Eugene OR

It was a beautiful drive to Eugene, passing through Bend and Sisters.  There was a rodeo as well as Art in the Park happening in Sisters.  I read about Art in the Park before we hit the road and would have enjoyed checking it out but it would take all day to see it.  Mark was willing to stop, thank you sweetheart, but I said no and we moved on through gorgeous country finally reaching the Springfield Moose lodge which is just southeast of Eugene. 20 amp service for $10 behind the lodge in the parking lot with lots of room for all of our stuff, sorry no picture.

The next day I went to see Sistah Julie and her new grand baby Finch.  She was 10 days old and just as cute as she could be with a full head of curly hair.

I haven't held a precious baby since my grand kids and it brought back good memories. The sistahood loves you Finch!

The next day we checked out our surroundings getting the lay of the land. 

We were told of a great brewery and just happened to find it while we were wandering around.  Thank you John from Eureka as it was great beer!  McMenamins Brewery takes up residence in old buildings, the one in Eureka was in an old house.

                       Eugene also has murals around the area; this one was close by the brewery.

Lane County was one of the most prolific bridge-building counties in Oregon, and today it has more covered bridges than any other county, sixteen of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.  We took a drive south of Eugene and visited 5 of them.

Why is a covered bridge covered? The house of a covered bridge was designed to protect the bridge timbers from weather thus extending its life.  Some of these bridges were construct back in the twenties and are still used today.

While touring the bridges we ended up in Dexter Lake and passed by the Dexter Lake Club.  This club was in the movie Animal House.

Eugene is known as a very friendly city for bike and walking paths.  The paths are everywhere and wide and paved.  They also have a great bus system.  Only a half a block from where we were staying was the bus route.  They are well maintained and welcoming

 We took the bus to downtown Springfield one evening for an Art Walk where local artists are given the opportunity to display their works.  I spotted this planter outside of a very artsy shop and thought of Sistah Karen, it would be perfect in her yard. 

When we did this we realized how close we were to the bike path along the McKenzie River so the next day we filled our water bottles, hopped on the bikes and took a delightful ride. 

Our friends from AZ Bob and Sharel Spears were in Eugene for their grand daughters graduation so we made plans to get together for dinner.  I remember people asking us if we would be lonely when we hit the road, well that is not the case.  As long as you venture out of your camper and meet people you will begin to develop a network of friends, I call them our extended family.

We celebrated Marks birthday in Mexican style at a great restaurant in Springfield, check out Memos on main street. 

Happy Birthday Mark.

Eugene is also known for having a wonderful market on Saturdays so we took the bus downtown and wandered through all the vendors’ booths. The weather was just perfect.  There was this talented young lady playing the violin while her father played the guitar, they were very entertaining. 

I seen lots of lovely things I would have been tempted to buy if I still had a house, since we don’t we just purchased some organic berries, half of which didn’t even make it home, so sweet and so delicious! 

We enjoyed our time in Eugene and would like to come back again, so much to see and do.  Next time we have to make it to the coast but as for now we are headed to Marysville WA.  Our friends Jimmie and John Francis who we met two winters ago in AZ live in Alaska and invited us to visit them this summer.  We accepted their offer and have made plans to leave the rig, trailer and Mark’s truck in Marysville, WA.  Richard Armstrong the owner of AxleCrutch has family there, a giant Thank You goes out to them all.

  We stopped in Centralia OR at the Moose Lodge for a couple of nights before reaching Marysville.  Again $10 a night for 30 amp service and water. 

                                   Thanks for following our adventures, next stop Alaska!!!

                    Check out my handmade jewelry on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/WanderingDesigns 

   

Crater Lake, OR

The northern CA coast has a marine layer (fog), I would say most of the time or at least while we were there, by noon it starts to burn off.  Today was no exception as we headed north on Hwy 101 to Oregon.

After chatting with the locals at the moose they told us we would be fine taking Hwy 199 to Oregon, plus it was the shortest route.  You just take your time and enjoy the scenery, as it is beautiful.

It seemed like the minute we crossed the state line into Oregon the countryside changed.  It was beautiful as we followed the river.

Spent the night at the Moose lodge in Merlin which is about 10 miles north of Grants Pass.   We had a 30amp hookup behind the lodge.  Once again friendly folks, Mark even got in on a poker game and won some money.

Next morning we pulled out following the Rouge River going north.  It was awesome and left an impression on us.  Lots of opportunities for kayaking, wonderful lakes and good weather.  We will definitely come back to OR and spend a summer.  I would like to get a workamper job along the river as there were several campgrounds.

