Oregon Beach Week

I headed out to the coast to see the sites.   Lots of nice views and small beach towns to enjoy.  Ate as much seafood as I could find at the local Mom and Pop restuarants and finally filled that craving.

The mid part of the state has giant sand dunes.  Really fine sand that got into everything.  I got lucky on some nice beach campsites.   Oregon has done an impresssive job on their State park campgrounds.  Lots of kicking back on the beach with a book, and wandering for miles in the sand.  Stopped at several touristy spots along the way.  Sea Lion Cave was pretty cool.  And Tillamook cheese? Yummy!

I realized that my low tire pressure light was on, and I just assumed the sensor was going bad again.  Turns out I had a leak in one of my back tires.  I didn't figure it out till Saturday around 6 pm.  So, with the holiday, I knew I wouldn't be able to get it fixed until Tuesday.   So I ended stalling out and spending two and a half days in the Newport area.  Hit the aquarium and Rogue Brewery, and enjoyed what the town had to offer.  Got my tire patched up for $25 and hit the road again.

Lots and lots of amazing little towns with beautiful bluffs and beaches.  Did a little tide pooling one day, but not as impressive as up in the Olympics.

I ended up near Astoria so I could climb the column that overlooks the town.  I camped out at Fort Stevens.  Really nice park with lots of historical significance.  Did a cool tour in a military truck and learned the history of the fort dating back to the civil war. 

I did a little research for what was going to be my next week of touring in Oregon.   Found out that the Columbia Gorge was on fire, so I had to cancel my plans for that area and the hiking I had hoped to do on Mt. Hood. With the Sister/Bend area also having so many fires, I decided to skip out on the Cascades, and hopefully some day I can come back and visit all those areas.  Maybe I can talk Lawny into a road trip some day ☺

I came back to Eugene to spend the weekend with Jen.  Getting small errands run and doing a little work while I can.  Tomorrow I will sit down and try to put a plan together for the next week.  Hoping to go to Crater Lake, but there is a fire close by, so I need to watch that.  And heading down into California, I need to watch for fires also.  Not really something I anticipated having to deal with on this trip.  But, I want to stay as safe as possible and not drive into something detrimental.