Great Big Trees! Grand Sequoias...

We started the second day of our venture into Yosemite by way of Oakhurst, which is 30 miles south of Mariposa. This entrance took us to the Mariposa Groves, which is home to some very impressive Grand Sequoias. What a beautiful area of the park! This part of the park was set aside by Abraham Lincoln in 1864, so it has been protected for quite some time. There is another grove in the park, just west of Tioga Pass, which we did not get to this time around. There is also Sequoia NP, which we will not make this trip.

The Grand Sequoias are huge by any measure, some are thicker than 25 ft  in diameter. Evidently their root systems are very sensitive to foot traffic; therefore, you cannot get close to the trees like in other forests as the trees are fenced off. The limbs are absolutely huge....like trees all onto their own. 

Grizzly (left) is just one of the many large trees protected from people. The deadwood around the tree are actually branches that have broke off over time. 

In the early years, the park included a carved a tunnel through two different trees. It was large enough for model T's to drive through; certainly, not for today's vehicles (not that you can get to this by vehicle any longer). The tree to the left is still standing. The other tree fell down in the1960's.

What a beautiful area of the park! If time had permitted we would have spent the entire day in this section hiking all of the trails and looking in awe at these grand trees. However, we had other parts of the park to see as this was our last day in the area. Another day (or 7)! At which time we will come back to Mariposa Grove, Tioga Pass Glacier Point, and the various waterfalls. Way too much to see in 1-1/2 days!

One off the Bucket List - Yosemite Park

Yosemite Park has been on the list of "must see" for a few years. Today is the day! 

We are staying in Mariposa, which is at the beginning of the middle entrance into the park.What better way to start the adventure than to take the shorter route since we were getting a late start.

This entrance brought us into the park via the Merced River valley. Along the way were incredible views from the valley floor up to the many rock formations that are part of this wonderful park. (FYI - there are two large hotels along the way for tourists to stay....bring your own groceries as there is NOTHING around for miles in the way of stores).

However, the real viewing didn't begin into we arrived in the Yosemite Valley.  The first amazing view was El Capitan. OMG! It rises over 3,000 ft from the valley floor, which is already at 5,000 ft. What an impressive monolith. This rock was first climbed in the 1950s. We didn't see climbers on this day, but they are there on a regular basis.

Not to be outdone, the famous half dome sit majestically at the end of the valley. Half dome is where hikers take a long trail to the base of the dome and then climb the dome itself. The climb is a cable route that can get quite crowded. Since I am afraid of heights at best, being in a cable track with hundreds of other people would put me over the edge! (pun intended). So no we did not hike to the base and definitely did not hike the dome.

The fall colors heightened the beauty of the area. Normally, most of the park is closed in November due to snow. However, with the extended drought the entire park has been able to stay open longer. We are so glad we came. Can't wait for tomorrow's trip into the park through the south entrance!  

Happy Birthday to.....

ME! Made it to age 62 upright, in good health, and retired. Trifecta!

Aside from jumping up and signing up for Social Security benefits (not now, thank you...), Dave wanted to know how I wanted to spend my day. Ta Da....another day in Bandon OR so that we could take in the wonderful beach and rocks. This would also be our first time on this trip to stay more than one night in one place. It feels good to not have to rush off in the next morning to a new room and location.

Penny walking the beach

Three hours walking on the beach, admiring the ocean activity, and taking pictures...that was my birthday treat. What's not to like! It was low tide, so we had lots of beach to roam and could easily walk around the multitude of rock formations that were "beached" until the tide rolled in.



 

The general rock formations in the water are known as haystacks. The general lore for this area (Indian and local) has identified the haystacks as Face Rocks. If you look closely, the Indian Maiden's can be seen. 

 




Then there is the not so obvious dog rock (looked like a wizard's hat to us). The dog's tail is in the air. Way in the lower corner is Dave standing next to the Dog's tail just to show how enormous these rocks are. 

I must admit, I will miss being close to the ocean. There is something about the thunder of the waves that puts the world back into perspective.   

The Slow Boat to Tucson

We are not in a hurry. So far, we have averaged about 150 miles a day. Kent to Cannon Beach; Cannon Beach to Yachats; Yachats to Brandon. Nope, not in a hurry at all.

This morning we started our day with a walk-about in Yachats, OR. We love this little village along Hwy 101. The town pretty much sits on the ocean. The rocks are incredible. 

After loading up the truck, we walked across the hwy and strolled along the cliff road, watching the waves crash against the rocks. At one point in our walk, we saw the waves spray up above the roof lines. We found the source.....a blow hole in the rocks right at the ledge. It's pretty weird and awesome to see all at the same time. 
 
On our way back to the truck, we visited a local bakery. They had awesome pastries and breads that are made on site. We indulged in a prosciutto and goat cheese croissant topped with a wonderful herbed salt and an apple/berry tart. There were so many good things to feast our eyes on. Great restraint was deployed to not just feast on it all!

