Full disclosure: This is a long post... don't say I didn't warn you.
In July my mom had a "big" birthday and to celebrate we went on a road trip. She has always wanted to drive Hwy 1/101; aka Pacific Coast Highway and so we decided to drive it for her birthday. We made the trip sound so fun and exciting that my dad decided he didn't want to miss out on the adventure and so he came as well.
We did a little
planning ahead of time for the trip but we mostly went as far as we wanted each day and spent as much (or as little) time as we wanted at each place we stopped at. The main objective for the trip was to drive all of the Oregon Coast and then to drive as much as we could of California.
Day 1: Drove from Salt Lake City to Portland 780 Miles
It was pretty much a solid day of driving. We listened to Harry Potter most of the way.
Here is a cute picture of my mom with her sunglasses on her head and her reading glasses on the tip of her nose (... she didn't realize she had done this for quite some time).
Coming into Oregon we drove along the Columbia River. This river is so beautiful and I would love to drive along it one day during the Fall because there are so many beautiful trees lining the river with their reflections showing in the water. We were able to make one scenic stop our first day, which was really nice after such a long drive, at Multnomah falls in Oregon. A friend of mine who lived in Oregon for a few years took me here once, when I visited her, and I wanted my parents to see the falls too. They loved it!
We decided that our first stop of the trip should be in Portland. To save a little money I wanted us to stay in a hotel a little outside of Portland but not too off the path of our trip. I found a great hotel in Lake Oswego and as we pulled into the hotel we saw that the Portland Oregon Temple was just across the street. Ha, we had no idea but it was a fun surprise.
My parent's first "Selfie"...ever
Day 2: Portland to Lincoln City "Let's make like a tree and leaf!" -Mom
First stop of the day was at Cannon Beach. The cool thing about Cannon Beach is the giant Haystack Rock but the funny thing we realized as we continued along this trip was that there are lots of LARGE-GIANT rocks in the ocean all along the coast. There were even some in clusters that were stunning out in the ocean. The cool thing about Haystack Rock is how close you can get to it. Another, must do at Cannon Beach is eating at Mo's and getting the clam chowder.... de-lish!
Crazy fog that rolled in onto the beach.
Along the highway there are TONS of pullouts to stop and enjoy he scenery. We stopped at one where you couldn't see the ocean but a small hike/walk took us to this look out. Obviously you can't stop at every single lookout or take every scenic walk but I would recommend stopping for some. This picture shows shows my dad on one side of the fence and me and the other. The conversation that lead up to this picture went as follows:
Dad: I wish I could see down below a little better.
Me: Oh, Ok, let's just walk over ways (I step over the fence)
Dad: *gasp* Oh no, be careful!
Me: Meh, you only live once, it's pretty flat ground and I want a better view too.
(Possible last words? The chances were "high")
Next stop: Tillamoock Cheese Factory! I would have to say that the cheese factory really isn't all that exciting but when you go on a day when the workers aren't even working in the factory... well... you're pretty much there for free cheese samples.
Here you see my parents sneaking back in line for second helpings of Cheese Samples.
Caught ya!
Finishing up our visit with ice cream.
You can NEVER go wrong with Tillamook ice cream.
Our last stop of the day was at Cape Mears and the Cape Mears Lighthouse. It took us a little longer to get there because the Cape is on a loop road that is partially closed, so you have to choose wisely which part of the loop you start on.
The view from Cape Mears
Day 3: Lincoln City to Florence
This day we started out by driving through Newport, a small but cute coastal town and then we continued down the coast to Heceta Head Lighthouse. This light house is one of the top most photographed lighthouses.
We went on a tour of the lighthouse, which was kind of fun to go up into the light. Though, I do have to say, once you've gone in one light house, you don't really need to go inside any others.
That tiny lightbulb lights the lighthouse. Pretty cool what you can create with a bunch of mirrors.
We drove across the bridge to get a more scenic shot of the lighthouse.
Next we went to the Sea Lion caves. It was actually a lot of fun to sit and watch the Sea Lions; I enjoyed it more outside than in the caves but it was worth the money. This was another thing that I would say once was plenty but completely worth it.
We ended our day in Florence, Oregon. This was probably one of my most favorite towns that we stayed in. It was a simple but elegant artist town and everyone was very friendly. Florence also had a Mo's, so of course that is where we ate dinner. It may be a touristy hot-spot but I don't care; it tastes great, the servers are friendly and it is a fun atmosphere.
