Oregon

Although some of the content might be redundant, to show the difference in perspectives and thoughts about the Oregon portion of our trip, we will post Michael's comments, then John's, and follow with ones Shelli and I collaborated on.

Michael:
The first thing we did was one of my favorites, which was the West Coast Game Park where there were many amazing animals like tigers, leopards, and wallabys. We got to pet tigers! After we got food, which was for the animals, we went outside where many animals were. There were lemurs, goats, deer, wallaby, bison, and more. There were also big cats. One of them was a white, mental tiger that stalked us and then charged at us. If there wasn’t a fence we would’ve died. There was also a very annoying donkey that kept following us which we named Cling-on. We found out later that he just wanted the ice cream cones our food was in. There were two funny chimps, one kept sticking his tongue out and clapping his hands. After that he was hitting the other one and kept messing with him, they were acting just like brothers. The West Coast Game Park should be illegal, getting so close to the animals was really great.

 After that we took Maui to the beach for the first time and he ran like crazy. Driving up the coast to Washington we went to Sea Lion Cave, which obviously was a cave with sea lions in it. There was a horrible smell in there but it was still cool to go down to the cave in the elevator and see the sea lions.The next day we went to the Tillamook cheese factory which had tons of samples of cheese and ice cream. My favorite ice cream flavor was rootbeer float. We all had lots of samples and then a huge bowl of ice cream. Then we went crabbing because John had been really wanting to go. I crabbed some but then mom and I built a bonfire on the beach that kept us all warm. There was a really annoying dog named Lily that jumped in the water while we were crabbing. Unfortunately, there was a really strong current and she almost drowned. There was a campground in Astoria, OR that we really liked and it was a KOA. We really liked it because it had tons of activities and stuff like movies, free food, parks, pools, trampolines, and tons of kids. We jumped and played games with lots of other kids, it was great. Now we’re in Washington and heading to Alaska. The Oregon coast was great and fun, but I’m ready to get to Alaska.

John:
The West Coast Game Park was extremely awesome because we got to pet tiger cubs. About five minutes in we saw the wallabys. We didn’t even have to go to Australia to see one. We got to feed the wallabys and pet them, they were extremely gentle. They were as soft as a fluffy puppy. Then we saw a rabid mental tiger and it pounced at us. Goats were all around the park and one burro followed us everywhere. The tiger cubs were the best part of the park, they were funny when they tried to roar. I really liked it when they jumped in our laps and drank from their bottles that we were holding. We also got to pet a leopard cub, it was yellow with black spots and bright blue eyes. I loved the West Coast Game Park because petting the animals was really a cool thing to do. I never thought I could get so close to wild animals.

Next we took Maui to the beach for the first time. He loved it! He was running around everywhere and jumping at the waves. The next day, we got to go see a sea lion cave. We went down in the mountain in an elevator to see them. We got to see lots of sea lions. Later on, we finally went crabbing for the first time. This is when we met the crazy dog named Olivia, she almost got pulled out to sea by the current and she got nipped by a crab. Sadly, we only caught one crab big enough to keep this time, but we had fun learning how to do it. We sat by the fire that Michael and mom made to get warm before we left. The following night, Dad and I went crabbing at sunset and this time it was ‘jackpot’. We caught at least 150 crabs and got to keep 6 to eat for dinner. We also looked for agates and went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We tried samples of cheese and ice cream. They had 38 flavors and my favorite two were udderly peanut butterly and sticky buns. We stayed at the KOA campground and had so much fun on the jumping pillow they had. In conclusion, I love the Oregon Coast because it was fun and picturesque, but I did not like the cold weather. I much prefer the Hawaiian warm weather.

Shelli and Joey:
We drove from Boise to a park just South of Bend Oregon the first night. The second day took us through the Deschutes National Forest and Umpqua National Forest past some amazing scenery on long curvy roads just North of Crater Lake on the way into Bandon, Oregon. There were steep hillsides covered with trees, rocky outcroppings, and winding rivers and streams with big whitewater in some places and very smooth flows in others. It was really nice, but it was hard to take a peek while driving and trying to stay on the road.

