Updates

Fran Terry 8/5/21 Fran Terry 8/5/21

08.05.21 Mill Valley

08.05.21 View of SF in the fog from a kayak near Sausalito

©08.05.21 Another great adventure with Jen

©08.05.21 This guy was on the dock when we left and came back. Enjoying the sunshine.

Fran Terry 8/4/21 Fran Terry 8/4/21

08.04.21 Mill Valley

Hung out at Claire’s today to do laundry and rest up my ankle which I sprained (again for the 15th thousandth time) late yesterday. Got to hang out on her back deck under the sail to enjoy the warm weather and the breeze. Even had a bit of nap outside later in the adternoon

We went into town to have dinner, which was yummy.

©08.04.21 Lazy day at Claire’s with Shep

Fran Terry 8/3/21 Fran Terry 8/3/21

08.03.21 SF to Mill Valley

Spent the day with Jen. We made a trek to the Legion of Honor to see Iliazd: Publishing as an Art Form and stumbled into the Last Supper in Pompei and Wangechi Mutu: I Am Speaking, Are You Listening? exhibits. All three were interesting and very different from each other. Afterwards we walked down to Lands End and back up the hill to the car in more typical SF weather than yesterday. Went back and had lunch with Kyle and the boys. Afterwards we walked over to Clement Street. It was a good day. Later in the afternoon I drove over to Claire’s in Mill Valley to stay for a couple of days.

©08.03.21 Legion of Honor - Pompei - Mosaic with tiny tiles

©08.03.21 Legion of Honor - Pompei - Mosaic

©08.03.21 Legion of Honor - Iliazd: Publishing as an Art Form

©08.03.21 Legion of Honor - Iliazd: Publishing as an Art Form - Pablo Picasso etching

©08.03.21 Legion of Honor - Wangechi Mutu: I Am Speaking, Are You Listening?

©08.03.21 Lands End - view of Golden Gate

Fran Terry 8/2/21 Fran Terry 8/2/21

08.02.21 Petaluma to SF

©08.02.21 Petaluma - Converted silk mill as hotel

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - jellyfish

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - Limantour Beach

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - quail in flight

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - lizzard

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - Limantour Beach area

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - Pt Reyes Lighthouse area

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - Pt Reyes Lighthouse water tower

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - Pt Reyes Lighthouse area - Farallon Islands in the distance

©08.02.21 Pt Reyes National Seashore - Pt Reyes Lighthouse

©08.02.21 SF - One of the many blooms in the backyard

Fran Terry 8/1/21 Fran Terry 8/1/21

08.01.21 Ukiah to Petluma

Got up and made the drive back to Highway 1 and Fort Bragg. Had breakfast on the headlands at Fort Bragg and then started the drive down Highway 1.

Made a stop in Mendocino and then had a late lunch in Gualala. Cut back inland to stay in Petaluma as again there are no campsites available.

Oh yeah, how is it already August?

©08.01.21 Pomo Bluffs, Fort Bragg - breakfast view

©08.01.21 Mendocino Headlands State Park

©08.01.21 Cool fence at Point Arena Lighthouse

Fran Terry 7/31/21 Fran Terry 7/31/21

07.31.21 Eureka to Ukiah

Spent a little time in Eureka this morning before I hit the road. Saw the coolest slide set up ever, found a book I was looking for and got to enjoy a bagel.

Headed off to Ferndale to check it out. Spent some time walking around downtown. Then headed out to the coast and the north end of the Lost Coast.

Then I worked my way down to Humboldt Redwoods State Park to drive the Avenue of Giants. Highly recommend doing it if you are heading north or south on Hwy 101. I also made a side trip over to Honeydew which is on the south end of the road to the Lost Coast. Didn’t find what I was looking for, but it was a beautiful drive.

I then headed down the road to hook up with Hwy 1. Drove down to Fort Bragg, only to discover it was going to cost close to $400 for the night if I tried to stay in town. All the campgrounds are full. So I found something cheaper in Ukiah, so made the drive back to 101. I’ll head back to 1 in the morning.

