Avenue of the G I A N T S

Rockefeller gave 1 million $'s in 1926 to save the Redwoods after he had a picnic amongst them

Sept 26/14  Weather Overcast in the morning, by 11am Sunny high of 75, night 54

Feels humid amongst the Redwoods.  The pavement is wet and it looks like it stays that way all the time, with the trees towering 300 feet plus the ground never sees daylight.
 

We found a really nice campground on the scenic byway hwy 254 Avenue of the Giants, called Ancient Redwoods RV Park.  The byway is about 30 miles through the heart of the Founders Grove and the Ancient Forests.

You can stop all along the way and hike the trails.  Looking straight up to the top of the trees makes you dizzy!

kids would love these carved houses

And of course there is another drive thru tree, which feels a little bit cheesy but we can't resist the photo op.....  

It truly is wonderful that Rockefeller and the founders of the Save-the- Redwoods League have preserved these ancient forests.

The Grand daddy of them all - 53 feet circumference,  362 feet tall

and this is a baby redwood:)

Redwood Highway

Sept 23/14 Weather cool still;  with high humidity, rain is coming California hopes.  We went riding today through the Redwoods knowing tomorrow might not be good weather for the motorcycle.
(Sept 24/14 Weather complete rain day - started through the night and till 2 pm. ) Our first official rain out day on the trip West.  Nights 53.

 

see how tiny the car is parked beside the trees?

Northern California is a haven of Giant Redwood Trees.   There are about 250 miles starting at the Oregon border heading south which has continuous Groves of the giants. 

look at the base of that one

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is just minutes from our campground so we head there first.

Battery Point Lighthouse

Then we head over to the coastline at Crescent City to see a beautiful old Lighthouse on Battery Point.   See the black dots in the water, there were hundreds of them.... Sea Otters.

Sea Otters

Back on Redwood Highway 101 we head south to see a drive thru tree at Klamath, then Fern Valley and more Giant Redwoods in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

That is Billy - he looks like a miniature

the base of the trees are enormous

Breaking Rule #1

Sept 22/2014   Weather 67 Overcast, looks like rain but nothing.... night 55
Just to remind everyone of Bournes' Rule #1.  "The motorhome travels the interstates or main highways and the motorcycle is for the scenic rides, we like to find a place to camp and ride the bike from there. ""  Ha ha, not this time....

Just pulled over on the ocean for a pit stop

Today we broke Rule #1.   We took the scenic highway 101 from Florence, Oregon down the Pacific coastline into Northern California.  We just took our time with the motorhome + trailer(motorcycle) in tow.   And we saw more motorhomes and campers than any highway we have been on in the last 3 + years!!!  

motorhome in front of us on the Pacific Coastal Hwy

more rule breakers?

down the coastline we go

 Just a short day, 169 miles we pulled in at the Crescent City Redwoods KOA and found a pull thru for a couple of days.   Take a walk in their tent and cabin section - huge redwoods!

Blossom the goat is the greeter

Cabin in the Redwoods

redwood fallen but a new trunk has grown out of it

Riding the Dunes

Rosey acting up

Sept 21/14   Weather was misty and cool about 64 when we started moving around in the morning.  Cloudy and grey.  This is true Oregon weather according to their tourism department ` "You've heard the old joke that people in Oregon don't tan?  They Rust!   Or if you wait outside for a bus, you'll grow moss on your north side!! "

So instead of riding the Harley today we decided to slip down the road just a couple of miles and see if we could take a ride in the Dunes.  By the way there 42 miles of Sand -  Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area  .     We walked up to see the dunes from our campground and thought it looked like the Sahara desert!!!    Wow.   It took us by surprise how huge it is.  When the wind is blowing the sand moves 2 to 3 feet an hour so you can get lost quickly.   

dune buggyin!

awesome ride

miles and miles of sand

We walked into Sandrail Tours at 11 a.m. and they had a buggy leaving right then we could get a ride on.... sounded great.   What a roller coaster ride for 10 miles in half an hour.   We were laughing so hard but you had to clamp your mouth shut to keep the sand out.   Ha ha.   What a blast!

racing up and down the dune

Oregon Coastline - Hwy 101 Pacific Coast Scenic Byway

Sept 19/14  Weather on Friday traveling down Interstate 5 corridor HOT high 80's, like a dust bowl - hottest and driest summer on record.  In fact if you tell anyone in the East they find it hard to believe since we have the understanding that it rains here 365 days a year!

Farmer working land south of Eugene on Interstate 5

We drove across to the coast and we arrived at our campground right in the heart of the Oregon Sand Dunes National Recreation Area;  Woahink Lake RV Resort.
Our campground is full of ATV's and dune buggy's.

heading right out of our campground into the dunes behind us

Billy couldn't wait to call my brother and tell him about the drive on hwy 126 from Eugene to here.   It was a beautiful motorcycle road, narrow, winding, twisting, elevation up and down, a tunnel with a 7% decline with two turns at the bottom - Billy said it would be great to drive it in a Porsche!!!

salty haze from the Pacific

Sept 20/14  Weather is sunny but 20 degrees cooler on the coastline and humid - 65 in the morning; afternoon up to 79.   When we took off riding north along hwy 101 the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway it almost felt cold and had that foggy look to the horizon.  The road hugs the ocean and pulls away into the little towns.  There are so many state parks along the coast - literally there has to be hundreds, one after the other.  Lighthouses, seals, sea spouts, rugged outcrops, and sea stacks. 

Heceta Lighthouse

sea stacks

hwy 101 affords great views

King of the Roads

Sept 18/14 Weather  77, night 54   The sun is covered in smoke from nearby forest fire in Estacada, 4000 acres.  Oddest feeling while being somewhere we have had.....  You feel somewhat threatened since you can physically see the smoke in the sky.  As the crow flies it is about 30 miles from our camp. 

Looking straight up at the Sun covered in smoke

From Cascade Locks we head West on the "King of the Roads"; historic hwy 30 the Columbia River Scenic byway.  It is such a treat to ride an old 1913 road (narrow still but repaved) at the end there is series of what’s known as “figure eight loops” that gracefully wind down toward the river.  The journey is along the Gorge with roadway white picket fences or stone guard walls that were typical of the highway’s exquisite craftsmanship in those days.  

along the hwy

Historic Hwy 30

Lancaster;  the engineer that designed it "did not want to mar what God had put there".   The wonderful thing is that Oregon has saved it and built the Interstate separate from this great road.   So at 25 mph you just cruise back in time and take in all the overlooks of the Columbia River Gorge and the many (7) waterfalls, as well with many hikers and bicyclers! 

Multnomah 2 Tiered Falls

Rosey at the bottom of Horse Tail Falls

The jewel at the end of it is a 1918 rest stop observatory -   The Vista House at Crown Point .   By far the fanciest rest stop we have had the pleasure of using!!!

Can you imagine driving up to The Vista House in 1918???

Vista House - all marble and stained glass inside

View from Vista House 733 feet above the Columbia River Gorge

Hoodwinked in Hood River, Columbia River Gorge Ride

Sept 17/2014   Weather  70's today, sun can't seem to break out of the smoke covered sky.  night 58.
We took a loop ride along the Columbia River Gorge today heading east on I84 to Hood River then crossed the bridge to the Hwy 14 in Washington and back to Cascade Locks, Oregon.   

Billy had the French toast with Whipped Cream, Rosey the Dungeness Crab Omelet

In Hood River we found a great diner Bette's Place to have a late breakfast which is how I hoodwinked Billy (he will do anything for French toast and whip cream) into my stop at another quilt shop.  Finishing our meals I mentioned a walk around the block so I could pop into the local quilt shop.

Oh oh,,, guess I was a little too long in the quilt shop

Actually we found Hood River to have a neat downtown, lots of little outdoor stores, boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants and micro breweries.

Apartment building with the main door open, How quaint?

Nice ride back along the gorge ....

scenic hwy 14 right on the gorge

and across the bridge to Cascade Locks. 

Bridge of the gods

Herman the Sturgeon is not a Fish Story

Sept 16/2014  Weather 75 sunny, night 55
We are over the state border in a quaint little town called Cascade Locks on the Columbia River, about 30 miles east of Portland, Oregon - camped out at the KOA.  Tip:First thing we learned was that we needed to pronounce it  Or - a - gun.   Billy and I are often saying we are headed to Or - a - gone  next and right away the person will say "your not from here are you?"  

Bonneville Dam & Locks & Powerhouses

We are just down the road from Bonneville Dam which was constructed in the early 30's to help with navigation and harness the power.  When we checked in the camp host said "you should go see it, it's really interesting and free".  Why not? 

Fish Ladders

Once we walked through the history and short films on the construction of the dam and so forth we also became aware of  the critical effect on the the salmon and steelhead spawning. 

Below the ladders you can view the Salmon charging up stream

As part of the dam the US Army Corp of Engineers also constructed intricate fish spillways and fish ladders that they navigate from one side of the dam to the other.

Fish Hatchery- elegant old buildings - surrounded by rearing ponds

US Army Corp also financially assisted the on site fish hatchery built in 1909.   The hatchery incubates eggs, hatches, rears them in ponds, and spawn the adults as well.  All are released back into the Columbia River, Coho and Chinook Salmon,  Rainbow Trout and  White Sturgeon.   Do you know about the Pacific White Sturgeon?  Well this was a surprise to us - they can grow to 20 feet long, over a 1000 lbs and live till they are 100 years old!!!  River Monsters.  Are you ready to meet Herman?

Herman is 70 years old, 10 feet long and 450 lbs

Side view of Herman in the Fishtank