OREGON

    Back down 62 heading for Medford again. Back into civilized territory more or less at 11:49, temp 50, still lined with pine trees but not tall ones with no limbs for quite a few feet but filled-out ones with boughs down to the ground, the road to Mill Creek Falls. Peyton Bridge at Lost Creek Lake, Rogue Elk Park at Elk Creek, Lewis Creek, and the road to Canyonville.
    Oregon 234 at 1:24 and the Dodge Bridge over the Rogue River, Gold Hill at 1:38 and back on I-5 at 1:48. More great country, pine-covered mountains off to my left, just row upon row of them, a hazy sky with the sun shining through the haze. Grants Pass at 1:58, clouds over a mountain make it look like a mountain blowing its stack. Denny's at Grants Pass for coffee and English muffin. Sexton Mountain Pass elevation 1960 north of Grants Pass, surrounded by mountains again. Stage Road Pass elevation 1830, Douglas County at 2:45. Up and then down through really fpine-filled lopes, down in a valley, surrounded by pine-covered hills of Oregon, not as spectacular as Grand Canyon or Yosemite but a magnificent beauty all its own. Canyon Creek at 2:57. Canyonville exit at 3:00.
    If I had taken a right turn to the North Gate coming down from Crater Lake instead of a left, it probably would have saved me an hour or even more. But, without an Oregon map, I decided to take the safe route, not realizing I had the maps from Crater Lake. Big orange rock scar on the hillside just past Canyonville, probably natural. Lots of black and white csttle, some all black, small rounded hills, the towns of Riddle and Myrtle Creek TriCity at 3:05, temp 60, the pine-covered hills dotted with patches of pasture land. Some trees in bloom here, probably fruit trees, very pleasant country with the trees in pink and white bloom, green glass, nice looking houses, an animal shelter, pines on the hillside, the Umpaqua River. Brown Ferry, Clarks Branch. What incredible country this is, like something out of a children's book, rolling green hills with purple mountains in the distance, houses on the hillsides, blue houses, light green one, brighter green, bright green shed, a red shed weathered until its pink, bright green grass, what looks like a llama, incredibly beautiful country, cattle out grazing. Coos Bay, Grant Smith Road. A bunch of ramshackle unpainted sheds, Niaqua River down there, a vulture hovering over the road and river, a couple of women walking along the river on a paved path. Garden Valley Boulevard, Diamond Lake, Edenbower Boulevard, Shan's Restaurant, Calapooya Creek, vista opening up of bright green hills with dark hills behind them, Metz Hill. Eugene at 4:34, temp 60. Sky overcast but clumpy with tiny patches of blue everywhere. The Mackenzie River.
    Into Salem at 5:25, off I-5 at 5:34, passing the 45th parallel. Ray and Carol's at Offenbach Court at 5:43, temp 56. I took them to an Oriental restaurant and we got much more food than we could possibly eat, which Ray and Carol took home with them.
    I met Ray Locke at New Haven State Teachers College in 1957 and we hung around together until I left for NYU, still seeing each other regularly whenever I was in town until he moved, first to Cleveland (where I visited them once) then to Salem (where I visited them in 2005).

Otter Rock

    Cape Foulweather. Rock Creek, just below the Whale Cove Inn, and south of Depoe Bay, Whale Watching Capitol of the World, World's Smallest Harbor. Passed Boiler Bay. Tsunami Warning Zone. Siletz Bay looks like a swamp, a lot of tree stumps in the water.     Lincoln City at 10:44, past Route 18 at 11:00, heading north on 101 on virgin territory for me, swampy area off to my right, great big grassy valley to my left, including the river that forms the swamp, standing water on the left then the hills that form one side of the valley. Old birches or aspens alongside the road, not very big but very shaggy, looking beaten down. Welcome to Tillamook County again, mostly pines, occasional aspen, on both sides of the road. Siuslaw National Forest, more aspens among the pines. Neskowin, a rather swampy looking lake off to my left, aspens to my right, pines everywhere. Winema Wayfinding Point. Rolling hills and farms, mild curves--I might just as well be in New England as in Oregon. The Busty Cow, maybe an antique store, in a small town somewhere in Tillamook County. The town of Hebo, Yellow Dog Espresso. The town of Beaver (maybe), no town sign but several businesses The Beaver this and The Beaver that. A creek babbling alongside the road, a trickling coming down a rock face to it. Flat country now, a range of mountains rising ahead of me, starting to my left then going and going off to my right to somewhere behind me. Another air museum with a jet fighter on a pole, a jet fighter popsickle. Entering Tillamook at 10:51, a logging truck ahead of me.
    The Shilo Inn Restaurant at 10:58 for a BLT and coffee. Rain coming down finally, what looks like a girder bridge made out of cement. A real girder bridge over the Kilchis Riveroff to my left, probably a railroad bridge, and the Hathaway Slough.
    Welcome to Bay City at 12:35. To my right a mud flat, to my left a great big bay with no breakers although it's choppy, Garibaldi at 12:40 after a big U turn around that big wide bay, whatever it's called, a small line of passenger cars, the last one of which was open and looked like a trolley car. M'wa Pink Pig, the Umpqua Bank, a couple of long piers with shacks at their ends. Couple of big islands out there, one very long and narrow, incredible rocks jutting out from the ocean. Looka lmoat like Canada now with the pines, a railroad line that bisects a body of water on a roadbed across the water. 12:55, past Jetty Creek, which is past Rockaway Beach, rain coming down pretty heavy now, over a river or bay with a big sandy beach on the other side of the water. Welcome to Wheeler and Paradise Cove at 1:00, a big flat green island out there in Nehalen Bay. Nehalen at 1:04, a good old western town with those square storefronts with a roof over the sidewalk and a second floor. Welcome to Manzanita on the Beach, the Neahkanie Beach, at 1:09, and the Neahkanie Mountain at Oswald West State Park. Necarney Creek, big mountains rising ahead of the road. Welcome to Clatsop County at 12:18. Still got some pretty good breakers going out there at Archer's Creek. Down to the beach, such as it is, breakers not as impressive as down the coast but still pretty incredible, breaking way out, pretty high, a kind of sea cave in the cliff at Silver Point south of Cannon Beach. Entering Seaside at 11:45 and Gearhart at 1:52.

    A big long scary iron girder bridge, one lane each way, the bridge itself ends and now we're on a long causeway going across the water, more girders up ahead at the other side of the bay or whatever, probably over a mile wide, into Washington state.