Driving along the Oregon coast …… with many view point to stop.A walk to the beach at “Ft Myers Beach” 😉 !?Our first Oregon campground is Cape Blanco State Park.A very nice campground with a nice side for us.The Cape Blanco Lighthouse – it is still active.Views from the lighthouse to the east …… and to the north.Enjoying the sunset.Most beaches here are loaded with driftwood.At the beach another view to the lighthouse.Not far away is the next stop – Bullards Beach State Park.We get a private site.Coquille Lighthouse – at the mouth of the Coquille River.Endless beaches.And a visit to the cute, touristic town of Bandon.This fish is created by trash from the coast!!! Like this “Puffin” is created from trash.These real seals (not create from trash 😉 ) bathing in the sun – on one of the rocks.A busy place here on the rocks – MANY nests from Common Murre’s. The Common Murre’s nursery is a 6-inch square of bare rock !! … they are colonial and won’t attempt to breed until plenty of murres join them!Next spot is Union Creek Campground in the National Forest – just half an hour away from Crater Lake National Park.We get a very nice site …… with a huge “backyard” and the Rouge River right behind us.The Rouge River …. Campfire-Pizza for Dinner …… turned out good!A day trip to Crater Lake National Park – the first view …. stunning!There is still a lot of snow in the park …… and most of the streets are not open yet! So we drove the West Rim Drive as far as possible and from there we hiked the rim trail ….On the rim trail we get to enjoy the views to Crater Lake and Wizard Island.Wizard Island is a newer volcano – a cinder cone – that erupted out of the lake 7,300 years ago.The trail is still covered with snow in many areas …… and at some point because of the snow-covered trail – we turned around.Keeping the Park Open is “Snow” Easy Task. Most challenging is the “Spring Opening” – they start with the West Rim Drive, departing the Rim Village sometime in April. Typically, the snow they encounter is 20 to 30 feet deep. If they can get all the way around the lake by 4th of July “we are happy” says the operator!Ground Squirrel’s (we learned when the head has no stripes – they are not chipmunk’s) Rouge Gorge… same river 🙂 …. very calm just around the corner from the gorge.The Rouge River disappears for a 200 feet into a “Lava Tube”.The inlet …… the Lava “Bridge”There are many waterfalls in the area – we visit Mill Creek Falls. … and the “Avenue of Giant Bolders”.On the way to the next stop – along the scenic byway.With a visit to the “Newberry National Volcanic Monument”.A tram ride up to the Lava Butte ….… and walking the trail around the “rim”.Another view to the Lava Butte from the Lava Field.Nessi (a tree stump).Another amazing stop – The Cove Palisades State Park.After a long drive along in the State Park – we setup at our campsite.We walk the trail up to the plateau – for great canyon views.Another good view to Mt. Jefferson on the way to the next. Our campsite at the next stop (Viento State Park at the Columbia River Gorge) located between the busy railroad (30 yards) and the interstate (60 yards) ….LOL!Columbia River GorgeWe biked a part of the Historic Columbia River Highway …… with waterfalls …… and views to the River Gorge.A visit to the busy and touristy town Hood River.Because of the water and wind here it is a paradise for watersport – wind surfing, kite surfing, wing surfing, paddling … crazy, crazy busy!!It’s fun to watch the surfers “flying” ….… with some pretty cool acrobatics.