Our first stop in Bandon was the West Coast Game Park Safari. It is a walk through zoo with petting areas, and a wide variety of unusual animals. It was misting and rainy, but since that is normal weather for Oregon, business went on as usual. There was a Wallaby enclosure right at the entrance and we were able to hand feed them. They were very gentle with soft mouths when they took the corn and feed from our hands. Once the first one came to the fence the others hopped right on over for their handout too. After looking at the Emu, the binterong (bear cat), the capybaras (worlds biggest rodent), and avoiding the puddles and piles of animal droppings some poor guy was sweeping up, we made our way over to the tiger cages. A Siberian tiger that seemed a bit deranged watched us as we neared his area. He took on classic predatory movements and kept his eyes on us as he walked around, crouched, and drooled a long trail of clear spit out of the right side of his mouth. As Shelli filmed him, he charged towards us. Except for the fence, the view was pretty much the same as the last view some unlucky prey would have. Nearby the tiger area there were a bunch of goats, deer, and a donkey. The donkey decided he liked us, left the feeding area and came right over to us.  He stayed close and followed us around the rest of the entire park. Like Donkey from Shrek, he was a faithful follower. Very faithful - Michael named him Klingon.

The highlight of the park was the petting area where they allowed us to pet, feed and play with exotic animals. They brought out two Bengal Tiger cubs, a skunk, an opossum baby, ferrets, and an African Spotted Leopard cub for us to interact with. It was really amazing to have access to the tigers and leopard. The tigers were roaring with tiny baby roars (like the Lion King before he grew up) as they argued over who would get the bottle of milk. As Shelli was filming Michael and John petting them, one of them jumped up on her lap and tried to play with the camera strap. The little leopard cub was very new and had very clear blue eyes. On the way out, we were entertained by the chimpanzee's. One was loud and obnoxious, making classic raspberry sounds, clapping for himself, and slapping the older chimp for fun. The behavior was similar to pestering brothers - something we have seen somewhere before.

Feeding the wallabys. They were very cuddly.

Nobody wanted to hand feed the capybara.

See why?

Klingon the Donkey decided he liked our family.

Here he is following along from place to place,

Michael found where they make Hershey's Kisses.

Bottle feeding baby tigers!

They would roar and muscle their way in to get the bottle away from each other.

This one jumped right up on Shelli and caught her off guard. He wanted to play with the camera.

This one wanted to play tug of war with my camera bag when it was time to leave.

What... doesn't everybody play wiffle ball with tigers?

Possum in a cap.

He was very calm and soft.

The leopard was tiny and his fur was very soft.

This skunk would fit in well with the chimps.

Look at those eyes!

On the way back we stopped along the beach and got our first look at the big rocks in the ocean. It was still misting and cold, but the view was very nice. After some climbing on the rocks that were exposed by the low tide and watching a sea lion just a few yards off shore that was watching us, we went to the old town area.  There we saw a boat dock and a fishing area with people pulling in Dungeness crab. We went into a couple of the stores and had samples of fudge at one, and samples of about 20 different kinds of jellies, fudge, chocolates, and brittles at the other. We drove by a cranberry bog area for growing dark red cranberries used by Ocean Spray to keep their juices the dark color.

Cool wet brown sand. Neat big rocks all over the place.

John, taking a moment to reflect.

Michael

Rock climbing in the mist.

After a continuously wet stay in Bandon, we moved North, stopping at Bullards Beach state park. The sun was out and we were able to get Maui out for some good exercise. He ran around and around in circles covering a large field of grass as he hopelessly tried to catch swifts that were flying at least 20 feet above him. Although Maui had been in the water before at our pool in California, he was never comfortable with getting in on his own. We decided to see how he handled the beach. After initially running away with a tucked tail when the waves came in, he got used to the new sights and sounds and started running all up and down the beach. As we would throw rocks in, he would go right in the water after them. The surf was cold and the sand was flying and sticking all over him, but he was a very happy dog. We took him back to the RV for a bath in the parking lot. Having the outside shower head with hot and cold water was very helpful. Maui got the hot spa treatment and then rested on the towels in the sun while we brushed him. There were big globs of fur rolling with the wind down the parking area. I think we could have given a down pillow a pretty nice run for it's money if we had collected all the soft fur that blew away.

John caught this blue bellied lizard while Maui was chasing birds

The rock to the left of Michael is supposed to be a woman's face looking up.

Maui on Bullards Beach.

John getting Maui to run into the surf.

Michael throwing a rock too. Look at Maui's concentration on the rock.

John and Maui racing on the beach.They both look happy.

Maui started shaking and John started running.

