ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST. . . . . . . BLOG # l7

FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH, FOR THE GLORY OF THE SKIES;
FOR THE LAND WHICH FROM OUR BIRTH, OVER AND AROUND US LIES:
LORD OF ALL, TO THEE WE RAISE, THIS OUR HYMN OF GRATEFUL PRAISE.

This is Sunday, July 27. We went to worship this morning at Foothill Community Church located nearby. Last Sunday we met up with Barb's wedding party friend, Andrea, with husband Kurt and two boys pushing into their teen-age years. It was at an old lodge in southwest Washington a few miles north of Hoquiam. Many other family members were in attendance as well and we both enjoyed meeting them all, in particular Kurt's dad who was celebrating his eightieth. The whole mob took a trail hike through a nearby woods a bit later. Picked up a late lunch and prepared to head into Oregon on Monday.

Because of extremely high winds recently, there were hundreds of broken off and flattened trees in the area. The lumber business is absolutely HUGE in this area. Trucks hauling logs and lumber mills everywhere. Many forests have been cleared out and thousands of new trees replanted. We entered the state over a very long bridge spanning the Columbia river at Astoria. The eighty year old gentleman at the visitors center directed us to the Clatsop state park where Lewis and Clark and their entourage erected a fort for their first winters' shelter. A delightful two hour stop on our journey. Picked up a few groceries at Fred Meyer's and continued on.

We dry camped just north of Seaside. First thing Tuesday morning we wiggled the rig back into Ecola state park for an awesome "first look" at the picturesque Oregon coast. WOW two or three times. Just like all the pictures but much nicer in reality. We hung around there awhile. As we got down into the southern part the next day we saw so much more. It wasn't long before we came to Tillamook. Tillamook cheese and ice cream , if you will. We stocked up on one and sampled the other. So did everyone else coming down that highway. The parking lot and sales building were both crammed. A very popular place with good reason. We paused at numerous turnouts along the way and eventually arrived at Heceta Head Lighthouse. A nice, white, normal looking lighthouse. Enormous granite boulders sticking up out of the water provided a rocky breeding ground for thousands upon thousands of various species of birds. A few seals were lying around as well. The stench? Give it your most objectionable thought. You're not even close! IT'S MUCH WORSE THEN THAT. That was enough for the day. After doing a bit more grocery shopping we "shut 'er down" at a sweet little campground near Florence.

The Pacific ocean is in view most of the time on this drive and of course, the scenery is gorgeous. Some of it is rocky and rugged; at other times we looked at the most beautiful beaches imaginable. Just an outstanding drive. Oooo's and aaaah's all the way. At other times, a little misty eyed. At Coos Bay we paid a visit to Sheriff John. A friendly visit of course. He runs the old car museum there. After he retired from sheriff...ing in southern California, he came north and opened up this place. Thirty some cars in the place along with all kinds of memorabilia and hundreds of dolls. My brother Norm's '55 Pontiac hardtop was in there with the hood ornament Indian Chief that lighted up. That car still looks good. Also looking good was a '53 Studebaker Starlite Coupe, a '39 Lincoln Continental, a '65 Oldsmobile Starfire hardtop and a '51 Kaiser Tudor. I had my picture taken with that one. The Sheriff said he'd sell that one to me for about ten grand. Can't afford it. . . . . spending all our funds on fuel. I still miss my 1954 Kaiser Manhattan that I had in the 70's though. Sheriff John has a very classy layout. At Brookings we picked up our mail and camped at Driftwood Park. Walked over to Smuggler's Cove for supper. A super 350 miles.

Crescent City was just over the border in the Golden State of California. We stopped at the visitors center to get acquainted with Colonel Sanders younger brother. I met Colonel Harlan Sanders in the early seventies at the studios of WLEX TV in Lexington, KY. Kentucky Fried Chicken was big stuff in those days and still is. The Colonel was going to be interviewed for the TV program, The Story. There he was, white suit, string tie and all. Of course I never really knew him, but I did shake his hand an say, "hello." He was somewhere in his eighties then. (Did you notice that a lot of people in their 80's are floating around in this blog?) Since the Colonel was a elderly gentleman back then, I suppose if he were still alive today he'd probably be dead. Anyway, this guy at the visitor's center looked just like him. They could use him for KFC advertising today and nobody would ever know the difference. What a nice person. He talked to us for awhile about Redwoods. Very helpful.

Those redwood trees are truly SOMETHING ELSE! Some folks in their Bounder from Frankfort, KY were cruising through too. We stopped long enough to see the "BIG TREE." We actually drove slow and took our time. Camped at a neat little 'family campground' near Garberville on US 101. Friday morning we had breakfast at Judy's Junction on Route 20 and rolled east over to I-5. This area is dry but this is irrigated farming country. We swung down around Sacramento, topped off the gas tank @ $ 4.05 at Flying J and turned east on l20 toward Yosemite. So here we are at Angels Camp. Nice campground. It was cool all along the coast, in fact, for most of the trip. We've been looking for some summer weather. Well, we found it. The temperature is just barely under 100. We plan to do Yosemite on Tuesday. Hope to show SWEET LYNDA Hearst Castle about Thursday, Hoover Dam on Saturday and The North Rim next Sunday.

Yesterday we shopped at Sonora, looked over the old gold mining town of Columbia, and took in the VW show here in town. I didn't know so many old Microbuses were still in existence. The Karmann-Ghia still looks sharp. To all the responders to the blog, thanks. Till we meet again......

Blessings. . . . . . . .with Winston and Lynda on the road