EUREKA 2

SATURDAY, 25th JUNE.

We gave ourselves a day off today, deciding to stay a second night in Eureka and do very little, which is exactly what we did.  It's not possible to do nothing for very long so we went for a leisurely stroll through the old town, a meticulously restored district of shops, restaurants, galleries and museums and one of the finest and largest collections of Victorian homes in the world, then drove across two bridges to Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, where the mist came rolling in from the sea and where there were drag races being held, and spent an hour or two planning the next few days of the road trip.  At five-ish we made our way to the harbour with the intent of joining a boat harbour cocktail tour but it was booked out so we went instead to Gallagher's Irish Pub and spent a very pleasant hour or so there, chatting to the interesting young man who served us our drinks.  That was the extent of our day, we succeeded rather well in doing little, had a break from travelling and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

EUREKA, CALIFORNIA

FRIDAY, 24th JUNE.

Before leaving Crescent City this morning, we visited the Battery Point Lighthouse and Museum.  We were given a guided tour by the volunteer caretaker but weren't able to view the light-tower as there was an electrical problem which was being repaired at the time.  It was an interesting tour and for $3 each, value for money.
Due to roadworks being carried out, it was slow going to Klammath, 16 miles down the road.  We stopped a couple of times to admire the coastal view (no rain today, only sunshine) and on arrival at Klammath, joined the queue to the Trees of Mystery.  There were only about 50 people ahead of us, but we waited in the queue for about 45 minutes....there was little system involved, no tickets but stamps on hands, no signs outlining procedure so the ticket seller had to go through the whole spiel with every customer, very amateurish we thought.  When we finally had our tickets, or rather our stamped hands, we went through to the park.  A walk up a winding path took us through the giant redwood trees and to a cable car which took us higher into the forest..excellent! 
After a couple of hours we were on our way again, making a few stops along the coast, enjoying the views and the sunshine.  An easy, relaxing day..

CRESCENT CITY, CALIFORNIA.

THURSDAY, 23rd JUNE.

Our first call this morning was to Shore Acres State Park, about 4 miles from our motel at Coos Bay.  On a scenic bluff high above the Pacific Ocean, Shore Acres began as the private estate of shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson, however, financial losses during the Depression caused both house and grounds to fall into disrepair and in 1942, it was purchased by the state of Oregon for use as a public park.  The garden features year-round displays of floral and scenic beauty, including about 800 magnificent rose bushes.  After an enjoyable stroll through the gardens in the ever increasing gloom, we drove to nearby Simpson Reef viewpoint from where we could see a large colony of sea lions lazing about on the rocks.  We could also see a pair of raccoons (we think) frolicking about amongst the rocks in the shallow waters.
The old town of Bandon was our next port of call.  We stopped at a cafe for brunch and ordered biscuits and gravy which seems to be a popular menu item here and one we'd promised ourselves we'd try.  It was served with ham and egg, the gravy was more like a sauce than gravy but quite tasty.  While in Bandon, we checked out "Washed Ashore", an organisation which builds and exhibits aesthetically powerful art to educate a global audience about plastic pollution in oceans and waterways and spark positive changes in consumer habits.  The sculptures made from rubbish removed from beaches are totally amazing.  We managed to have a stroll through the town before the rain, which had been threatening, began to fall.
We continued our drive south along the US101, called the Pacific Scenic Byway....unfortunately, because of the continuous drizzle which was heavy at times,  we weren't able to see much of the scenic coastline  but stopped when we could to admire and photograph.  Once we got close to, and then crossed the border into California, the rain stopped!

COOS BAY, OREGON PACIFIC COAST

WEDNESDAY, 22nd JUNE.

It was another day of scenic driving...from Roseburg this morning  just a little bit of freeway before turning off on to a minor road, a scenic byway featuring a covered bridge, one of fifty remaining from the over three hundred built in the early years of last century, then following the Umpqua River through pine forests, a few small vineyards and some farms for most of the way to the coast.  A stop for coffee at a roadhouse/cafe in Scottsburg and lunch in a park by the marina in Lakeside before reaching Coos Bay early this afternoon made for an enjoyable, easy day.  After settling in at the motel, we went exploring and at the Visitor Centre in the town, bumped into a couple from Perth....it seems that the country is crawling with 'Down Underers'!  We capped off the day with a fish and chip meal at a cute little cafe on the harbour.

CRATER LAKE, OREGON

TUESDAY, 21st JUNE.

We thought we had finished with mountains and snow so were surprised when we reached Crater Lake National Park this morning to find snow in abundance on the mountains surrounding the lake.  Unfortunately, the East Rim Drive was closed to traffic due to roadworks but the views of the lake from the West Rim Drive viewpoints were stunningly awesome, or should that be awesomely stunning?  Either way, it is just the most wonderful sight and the gazillion photos we took simply cannot do it justice. 
A massive volcanic eruption 7,700 years ago left a deep basin in the place where a mountain peak once stood.  Centuries of rain and snow filled the basin, forming a deep blue lake whose waters are of unmatched colour and clarity.  It's the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world....ample winter snows ensure the lake remains at consistent levels.  It is simply magnificent!