©07.31.21 How cool is this? I came across this slides at the Sequoia Park in Eureka.

©07.31.21 Lost Coast Headlands - Fleener Creek

©07.31.21 On road to Lost Coast Headlands - Fleener Creek. Yes, that is a zebra. I had to check 3 times before I processed I had seen a zebra. Ended up doing a u-turn to take a photo.

©07.31.21 Humboldt Redwoods State Park - Avenue of Giants

©07.31.21 Humboldt Redwoods State Park - Avenue of Giants - Giant Tree

©07.31.21 First ocean overlook on the north end of Highway 1

Fran Terry 7/30/21 Fran Terry 7/30/21

07.30.21 Cave Creek Campground to Eureka, CA PT.2

©07.30.21 Redwood Highway - First construction stop view

©07.30.21 Redwood Highway - Second construction stop view

©07.30.21 Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

©07.30.21 Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park - Big Tree

©07.30.21 Humboldt Lagoons State Park - Freshwater Lagoon

Fran Terry 7/30/21 Fran Terry 7/30/21

07.30.21 Cave Creek Campground to Eureka, CA PT.1

Got up and got the car packed before I had a quick breakfast. Stopped to get ice before I headed into CA and my explorations of the CA Redwood State and the National Parks.

Took a detour through Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park to see the Stout Memorial Grove. A great way to get off Highway 199 and cut across to Highway 101 in Crescent City. It was a beautiful drive .

Stopped in Crescent City to get lunch and gas. OMG gas was expensive!!!

Headed down 101 thru the Redwood National and State Parks. With some road construction delays. Can think of much worse places to be stuck for an hour or so....

Made a couple of side trips to see a couple of scenic drives. Well worth the detours. Took a lot of photos today.

©07.30.21 This is a GIANT sign. It was at the turn for the campground.

©07.30.21 Jedediah Smith State Park - Stout Grove

©07.30.21 Jedediah Smith State Park - Stout Grove - people for scale

Fran Terry 7/29/21 Fran Terry 7/29/21

07.29.19 Watkins Campground to Cave Creek Campground

Took a walk along the lake this morning after packing up the car. It’s sad to see the water level down so much.

Headed along another FR that turned into a dirt road. Got me where I wanted to go. Headed to Cave Junction and the Oregon Cave National monument area. Where I found another great campground. Cave Creek Campground. Sites line both sides of the creek and are fairly sheltered from each other. Only. Inner part is that really only one site has good access to the water and it was already occupied when I arrived.

Decided to unpack the tent for tonight as it is warm again. Hoping I’ll be a little cooler in the tent.

Also discovered it might be time for a new tent. The interior coating is starting to flake. It has been several years since I took it out of the bag so it is not all that surprising it might need to be replaced. Something to think about over the next little while.

Spent the afternoon setting up the tent, reading, coloring and took a short walk around the campground to get away from the flies for a bit.

©07.29.21 Early walk on the trail near campsite

©07.29.21 Early walk on the trail near campsite - Lake Applegate

©07.29.21 Early walk on the trail near campsite - these were too high to get to, but the one I did get was yummy.

©07.29.21 View from the back of my campsite at Cave Creek Campground

©07.29.21 Cave Creek through the middle of the campground

Fran Terry 7/28/21 Fran Terry 7/28/21

07.28.21 Grants Pass to Watkins Campground

Started the day out slowly. Reading a bit, updating the blog for yesterday and getting another shower in before I hit the road.

Ran into Medford to run some errands and try to track down a camping book for CA similar to the one I have for WA & OR that has been so helpful. No such luck. I’ll have to see if I can find one as I go. Did manage to track down a map for southern Oregon and Northern California that shows campgrounds. So between the app I have and the map, maybe I can find some more great places as I go.

Made my way back up into the Siskiyous this afternoon. Drove to a couple of different campgrounds near Lake Appleton to check them out. It has gotten really warm so I went with a shadier, cheaper option than the one right on the creek with flush toilets. It wasn’t as shady. Car said outside temp was 100. Ended up at Watkins Campground at the south end of Lake Appleton.