Day 4: Florence to Bandon
Before heading out for the day we went and walked around in the shops in Florence along the water. After that my mom said, "Let's make like a banana and split!" and we were off again.
The majority of the drive from Florence to Bandon was lined with sand dunes but the dunes came in varieties; dry sand for miles, dunes on the beach, dune in the trees, dunes with reeds, etc. They were beautiful and I loved them.
Running down the dunes
As we started to leave the sand dune "country" we started to pass lots of cranberry bogs. We may or may not have snuck on to a property to get a better look.
We actually went farther than Bandon on this day and continued on to Cape Blanco to see the light house but when we got to the Cape the road to the light house had been closed for the day and there was so much fog that it was impossible to see the light house. This was the one light house of the trip that I was most excited to see and take pictures of and so... having the awesome parents that I have, we backtracked to Bandon to spend the night so that we could try and see the light house the next day.
Day 5: Bandon to Crescent City
We started out our day by walking around some of the small town shops in Bandon and visited the Bandon Lighthouse and then headed on to Cape Blanco.
So... Cape Blanco ended up being super windy and freezing cold:
I think this picture sums up how our visit to Cape Blanco went...
...Back on the road again it was sunny and warm. It's amazing how quickly the climate and weather changed along the highway.
Leaving Oregon and headed into California
It's amazing but there was a big difference between Oregon and California. Oregon seemed more green, clean and sophisticated. As we entered California the stops along the way weren't as clean and the groups of tourists we different as well. Odd...
Our first stop in California was driving through the Jedediah Redwoods. Such a fun and simple drive, filled with large, beautiful and luscious trees.
We ended our day in just outside of the Jedediah Redwoods in Crescent City and spent the evening visiting a few scenic lookouts around town.
I thought this log looked really neat with the lines and movement left from the waves of the ocean during high tide.
Day 6: Crescent City to Garberville
We started out this day at "Trees of Mystery." In a way this is a huge tourist trap but at the same time it was a great way to see some unique trees in one location. Overall, I would say it was worth it; I enjoyed the walks, I didn't feel as if we were in big crowds and we got to see unique trees that haven't been disturbed.
My Dad and I with Mr. Paul Bunyan
My mom's very first "special" discount; she was really excited.
Trees growing out of the branches of another tree. The more the merrier... right?
We rode the gondola up to the top of the canopy to look out at all the trees. It was actually really pretty and the lookout showed nothing but the tops of trees for miles.
Back on the highway, headed for more redwoods, we stopped for lunch at this scenic overlook.
Mom and daughter look-alike pictures... why not!
Actually my cute mom wanted her picture taken here on this fence and she looked so great that I asked her to take my picture too.
The Drive Through Tree
Ok, we're pretty sure this wasn't THE Drive Through Tree but we drove through a tree and felt good about it.... "check!"
We stopped for more scenic-walks through forests of GIANT trees and marveled at their vastness.
After a fun but long day of enjoying beautiful nature we stopped in a little town called Garberville to get some gas. Now, Garberville had quite the "personality." The town was completely run down, though nobody seemed to care, and it had a fresh-green-sweet but slightly skunky smell to it... oh wait... it wasn't a skunky smell, it smelt like majuana. We got quite the kick out of Garberville and had no intention of staying there... and then we looked at the map and realized that the next feasible stop was an hour away and we were getting hungry and tired. So... Garberville it was! Surprisingly enough we found a nice Best Western to spend the night and we topped the night off with ice cream and going to a movie.
Day 7: Garberville to Reno
We must have been getting tired because no pictures were taken on this day. We left Garberville and headed over and down to Mendocino. Mendocino is a small quaint coastal town that has a Maine/New England feel to it. This is the town where the scenic and exterior shots for Murder She Wrote were filmed. We spent the later-morning and early-afternoon walking around the town, shopping at the farmer's market and eating lunch out on a patio. Mendocino was our "we have to at least make it here" stop for our entire trip. We had the wish to make it farther but we knew we would be satisfied making it at least here. After one last look at the ocean we headed inland towards home.
We drove through Sacramento and on to Reno. I've never been to Sacramento or any of it's surrounding areas but I thought the long drive through the rural fields around it was very calm and beautiful.
Day 8: Reno to Salt Lake City
After spending the night in Reno we made our last leg of our trip back to home. Let's just say... it was a LOT of driving.
Overall, this was one incredible trip and I wouldn't change anything about it. I do feel like I only got a taste of everything and I would love to go back to the places and stops that were highlights for me and spend more time at each of them.
