Washington in the fall

I'm catching from the last week or so since we have been too busy to Blog.

I wanted to include this photo from our stay at the Omlin farm.
We're hooked up and ready to head to Port Angles.








We drove over to Lake Crescent near Port Angles to do some hiking and had this really great view of the lake.

We met friends Les and Nadine at Grayland State Park South of Westport and had a great two days seeing them.

The little village of Westport looks just the same every year. Just a fun place to walk around and have lunch.

We spent most of our time at Grayland walking the beach. The weather was wonderful.... warm with lots of sun and the time passed quickly. We're now in Florence, Oregon.

One more photo from Westport. Oysters from Brady's oyster farm near Westport are super tasty. Fresh from the water and onto the BBQ. A little cocktail sauce and it makes a great dinner. I'll probably do one more post from Florence and Bandon, Oregon assuming I don't get lazy.

Idaho and Washington in September

Time to catch up a little on the blog. We left Bend, Oregon and spent the night in Pasco, Washington and then off to Coeur d'Alene Idaho.

We drove to St Maries some 50 miles South of Coeur D'Alene to see Sharleen's nieces. Here Madeline is showing off her horse with Gerry standing by.






Four generations on the couch. This was a special treat and thanks Ananda for a great dinner







Ken and Helen showed us Spokane since they were from this area. We had lunch at the Davenport Hotel in downtown. What a great old hotel. It's been refurbished and reopened in 2002.

Sunday we hiked Tubbs hill in Coeur d'Alene as we have done before. We never tire of the view and the hike is fun.

Monday it was  off to Quincy, Washington to visit cousins. Dinner was at Cresent Bar on the Columbia River with the entire Quincy gang. Thanks to Arnie and Ginny for hosting the evening.





Wednesday we drove to Port Angles on the Olympic Peninsula to visit Kris. Thursday we hiked to Marymere falls in Olympic National Park and Friday was a beach hike near Sequim.

Saturday we spent the day with Kris touring the area. We headed to port Townsend and visited Fort Worden a WW2 vintage fort on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The lighthouse at the end is no longer in use but has been preserved by Washington State.



We finished the day in Port Angles just walking around town and looking for Pokémon critters. Dinner at the Nextdoor Gastropub was a treat then home for some sleep. Great to have a visit with Kris. Today we hiked some of the Olympic discovery trail and this afternoon is rest. Tomorrow it's off to the beach at Westport, Washington West of Tacoma. Then it's down the coast toward home. I hope to do one more post before we get home but no promises.

Bend, Oregon at Labor day

We're here in Bend, Oregon With Sharleen's sister Ruby and her husband Jerry. It's the start of our annual migration North to the Pacific Northwest to see family and friends. We left home Thursday afternoon and made it as far as Redding. Friday it was Redding to Bend, Oregon for a 4 day visit.

On Saturday we drove to Fort Rock State Park East of La Pine. There was a fantastic museum with buildings dating from around 1915 with furnishings from the period. These were actual buildings that were inhabited by residents of the small community.


       
Inside the school house I found desks identical to the ones I used during my first four grades in school. Now I'm feeling every one  of my 70 years!







After spending some time at the museum we headed to Fort Rock for a short hike. Then home for some rest and dinner.




Monday we headed to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. It's a large caldera containing two lakes and a massive lava flow. Jerry drove us to the top of Pauline peak (about 8000 feet) where the view was spectacular. Here we see Pauline lake inside the caldera.

Sharleen and Ruby look a little chilly and they were. It was a pretty day but crisp at that elevation.






Looking East from the peak we saw East  lake in the distance and the Big Obsidian flow to the right. I've never seen such a dramatic example of lava flow. Most  of the flow seen here is Obsidian which is a black glass made of molten silica from the volcano.

Just to show that we are still speaking I had to include this picture. But..... it's early in the trip.







We drove down and hiked a ways on the lava flow. Again it's the most dramatic lava flow I have seen. The Obsidian we walked over was beautiful.





Today ( Tuesday) is our last day here so we drove to Smith Rock for a look at a unusual geological formation nestled along side the crooked river.  Tonight it's dinner and a game of cards with Jerry and Ruby, some rest and tomorrow it's off to Pasco, Washington and then on to Idaho of Thursday. More down the road.