Day 37 - California Bound

Well - today we made into California. We spent the morning driving through Redwood National Park where the giant redwood trees line the road. This is more of a drive-through park - scenic and inspiring, but not as spectacular as some of the other National Parks we've been to. This picture was taken along the road as we stopped for a break. Checkout the tree-house.  We're camped tonight in Reno, Nevada with a goal to checkout Lake Tahoe tomorrow.

Day 36 - Driving the Oregon Coast

 On the way down Rt. 101 we came across this Veteran's Memorial. The words on the plague(s) say it all.



Later that day we arrived at our campsite - Clam Beach - where we were the only RV at the site. However there were a lot of "tent" people, who we had reason to believe they were among the many homeless in this part of the country.

A view of the sand dunes from the Memorial.

Truer words were never spoken.

You should have been here to see this !! Wow !!

If you ever get a chance to go to Oregon at this time of the year,
make sure you jump at the opportunity. Its incredible!

Happy hour on the beach at our campsite.
Clam Beach State Park in Oregon

Josie loved it. She got a chance to run free for awhile.

Day 35 - On the Trail of Lewis & Clark

 Today we stopped at the Lewis & Clark National Park area just south of the Washington/Oregon border. This is a reconstructed version of their original fort at the mouth of the Columbia River and it flows into the Pacific. They had a small "Interpretive" museum which told the complete story of their journey. We spent an hour or so at this park before moving on to our campsite for the night in one of the Oregon State Parks (near the beach).

One of the Lewis & Clark expedition canoes

One of the incredible views along the Oregon coast. We
traveled along Rt. 101 the entire coast from Washington
state to California.

Entrance to the beach from our campsite area.

Ocean view

They had these funny looking tent/cabins all throughout
the park. They called them Yurts. People rent these for a day
or a weekend.

Ah - Another campfire - lovin it!!

Day 34 - Hoh Rain Forest - Olympic National Park

 Today we drove into Olympic National Park to a special area known as the Hoh Rain Forest. After spending a few minutes at the Visitor's Center, we hiked a trail called the Hall of Mosses. It was like walking through the Enchanted forest, or more like Jurassic Park. This area receives 142" of rain every year, more than any other part of the country. As a comparison El Paso has had 2-1/2" of rain this year. Check out the moss hanging from this tree -->

This is moss hanging from 5 large maple trees. Trees in this
area grow to over 200 feet high.

Looking up a tree into the sun - a rare sight in the rain forest

This is us, hanging out in the enchanted moss jungle

Large fern were visible everywhere.

Day 33 - Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge

 Dungeness Wildlife Refuge is an area located in a small town as we approached Olympic National Park. We stayed overnight in the park (no hookups) but it was really nice. We were able to hike a trail through the Refuge which led to the Dungeness Spit area. Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located along the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, Washington. President Woodrow Wilson established the Refuge on January 20, 1915 by Executive Order as a refuge, preserve, and breeding ground for native birds. Eelgrass beds and tide flats teem with migrating shorebirds in spring and fall; flocks of waterfowl find food and rest in these protected waters during the winter; eel grass beds also provide a nursery for young salmon and steelhead. The Refuge currently consists of 636 acres, including a sand spit, second-class tidelands and bay, and a small forested upland area. Dungeness has one of the world's longest natural sand spits, which softens the rough sea waves to form a quiet bay and harbor, gravel beaches, and tide flats. Dungeness Spit is one of only a few such geological formations in the world which was formed during the Vashon Glacial era ten to twenty thousand years ago.

On the trail - looking down to the Straight of Juan de Fuca

Walking on the Spit

Looking toward the lighthouse which was 5 miles in
the distance at the edge of the Dungeness Spit

We sat and watched the clouds and took in the incredible scenery
for about 1/2 hour. This cloud was particularly fascinating. The
sun shining through it gave it a rainbow of colors.

On the trail back from the Spit.

Day 32 - Mt. St. Helens in Washington

 Our first view of Mt. St. Helens - about 1:30pm - had a cloud over it. We checked out the visitors center, watched two orientation movies and hiked one of the trails at the top of the visitors center to get a different view of the mountain. The eruption happened on May 12, 1980 and blew out the whole side of the mountain, sending rock and debris at 700 mph - 14 miles into the valley below. It totally destroyed the forest and blew away thousands of up to 8 foot diameter trees like pick up sticks.

These trees and thousands like them were chopped off  within
10 minutes after the eruption

Donna with Mt. St. Helens in the background

Donna - Isn't she a deer??

Skull replacement in progress