Up the Coast to Washington

New Territory!  We  headed up 101 hoping to stay somewhere near Astoria, Oregon on the border of Washington.  This was new ground for us as we had not ventured any further north than the Canon Beach area.  

Some scenes along the way...

Rock 'stacks' near Canon Beach

Gorgeous Oregon coastline

Early morning beach walk

It was only about an hour and a half drive to Ft. Stephens State Park which was minutes away from Astoria and we lucked out and got the last sight available.  This state park was a military base that had been used in WWII as a lookout for Japanese invasions.  Most of it is now a camping area and wildlife viewing area (mostly sea birds) with 12 miles of biking and hiking trails throughout the park.  Lots of families were enjoying the biking trails and visiting the beaches as well as the historic batteries and bunkers.

Seabirds at Ft. Stephens State Park

The historic seaport of Astoria was just a few miles up the road.  Astoria is a very much a ‘sea’ town at the mouth of the Columbia River.  Established in the 1800’s, it has many Victorian houses and is also the home to a Maritime Museum and a Lewis and Clark Museum.  We could  have spent more time exploring lovely historic Astoria, but since we only had one night at the State Park, we decided to go on into Washington and come back another day.

Goldilocks Goes Back to the Coast

It is such a luxury to be in search of "just right," and interesting to see how changing and illusive 'just right' can be. (But we will leave that discussion for another time.)  Leaving the hot weather in Corvallis we drove to the coastal city of Newport and then up Highway 101 to Nehalem Bay State Park.  We had stayed there one night after we left the Tillamook Forest several weeks ago and liked it very much.  Two peaceful days were spent in the park enjoying the gorgeous beach and driving up Highway 101 visiting the little seaside towns.  We especially enjoyed the charming town of Canon Beach with its art galleries, beautiful seaside views and Haystack Rock, a 235-foot monolith right off shore. And the weather was 'just right.'

Near the beach at Nehalem Bay State Park



Haystacks near Canon Beach



Seaside town of Nehalem


We had lunch at a little restaurant in Nehalem called Wanda’s.  It was a fun little place full of kitschy ‘state plates’ from someone’s collection.  David and I had a cool TV fireplace right at our table.  We had tasty sandwiches, mine a turkey Reuben and David's was a chicken, mushroom, caramelized onion and Swiss cheese sandwich. 

Dining by the fireside TV

Ecola State Park, a day use area, was just a few miles north of Canon Beach and it had great views of the nearby rock islands filled with nesting birds.  You can view ‘Terrible Tilly’ from the park, a rock island that was made into a formidable lighthouse in the late 1800’s and then decommissioned in 1957 and turned into a columbarium (where people’s ashes are interned) and eventually reclaimed by the nesting birds.

Ecola State Park

Leaving the Oregon Cascades

Summer finally made it to Oregon.  Hotter temperatures combined with the high humidity in the Cascades made us long to get back to a little cooler weather.  Originally our plan was to head for Washington through the Cascades, but we decided a coastal route would suit our need for milder days.  (I know, we are getting incredibly spoiled.) Being a Texas girl, it is hard to think about going to the coast in the summer to ‘cool off,’ but that is the way it works in the Northwest.

Corvallis, home of the Oregon State Beavers, was right on our way and we couldn't miss an opportunity to take another Scenic Byway so off we went on Scenic Highway 20.  Much of this route parallels the old Santiam Wagon Road that was built to lead settlers back east away from the Willamette Valley and to gold  mines in eastern Oregon and Idaho. 

Thimbleberry leaf with dew

Along the way, we stopped at the Hackleman Old Growth Trailhead.  The two short trails were gentle and the light rain from the night before made everything all ‘shimmery.’  It was nice to break up our drive and spend a few moments with some trees that have already lived 5 times more than I will. 

Corvallis is a vibrant college town with a riverfront section along the Willamette River. The OSU campus is beautiful and home to the Northwest Forestry Research Center. The city is located in the Willamette Valley which is the agricultural center of Oregon where vegetables, fruits and berries are grown and vineyards and wineries are plentiful.  It was hay bailing time so it was a bit dusty but other than that we had a lovely stay.

