This was the last stop on our return to Oregon. Eastern Oregon is vast, rugged, and remote. There is plenty of “elbow room” out here, and it is quite beautiful. The amazing diversity of landscape is one of the many things I love about Oregon.  Steens Mountain is a fault block mountain with an elevation of 9,733 feet, looming over the Alvord desert to the east, over 5,000 feet below. I would like to come back here in summer to hike. The highest road in Oregon takes you near the summit of this beautiful mountain.

We stayed at Alvord Hot Springs on the eastern side of the mountain. The landscape of the Alvord Desert, a dry lakebed, with Steens Mountain rising dramatically above it is surreal. The hot springs were rustic and nice. The temperature was perfect the evening we arrived, but the next morning, one was way too hot and the other too cold. We stayed in an army MASH unit that had electricity and heat as well as furniture; you provide your own bedding, and there’s a bathroom located by the office. We drove through periodic snow on our drive along the western side of the mountain, through The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and into Bend. We realized that winter had not yet released her grip in central Oregon, but summer would arrive soon enough.

It has been a very long time since I made a post for a variety of reasons. I will do my best to catch things up and get back on track. So, the dates will be (way) off for a while.

Arco, Idaho’s claim to fame is being the first city in the world powered by nuclear energy. The Idaho National Lab is still alive and well in the area, and though many have been decommissioned, they boast the largest concentration of nuclear reactors in the world. The peaceful application of nuclear energy began here and research continues today. As interesting as it may be, we did not visit Arco because of it’s atomic past, present, or future; but because of it’s proximity to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Three major lava fields that lie along the Great Rift of Idaho are encompassed by the park. Some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world are found here, including the deepest known on earth at 800 feet. In addition to rift cracks, there are examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava, tree molds, lava tubes, and volcanic cones including outstanding examples of spatter cones. The lava flows range in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years. The Snake River Plain was created by a series of volcanic eruptions which began some 15 million years ago. It is believed that this “hot spot” has migrated southwestward with the North American Plate, and is thought to currently exist beneath Yellowstone Caldera. The volcanic fissures of Craters of the Moon are considered dormant, not extinct, and are expected to erupt again in less than 1,000 years!

When planning a route back to Oregon with auto touring in mind, I decided that we should give Idaho another chance. We traveled through southern Idaho back in October of 2015, and weren’t all that impressed.  I planned three stops in Idaho in our route and let’s just say, they left me wanting to explore more of Idaho! The drive from Dinosaur National Monument through Utah was, of course, beautiful. Almo lies just north of the Utah border, and not far from Nevada. We stayed at the Almo Inn which sits between City of Rocks National Reserve and Cathedral Rock State Park. Surrounded by cow fields and mountains, the Inn had an old west feel that we loved. There were only two other rooms booked while we were there, so it was quiet and peaceful.  I made friends with a cow that enjoyed an ear rub, it took me back to growing up with cattle. To say the town of Almo is small is an understatement. There is a gas station (that ran out of gas while we were there), the hotel, and a few restaurants that are not likely to be open unless it is summer or on a weekend.  We would love to return and camp at City of Rocks, we saw some amazing campsites. City of Rocks is a haven for climbers, but the park was quiet and overall not busy. The California Trail (and later, the Oregon Trail) traverses the park. You can observe names of the emigrants on “register rock”, where they recorded their presence with grease from the axels of their wagons.

For me, the draw of this monument is not the dinosaur fossils, but the amazing landscape that the park encompasses. This was our first scenic stop on our route from Memphis back to Oregon. Rob’s ankle had been giving him trouble (he had been wearing a boot and on crutches the week prior), so we chose a route that would allow us to do some auto touring at a leisurely pace to break up the days on the road. Dinosaur fit the bill. Jaw dropping landscapes in the middle of nowhere, just my sort of place! We were here on a Saturday, and only crossed paths with a handful of people/vehicles in the Colorado portion of the park. The quarry is the highlight for most visitors and was busier, yet still not crowded. The park lies on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border of Utah and Colorado. The park was formed in 1915 following the discovery of dinosaur fossil beds in 1909. The beds were exposed by forces of erosion in rock of the Morrison Formation from the Jurassic Period, formed approximately 150 million years ago.

Charleston, another quintessential southern coastal town steeped in history. It’s well preserved architecture, painted in colorful hues, can be enjoyed walking along palm lined streets. Charleston is famed for it’s southern hospitality, however, after leaving Savannah, it felt lacking. We had planned to visit Asheville, NC on our return home, but those plans changed due to weather and we spent an extra night in Charleston. Charleston is home to five beaches, but after spending close to a year on the Oregon coast, the coastline seemed rather boring with it’s lack of mountains and trees. Perhaps I’m getting a bit spoiled! We stumbled upon a wonderfully overgrown cemetery tucked behind a Unitarian church downtown, a peaceful oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of all the commerce.

