Oregon With Randy, June 11-15, 2003
  
 
Day 1, Wednesday
 
I fetched the old boy at Sea-Tac, long about dusk. We drove through Seattle, reaching the edge of Puget Sound just north of Shilshole Bay Marina, where we watched the sun disappear behind the Olympic Mountains. We then repaired to Mamasan for dinner. Randy seemed to have stood the long flight from North Carolina well enough, only slight worse for the wear...
 
Day 2, Thursday
 
The day started with a workout and swim at the local spa, then Chinese food at Wild Pepper. After lunch I had an errand to tend to in the Nihonmachi (Japanese) section of China Town... we strolled around a bit before heading on down the I-5 toward Oregon...
 
On the road to Oregon...
 
We crossed the Columbia River at Longview, WA, entering the Oregon country...
 
We proceeded westward along the southern side of the Columbia River to its communication with the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon...
 
We put up for the evening at the Red Lion Inn, in Astoria...
   
Day 3, Friday
 
Lewis & Clark reached the waters of the Pacific during early December of 1805, at the mouth of the Columbia River. They built Fort Clatsop near present day Astoria and spent the winter of 1805-06 there. We started the day by walking the grounds at Fort Clatsop...
 
       
 
   
 
Our trek down the Oregon coast began at Fort Stevens, at the extreme northwest tip of Oregon. Fort Stevens was the only piece of American mainland attacked during WWII, a Japanese submarine having fired several rounds at the fort...
 
www.oregonstateparks.org/park_179.php
 
       
 
   
 
We proceeded on, stopping at Seaside, the end of the Lewis & Clark trail...
 
         
 
Cannon Beach...
 
       
 
Proceeding on down the coast...
 
       
 
     
 
Tillamook. After stopping in at the cheese factory we drove through town looking for our luncheon. The scent of barbecue drew us to the 308 Coffee & Deli where ribs were being grilled. We walked on in and enjoyed the best grub of the trip...
 
         
 
Proceeding on...
 
         
 
Cape Kiwanda...  We noticed cars on the beach...
 
       
 
So, we drove out onto the beach, which turned out to be a bad idea...
 
       
 
     
 
We proceeded on...
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
 
 
Sea Lions, just south of Heceta Head Lighthouse...
 
www.oregonstateparks.org/park_124.php
 
www.ohwy.com/or/s/sealionc.htm
 
   
 
We lodged for the evening at Coos Bay, on the southern Oregon coast...
 
Day 4, Saturday
 
From Coos Bay we drove eastward through the Coast Ranges, crossing the I-5 at Roseburg and continuing on through the Umpqua National Forest..
 
www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua
 
       
 
     
 
Left: The mark of Zorro on the sky...

Right: Clearwater Falls, in the Umpqua...
 
Diamond Lake...
   
This long, straight stretch of road is Highway 138, north of Crater Lake National Park...
 
Up Highway 97, east of the Cascades, through the high desert...
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
 
We headed west through the Warm Springs Indian Reservation and across the Cascades at Mt. Hood, descending into Sandy where took our dinner at the Tollgate Inn...
 
       
 
   
 
After a hearty meal at the Tollgate we drove on through Portland and up the I-5 back to Seattle...
Oregon Trail links:
www.ku.edu/kansas/seneca/oregon/mainpage.html
 
www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Allabout.html
 
Day 5, Sunday
 
Randy's departure, back to North Carolina.  We had a fine view of Mt. Rainier as we approached Sea-Tac...
  
Five good days with a good friend...  as good a friend as a man could have...