G had a sandwich and pronounced it as excellent.

SIGHTS:

There were so many things to see! This part of the country is so gorgeous it is just incredible. Here is what we managed to cover:

Shasta Caverns: In the Shasta Lake area there are is a series of caves that were discovered in the 1800s. To get to the Caverns, one must first take a boast across the lake and then take a bus up to the Caverns. The Caverns themselves are pretty amazing, though my camera and photography skills were not good enough to great shots. There are lots of step and up and down, so this would not be something to consider is one is really out of shape!

Crater Lake: We detoured slightly to see this and had concerns because I had read that sometimes the roads do not open until mid to late June. We found out that most of the Rim Road was, in fact, closed, however, the western part was open and we drove that. Even that small portion was worth it! This was one sight that, for both of us, completely took our breath away. I cannot remember ever seeing a more beautiful sight – it was absolutely incredible. Just amazing.

Columbia River Gorge: We decided to cross over to the Washington side rather than stay on the Oregon side for the sake of time. It was along this stretch of road where we encountered the fatal accident and could not make our turn-off, so we had the opportunity to drive a stretch of this road more than once….or twice, for that matter. It was beautiful, but I think G was more impressed when we were in Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River. It’s wider there, and I really had to convince him that what he was seeing at Astoria was the same river we had seen just a week and half before. The most amazing thing to see, coming from where we were, was the change going from the rain shadow east of the Cascades into the wetter, greener area of the Cascades. You can really see this difference along this stretch.

Mt. St. Helens: We really only saw Mt St Helens, but that was enough for me for this trip. I remember the time during her eruption and it was quite amazing to stand and look up at her and just imagine what that must have been like. However, the roads we took to get there were all backroads and rural roads and that is what made this part even more unique for us. Very beautiful scenery, no other cars, very relaxing – well, except for me when we hit the parts that weren’t paved!

ONP: We went to two parts of Olympic on two days. The first day we went to Hurricane Ridge and I was really in awe of the ridge of mountains that ring this area. It is quite astounding! G hadn’t realized that there were actually glaciers in the “lower 48,” and while I did know that, I hadn’t realized there were as many as there are in ONP. We decided to have lunch there, and as we did, the clouds came rolling over. It gave a whole different sense of being to the place! (As well as drop the temps down at least 15 –20 degrees!)

The second day we visited the HOH Rainforest. Neither one of us realized that there was a rainforest in the “lower 48” so this was something new as well. And, naturally, it was raining – well, misting, sort of. We had been in forests, but this was such a different type of forest. The floor had no dirt – everything was covered in green, either moss or ferns or some other form of vegetation. And the moss on the trees had a shaggy look to it, almost a dreamlike quality. Very different and very beautiful. Very glad we decided to visit.

SIGHTS (cont):

OREGON COAST: The Oregon Coast is just such a delight. Coming from So Cal, the rocky and almost wild Oregon coast is so different to me and so beautiful. What added to our trip was that the weather cooperated and we were able to see the coast in both misty, cloudy weather, and in clear, sunny weather. Gorgeous!

OREGON DUNES RECREATION AREA: This is an area that stretches for about 40 miles along the Oregon coast south of Florence. The sand dunes that are in this area were originally created when Crater Lake was created – a long time ago! Because the winds shift the sands into shipping lanes and onto roads and cause other concerns, European Beach grass was planted to contain them. However, it took so well that it has covered the dunes and it is speculated that in another 50 years or so there might not be any sand dunes. How sad. But these are terrific while they are here. I suppose if one lives on the east coast where sand dunes are more common they might not think so. But here on the west coast, we don’t have sand dunes, so this was a special treat for me.

REDWOODS: I love redwoods. Redwoods and sequoias (both are in the same family, really) are trees that have always seemed so majestic and powerful and strong. I’ll never forget the first time I walked among redwoods when I was 12 years old: it was so hard for me to believe that anything could grow that tall and be that old. I remember I felt so safe among them. So, naturally, driving along the coast of California, we just had to stop to see the redwoods!

Our first stop was at the Trees of Mystery in Klamath. I had visited here when I was 12 and wanted to return. It was just the same! Very kitchy, but they do have some amazing trees and it is in a beautiful setting. They have recently added a cable car that takes visitors to an observation deck, and that was interesting. From one side visitors can view the ocean, from the other, they can view the valley.

We also drove the Avenue of Giants, which parallels the 101. However, before we could reach the “heart” of the Avenue there had been a (I guess) fairly good landslide, and the road was closed to all but pedestrians and bicyclists. We had to drive around and by the time we re-entered the Avenue, we were quite a few miles down and well down from the “heart” of the Avenue. Still, a beautiful place, and it gives me a reason to go back!

Sounds like a great trip, Michele. Thanks for posting. I particulary love some of your shots of Crater Lake and the coast. How fortunate that the weather gods cooperated!!

Come back soon. There's plenty around here that you haven't yet seen to fill another decade or two of your time. ;-)

Hey, I'm happy to have helped, and glad you had a great trip!

I'm heading to Forks in a few weeks for a weekend of hiking and am looking forward to the blackberry pie at the Smokehouse, I remember it fondly from previous visits, LOL.