OR to ID

After Washington, it was back to our beloved Oregon State Parks. We wanted to check out a WA State Park before leaving the state...but the camping fee was too pricey for us (for a state park. That isn't California). We like to stay as far under $30 a night as we can. So it was back south to Oregon where the state parks are the best we've ever seen. One of the reasons being that, along with local government grants, incredible support from the community and support from local businesses, they are so smart with their resources and infrastructure design. These antique appliances were saved and installed in newly constructed picnic shelters. You see things like this all over the parks in the northwest. Use what you got!

This is just charming decoration on a refurbished electric stove. Form and function :)

Emigrant Springs was a place along the old Oregon Trail where people would stop to fill up on water, and enjoy the shade (or lose their oxen in the thick forest). This was the first forest the travelers saw since leaving Missouri (and the last we would see for awhile since we are headed eastward). Fascinating history along this whole route. It's pretty wild reading diary entries and personal perspectives from those traveling 2,200 miles through the wilderness, towards a new life, in a place they had not yet seen.

We found an original Meeker marker

Biked into Meacham, population...<100? Got some food and friendly conversation from the folks at the general store. We were told “This is the town” it's the diner, post office, bar, town hall, you name it - for this little settlement along the trail. In 1923 it was the “Capitol of the U.S. for a day” when president Harding stopped into town for the commemoration of the 18^th anniversary of the covered wagon migration. Best apple pie we've found west of the Mississippi. I grabbed a town newsletter, the Meacham Gazette, authored by Mountain Millie. It included the September birthdays, local announcements, a pineapple salsa recipe I'd like to try, and recipes for homemade tick and insect repellent among other interesting and handy info.

old oregon trail

new oregon trail

And on down the road. We are officially headed eastward. On our way to Boise, we pulled over for a hardy brunch at this saloon. I can't even remember the name, but it had those old west swingy doors you can see over Ed's shoulder. Which, I assure you, we gracefully and casually entered through. Eat (and drink) like the locals!

Then we finally made it to Boise Idaho where we settled down in our dear friend Whitney's driveway for a few days, and visited with her little family. My gosh, it was nice to see a familiar face after so long. We've made a lot of new friends in our travels, but it was SO great to spend time and swap stories with an old one. We didn't go anywhere! We didn't want to! It was awesome! We just stayed home. Hung out, ate, drank, watched the baby be cute, and caught up. Chill to the max. Only baby pictures were taken. It was so so wonderful and we really enjoyed our time there. Baby Jasper is easy-going and cute. Just like his parents. haha

Brews, Bikes, State Parks, and Waterfalls. Oregon, we love you.

After staying in Florence, we headed inland to see what we could see. We were hoping to make it to the Oregon Country Fair, it would have been perfect timing, but we didn't know it in time to figure out a place to park - every campsite in a 30 mile radius was booked. Super bummed! But we've already resolved to return to Oregon again someday, soon as we can (and often as we can). Our friends Kate and Joe tipped us off to the fair and a bunch of other great spots that we didn't get to see because we had already passed it/didn't have the time. There is SO MUCH more that we want to explore out here in the upper left. Not to mention everything that we want to see again :)

Luckily, Oregon is my new favorite state and it is way too easy to find awesome everything everywhere.

So we spent a long weekend roadtripping it from Eugene, on up along I-5, through Corvallis and other little towns towards Milo McIver State Park just outside of Portland. Before being out here, I have never seen more craft breweries and wineries in my life! We enjoyed a mom-sponsored brew-tour, along with a stop at Silver Falls State Park. (THANKS MA!) Not many pictures from the breweries, (too busy enjoying beverages) and I can't even remember all the places we visited because there were just so many to choose from. Every restaurant had a great selection of local stuff on tap as well. Here are a few of our stops off the top of my head - Steelhead Brewery, McKenzie Brewing Company, Tap and Growler, McMenamins (in Corvallis), and Sky High Brewhouse to name just a few!

Comfy seating with a great view of all the weird and wonderful bike traffic in Eugene


Hanging out on the roof at Sky High Brewing

Another cool keg delivery bike

We spent a day visiting Silver Falls State Park. This place is a glowing example of what a State Park can be. We arrived to find some festival or another and a couple wedding and birthday parties in the picnic shelters, so it was quite busy that day. After hitting up the park gift shop -which was absolutely fabulous and full of local crafts and classy gifts- We got to sit and listen to a story-teller, and learned a lot about the history of the park. The forests were once stripped to the ground by the lumber industry, nothing was left but hills covered in white stumps, it looked like a graveyard.

The land was exploited as much as it could be, a previous owner even made money charging people to watch him push junk cars over the falls. Later, a daredevil named Al Fausset came through, he made a living going over waterfalls in his home-made canoes. Eventually, the land was allowed to renew itself, and was given back to the people through a combination of efforts from the National Park Service, and a variety of other preservation movements and private donations

What a gift!

"Conservation of our natural resources and conservation of our human resources, both are sound investments for the future." -President Roosevelt

It was a hot day, so it felt pretty great whenever the trail led behind the misty falls.