Once on the road, we traveled a little ways (not far.... mind you we are not in a hurry) and landed in Brandon, OR. What a quaint little place! 

The old town area is on the water front, at the end of the jetty. Look what greeted Dave on the railing of the boat dock. The Pelican was definitely not afraid of people! 

One of our concerns is always where to park the motorcycle trailer at the end of the day so that it is not visible from the road. Side street, U-shaped parking lot, parking right outside the door works. 

Of course it must meet the other requirements - clean, queen bed minimum, fridge, coffee pot, close to a pub and grocery store. A breakfast in the morning is nice, but if not available we have our own breakfast foods (and lunch).  

Here is our travel survival kit. We've learned over time that rooms just don't come with enough coffee packets. Or there is no coffee at all in the room. Hence we have our own coffee pot, filters and coffee. Cereal, peanut butter, jelly and assorted other sundries and we manage quite nicely. Don't leave home without It!

New Chapter Begins!

What to do today! Hmmmm, let's walk the beach before we hit the road! Fortunately, the fog was not heavy so the beach was quite clear. Haystack Rock was very visible with the surf swirling around it. 

After walking the beach we visited the Sleepy Monk, a local coffee shop and bakery.  The bacon/blue cheese scone was to die for. (Good thing we only bought one!) This little shop bakes their own goods every day. Worth the calories! Oh, the coffee was good as well. They make their own whip cream for the coffees including chocolate whip cream!

Once on the road, we made the decision to visit the Tillamook Cheese factory. I had no idea that cheese making in this area began in the mid 1800's. There is quite a history to learn about how cheese became so prevalent in the Oregon thanks to some very enterprising and determined pioneers (yes, private businesses did create jobs even back then.....). 

Death by cheese is very possible. (Garlic white cheddar anyone?) Or maybe it is death by ice cream! Both can be accommodated in the visitors area. 

Ended our day at Yachats, a small little town along Hwy 101. A few games of cribbage at the Underground bar, a wonderful fish taco and halibut sandwhich at Luna's, and we were set for the night!

Leaving the rain......

The rain gets its last digs in as we hit the road. It had rained all night and wasn't letting up anytime soon. 

The motorcycles were getting a bath of a life time while sitting on the trailer behind Tiny. I can only imagine how dirty these bikes will be by the time we roll into Tucson!


As we headed down I-5, our sites became focused on Astoria, OR. No particular reason, just a way to navigate around Portland and over to Hwy 101. We were pleasantly greeted with sunshine as we pulled into the Astoria Safeway parking lot. 

Our destination was refined as our spirits were buoyed with the glimpse of the sun. Onward to Cannon Beach! We hoped to find reasonably priced accommodations since it is off season, but more importantly find one of those cute little mom and pop places so often found in small towns. We found the mom and pop "look" with Mc Bees. Not so sure about the reasonable price, even though we were given a discounted walk in rate (who affords these places during the tourist season??). 

With room in hand, we went in search of a beer to celebrate the first day on the road. Bill's Tavern seems to be the destination of choice for a number of people in the area. Not a bad place at all. Bill brews a variety of Ales. The Blonde Ale is quite tasty!


 

Before heading back to the room for the night, we walked to the beach and took in the sunset. God's twinkle in the sky (oops, eye) for the end of our day!

Closing an Old Chapter

We are ready to close out the chapter for living in Washington State.  To say that we are exhausted is an understatement. 

And why the exhaustion? We spent 5 days packing and loading the moving trailer. After a bit of research and pricing, we decided on working with a common trucking carrier - Old Dominion. We didn't even know they offered moving services until we tried to rent pod-type units from a company called Units. Unfortunately, Units does not have a franchise in the Puget Sound region; however, the Units rep Melissa kindly turned our focus to Old Dominion. What's cool is that you don't have to use the whole truck. You pay by the linear foot for the space actually used. Then OD boards up your portion of the trailer, back fills with a non-perishable commodity and sends the trailer to it's final destination.

On Friday (Oct 24), the 28' trailer was delivered. We had 3 business days to load up the trailer. The weekend gave us 2 bonus days. We needed every bit of those days to make it happen. Even with selling 50% of our furniture, thinning out clothes, and in general giving stuff away, we still have more stuff than either of us realized. 

Dave and I did most of the loading ourselves. Dave's son, David made a welcome appearance on Saturday to help with the heavy lifting....thank goodness. After a while that ramp up to the bed of the truck became our nemesis; especially in the rain (3 of the 5 days).

We finished on Tuesday (Oct 28) just in time for the trucking service to come pick up the goods. Talk about cutting the timing close! Finally tally, 18'. The trailer is on it's way to Tucson where it will wait for us to call and give a delivery date. I  can already tell you that I am not looking forward to unpacking this puppy.

Now we wait for the final inspection on the rental before we can leave the area. That happens tomorrow. Friday morning we are on our way to the new chapter.

Sunshine or bust!