The drive from Crater Lake National Park to Eugene, OR was picturesque. The trees towering over the road and rugged mountain peaks were cause enough for a few photo opportunity stops. 

Marc’s second cousin Shari (yes, it seems he has cousins sprinkled all over this part of the country) and her husband Howard were very gracious to put us up for a couple nights. A real bed and a hot shower, boy oh boy were we in heaven!

A friend of theirs took us on a boat cruise across the beautiful Fern Ridge Lake at dusk. 

Fern Ridge Lake

Shari, Marc, and Mary Carol

One of our goals while in Oregon was to enjoy some fresh Oregon oysters. Shari knew just the place. We went to Sam’s for Oysters and Ale where I fell in love with Barbequed Oysters and Marc and I tried our first ever Oyster Shooters! They were delicious and sufficiently satisfied our cravings.

After leaving Eugene we drove up the coast on the recommendation of our hosts. They promised us the highway here was not as slow-going as the Pacific Coast Highway in California.

We were soon glad we chose this route. The views and the seafood were out of this world! 

A little seafood market where we enjoyed Dungeness Crab and Clam Chowder. Yum yum! 

 Oswald West, former governor of Oregon had the right idea. He set aside close to 400 miles of the Oregon shore for public use. Because of his foresight, today this entire stretch of the coast is filled with day use areas and public beaches.

One of our stops along the coast was Agate Beach to see the dock that had washed ashore from last year’s tsunami. This 150 ton concrete dock floated 5,000 miles across the Pacific from Japan and landed on the beach just North of Newport, Oregon on June 5^th. Its journey is hard to fathom. 

After a quick overnight stop inland we headed North to one of the very lasts available camping spots near the water, ironically enough, Cape Disappointment State Park just across the border in Washington. I had been more than a little “disappointed” before we found this park, knowing we were traveling away from the coast after this and it was our last chance to camp close to the ocean. But this State Park definitely came through for us, with our campsite just steps from the dog friendly (yahoo!) beach, beautiful views, and a great trail, we decided to stay an extra day to enjoy it all.

The beach at Cape Disappointment State Park

We woke up early and took the dogs down to the beach. They ran like the wild animals they wish they were!

After that we hiked a very slippery trail through the lush green forest to the North Head Lighthouse. North Head is considered the windiest place in the U.S. They say it’s not a question of if the wind is blowing, but how hard. I guess this explains all the kite shops in this part of the country.

When we returned from our hike we headed to the beach and spent the afternoon relaxing inside a hideaway that someone had built out of driftwood. 

After dinner we were lucky enough to catch a spectacular sunset almost unencumbered by the clouds. It was a perfect last day on the West Coast.

 From here our next destination was Olympic National Forest. Along the way we took a wrong turn and saw the World’s Longest Beach!

Although we have so far been conditioned to seek out National Forest campgrounds, we checked out the National Park accommodations and we were glad we did. The Staircase Campground at the Southeast point of the park was $12 a night and very beautiful.

Our campsite sat alongside the Skokomish River which provided a wonderful white noise to fall asleep to. I told Marc we should record it and bring it home with us!

Our second day there we tackled the Mount Rose trail. At the trailhead there were signs warning hikers to watch for aggressive mountain goats that “crave the salt found in human sweat and urine”. Recently one had charged a hiker. Unfortunately we were distracted by the mountain goat warnings and didn’t notice the other sign describing the trail as “extremely difficult due to steep grades”. 

So on we climbed, quickly becoming very sweaty, and wondering how much longer the trail would go straight up. This was by far the most physically taxing trail we have hiked. We ascended an elevation of 3,900 feet in 2.9 miles. 

Though the hike was very difficult, the scenery was worth every step. The trees were covered in thick green moss and for the majority of the hike the landscape was draped in fog making us feel as though we were walking through a movie set. 

 

We made it back down the mountain, exhausted but thankful to not have had a run in with Billy Goat Gruff!

A dip in the majestic Cushman Lake cooled us right off.

Today we took the auto ferry across Puget Sound to Seattle and we are headed East to Idaho, where we are hoping the potatoes are as plentiful as the Espresso is in Washington.

Love to all! Until next time…

After dropping off Mama T. we were busy getting ready for our next guests to join us. Here at On Your Marc, Get Mary, Go! Excursions we aim to please even if that means swan-shaped towels on the bed and chocolate bars on the pillows! 

