We’re back in Florence for another week as we make our way back south. Since we were just here a few weeks ago as we headed north, we didn’t do any sightseeing activities here. We relaxed and enjoyed the area. So, no posts. But, I did make a post about a new hobby of painting small rocks which I am leaving at the RV parks. It’s a fun and creative way to spend a little of my downtime since I can’t knit or cross-stitch right now (arthritis in my thumbs!). I made a separate post about that in the “About Us” section. Check it out.
Monthly Archives: September 2021
Homegrown Public House and Brewery
While in Florence, OR, we had dinner at the Homegrown Public House and Brewery. It’s not a big place but it was great! Here’s my review on Yelp
Cape Meares Lighthouse
While staying in Tillamook, OR, we took a short drive to the coast to see the Cape Meares Lighthouse. It’s right at the edge of a cliff at the shoreline and so isn’t very tall. It was an important location as there are many rocks in the surf that could cause damage to ships.
We were able to drive to about ¼ mile from the lighthouse and park. Then, it’s a short walk out to the edge to see the lighthouse. It was sloped down which meant sloping up to get back to the truck but Laddy (who isn’tsupposed to exert himself due to his heart condition) managed it very well. On the walk back we took it slow and stopped several times.
The lighthouse wasn’t open, no tours or brochures or anything. But I looked it up on the internet and found that it was the most powerful and brightest lighthouse in the late 1800. So much so, that birds were getting disoriented by the bright light and hurting themselves running into the cliffs. The lighthouse was changed to be not quite as bright which made it less of a danger to the birds.
There are often nesting birds on the rocks or cliffs and this is apparently a great place to see whales, but we didn’t see anything. Wrong time of the year I guess. But the walk was pretty, the lighthouse interesting and the shoreline with all the rocks was great. One cluster of very large rocks had two small arches down at the water level. The arches were so perfect it almost looks like they were manmade rather than made from the pounding surf against the rock.
There’s another attraction right near the lighthouse, Octopus Tree. It was an uphill walk so we didn’t go to it, but I included a picture of it I got from the internet. It’s a really unusual looking Sitka spruce.
Here are pictures:
A trip into Portland
We had to travel from Tillamook (on the coast of Oregon) into Portland yesterday for a vet visit due to Laddy’s heart condition. Our vet is Banfield which is a nationwide chain and works well for us as Laddy’s records can be accessed from any location.
But, Portland is 1.5 hours away! So, we jumped into the truck with some snacks and plenty of water and headed inland. As is normal nowadays we dropped Laddy off and were told we’d be called when we could pick him up. They estimated 4 hours! Like most every business they are short staffed and doing the best that they can.
So, we drove around a little bit, parked in a nearby lot for a while, and then took a drive to a Panera for lunch. Afterwards we went back to the parking lot and just hung out till it was time to pick up Laddy.
Three things I noticed about Portland:
- their road and freeway system is weird! I’m used to driving in big cities, having worked in downtown San Diego for many years, but Portland is just weird. Lots of one way streets which isn’t a problem for us, but to get to a freeway we had to go right for a block, left for two blocks, right, left, up, down, in, out, it just was not straightforward or simple. We had the same situation getting to the Panera which was near the airport. We actually had to go into the airport, circle the parking structure, come back out again, go past the Panera to be able to turn left and circle back around again. At one point going from the Panera back to the vet we changed from one state highway to another and had to exit and travel several blocks in a residential area, left and another left and back through several blocks just to get to the next highway. Just weird!
- The homeless situation in Portland is very bad. In the downtown areas there are tents and tarps and piles of junk everywhere! The temperate climate must attract a lot of people. The bad part about the situation is the trash that the homeless people leave blowing around everywhere near them. You can always tell when there’s a homeless encampment nearby because of the large amount of trash along the road, on the embankments along the freeways, etc.
- We’ve heard a lot in the past several months about the violent protests going on in Portland. In a facebook group I belong to for full time RVers I’ve actually seen people ask if it’s safe to go to Portland because of all the violence. Hm…we saw 4 people in BLM tshirts holding signs on 2 street corners. That’s all. I know there were some large protests and at least one turned violent (because of ANTI BLM protesters who crashed the party) but we saw a very calm and quiet city.
And, luckily, Laddy vet appointment didn’t give us any bad news. He’s 12 years old and has a heart failure condition called DCM (dilated cardio myopathy) so he’s on medications and has to be kept from exerting himself but he’s a happy good boy.
That’s it from our day in Portland!
Here’s a couple of pictures of Portland, I didn’t take these I got them from the internet:
Mount Saint Helens – 41 years after the eruption
We stayed in Chehalis, WA, about 60 miles away from the Mt. St. Helens observation center, so we drove up there one day to see how the mountain and surrounding areas have changed since we last saw it in 2013.
In 2013 when we came it was really foggy all the way up to the observation center. Thank goodness it was clear when he hit 4,000 ft so we could get to see the mountain. This time it was high clouds with good views all around.
