Pacific Wonderland - Highway 101

Highway 101, along the Oregon coast, is one of the most scenic, beautiful drives I have ever taken! If you haven't already done it, be sure to put it at the top of your bucket list!

After leaving Washington, we encountered the beauty of the Oregon coast when we checked in at Fort Stevens State Park for the night. Just over the Washington border and in need of a stop, this park seemed to be the one for us. In fact, the state parks are typically the ones we have been choosing due to their relatively cheap prices (anywhere between $30-$35 per night) and good services! Fort Stevens also had a great Ranger who advised us on all the parks

and places to stop at along the coast. Such advice is golden and we have learned to listen to what the locals have been telling us. After a nights rest, we got up the next morning and decided to walk one of the many paved biking/hiking trails. The trail was lovely as it meandered through the forest. As we neared the end of the trail we started to notice the landscape changing to one with white powdery sand and before we knew it we were walking onto a beautiful beach!

The wreck of the Peter Iredale

Little did we know that our entire drive down this beautiful coast would be scenery like that, dotted by quaint seaside towns, little motels and restaurants. We even had the opportunity to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory, taste fresh cheese and see how cheese was made. 

There were always opportunities to stop and gaze at the beauty of the land but many times we stopped and just walked the beaches. One area of the 101 was known as The Dunes......

Miles and miles of untouched beaches with not a soul in sight!

Sunset Bay State Park was also another park that was equally impressive and certainly lived up to its name!  This was our view on the night we arrived

 As the coastline began to change, we realized our journey through Oregon was almost complete! 

Mighty Mount St. Helens

When we finally arrived in Washington State, one of the places on our bucket list to visit was Mount St. Helens. The 1980 monumental eruption of this massive volcano was one that forever changed the surrounding landscape and  ecosystems. The catastrophic nature of this blast reminded the world that Mother Earth is indeed alive and well!

On the day we arrived there was a lot of cloud coverage but we decided to take the hour long drive anyway up to the observatory. It turned out to be quite interesting with many stops along the way. We were amazed to learn how the land and ecosystems are being restored. Below is just one of 14 bridges that needed to be constructed after the eruption on May 18, 1980 and thousands of trees have been planted by Weyerhaeuser, the timberland company that was working in the area when the eruption took place.

When we got to the observatory, sadly this was all we could see of Mount St. Helens.  If you look closely you can see the rim of the crater where the side of the mountain blew off, obliterating 8 miles of land below. Huge trees were like matchsticks and stumps for miles around were visible to us.

Apparently, this is what Mount St. Helens looks like on a good day!

As we left the observatory and headed back down the main road, night was beginning to close in. We typically don't like to drive in unknown areas in the dark so we decided to stop off at this little spot alongside the road and camp for the night.

The young couple who owned the place told us both upfront that this location is an "unofficial" research facility for Big Foot. The gentleman of the couple had apparently seen Big Foot 10 years ago while out camping with some friends. The little store was quite interesting with cute touristy items to purchase and some other more "scientific" displays that proved the existence of the Sasquatch's existence.

Though we enjoyed chatting, we were just really happy to have secured a campsite for the night at a very low price....just $15!

Also on this property was this buried A Frame that was being constructed back in 1980. The family that was building this structure had just completed everything and were getting ready to move in. The day before the eruption they luckily had left the area for unknown reasons. After the blast on May 18, the torrent of mud that came down into the valley had buried the house up to 4 feet, destroying the structure. The family decided to leave everything as it was as a testament to the power of Mount St. Helens. 

Border Security

Thanks, Vancouver! but it's time to move on!

So the dinner conversation during our last night in Vancouver before heading South into Washington State was all about our great luck at the border! Since setting out in July, we have crossed the border many times into the US and back into Canada without fail; the most we would ever get was a few questions and a wave of the hand with either a "Safe travels!" or "Welcome home!". Well, you know what they say about Murphy's Law?! Yep, it happened to us!

Friday morning we set out early to pick up the RV. We were excited to get going again, looking for another big adventure. The drive to the border was a familiar one as we had just crossed, without incident, two weeks earlier on an outing to Seattle.  We approached the port of entry and got into one of the many lanes to check in with a border service agent, assuming everything would be smooth sailing once again. 

As we pulled up to the wicket, the agent very curtly told us that we should be folding in our side mirrors when approaching the window. Okay.....we had never, ever been asked to do this before but you don't argue with the people who are going to let you into their country so we smiled and acknowledged that that WAS a good idea. No big deal, we thought, let's just get on with this now so we can get going.

The next question was the standard, where are you going today? That was easy! But the NEXT question wasn't difficult but also one we had never, EVER encountered at a border crossing before; can I see all your paperwork for the RV, please? Hmmm....again no big deal because Steve had the license, registration and insurance, as well as other important documents, all at his fingertips. He unbuckled his seatbelt and quickly retrieved the folder from the back closet. Boy, this guy was thorough! As Steve rifled through the documents looking for what was needed, Mr. Personality proceeded to chastise us for not having the paperwork readily available when requested. As he eyed every move Steve was making over the top of his gold rimmed glasses while drumming his fingers impatiently on the cubicle window, Steve was beginning his second attempt at trying to find the documents that now appeared to be missing!!!!!! This was not good! Before we knew it, an orange sticker was slapped on our windshield with the command to "go to Secondary!" followed by "and make sure you have all your paperwork in order the next time!" 

As we took the right hand turn into a parking lot known as "Secondary" we could see all of the other poor souls who also didn't pass the "Entry Into America" test. Sniffer dogs and stone-faced border agents could be seen diligently checking cars. Steve DID find the papers to the RV (thank God!) when a rap came on our window from another agent who commanded us to take the orange sticker, our personal belongings and any money we had and go inside the building for processing. Processing?? What did that mean? As we slowly entered the building and stood in line with the other border rejects, this place became eerily familiar. And then it occurred to me......we were starring in our very own episode of Border Security!!! Yep, there were no cameras around, but this was it...this was the place where our fate would be decided!

Before too long, we were summoned to the counter where we had to declare, in front of two more agents, anything and everything that we were bringing into the United States and then we were requested to surrender our keys so they could "have a look!" We took a seat and watched as our little home-on-wheels was boarded and searched; our tag along trailer was also opened and inspected for the first time ever. And yes, they found and seized 3 potatoes and one apple from our fridge and never did request to see the paperwork for the RV!!