Gallivanting Grandma

Wednesday – July 11, 2012

Crescent City, California was a commercial city whose economy is based on logging and fishing. We spent a quiet night at the Lighthouse Inn and were ready to roll down Route 101 in the morning.  It was foggy and overcast and cool.

View of the Harbor in the Fog

Coastal Fog Along Rt. 101

Redwood Parks Sign

Redwood Forest

Redwood Bark

Sunlight Through the Coastal Fog

Northern California Beach

Memorial Grove of Redwoods

Magnificent Forest

Looking For the Elk in the Meadow

Two Elk Near the Lake

Lighthouse in Trinidad, California

Most Photographed Victorian House in Eureka

Pink Victorian Home

Antiquarian Book Store

Interior of Book Store

Horse & Buggy in Eureka

There’s a Story Here……

Tuesday – July 10, 2012

I heard the sound of the sea all the night long: the blowing wind and the waves crashing on the rocks. In the morning the sea gulls were squawking at each other. The tide had gone out and the sun was shining in Bandon, Oregon!

Bandon Beach

Looking Out at Face Rock

Can’t Miss the Ocean

Port Orford

Another Beautiful Beach

Huge Sea Stacks

Driving Into the Coastal Fog

Coastal Fog

Foggy

Just North of Crescent City, California

Monday – July 9, 2012

An Overlook Near Lincoln City

It was bright and sunny and 63 degrees when we left the Inn in Lincoln City, Oregon. Our plan was to continue to drive south on The Coastal Highway – Route 101. There were many turn-outs along the road to admire the beautiful Pacific coast.

Cape Foul Weather Look-Out

Looking South

Looking North

Side View of the Devil’s Punch Bowl

Looking Down on Newport Beach

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Common Murres Nesting on the Rocks

View From the Light House

Cape Perpetua

A Beautiful Beach

Looking For a Free Meal

“Surf’s Up!”

One of Many Tsunami Warning Signs

Commercial Fishing Dock in Florence, Oregon

Salt Water Taffy Barrels

The View From The Hotel in Bandon, Or.

Peeking In Our Window

Sunday – July 8, 2012

We said goodbye to Portland and drove west to continue our Pacific Coast Highway trip down Route 101 in Oregon. Today was a driving day, first along Route 26 also called The Sunset Highway. Then we connected with Rt. 101 just north of Cannon Beach.

Farmland West of Portland, Oregon

Tall Pine Trees Close to the Coast

A Coastal Kite Shop

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, OR

Oregon Coast Beach

Coastal View

Side of the Neahkahnie Mountain

Tourist Locomotive

Lincoln City Beach

Saturday – July 7, 2012

We stayed an extra day in Portland so we could explore the Columbia River and Mt. Hood areas. The Columbia River gorge is very beautiful with many natural vistas and opportunities for outdoor activities. We drove out of Portland and across the Burnside Avenue Bridge and followed Route 84/ Highway 30 East. We decided to go to Mt. Hood first and later explore more of the Columbia River, so we drove to the town of Hood River and then turned onto Route 35 toward Mt. Hood.

Mt. Hood From Route 35

Cooperspur, Oregon

Getting Closer to Mt. Hood

Approach Road to Mt. Hood

Snowboarding in July

Timberline Lodge –  60 Miles East of Portland

If Timberline Lodge looks familiar, it’s because the exterior was used as the setting in the movie The Shining with Jack Nicholson. The interior of the lodge is entirely different than the scenes in the movie. This is a real hotel/lodge resort built in 1936 and popular among skiers and snowboarders. The Lodge is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Main Entrance

Interior of the Timberline Lodge

We walked around the three-floor lobby and explored the public spaces. Then we decided to have lunch in one of the dining rooms overlooking the valley and Mt. Johnson in the distance.

View to Mt. Johnson From the Lodge

After lunch, we drove back down the mountain to Route 26 going west. Then we drove through a town called Troutville which put us on a road called the Historic Columbia River Highway. This little 2-lane road goes along the river and offers gorgeous views of the Columbia River.

The Columbia River Looking East

Vista House on Crown Point

View From Crown Point Looking West

Bicycles Parked Near Vista House

The Twisty Windy Scenic Historic Columbia River Highway

But Beautiful…..

More Scenic Road

Along the Historic Columbia River Highway there are many famous impressive waterfalls. We stopped to take pictures at just two of them: Wahkeena and Multnomah Falls. There are 34 other waterfalls within a 20 mile radius. The Wahkeena Falls is 242 feet high and means “most beautiful” in the Yakama Native American language.

The Base of Wahkeena Falls

A little further east is the Multnomah Falls which has two levels with a pedestrian footbridge between the levels. The waterfall is an impressive 620 feet. One record states that Multnomah means “down river” in the Native language.

Top of Multnomah Falls

Bottom of Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Lodge

The waterfall is behind the small Multnomah Lodge which was built in 1925 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Since dinner was being served in the restaurant at the lodge, we decided to have their “grilled salmon” dinner.

Multnomah Falls Footbridge