We got to see 7 of the 10 falls in this area of the park

Fern hallway

CCC was here :)

On Sunday, we rolled into our campsite at Milo McIver State Park, another outstanding place with lovely park hosts, sparkling facilities, and the most legit collection of disc golf courses I've ever seen. Our campsite was walled in with greenery and totally private. We spent the week biking around the park, eating s'mores by the fire, and had fun practicing our disc golf skills (which despite a very helpful lesson from a friendly local, are still lacking).

Outdoor plumbing at the picnic shelters!

Free re-usable bags for keeping the river clean, provided by the Clackamas River Basin Council.

Jeez Oregon, stop being so awesome and sensible in your bike friendly, local economies, and environmental preservation and restoration efforts. You're making everyone else look bad.

Hobbit Adventures in Oregon

After our casino stint, and the campgrounds cleared out a bit, we got a spot at Harbor Vista, a Lane County Park. Can I just say that Oregon has the most incredible park systems we've seen? They are outstanding.

All of the infrastructure is so thoughtfully laid out, tastefully designed, and has been well maintained throughout the years. There are almost always flush toilets, drinking fountains, and garbage/recycling cans available nearby. You'll often find recycled plastic bike racks, free-to-use life jackets for kids, and re-usable garbage bags provided for keeping the parks clean. And from what we've seen, they are overwhelmingly clean (which is more than a lot of states can claim *cough-ALABAMA-cough*). The park systems seem to receive good funding and a lot of community support.

Another great thing is the park host system! It's not just for campgrounds, but for day-use areas as well. Bandon even had a host in their city park. The hosts are volunteers who camp for free, and take care of the parks, keeping them tidy, taking care of daily maintenance, and providing a security presence. More info here 

And the rules! There are a lot of rules and safety warnings posted in every parking area, and building. But they are all perfectly rational with clearly explained reasoning, and items provided to help you comply. The courtesy guides are just great, and it all seems to work! I know you cannot make blanket statements about a population, but we've found Oregonians to have especially kind and considerate demeanors. Their campgrounds have been the most quiet and peaceful places we've stayed. Each campsite is clean and private, carved out of the rhododendron forests and the thick shrubbery between the trees.

And on top of all that, there is a trail named the Hobbit Trail, which leads to Hobbit Beach in Carl C. Washburne State Park. So, we HAD to do that one (even though everyone knows that Shire Hobbits are not fond of the water). It was just a short trip up the coast. 

Hodor the Majestic

Bowie awkwardly stalks a seagull  

Instead of parking at the trailhead off the 101, we parked in the day-use area (where there was a free RV dump, Oregon just keeps racking up the points) and walked to the Valley trailhead near the campground. This added 3 miles to the short (½ mile) Hobbit Trail. I definitely recommend this route if you ever visit, it's very Middle Earthy. You do feel small, and the trees sound different.

Along the trail


A Short Cut to Mushrooms

Hobbit tunnels lead to the beach. This one was decorated with seashells and feathers. There is an entire network of them winding around, we could have spent all day exploring.

Hobbit Beach

Strange marine life

Geology - it's happening! Video here

All along the edge, there were little carved-out moss-covered dripping grottos, little waterfalls draining to the sea, and other such strange formations to discover.

Back on the trail. Everything is blanketed in moss

Bowie still loves watching the ocean

Heceta Head Lighthouse


Heading back to our campsite down highway 101

RV limbo on the holiday weekend

Back on the road. Oregon has a lot of pretty bridges.

Here's the history on this one -  right click > open image in new tab > click to magnify

We hardly plan our travels, so we knew we'd be boondocking for the Fourth of July weekend when every campsite in America is full. We ended up in a gypsy camp/casino RV lot for a few days in Florence, Oregon, but we made the most of it with the free casino coffee and bike rides into town. We even played roulette for 3 days on $25! Florence is a nice little place, but I never had my camera on me, so most of what I have to offer are less-than-stellar phone pics.

On the fourth of July, we climbed onto the roof of our RV to watch the sunset and say goodnight to our solar panels. After sundown, we had a perfect view of the fireworks show in old town. We were thinking of Manny, missing our friends back home, and our patriotic rituals something awful.

We put our boondocking abilities to the test, and lived off the grid for 7 days strait in this casino lot (free RV parking!). It wasn't the rationing of water that got to us, it was the living in a parking lot in such close quarters with everyone else, that begins to wear on the psyche. I expect that this lot was more crowded than usual, due to the national day of booked solid campgrounds that is the Fourth. We spent a lot of time getting away from the casino (casinos are weird), exploring the docks in Old Town Florence, and searching out it's little city parks.

Check out this creation! Look at that one-handed steering! It runs on batteries (bungee'd in a milk crate under the seat) the top of the front sticker reads "powered by pi" For those of you who know Echo Delta - I think this might be his cousin's ride.

We found a rhododendron forest, it is just a little park, but my gosh, what a wonderful little Oasis in the urban jungle. Much needed green space!

You're not a tree.

I've found that my formal education on Native Americans was severely lacking. Throughout our cross-country travels, it's been fascinating (and sad) to learn more about the history of our country, and how it's people lived in a wide variety of environments before we claimed it ours.