Wednesday, March 28 - The penultimate night of camping on the road this trip has come. Tomorrow night we will be in Port Angeles, ready to take the early ferry to Victoria. From there we will have a short hop over to Pender Island, and our road journey will have come to an end. We have mixed feelings, as it's been a terrific trip; but at the same time, it will be great to be back with family, first here on the West Coast, and then with family and friends back home. And other trips await. So no regrets.

We are now in a park south of Forks, Washington. Kinda out in the middle of nowhere, but a nice park, and not far from a very good beach (we are told) on the upper reaches of NW Washington. We left Oregon behind at mid-day, after spending an hour taking in the Astoria Tower. It's up on a hill 600 feet above the Columbia River in the city of Astoria (named after the original Astor, John Jacob).
It's quite something to see, so if you have a moment, google it, and that'll save you having to read my version of what it's all about. Suffice it to say we climbed the 164 steps inside the tower to get to the viewing platform. Great view of the surrounding countryside, and no heart attack from the exertion of the climb.

We enjoyed Oregon a lot. Their coastline is truly spectacular, with long stretches of beach punctuated by many stacks (erosion resistant rock that projects out of the sea, sometimes up to 200 feet high) and unusual rock formations. The wave action along this coast is quite wondrous, 10 foot swells not uncommon, with a roar at beach level that never subsides, it seems. We enjoyed some fine hikes, through forests and along beaches, some tough walks, but all enjoyable. The weather wasn't always great, as we had two days of rain that slowed us down a bit. But those rainy days were alternated with two brilliant sunny days, during which we made up for lost time with multiple miles of hiking.

Oregon deserves high rating for several other things. They have really good parks, and loads of them, as the state has made it a policy to make their oceanfront accessible all along the coast. And there are parks every few miles, some with camping, some for day use, but all well signed and set up. Second, when you pull up into a service station for gas, someone actually comes to your vehicle and serves you, just like in the old days. The state passed a law requiring all service stations to provide service, in order to promote employment and safety. The young lady who served me told me she's been doing this job for 4 years, makes $14. per hour, and is quite happy with the situation.

Third, some of you will know that Oregon was one of the first to legalize pot...stores are common everywhere, quite unobtrusive, just part of the landscape. Doesn't seem to be an issue here. Guess that'll be the case at some distant point in time in Ontario.

This is the time of the great migration of Grey Whales, moving from Mexico to Alaska on their annual trip north. At several parks you can find Whale Watchers, volunteers who are on hand to first of all do counts of passing whales, sitting there for hours scanning the ocean for spouts, and recording their numbers. They are also there to provide interesting facts about the whales, greys and others. And all done by volunteers. We did a rather difficult 2.5 mile hike through forest, over tree roots, through mud, to get to Cape Lookout. Loads of people were on the trail, hauling kids and dogs along  with them (March Break in Oregon). Got to the point, to find two dozen people there, and two volunteers on hand to explain whale lore. Quite impressive. The parking lot was so jammed I had a heckuve time getting out, but managed thanks to Gail and a helpful hiker. Nothing like a walk in the woods to enjoy solitude and peace.

We set out in California to do all of route 1, which we accomplished to its end in Leggatt. From there we picked up route 101, which we have now nearly completed and will do so at Port Angeles. So we can now say we've done all of the west coast the hard way over the two trips we've done, from San Diego to here on these two coastal routes. Some of it is

very tough driving in an r.v., especially the road north of San Francisco. But the two highways offer some great scenery and experiences, so it's well worth the doing.

That's about it for now. I'll throw in some pictures, and hope you've enjoyed these notes over the past four months, if you've found time to tune in. One more message to come, maybe two, as we wrap up this trip. So more later. Stay tuned.
Picture number 1 was taken at Devil's Churn, a narrow slit in the rock that erupts with foam and water spray as the waves pound in. Second, the dunes along the coast, notably the largest dune formation in North America fronting a seafront. Third, very unusual rock formations at Sunset Bay, near Coos Bay, a truly beautiful point along the coast. Fourth, the ever-changing crowd at Cape Lookout, and fifth, Gail taking in the scene not far away from the others.
Sixth, we found trillium flowers along the trail, which took us back to Ontario. Seven, the beautiful old lodge at Lake Quinault, in the Olympic National Park. The next two were taken at the site of the World's Largest Sitka Spruce, and at the top, one of many logging trucks we saw along the route today. The final shot is of the Astoria Tower. Look it up on the net. Most interesting.
Must say, today's drive was much like going through Northern Ontario or New Brunswick. Trees, trees, trees. Seems they haven't cut them all down yet. Thank the heavens there's evidence of replanting, or they'd all soon be gone. With that piece of wisdom, I'm gone.