SEASIDE, OREGON

We drove about 10 miles south of Fort Stevens to check out the little town of Seaside. It's a small resort community, lots of homes situated right on the beach.

Darrell and Luna assess the waves

Eerie clouds roll in from the ocean.

I saw this ginormous slug while walking around the fort grounds. They make 'em big in Oregon!

I have discovered how to dig...gotta love me!

FORT STEVENS STATE PARK, ASTORIA

Fort Stevens was established during the Civil War, to defend against potential attack from the British. It was one of 3 harbor defense stations at the mouth of the Columbia River. It was also utilized during WWI and WWII. Here you see one of the batteries where guns were mounted, and munitions were stored.
The campground is large, and there are bike trails and walking paths everywhere. You can hear the constant roar of the waves nearby, and fog is a frequent visitor.

As we tour the grounds, a freighter heads
down the Columbia and into the sea for parts
unknown.

The wreck of the Peter Iredale. This was a 3-
masted sailing vessel built in 1890, and wrecked
in 1906. While waiting at the mouth of the
Columbia River to unload its cargo, a furious wind blew it onto the beach, and unable to recover, it remains. The crew and captain were rescued, plus 2 stowaways.

THE TRIP WEST TAKES US THROUGH IDAHO, INTO OREGON

Luna is a good traveler!

As we head west down the Columbia River, the train runs right along the river, parallel to the highway.

BONNEVILLE DAM AND LOCKS

As we made our way west through the Columbia River Gorge, we stopped to see the dam and locks.

Here at the dam and lock, they have built a fish ladder for the salmon and other fish to "climb" to their spawning grounds. They instinctively swim against the current to get there, and these ladders are built so the fish have a safe way to pass around the dam and continue upstream.

We couldn't believe the size of the fish going up the fish ladder. Some of the salmon and sturgeon were at least 60 lbs, if not more!!

The nearby fish hatchery is a nursery for sturgeon and salmon.

Mt Hood Loop, plus waterfalls

From our campground, we made a loop up and around Mt Hood, then back down to the Columbia River to also view the waterfalls along the way. The faraway mountain is Mt Rainier, in Washington.

Where the Hood River joins the Columbia, sailboarders of all kinds take advantage of the high winds.

This is the second highest year round waterfall in the U,S,

LUNA'S HOMECOMING

We had a combination coming out and goodbye party the
night before we hit the road. Kent, Amber, Gail and Darrell.
Luna had a BIG day!

Amber, Gail and Darrell pose with Luna

BOWMAN LAKE WITH GAIL AND DARRELL

The Halls have arrived in Montana! Our friends of 41 years just retired, bought a new truck and 5th wheel, and have met us up here to begin their travels.
We showed them a few sights nearby; Polebridge, Bowman Lake, Two Medicine Lake, and lots more. So much to share! As we started our hike at Bowman, this butterfly latched onto Darrell's hat and hitchhiked for about 1/2 a mile.

These Common Mergansers are all taking a group break.

As we hiked along Bowman Lake, a creature started hiking along the shore parallel to us. We thought it was an otter, but a ranger came over and said it was a mink. He walked over to a couple sitting on the shore within about 6 feet, then went into the water and made a big u-turn.

Glacier Park Lodge, East Glacier. They knew the value of skylights even back in the early 1900's.

We stopped on our way to Two Medicine to hike to Running Eagle Falls. It was named after a Native American woman who was able to go on quests and did a lot of things only men could do.

Trying out my close-up function.

We saw this at Two Medicine and Glacier Lodge. Someone spent a lot of time building this cairn, and must have an engineering degree!

As we drove back from East Glacier, smoke from a new fire clouded the sun. This one was south of Hwy 2, and was started by a lightning strike. No rain in the past week and a half....sometimes the strike smolders for a long time, then ignites later on.

We stopped at Two Medicine Lake to check out the general store, and the lovely setting.