Okay, I'll do a quick review of the past few months.
November was filled with work and a couple of road trips. I drove up to Tofino for a weekend. Spent the time relaxing and hiking in the Pacific Rim National Park, surrounded by rain forest, and beachcombing at Long Beach. It was cold out (by island standards), but bearable.
For the last weekend of the month, I managed to get 6 days off. Jumped in good ol' Orbitee, took the ferry over to the mainland, and headed south. Border crossing was tons of fun...imagine explaining to the customs officer that, yes, you are a single girl, driving alone, without hotel reservations, no friends or family that will be visited, and destination unknown. I drove off with having my bag searched. My luck has not worn out!!
Thought of stopping in Seattle, but traffic was INSANE (being the holiday weekend). I decided I didn't want to be in a big city, surronded by people. Got out the AAA road atlas of North America. Oregon it is!
Wandered on some back roads, trying to find the Mt St Helens Park gate, but got lost. Pulled over onto a rest stop, up a hill in the woods. Pulled out my sleeping bag and nodded off for a few hours. Woke up not knowing where the heck I was and the theme from Deliverance running through my head. The moon was full, the air was crisp, and the clouds were wisping across the sky. Turned on the car, heat full blast and calmed my mind. After eating, I felt much better but still tired. Slept for about an hour and woke to the sun rising over Mt St Helens!! Turned out that the rest stop I chose was a look out point for tourists...one of those unknown places. Fantastic!
So, I found my way back to the interstate and turned south. Drove most of the day, with many pit stops, and found a hotel room in Grant's Pass. Explored the picturesque town and made plans to go to the Oregon Caves the next day. Caves were really interesting. I got there at the right time as there were only three of us on the tour that I was on (myself and a young couple from Alaska).
Afterward, I was bound for the coast. Looked on the map and saw there were two roads. I could take the interstate to California or a roads that went through the hills. Naturally I took the road less travelled and chose the hill route! And less travelled it was definitely!! I had to stop for the logger to remove the tree from the road. Then, the road turned into one lane (yes, one lane for two way traffic). The road cut closely to the cliffs and I was white knuckled for miles! And then the snow hit. Not the light, dry snow, but the heavy, wet stuff that comes down like snowballs! Luckily, I encountered only 6 vehicles (yes, all 1/2 tons and SUV's) in the 60 mile stretch that felt like 300 miles. And then the sky opened up and the most beautiful view of the ocean appeared. Stopped in Coos Bay for the night. Got up early the next day to drive the Pacific Coast Highway.
Grant's Pass celebrates Christmas. The town streets are guarded by Nutcrackers, filled with music and festive decor!