Views from the Three Sisters Wilderness

After a short hike one morning on the Proxy Falls trail, we took an afternoon drive on the southern portion of the Aufderheide National Forest Scenic Byway further into the Three Sisters Wilderness.  We stopped at a trailhead called French Pete for a longer hike into the wilderness.  We managed to hike in about 2 ½ miles that afternoon before the heat made us want to turn around and head back.  It was our hottest day out so far this summer and we felt it! 

But French Pete was everything you would want in a wilderness trail – remote, wild, winding up a steep canyon beside a fast running creek and no one else on the trail.  Except for the heat and humidity (and David said we could have had that back in Texas) we loved our hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness.



Lava field on Proxy Falls Trail in Three Sisters Wilderness



Along the French Pete Trail



French Pete Creek









McKenzie River National Recreation Trail - Clear Lake

Our next destination was another point on the McKenzie River Trail to Clear Lake.  An underground spring is the source of Clear Lake and the spring and the lake are the headwaters of the McKenzie River. The 5 mile trail around the lake travels through old growth forest, a lava field and past the beautiful spring.

Source Spring for the McKenzie River

One reason the water is so clear and blue is the temperature.  It is just above freezing varying from 34 to 42 degrees all year long.  The other reason is the lake bottom is full of deposits from diatoms (small organisms made mostly of silica). The silica is mostly white and helps refract the light so that the lake seems really blue.  Whatever the reasons, the effect is beautiful.

Clear Lake

At one end of the lake you can see an underwater forest.  A volcanic eruption about 3,000 years ago created a lava flow that caused the lake to fill very quickly submerging part of the forest.  The temperature of the water was too cold for the organisms that decompose wood, thus the forest still remains. 

Even though the water is cold, there is much aquatic life in the lake. Cutthroat trout are native to the lake and rainbow and brook trout have been introduced. An osprey soared above us at one end of the lake and although we kept an eye out, we didn’t see any eagles.

McKenzie River National Recreation Trail - Tamolitch and Waterfalls Loop

Thursday morning we headed back to Highway 126 and travelled east about 15 miles to hike two portions of the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail.  The first section took us on a 4 mile round trip to Tamolitch or Blue Pool.  Tamolitch is a gorgeous breathtakingly blue pool of water that emerges from lava tubes and underground caverns beneath the McKenzie River.  1500 years ago lava flows crossed the McKenzie river and blocked part of the river bed changing the course.  Above the Blue Pool, the McKenzie River disappears into the porous lava rock underground and then it resurfaces at Tamolitch.

Tamolitch (Blue Pool)

Our stay in the Willamette Forest brought a welcome change from the windy and cool weather at the coast.  The sun warmed our bones and we were hiking in shorts, something we haven’t done in several weeks. We ate our lunch beside the quiet navy blue pool of cold water and drank in the coolness of the air.  It felt great.

Next we hopped in the car and drove to our second leg of the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail, a 3 mile loop hike to two waterfalls, Koomah and Sahalie. This trail was shadier and again the air was cooled by the cold McKenzie River and the nearness of the two falls.  The loop trail allowed us to hike up one side of the two falls, cross the river and then hike back down on the other side of the falls.  It was just beautiful to get two views of the falls.

Koosah Falls

 Sahalie Falls

Willamette National Forest - West Cascade Mountains

Solar panels installed and ready to test out, we left Eugene and headed east on Oregon Highway 126 to Delta Campground. Delta Campground is 4 miles east of Blue River and just off the Aufderheide National Forest Scenic Byway (a.k.a. Forest Road 19). 

After setting up camp we hiked the Delta Old Growth Grove Nature Trail located right in the campground.  The grove contains many 500 – 650 year old Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock trees towering 160+ feet over the trail.  The half mile long, fern lined trail crosses Delta creek and its tributaries several times.  Many of these giant trees are also in the campground. 

Delta Creek near Delta Old Growth Grove Nature Trail

Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar along the Nature Trail