Western USA 2003
Gold and Silver State Park to near Otis, OR
--Oregon Coast. Fog bank rolls in at 10+ MPH!
Today was one of the best days of the trip. I had the basics of living down, the future was wide open with no agenda it was a feeling of complete freedom to do and go anywhere, time was of no importance, I met some great people, experienced fun adventures, saw some incredible sights and had inspiring insights. Travel at the best!
I occasionally made notes in audio diary format, here are some thoughts [.wav 520k] about audio diary's while traveling.
I also read travel books and the previous night after reading Heat Moon's Blue Highways I had some revelations about risk taking [.wav 640k] and reaching out and becoming part of someones world and the emotional risks of walking in others shoes.
With those thoughts in mind I stopped for lunch in the small town of Tenmile and had lunch at a local Café and talked with a senior citizen about his experiences as a young man on the railroad. He was from Cumberland, MD and in 1946 after WWII he hitchhiked across to San Francisco.
After lunch pulled off the highway for a nap it was surrounded by more and bigger blackberry bushes I have ever seen, this video [.avi 6.8MB] shows. While leaving I pass a car from Texas also gathering berries, we thought we had found a gold mine. Found out later blackberries are like weeds in Oregon everywhere 12 months a year.
--Oregon Dunes.
Saw a number of signs for dune buggy rentals and the Oregon Dunes. Never heard of the Oregon Dunes before so decided to go for it. The Oregon Dunes are a geological feature along the coast that runs for 40 miles. Rented a 4wheeler for 2 hours and had so much fun. On this map I started at Hauser and went south to Horsefall Day Use area along the V-8 Hill stretch. Could easily spend days in this one area, would be well worth it to go back again it is a lot like skiing for the first time, many trails and places to explore. This video [.avi 8.1MB] is while trying to hold the camera still gives an idea what it was like driving up a hill then overlooking Coos Bay and the Rt.101 bridge.
--Ready to Roll!
--Rt.101 across Coos Bay
Kept going north along the beautiful coast the weather would go from dark, foggy and cold to bright, sunny and hot, changing many times very rapidly, a lot like San Francisco weather.
Late in the afternoon decided to take a parallel road to 101 and according to the GPS map there was a public road that went through an interesting looking forest. However on arrival the road had a gate blocking the way, but I could see another gate further on and thought it was a section of a farm for cow grazing and so went through the gate. Within a few minutes a man on a 4wheeler zoomed up from behind and blocked the road, he looked very upset and angry! After a few exchanges he figured out I was not a hunter, and I was on private property. The "road" was a private driveway and had not been public since WWII when it was created by the Army to spot fire-balloons launched by the Japanese to start forest fires. I was the first person to actually try and use it! The GPS once again gets me in the strangest places with an outdated map.
--Mr Roberts, 4th Generation Oregon settler.
Mr. Roberts is a 4th generation farmer in Oregon his family are original settlers and have large forest tracks that border scenic Rt.101. When he found out I was from Maryland we had a long discussion about conservation issues. Mr. Roberts is a colorful character he believes he knows how to manage the forests better than the government, that the forest needs to be trimmed out to keep it healthy, that he should be allowed to do what a farmer needs to keep his land fertile. However, as is the way of the world his forests are full of rotten wood, bugs and overgrowth and choking out the healthy trees because he can't manage it the way he needs to. We parted by exchanging names and addresses. Thank you Mr. Roberts for the great conversation and use of your property!
--Oregon Coast, one of my favorite pictures.
By this time it was getting dark I headed for the nearest forest to find a campsite and came upon a magical scene of the fog rolling in from the ocean. Campsite was the top of a mountain in a drizzling rain. Nearby neighbor campers 2 girls and guy are loud but quiet down quickly and after a cold salad in the cold rain I am quickly asleep after an awesome day.
--Tsunami spotting.