Erin and Zac arrived at the campsite, after a very long drive from San Francisco, hungry and ready to relax.

We enjoyed a campground gourmet dinner of Eggplant Parmesan. It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. 

The following day we traveled to the quaint little town of Healdsburg for our food and wine pairing at the Seghesio Family Vineyards.

We partook in their Family Table Tasting which included a full tasting of a variety of their delicious wines, a wonderfully informative tour of their barrel room, and a phenomenal pairing of their best wines alongside freshly prepared food from their chef. The wines were our favorites of the trip and the food was absolutely fantastic!

Our tour guide Travis was fantastic. He answered all our questions about the winemaking process (we had quite a few) and he truly made us feel at home. 

After our tour and our tastings we enjoyed some chocolate and a competitive game of Bocce Ball in the courtyard in front of the winery. Although both couples were on their game, in the end the Beussinks prevailed!

I cannot say enough good things about our visit to Seghesio Family Vineyards. It was the perfect way to kick off our time in wine country. Nice pick Erin!

From here we wandered through downtown Healdsburg stopping for some exotic flavored cupcakes and much needed coffee. 

We found a couple eclectic antique stores where Zac and Marc both found treasures to match their tastes. 

With bellies full of chocolate and wine we decided we needed something a bit more substantial to eat. We headed over to Willi’s Seafood, one of Travis’s recommendations, for some delectable tapas.

It had been a full day in wine country so we retired to our campground to relax by the campfire. 

The next day we sampled a few more of the local wines. First stop was Iron Horse Winery where we sipped on Chardonnay and Sparkling Wines. 

From there we headed to Hartford Family Winery where we enjoyed Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels. We spent the remainder of the afternoon snacking on treats and sipping on wine in their courtyard. 

That night (after some very bean-y black bean burgers, ha ha) we enjoyed another crackling fire and the great company of friends.

During our visits to the wineries Lucy and Max got a little break of their own. They spent two days at Almost Home Doggie Daycare, which they absolutely loved! The staff there was fantastic and we highly recommend it to anyone in the area. 

In the morning we sent our friends on their way to San Francisco and plotted out our course North.

Erin and Zac, it was so nice to have you there to share in the adventure. We hope you had a fabulous time in San Francisco! You guys are awesome; we love you!

From Sonoma County we were off to see the Redwoods. We traveled along the Avenue of the Giants and saw some amazingly large, beautiful trees.

We had contemplated staying in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest for a few nights, but at this point, having been in California for a month, we thought it was time to move on to a new state.

So we stayed just one night on Shasta Lake. After a morning dip in the water we were Oregon bound!

The drive through Northern California into Oregon was beautiful. Mount Shasta, with its snowy peaks towering over 14,000 feet was something to behold. 

                                                                And finally, Oregon!!!!

We noticed something peculiar during our time in California. Everywhere we looked, all we saw were California license plates. It was as if nobody drove to California from any other state! As soon as we crossed the state line into Oregon, we saw a variety of different plates. It just reaffirms our theory that California may be to big for its own good. We do, however, have a solution in mind. Somewhere between L.A. and San Francisco a line should be drawn and voila, Northern California- the 51^st state!

Two new bumper stickers. The cooler is getting colorful!

Anyway, our next destination was Crater Lake National Park. We set up our gear and were doing some laundry when low and behold, RAIN! At this point in the trip it had not rained, not even a drop since New Mexico! It had been nearly a month and a half with not so much as a storm cloud on the horizon.

We loved it! Our tent finally got a wash and we put our vestibule (front porch) to good use.

The next day we took a short hike then toured Crater Lake.

On our hike we found snow! The roads in this area of the park had just recently been plowed. The snow banks on the side of the road were over six feet tall.

To tour Crater Lake we drove the 33 mile drive around the water and stopped at the many vistas along the way for views of the lake from every angle. Crater Lake is the deepest body of water in the U.S. and the largest clean body of water in the world.

The water is so deep blue it is almost purple. This is contrasted by steep rugged peaks of black volcanic rock jutting straight up from the lake. It was a breathtaking drive.

A view of Wizard Island

From here we head to Eugene and then on to Astoria. Goodbye for now!