It was 'Down Under' day today for at our first viewpont this morning we got chatting to two Californian ladies on a road trip to Alaska, one of whom has Australian parents who met in Nassau after WWII, married and had their three children in Canada before moving to USA....at our next stop there were a father and son from Timaru in NZ, the son has lived in Portland, Oregon for eight years and is looking forward to going home in a couple of months and Dad is over here visiting at present, and then....on leaving Crater Lake later in the day and driving along the picturesque Rogue Umpqua Oregon Scenic Byway towards our overnighter in Roseburg, when we stopped along the way at the very pretty Steamboat Inn for coffee and apple pie, the young waitress there informed us that her mum's from Perth!!!  Up until today we'd hardly come across any Australians (or part Australians) and no Kiwis, so to meet them all on the same day was an amazing coincidence.

A fabulous day and well worth the long and slightly boring drive to get here.

CHEMULT, OREGON.

MONDAY, 20th JUNE.

There's not a lot to be said about today's journey.  It was a long drive west and slightly north along the US20, with a stop at a roadhouse in Brothers for a rest, coffee and to break the boredom, before continuing on to the rather large town called Bend and heading south on the US97 to Chemult, a very small town with the motel which was our accommodation for the night.  The scenery between Bend and Chemult was totally different from the first part of our journey, being pine forest all the way and quite pleasant.  We stopped for a bite to eat at a cafe which was connected to a wild life museum where superb sculptures of animals were displayed at the entrance. 

BURNS, OREGON

SUNDAY, 19th JUNE.

Today, we continued our push across country towards the Pacific coast by first heading north-west from Twin Falls, along the Interstate 84 where the scenery was not hugely interesting,  bypassing the capital Boise but stopping in nearby Nampa to pay a visit to the very excellent Warhawk Air Museum,

 followed by lunch in a park around the corner, then proceeding west crossing the border into Oregon

 to Burns where we are staying tonight. On a recommendation from the motel receptionist, 

We made our way to the Central Pastime Tavern (funny name we thought!) where we had a couple of quiet beers and a light snack...a perfect way to end the day.

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TWIN FALLS, IDAHO

SATURDAY, 18th JUNE.

We have a lot of cross country travelling to do in the next few days, with not a lot of sightseeing expected along the way.
From Idaho Falls this morning we headed west and after about 50 miles of flat, arid countryside came across the EBR-1 Atomic Museum, which in 1951 became the first power plant in the world to produce usable electricity using atomic energy.  Until decommissioning in 1964, EBR-1 generated enough electricity to supply all the power for its own building whenever the reactor operated.   Entry was free, a good price, so we did a self guided tour which Mike found interesting (it's all Greek to me I'm afraid) and we were a little surprised by the number of others who were there, considering that it's in the middle of nowhere.
Further along the same road, about 18 miles southwest of Arco, is the 750,000-acre Craters of the Moon National Monument which can be explored via a seven mile loop road which gives access to trails which can take you over, under and around a variety of volcanic features.  We were fascinated by the plant and animal life surviving amongst the lava, particularly the fields of wildflowers which bloom each June.
The remainder of the day's journey was not terribly interesting, almost boring in fact, so we were surprised on arrival in Twin Falls to find an oasis....the fabulous Centennial Park alongside our old friend the Snake River, the Shoshone Falls which are known as the 'Niagara of the West' and tumble 212 feet to the canyon floor, 50' higher than Niagara and nearby Dierkes Lake, which boasts enclosed swimming areas, a sandy beach, picnic shelters, restrooms, playgrounds and trails to other lakes.  In September, 1974, Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon, near the Shoshone Falls, in his sky cycle.  The dirt ramp is apparently the only remnant of that day.

JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING

FRIDAY, 17th JUNE.

Many years ago (about half my lifetime ago in fact), I read an article in the National Geographic on a small town called Jackson Hole in Wyoming and was so fascinated that I determined that if someday I had the chance, I would pay a visit.  Today was that day!  We set off quite early in glorious sunshine for the hour long drive through lush farmland to Swan Valley (in Idaho, not in Western Australia) where we stopped at a diner for coffee and a sweet bun each and chatted to one of the locals before continuing on through the mountains, into Wyoming again and via the Teton Pass, to Jackson Hole where Mike deftly swooped into a vacant car space right in front of the visitor centre, no mean feat as the place was packed and traffic heavy.  The small western town I had imagined for all those years does not exist!  Nor is there much evidence that it ever did exist as the Jackson Hole of today, though with old style buildings and boardwalks, is a trendy, touristy town full of up market shops, galleries and cafes with little trace of the old town in existence.   A little disappointing as I'd hoped there'd still be a hint of the old west, but we are glad we went there and fulfilled a dream.   We walked around for a short time and then hit the road again for the drive to the Grand Teton National Park (adjacent to Yellowstone)  where we spent a happy couple of hours enjoying the mountains, lakes and forests and taking just a gazillion photos today.

The return journey was via a slightly different route, alongside the mighty Snake River for much of the way and the enormous and gorgeous Palisade Reservoir...fabulous and a fitting end to a fantastic day.