Our destination was La Pine Moose Lodge but we had to go to Crater Lake National Park first. 

I don’t know if there are words that can describe this amazing place!!!  The drive into the park was enjoyable and not too bad hauling the rig.

                       It was 74 degrees with snow which seemed pretty wild, note my flip flops.

Carter lake is the deepest freshwater lake in the US and the 7^th in the world.  Its depth is 1,932 ft-deep enough to cover the tallest building in the world and it took 800 years for it to fill with snow melt and rain. 

                                                               Why is the lake so blue? 

Sunlight entering the crystal-clear water contains many colors.  Red light is absorbed near the surface, yellow light penetrates a little deeper before being absorbed.  But blue light can travel to great depths where it causes electrons in water molecules to vibrate and re-radiate light in blue wavelengths.  This scatter blue light is what the eye sees.

Since we were heading north we would be taking the west route around the lake.  Lucky for us they just opened it 5 days before!!!

Crater Lake is another place that you must put on your bucket list.

We arrived at La Pine moose lodge to another warm welcome.  20 amp service for $10, sorry no picture of our site.  We would have liked to stay longer than 2 days and do some kayaking but we had to move on to Eugene so I could see Sistah Julie.  She was there because her daughter just had a baby and I wanted to see them.

Thanks again for following our adventures.

You can find my handmade jewelry on my Etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/WanderingDesigns

Redwoods Northern CA

Our destination is the Redwoods and we will be staying in Eureka but the trip there is longer than we like to do in one day so we spent the night in Clear Lake Oaks at the Moose Lodge, again $10.00 for the night with 30amp service.

We stayed at the Moose Lodge in Eureka as well.  Again 30 amp for $10 a night in a campground setting with Redwood trees. 

Another great thing about staying at the Moose Lodges is they don't charge extra for another vehicle and there is usually lots of room for all of our stuff, plus the drinks are cheap and they serve food!  The folks are always friendly and full of information about the area.  If you are interested in joining the Royal Order of the Moose you can click on the link http://www.mooseintl.org/public/default.asp  to get more information, yearly dues are $60.00.  If you decided to join go to your local lodge to join.

The next day we headed north to get a closer look at these beautiful giant trees.  Our first stop was Lady Bird Johnson Grove off Hwy 101 where we drove through beautiful tree lined roads

                                                and then took a hike to the dedication site.  The realization that old-growth redwood forests were disappearing far-too-rapidly led to the establishment of three redwood state parks in the 1920's and Redwood National Park in 1968.  Lady Bird Johnson was very active in preserving the redwoods.  We continued on taking the scenic Newton B. Drury Parkway which is the original hwy 101.  Words nor pictures can not describe these giant trees, this is truly a trip everyone should take.

This is a hikers Paradise with trails leading you into lush fern groves transporting you into another world.

These gentle giants can reach heights of 350' or more.  Coastal redwoods live longer than almost any plants on our planet. 

Next stop was Fern Canyon which is a must see.  But first you pass a meadow where you might be lucky enough to spot an Elk grazing, we were lucky.

You will travel down a 10 mile single lane road to reach it, glad we didn't take the motorcycle.

 

On your left you will see the coast line, much different then what we are accustom too back home.  It was a bright sunny day but once on the coast it is different, kind of grey.

Now Fern Canyon.  Jurassic Park 2 was filmed here.

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The next day we did some exploring in Eureka. 

This is the former home of William Carson a Pioneer Lumberman.  It is known as the castle on the hill which over looks the town and the seaport.

Eureka is known for artists, there are over 23 murals painted through out the town.  They also have a great brewery which we of course checked out.

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Day 3 we loaded up on the bike and headed south to the Avenue of the Giants.

Did you know that a very large redwood can release up to 500 gallons of water into the air a day!

It must be something when these giants fall.

And of course we had to go to Myers Flat so we could drive through the tree.

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Day 4 was spent in the town of Ferndale which is south of Eureka.  Ferndale is known for it's well preserved Victorian stores and home fronts.  It is also the home town of Guy Fieri, he hosts the show Diners, Drive ins and Dives.

I must also mention that Eureka has wonderful old preserved Victorian homes as well.  Next stop was a very small town called Loleta which has a cheese factory.  Actually there wasn't much else there but boy the cheese was excellent, we brought home several blocks.  Once back home we started packing up as the Caravan is moving North.

                                              Thanks again for following our adventures.

You can find my handmade jewelry on my Etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/WanderingDesigns