The dome is definitely still growing and steam is coming out of it in the same place. Also, we saw steam coming out of the side of the mountain where there wasn’t any in 2013.
The visitors center was closed and there were no rangers this visit which is too bad since they had so much information and were so helpful and friendly. But, Washington State is taking the continuing pandemic seriously, with mask mandates etc. so we knew it would not be the same.
It is still an eerie place to be. There still so much devastation in the nearby areas even after 41 years you can see some of the downed trees pointing in the same direction. The vegetation is slowly creeping up the sides of the mountain but most of the mountain is raw and dead.
As we were leaving the observation center we noticed a notch high on a hillside across the valley. We pulled over and looked through the camera and noticed an arch in the lavarocks along the ridge. We took a photo which I included. Very interesting!
Here are some pictures we took:
Two Bridges we crossed in WA.
While staying in Chimacum, WA we crossed the Hood Canal Bridge a few times. The very last time, while towing the rig, we got to see the bridge open to allow sailboats to cross.
The bridge is a low one and it doesn’t open like you see so often in movies, where it cracks in half and each side tilts up to the sky. This one split in the middle and pulled apart.
We were about 4th in line so we got a good view, but it didn’t really show much as the bridge opened. But, it was very interesting! And, interesting that SO MUCH TRAFFIC got backed up so 3 personal sailboats could pass by. I don’t know how long the boats had to wait.
Here’s a video of it opening (not mine).
On the same trip, travelling from Chimacum to Chehalis (south of Tacoma) we crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It’s a massive and high bridge so it doesn’t need to open to allow boats to pass under. It does have a very interesting history as the original bridge was dubbed “Galloping Gertie” when high winds caused the bridge to buck and sway and a rodeo bull! It failed and had to be replaced in 1940, less than 1 year after being built. The replacement bridge from back in 1940 is still in service, originally serviced both directions but now is the northbound lanes. We travelled the more modern southbound direction. To read more about “Galloping Gertie” you can visit this website
Here are pictures of the two bridges.
Bainbridge Island
While staying in Chimacum Island on the eastern edge of the Olympic Peninsula we took a drive out to Bainbridge Island. We had to cross two over two waterways to get there as the Puget Sound, one being the Hood Canal and then the Agate Crossing to get to Bainbridge Island itself.
The island is an interesting mix of dark forests, rural homes in the heart of the island, and beautiful shorelines with expensive homes with gorgeous views, some of the Seattle skyline.
We drove down to where the Bainbridge Island-Seattle ferry leaves to get some pictures of people boarding and the ferry leaving the dock, but we weren’t able to find parking for less than $10 for any amount of time. So we left the ferry landing and found a cute little café to have lunch at where there was outside seating so Laddy could be with us. The outside seating happened to be in front of the next store which was a pet store. A lady working at the pet store came out and said Hello to Laddy and gave him a pumpkin-cheddar gelato. That was really nice of her!! Laddy licked it a few times and ate chunks of it that Jeff sliced off with his knife. He enjoyed it!
Then we drove further along the shoreline hoping to find a beach or park or something along the shoreline. That wasn’t easy as it’s mostly really expensive homes that block the view of the shore from the street. But we found one place where the road was on a cliff so the shore and view were visible. We found a place to park and stood along the guard rail to get some pictures. The closer views were very clear, but the Seattle area was shrouded in either haze or smoke. Here they are:
The Olympic Peninsula – Glaciers and the Strait of Juan de Fuca
We are currently staying in an RV park on the edge of the Olympic Peninsula in the town of Chimacum, WA. It’s a beautiful area, lots of trees and ferns and mild weather.
We were here a few years ago and while here we drove to the Olympic National Park Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center again. This visitor center is high up in the interior of the peninsula with stunning views of the glaciers within the peninsula.
We got some great pictures and they do show the difference in the size of the glaciers between this visit and our visit in October of 2017. The glaciers are much smaller. We talked with a ranger who said yes they are receding, but it’s possible there had been an early Oct snowstorm in 2017 that might make the glaciers look bigger. He said it would be unusual for an early October snowstorm but possible.
It was certainly warmer on this trip. Before it was 37 at the visitor center, this trip it was in the mid-60s.
Rather than drive the whole way around the peninsula as we did before, we shortened the trip by several hours because as we continued west along the north side of the peninsula the fog got really thick and we couldn’t see more than a few yards. The road cuts inland at the westernmost part of the peninsula but then travels along the shore again on the south side. We didn’t want to risk any problems as it’s very isolated and we couldn’t see the views anyway, so instead we backtracked and visited the city of Port Angeles, right on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It’s a cute little town with lots of old but well cared for homes and businesses. It is a port and it’s also right near the Canadian border that cuts through the Strait. We both got messages on our cell phones that we were now using Canadian towers!
The port was very pretty, we got some pictures of it as well as a few of a sea lion who came quite close to where we were on the pier and seemed to pose for pictures.
Here are pictures we took of the glaciers, the port and the sea lion: