SFFD to Cape Perpetua

Our family has been taking lots of road trips around the Pacific Northwest over the last month. On one weekend, we decided to drive out to the coast and spend some time exploring Cape Perpetua. Sandwiches, dog, kid, cameras were loaded into the car and off we went, down highways 22 and 18 to Lincoln City, then south on Hwy 101 until we arrived.

The kid, being a teenager and all, was a little grumpy about having to tag along with mom and dad. The dog, who usually whines every 15 minutes for a long sniff out an open window, was surprisingly quiet. Things changed once we got there, however.

Mergansers on Suttle Lake

It’s stupid to have lived in Oregon for almost 10 years without really exploring beyond the Willamette Valley. Before yesterday, I had made only two trips over the Santiam Pass. Over the past few months, I have started to come alive and am rapidly expanding my world, which includes discovering Oregon.

Yesterday, when plans to meet up with a friend for a hike and photo shoot in the Jefferson Wilderness fell through, I grabbed Rachel and we headed east. Lunch was made and the car was ready for a road trip, so why not?

Photo of the Santiam Pass burn area courtesy of A.S. Photography

When we first moved here for the upper midwest, I was dying to go swimming in a lake. Local friends recommended Suttle Lake, and while I knew where it was, I had never gone. Yesterday I pointed the car in that direction and drove… over the pass, through the insanely surreal B & B Complex burn area, and to the lake. Yes, it’s a lake all right, but a Midwesterner (aka me) would be hesitant to swim at the gravel beach and steep grade to the bottom.

Rachel stayed in the car (party pooper) while I walked down the Suttle Lake Smoke Trail, along the north side of the lake. I don’t know why I didn’t take my camera. What was I thinking? Darn, I’ll have to go back. Early. With camera and tripod.

Mpls Misc

After arriving at at the MSP airport, I made a quick trip to the Mall of America (half hour!) and then started to head north through the city. My 200 mile drive would take me up I-35 through Duluth and then east for an hour or so to Washburn, Wisconsin. By the time I hit the road, rush hour was getting into full swing.

Boy, I had forgotten how icky rush hour is in the Twin Cities. I thought Seattle-Tacoma was bad, (and it is) but after being away for so many years, I had underestimated the Twin Cities’ “slow and go” freeway crawl. I was on the south end of town and had to head north across the entire metro. Because of rush hour, and since I had a rental car and was not at the mercy of anyone else’s transportation, I stayed off the freeways as much as possible. My route took some nostalgic turns through old neighborhoods where Frank and I lived.

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of my journey through town:

This is the first apartment that Frank and I rented together.

The Van Duzer Corridor

Every now and then, Rachel and I need to just get away and relax. Our favorite direction to head is west, toward the Oregon coast, which is only about an hour from home. We usually take the dog, and the plan is to do some beachcombing and just walk in the wet hard-packed sand, breathing in the briny air and watching the seagulls.

Getting there is half the fun. Highways 22 and 18 from Salem to Lincoln City first pass through farmland, wineries and vineyards, logging operations, and a casino. Following the casino is our favorite stretch of road: The Van Duzer Corridor. We love the winding highway, passing lanes, moss covered trees, Salmon Creek, and the summit over Murphy Hill.
Sure, it’s one of the more dangerous stretches of road due to high traffic volume, limited passing, tight curves, sharp drop-offs (guardrails are a luxury item,) and roadbed undermining, but there’s something magical about it.

On one particular trip, we didn’t have time to go all the way to the coast and back, so we stopped at the rest area at the west end of Van Duzer, just before Rose Lodge. All of these pictures were taken at the rest area in October, but the lush moss and vibrant greenery stay this way all winter long.

That’s the beauty of Western Oregon – when winter arrives, everything turns all green and beautiful.
Our winter climate is like a wet refrigerator; cool and damp.

Caesar took a break at the rest area and explored a little. Here he is, King of the Tree Stump. This was either a Douglas Fir or Redwood, with a cut diameter of about 4 feet. It was quite a jump for Caesar to get up onto the stump, too, since it’s about 4 feet high.

I can never get enough of the moss. It comes alive in the fall and coats the trees in its various forms: thick dark moss, minty green lichen, chartreuse velvet… I don’t know any of the moss names, so I refer to them based on how they look. Some moss clings tightly to trees, some looks like a fur coat, other forms drip from the branches.

Either way, it’s breathtaking.
The Van Duzer Corridor may be a dangerous stretch of road, but it’s like a magical fairyland.
We love it.

 

Washington Roadtrip 2008

I'm moving some stuff around and wanted to get this slideshow off the blog footer.

We're thinking about what roadtrip we want to take next, so stay tuned for another adventure!

New Map Toy

I found a new map toy here: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php


I played with it for a while and would like to share where we've been.
Pam has been to these states (in blue):
Oh. Airports don't really count, or Colorado would be on the list.


http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php


Frank has been to these states (also blue):
Obviously you can see the paths of two very big road trips starting out in Minnesota.


http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php


And Rachel is working on adding more states to her list but right now she has been here:

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

I'd like to add California to Frank's and Rachel's maps soon...

So... where have you been? Post your map on your blog or flickr and comment here so we can all check it out!

No thumbs up

No thumbs up, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Why not just have a "thumbs down" sign?

Mt. Rainier, from the "steering wheel cam"

Mt. Rainier, from the "steering wheel cam", originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

With a little foreground for perspective...
Taken from southbound I-5 at the I-405 interchange, just south of Seattle, obviously.
Sorry it's crooked; it's a 'drive by' shot.

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

From southbound I-5, just as we were leaving Seattle.

The foreground sure gives you some perspective regarding just how ABSOLUTELY huge the mountain is!


. . . Did you know Mt. Rainier is an active volcano?

Boathouses on Lake Washington

Boathouses on Lake Washington, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Like we have carports here in Oregon, locals living on Lake Washington have similar shelters for their boats. Just beyone these boats were some amazing looking houseboats. We'll have to make another trip up there to get pictures of the houseboats.

Evergreen Point Floating Bridge

Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Heading downhill to the water level, crossing from Bellevue back over to the Seattle side of Lake Washington.

Bellevue's city park

Bellevue's city park, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Who says it's always gloomy and rainy in the Seattle area?

We never did find the restrooms.

We never did find the restrooms., originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

We looked and looked and walked and walked.
And then we gave up.

Beggar in the park

Beggar in the park, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Don't know who this little pooch belonged to, but he decided we were going to share our supper with him.

He came sniffing around and tried to look cute - and hungry - but we told him "No."
Not easily discouraged, he tried barking at us to make sure we knew he wanted some of our food.

Realizing we weren't going to part with the food any time soon, he started marking the space in front of us, then kicking up tufts of grass to end his little territorial ritual.

Ornery beggar.
But a cute ornery beggar...

uh yeah, not sure how deep it is

uh yeah, not sure how deep it is, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Bread vendor

Bread vendor, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

We stumbled across this farmers market in Bellevue. Look at the crazy loaves of bread near the top of the picture! Looks like a fat breadstick or a skinny baguette on LSD.

No mom, I have never ever dropped acid, despite attending art college. But I do watch a lot of tv, which often times is unintentionally educational. Just wanted to clarify that, in case I was going to get in trouble for that comment. :o)

A not so picturesque view of downtown Seattle

A not so picturesque view of downtown Seattle, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

From left to right: Safeco field, the Space Needle, a bunch of skyscrapers, a crane... We were tooling down the highway at over 60 mph and this is the best shot we could get.

The view to the left is a huge flat industrial area that appears to be used as an international shipping port. Like in Tacoma, there were rows and rows of metal arms that probably are used to transfer shipping containers from ships to waiting rail cars.

Even without opening the window, we could detect the faint odor of diesel and fish oil from the port. And coffee. There was a large coffee roasting factory at the side of the freeway and the oily skunky roasty coffee smell broke the essence of fish oil. The whole town didn't have that smell, just this industrial area south of downtown.

I'm not saying any of these smells are bad. In fact, they had a sort of international oceanic blue collar perfume that locals probably think of as "home." I could live with it.

Uploaded by

Bye ...

Bye ..., originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Notice how the wings curl upward? Rachel asked the gate agent if that makes it better for doing flips in midair.

That's my kid, thinking goofy stuff like that.

The dry gate agent replied that the curl increases fuel efficiency.
He's going to get old fast.

Probably the most exciting part of any flight

Probably the most exciting part of any flight, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

All the G forces, and watching the ground peel away below.
Then peering out the window to see if you can identify highways, buildings, and other landmarks.

Someday I'd love to fly on a plane that has picture windows, a pause button on the view, and a tour guide who can point out all the areas of interest.

Probably the most boring part of any flight

Probably the most boring part of any flight, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Waiting to taxi out to the end of the runway, then waiting for the clear for takeoff.