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Oregon and Northern California

March 2009

We had a week off at the end of March, so we hopped in the Subaru and headed north.  Our plan was to spend the first night in Reno, have dinner with our friends Bob and Ruth, and then drive through Oregon all the way to Portland.  After Portland (one of my favorite cities), we planned to follow the coast back to southern California.

I had anticipated that the most interesting parts of the trip would be in Oregon, and Oregon was a fascinating place.  We found a lot to like in northern California, too.  These first two photos (the ones to the right and the left) are in California.  The one on the left is my WRX in front of the coastal redwoods, and the one on the right is on Highway 395 near Mono Lake.

We stopped briefly at the Manzanar detention center (it's where the Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II).

The rain had turned to snow.

After Bishop, there was more snow and slush.

Another WRX photo op.  

The Subaru was the perfect car for this trip, with its full-time four wheel drive, comfortable ride, electric seat heaters, and great performance.  

At one point, I averaged 29.44 miles per gallon.  The Subie stayed above 27 mpg for most of the trip.

Sue B and the Subie, in front of Mono Lake.

We took Cemetery Road around the north end of the lake as far as we could go.

And before we turned around, I grabbed this shot.

We got up to Reno, had a great dinner with Bob and Ruth, and then left for Oregon the next day.

Continuing north on 139.   This is another great road.

When we crossed into Oregon, we had lunch at Klamath Falls, and then headed north to Crater Lake.

This is the road going into Crater Lake.

They had some snow up there.

On the way out.

  The WRX was great on these roads.

We stayed in Medford that night. Had a great Italian dinner.

In the old days, people used covered bridges for meeting places.  They had parties, dances, and a lot of other things there.

Lost your goat?

Not a problem...just post a note on the Grange Hall.

Our next stop was in Cottage Grove.  We stopped there because the AAA book said this town had five covered bridges.

We walked up and down Main Street for a bit and we saw this interesting sign.  We weren't the only people who found it interesting...

Something for everyone, I guess.  

We went in to check this place out and they had a wall full of Class III automatic weapons.  For sale.  No kidding.

Close ups of the mural.

Another close up.

A Coke sign on a wall in Cottage Grove.

Later on, as we traveled along Oregon's coast highway, Sue wanted a diet coke when we passed a McDonald's. I ordered a coffee and a diet coke and the gal at the counter only charged me $1.50.  "Did you get them both?" I asked. 

"Yes, and I gave you the senior discount," she said.

Hmmm.  That was a startling moment.

Stuff in a window on Main Street in Cottage Grove.

Man's best friend?

I guess bicycles in buildings are a problem here.

Another covered bridge in Cottage Grove.

The river running through Cottage Grove.

On the road again, heading up to Salem for lunch.

Check out the truck hauling three trailers.

A low calorie, healthy lunch...

...followed by a not-so-low-cal dessert.

Both were excellent.

After Salem, we rolled up the freeway to Portland, where we would spend the next two nights.  We stayed at the Governor Hotel in downtown Portland, a very classy place.  Prices were way down, no doubt due to the economy and the time of year.  It's a great hotel.

I've got a few other pages on the www.motofoto.cc site with pictures of Portland from earlier trips, so I just grabbed a few cool shots as we walked around downtown.

Kelly's Olympian Bar in downtown Portland.

  This is a very cool place.

A flower bed in Portland's Pioneer Square.

The 12-24 Tokina and the D-200's self timer made this shot.

This is in Portland's theater district.

Outside Portland's art museum.

A store window in Portland.

We went to visit the Rose Garden (one of Portland's attractions I had never seen), but it was raining pretty hard.  Sue and I decided to visit the nearby forest center instead.  They had a lot of cool things there, including this bear carved from a solid chunk of walnut.

Moss growing on the courthouse steps in downtown Portland.

After two nights in Portland, we headed west toward the ocean to pick up the Coast Highway.

I mean, what are you supposed to do?  Stay out of these areas? Bring a raft?

The whole thing is ludicrous to me.  My guess is some politician's brother-in-law owns a sign factory.

The weather was overcast, and these colors are pretty true to what I actually saw on this trip.

Sue and I posing along the Oregon coast with a copy of our local paper, the Daily Bulletin.  

We've been doing pretty well in getting these shots published in our local paper.

Me and my Subie WRX.  I think this is the best car I've ever owned. 

Another shot along the Oregon coast highway.

This looks like it would be a lot of fun.

These turned out surprisingly well, too.

VR is Nikon's vibration reduction (or image stabilization) technology.  I'm not too impressed with it.  I'll stick with a tripod.

We stopped to see the coastal redwoods after crossing into California.

Wow, are these ever impressive.  

This was my first time, and I was blown away at the size of the redwood trees.

See what I mean?

This particular tree is estimated to be over 1500 years old.

  It is over 300 feet tall.

We later saw two huge bucks with great racks walking along as if they owned the place, but it was getting dark and I didn't have a chance to grab a shot.

We spent that night in Eureka.

  Sue let me stop at this gun store on the way out of town.

We saw more beautiful scenery along the 101 when we spotted a sign for the Victorian houses in Ferndale, so we stopped to check it out.

Ferndale is another very interesting place.  I had never heard of it.   It is definitely worth a stop.

We saw another sign for more giant redwoods, so we diverted and we were awed all over again.

This photo almost looks fake, but it's not.  I used every bit of the 12-24mm Tokina at 12mm to grab this one.

We then had a funny thing happen.  We saw a sign for the redwood loop, so we took it.

  The road narrowed, the redwoods were left behind, and we started climbing.  And climbing.  And climbing.  The road narrowed further.  Our GPS said there was a way out.

This is a shot of the Eel River.  I'm not sure where we were.  I don't think the GPS knew, either.

Well, the GPS lied.  The roads stayed unpaved, got narrower, and ultimately looked like something from "Deliverance."  When I thought I heard the banjoes playing, we turned around and went back the way we came in.

We navigated our way to Calistoga that night, and we stayed at the Mount View Hotel. It's another historic place, and it is one of our favorites.

My friend at the Calistoga Bike Shop (a great place) recommended Jole's for dinner, so we tried it, and it was wonderful.

The Mount View Hotel, the next morning.

After our last night in Calistoga, we made a bee line home.  I had a manuscript to finish and deliver to my publisher, and Sue had to get back to work.

Sue grabbed these last shots on the 580 as we bypassed San Francisco.

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