I left the California coast and headed north for Oregon.  I learned that in OR you cannot pump your own gas and the attendant cannot top off your tank because that too is the law.  Fortunately OR law does not require you to have an attendant present when you use the gas station restroom.

I drove to the very popular Crater Lake region.  I began to see snow on the ground at 5000 ft altitude.  By the time I reached the crater rim at 7113 ft there was significant snow cover.  Unfortunately there was also significant cloud cover and I didn't get to see the famous reflection of the mountains in the deep blue lake.  It was still pretty spectacular.

 They get so much snow here they have to use snow tunnels to get from one building to another.

 The drive from Crater Lake to Portland was long and tedious thanks to the single lane roadways that lead through the mountainous region.  But again the views were spectacular.

Along the way I snacked on my homemade trail mix.  Then after consuming a fair amount I noticed the hole in the bag.  It was obviously made by some sort of rodent that chewed its way into the bag.  No doubt this occurred when I had stored the bag in the bear box at Yosemite.  Yeah, I was totally grossed out!  No more trail mix for me.




I have now driven 4,165 miles since leaving Columbus 2 weeks ago.

On my way to the Redwood National Forest & State Park I drove through Eureka where the local theater marquee advertised "Full Puppet Nudity".  I only wish I had time to stay for that show!

I finally made it to the Crescent City area on May 25.  I have now driven over 3,700 miles since leaving Columbus.  I am in the land of the giants and they are beautiful.

I had reserved a campsite at Del Norte Coast campgrounds.  The camp grounds are about 2.5 miles down a hill and deep in the rain forest.  It was dark, damp, mosquito infested and isolated.  After trying to set up my tent in various orientations on a postage sized campsite and after discovering I had absolutely no cell phone service in the park I decided to find other housing.  The place gave me the creeps and the thought of spending 3 nights there without any way to communicate with the outside world was enough to send me packing.  I did briefly meet very nice fellow campers Jack and his wife Elize (forgive my spelling, I lost my notes).  They are well seasoned campers from TX and probably don't understand my reluctance to stay there.  Sometimes you just have to trust your gut.  This place wasn't right for me.   

There was still ample opportunity for me to explore the rain forests and coastline without camping in it.  I spent a day hiking on the Coastal Trail and Damnation Creek Trail.  The later was a bit of a challenge but I survived it.  I chose to ignore the warning someone had scratched in on the sign.

I tried the fish tacos at a delightful restaurant on the pier and was entirely entertained by the critters hanging around the harbor.  The fish tacos:  delicious.  The pile of harbor seals:  smelly.

Time to say goodbye to CA.  Tomorrow I travel to OR.