We continued North through Coos Bay and stopped at Osprey Point RV Park in Lakeside. It was a nice place with a rec room, fishing dock, and a shiny red Ferrari parked out by one of the RV's. You see a lot of strange things in RV parks. We saw the Ferari on one side and on the other, a motorhome obviously hand spray painted blue (including most of the air conditioner covers on the top). The van engine revved really high after unhooking it from the RV. It was almost like showing off for the Ferrari, but it was really some transient problem that had me thinking we had finally killed the van after all these years and miles. After opening the hood and restarting it, all was well. It kind of looked like I fixed it - I liked that.

Things breaking will be a part of this experience. We already have a nice long scratch on the paint from where one panel was open when Michael opened the door and the corner gouged it pretty well.  I remember scratching a very deep cut into my father's 1962 Falcon Ranchero after he just got it painted shiny jet black. Rather than kill me, he just stayed calm when I came in to tell him what I had done. This was a chance for me to pay a good example forward. This was just a learning point about fessing up for what you have done and getting on with life. For major issues, right after we bought the RV the hydraulic leveler system pump failed, and it was replaced by the dealer we bought it from. It still seemed to operate way too abruptly, but they assured me it was normal. Before leaving Boise, I got a second opinion as part of a Spring out of storage service check. I was assured the guys had looked at it and that is just the way it is for that model. It didn't seem right to me,  so I troubleshot it and found the rear left and right cylinders rigged backwards. After a few minutes switching electrical harnesses, Tada! the system levels perfectly and doesn't shake my teeth loose when I retract the jacks. I'm finding I have to be my own doctor, mechanic, investment advisor, and retirement planner if I want a decent job done. Competency is hard to find anywhere nowadays, and a work environment that allows it's employees the flexibility to make real corrections and do real customer service is almost non-existent.

Besides fixing stuff, we made Wal Mart runs and stocked up before going to Abby's Pizza in Coos Bay in honor of Abby from Boise. It was pretty good with a crisp crust. We checked out tide pools and rocks in Sunset Bay and called it a day.

Michael is on the right about two thirds up the rock.

The thinker.

Cool rocky inlets and tide pools are all over the place here.

The rocks are covered with plants, but they aren't as slippery as they look.

By the Van that has been everywhere.

A nice overlook showing the water color.

When it was time to move along, we decided to go up to Netarts Bay where we had been told crabbing was very good. Netarts is close to Tillamook where the Tillamook cheese and Ice cream factory tour is offered. We took the tour and sampled a lot of cheese and just about every flavor of ice cream they had before picking the ones for our real servings. By the time we did it all, we were full and had lots of left over ice cream. An ice cream lunch is always good planning in my book, but the execution sometimes gets a little iffy. We will have to keep trying until we get it just right.

In the Tillamook factory.

On the way out we stopped at the sporting good store and bought a big reel and a crab trap that is cast from a reel. I figured for the coast of three hours of boat and trap rental, we could have some good gear we could use again at other places. We went to the Happy Camp area of Netarts Bay and loaded our trap with chicken. After a good cast and a few minutes of soaking we pulled in our first dungeness crab. It was not a keeper, but it was a success. We caught several more, sometimes with them not actually in the trap, but holding on to the outside greedily trying to grab the bait inside. After a few hours we got tired and did not have a keeper (has to be a male and 5.75 inches wide). We decided to give it a break for a while. The trap is heavy and reeling it in is very tiresome. The method that seemed to work the best was for John or Michael to grab the pole and run straight back, pulling the crabs up onto the beach. After dinner, we gave it another go right at low tide and managed to get a keeper. It doesn't get dark here until after 9:30 pm or so, and we stayed till well after dark. We were cleaning and boiling our dungeness crab late that night. They have a fair amount of meat and we were all able to have a crab sampler platter before midnight. It was good and John was hooked on catching crabs.

Dungeness on Netarts Bay.

The good parts.

The next day we drove to some coastal areas around Garabaldi and tired crabbing from a long pier. It wasn't working for us and there was a sea lion that was apparently stealing bait, so we called it quits and went to Cape Mears where we saw a bald eagle, a lighthouse, and a very old Sitka spruce tree called the Octopus tree that had limbs growing out like tentacles. We had a picnic lunch with a million dollar view of the beach and big rocks.

Somebody shot the lens with a shotgun - from the inside! People are no longer allowed to go to the top.

PB&J with a view.

We went back to the RV to pick up Maui and went hunting for agates on the shore of Cape Meares. It was a great rocky area and John and I found several white agates and quite a bit of the green jasper while Michael threw rocks for Maui.

The waders and rubber boots helped.

John catching tiny shrimp that were all over the place.

It was still cold- in the middle of June.