Oh Savannah! We absolutely loved it here. This was our first visit to Savannah and it left us wanting more. We hope to visit again and spend a little more time to take it all in. Savannah is steeped in history, dating back to 1733. It is known as America’s first planned city.

We started our day in Savannah with a trip to the Bonaventure Cemetery, featured in the novel and movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, and in John Muir’s memoir “A Thousand Mile Walk”, where he wrote about the six days and nights he spent camping among the tombs. Wandering through the live oaks and azaleas here was perhaps the highlight of Savannah for me, just gorgeous!

We picked up lunch and had a picnic in Forsyth Park. At 30 acres, it is the largest park in the historic district. From the park, we headed towards the river and walked down Bull Street. I highly recommend this approach to seeing Savannah. Bull Street runs between Forsyth Park and City Hall, with historic squares almost every other block. We strolled past fountains, monuments, Antebellum architecture, live oaks, and azalea. It’s amazing how well planned America’s first planned city was; and a shame more cities haven’t taken note!

We stopped in a restaurant on the river for a drink and were asked if we wanted it to go! I thought that only happened in New Orleans, but apparently it’s legal to imbibe on the streets in the historic district of Savannah as well. We took our beverages and walked along the river. I spotted a dolphin that flipped around several times before swimming on. We found a bench and watched a huge cargo ship go past. It didn’t look like there was anyway it would fit under the bridge, but it did. We headed back towards our car, sad that our day in Savannah was coming to a close.

We have wanted to visit Savannah, GA, Charleston, SC, and Asheville, NC for some time, and decided that we were going to see them while on the eastern side of the country. While researching Savannah, I came across pictures of Providence Canyon on the Georgia State Parks website. My initial reaction was ” this is in Georgia!? where?” I plotted it on the map and discovered it was in route to Savannah, only adding 45 min to our overall drive time. It worked out, because we started our drive after attending a full day continuing education course and stopped in the town of Eufaula, AL for the night. We were able to visit Providence Canyon the next morning and arrive in Savannah at a reasonable time.  They call Providence Canyon “the little grand canyon”. Having been to both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, this is a stretch. However, it was a beautiful place and such a different landscape than what is typical for this area of the country. It was approximately a 7 hour drive from Memphis.

It has been a while since my last post. We spent the winter back home in Memphis. It was nice being home for the holidays and catching up with family and friends. We made several trips while we were there, the first being a winter escape to Puerto Rico with some friends and family. We rented a house on the beach in Rincon, so we could play in the water and come into the house at our leisure. This worked out well the first day; then a storm came through, that brought with it huge waves and rip tides and lasted through the remainder of our trip. It was cool to watch the ocean from our balcony, but we had to travel to calmer waters to enjoy the beach. My friend Christine and I took a trip to the Guanica Dry Forest and hiked the Meseta Trail along the coast. It’s quite the contrast from the rain forest on the eastern side of the island! A different kind of beauty, where the cactus meet the sea. We all visited the Gozalandia waterfall and hiking arena (such an interesting term), which gave us a taste of the rainforest while staying on the western part of the island. We had a fun, relaxing trip and enjoyed the warmth of the sun!

What a Year! We have spent the past year on the Oregon Coast and have visited Mt St Helens, Olympic, Mt Rainier, and Glacier National Parks! I’ve selected some images to recap where we have been and what we have seen in the past year. We will miss the Oregon Coast, but can’t wait to find out what 2017 has in store for us!

These falls have been on my “list” since we have been on the Oregon coast, I am happy we had the chance to visit them before concluding our time here. These falls are located east of Coos Bay, deep in the Coast Range. We visited late fall after the winter rains had taken hold. We were there on a day of intermittent showers with bursts of sunshine. We had hoped to get a workout here, but got a nice walk instead. The trails are not very long and were a gentle grade, though there were some downed trees to climb over. Unfortunately, the memory card in my camera malfunctioned and I was only able to capture a few images while here.

I love how lush it is here in the winter. A drive through the coast range can seem as if you are in a fantasy world, if you let your imagination go. The fallen leaves reveal the gnarly branches of Maples, covered thick with moss. The rocky slopes are adorned with moss, ferns, and seasonal waterfalls. The Firs, Cedars, and Spruce all seem to rejoice at the return of the near constant rain and the rivers flow wildly. Clouds linger in the mountains, almost seeming to get stuck in the forests. Cows and sheep graze on vivid winter grasses that thrive in soggy lowlands. I feel fortunate to have spent this time on the Oregon Coast and will not soon forget it.