Happy Monday Morning

I'm willing to bet most of you reading this are just getting to work. Way to be productive guys. Anyhow, today is Cinco De Mayo and this is important for two reasons. One, I've been saving up to celebrate. Two, it has now been a month since I've worked. That should help you settle into Monday a little better.

Let me catch you up on the last few days. I stayed in Portland on Thursday. I spent most of the day driving around the city getting lost. I went the wrong way on a one-way street and really annoyed a local. Good stuff. When I woke up on Friday, I took Schuchard's and Lyndi's advice and went to visit the Columbia River Gorge. The river serves as the border between Oregon and Washington.


Gracie and I are becoming quite the hikers. Although, on this particular day I sprained my ankle on one of the trails. Reversing half a mile on a bum ankle is not fun. After spending the day being moody, I ended up in Seattle. True to its reputation, it was a rainy Friday night. Saturday I went to the fish market.

These guys jammed. Video to come

Today I woke up and visited Mount Rainier. It was another day that allowed me to see all four seasons in one day.

Look what Gracie found

There is one theme that has shown its face a few different times during my travels so far. Well, a few actually, but one I am going to tell you about right now. Some of the best things you'll see are down roads you didn't plan on taking. Here's what I found.

Coos Bay

A few days ago I spent some time on the Oregon coast, which was pretty sweet. I stayed in Coos Bay, which is definitely a shore town. There were tons of seafood options, but those who know me well will know that left me with few options. Luckily, most seafood places still know how to make good chicken. The morning was really rainy and visibility was nil, but about noon the sun started coming out and I got to spend some time at the beach. And by beach, I mean mostly cliffs. Check it...

That bird in the first picture and I hung out for quite a while actually. He's seen a lot of these parts and had some interesting stories. The one about Bill Walton and Jerry Garcia visiting the coast in '77 was classic. Anyhow, there's a lighthouse too. I wish I had a better camera so I could have zoomed in on that guy a little better, but we make do with what we have.

See the sea lions sunbathing? Gracie was barking back at them, it was awesome.

We ended up staying a while, and Gracie passed out. Easy to do up there.

She loves watching birds. And when they land, she loves making them fly again.

I spent the last couple of days hanging out with my new friends in Eugene. It's a pretty cool town with down to earth people, and some absolute weirdos. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Today, I took the long way getting to Portland. I was too tired to do anything today, so I'll get out and see the city tomorrow.

Chisum Trail

Here's the latest map for those curious. I'm in Eugene, OR right now and plan on leaving early tomorrow. I'll end up in Portland but not the easy way.

Medford to Coos Bay

I spent the night in Medford on Sunday. I was pretty cranky after having some issues with my hotel so I was really looking forward to seeing something mind blowing today. And that I did. Check out my drive up to Crater Lake

And then, I saw Crater Lake. I don't know how to describe the blue of the lake, it was powerful.

Only one area of the entire lake was open since there's still about 12ft of snow on the ground, so it was tough to spend much time there. With my day opened up, I decided to head back to the coast, only this time Oregon style. I did manage to see some cool stuff on the way, including a random falls with a mile hike to the top. Gracie made me stop there too.

With all the snow melting, there are hundreds of these waterfalls along the highways

Here are some pictures as I started getting closer to the coast. There are easily 1000 different shades of green in this state. Some of it didn't even look real to me.


That's the sun setting long before I got to Coos Bay. From what I read and hear, it's pretty amazing. I guess I'll have to find out tomorrow. Although, if it's raining like it was tonight when I got here, I don't know if I'll be able to see much.

I believe we're completely caught up now. I've got some video to update, but tonight's not the night. Check back again. Throwing the deuces

Redwood National Park

On Sunday, I woke up early and went to Redwood National Park. It was another example of knowing what you're about to see, but not really knowing what it is until you're there.

The weather made it tough to enjoy the drive to Redwood

But I found a beach

This is what the sand looked like

I'm happy to say the sun came out just as I was getting into the park.

A herd of elk

Check out the sign to the right of the tree

I'm not showing off the car, just showing it in relation to the tree,
and remember it's about 10 feet behind the car

I found another beach after leaving the park, but the sun had gone back into hiding.

Surfer dudes

A tunnel, trippy

Best picture I've taken yet