After a quick dinner, John and I went back to Happy Camp to give crabbing another go. The weather was beautiful and the orange sunset really made it nice. We looked across the channel at several big Bald Eagles  just hanging out. However, we were not catching anything, As we decided to leave, we saw someone else with a trap like ours. We compared notes and decided to try it one more time after a modification to make the trap open better. All of a sudden the whole game changed and we pulled in 5 crabs in one cast. So did the other guy. Then we pulled in seven, then four, then five, then seven and so on. All the crabs were too small or were female and had to be thrown back, but it was exciting and fun to be making the catches. The pace continued and many locals came by to watch us. They were amazed at our luck. We had 11 crabs in one cast, but still no keeper. The other crabber finally got a keeper and John went to check it out. On the way back he was scanning the water's edge and spotted a red rock crab which is not subject to such strict rules for keepers. I had my waders on so I jumped in and got what turned out to actually be two red rock crabs fighting. We had two keepers now. We kept having success with our casts and ended up with a keeper Dungeness and a red rock from casts. John walked along the shore and again found a red crab we caught to add to our pile. It was dark and late, but the success hadn't slowed. We kept pulling them in and ended up with another dungeness keeper and found two more red rock crabs right along the edge that I was able to just go in and catch. We spent a late night cleaning and boiling them in two separate pots because we didn't have one big enough for all of them. We saved the meat and had a good roadside crab lunch the next day. When the dust settled, we had clearly caught over 150 crabs.

On the way further North we stopped at the Sea Lion Caves, the world's largest sea cave just south of Newport. We took the elevator down into the cave and saw the sea lions on the rocks inside. From the platform outside, the view down the coast was really very nice and a lot of sea lions could be seen coming and going on the rock ledges below.

Ready to pay to ride the elevator down into the cave.

Just below here there were a lot of Sea Lions jockeying for position on the ledge.

In the cave. The smell was great.

We moved North to a KOA campground in Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia river where Lewis and Clarke completed their journey to the Pacific. The area is historical with plenty to see, but the campground offered free ice cream the first night, so that took priority. With put-put golf, a bouncy trampoline, free pancake breakfasts, inflatable bouncy rooms, and indoor heated pool, and other games, swing sets and places to ride bikes, the campground was a pretty good destination in itself. We stayed three nights in one spot to allow the kids some good activity time. The final stretch of road from Tillamook up into Netarts had been very bumpy and curvy, and the rest had been curvy too - mostly in the rain. I needed a break and Father's Day was a good time for one. With the free pancake breakfast to start and activities set for the kids at the park, we didn't have to go do a lot. For lunch we went to a local favorite place for fish and chips, the Bowpicker. It isn't a favorite because of the building or sitting space. It is just a tiny boat with a big propane gas tank hooked up to it so it can fry fish and fries on it's spot on a trailer near the Maritime Museum. There are always lines and very little seating is available at the two tables outside, but the food is very good. We filled up so much we had trouble eating the coconut cream pie for Father's day that night.

Shelli in line. It's not even a drive through.

Father's Day lunch right in front of the Bowpicker.

At the KOA cooking what they call baked slugs (Biscuit dough on a stick, then filled with Bavarian cream and cool whip).

John added the chocolate frosting to his.

The jumping houses, and trampoline balloon were high on the list for Michael and John. Because the visibility was so low when we drove by, I wanted to get a better look at Cannon Beach and Haystack rock, so I drove 20 miles back South to walk around that area. I found just a few small agates, but saw a lot of huge starfish and a lot of birds on Haystack rock. The official Jelly Belly RV and Car were staying near us and we got sample packs from them before going to watch a sunset from the beach at Camp Rilea military area and take pictures of Michael and John jumping as silhouettes.

On the beach waiting for sunset.

This looks like a rock concert on the beach to me. Michael is on the right and John the left. 

This one looks like they are blasting off to the moon to Shelli.

John found this dungeness crab as it was dying on the beach. Oh, the horror of a wasted crab!

Karate action.

John took the camera while we walked off into the sunset.

Tuesday, June 21st, after John serenaded Maui, we left Oregon. Maui and Michael took a nap during the final miles on the way out. We spent 10 nights in Oregon and got a really good look at the coast, but there was plenty inland to see we just didn't get to. We will be camping in Washington, but will dip back down into Oregon to see Multanomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge.

Somewhere, over the rainbow on the ukulele. There are tufts of Maui fur on the grass to the left. 

Nap time on the way to Washington.