It has been nice to find these slightly out of the way and less crowded sites.

Fran Terry 7/27/21 Fran Terry 7/27/21

07.27.21 Island Campground to Grants Pass

Left the campsite this morning with a pretty good idea that the FR I was on would get me back to the coast without back tracking the way I had come in. Of course, I didn’t stop at the ranger station yesterday as I zoomed passed as I should have, but I figured if it didn’t go through I could always drive back. This is an adventure after all.

A bit of trepidation hit when I got to the top of the pass and had 3 ways to go, all where the pavement ended with no official signage. As luck would have it, some kind soul had made some signs out of paper plates. One sign said “This way” with a straight ahead arrow and another sign with a left arrow and “arggh” on it. I took a leap of faith that straight ahead was the way to go. Again figuring I could always turn back.

After 10 miles on a gravel road, I again hit pavement and signs that indicated I was heading where I wanted to go. All the while, thinking I was glad I got the Crosstrek with the higher clearance rather than the Imprezza. There were some doozy pot holes along the way. A couple of them were hidden in the shadows and I didn’t see them until I felt them.

Made my way back to highway 101 and in search of a shower. Had a beautiful day to drive down the coast and make as many stops as I wanted. Got into Brookings where I made a pit stop at a State Park where I knew they had showers. Only to find out they were for reserved campsites sites only. I knew I could get back over the mountains and into Grants Pass where I knew I had a better chance of getting a hotel room. Everything I had passed on my way down the coast was full.

So I made the decision to back track to near where I picked up the pavement again yesterday to hop on a different FR that would take me into Grants Pass. So I worked my way back up the coast to Gold Beach where I made the turn back up the Rogue River to FR 23 and the Bear Camp Coastal Route. Another pretty drive where at times it was a single lane. Thankfully it was later in the afternoon and not many people where going the other way.

Made it in to Grants Pass and got the much needed shower.

©07.27.21 Somewhere near the top of FR33

©07.27.21 In search of the Thomas Creek Viewpoint, which I never found

©07.27.21 In search of the Thomas Creek Viewpoint

©07.27.21 View from the top of Cape Sebastian

©07.27.21 Along the Bear Camp Coastal Route

Fran Terry 7/26/21 Fran Terry 7/26/21

07.26.21 Eel Creek To Island Campground

©07.26.21 Early morning view through the moon roof

©07.26.21 View from the top of the dune behind my car

©07.26.21 View from the dune behind my car

©07.26.21 On a clear day you might be able to see grey whales beyond the far dune from this spot.

©07.26.21 Instead today, there was a great view of this…. They’ve “circled the wagons” as if there is immediate danger from the rest of the RVers over the hill.

©07.26.21 Umqua — ©07.26.21 Umpqua River meeting the Pacific

©07.26.21 Umpqua River meeting the Pacific

©07.26.21 Lake Marie near Umpqua Lighthouse

©07.26.21 Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

©07.26.21 McCullogh Memorial Bridge to Coos Bay

©07.26.21 Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest - FR33

©07.26.21 This was a great little campground. Only 5 sites and only 2 other sites were occupied.

Fran Terry 7/25/21 Fran Terry 7/25/21

07.25.21 Albany To Eel Creek Campground

Started the day in Corvallis at a Laundry Mat doing some laundry before I took off for the coast.

Drove out Hwy 20 to Newport on the coast. Almost got blown away getting out of the car at the Jetty in Newport. Drove down 101 a little bit and had lunch at South Beach State Park with a short hike out to the beach where it was a little more protected.

Then it was off down the coast to Eel Creek Campground. Made a stop at Cape Perpetua and the lighthouse at Heceta.

©07.25.21 South Beach Jetty. Yaquina Bay Bridge

©07.25.21 Boardwalk to beach at South Beach State Park

©07.25.21 Wild apple tree at South Beach State Park

©07.25.21 Cape Perpetua, marine layer was pretty heavy here.

©07.25.21 Heceta Head Lighthouse State Viewpoint

©07.25.21 Heceta Head Lighthouse State Viewpoint - Cape Creek Bridge

©07.25.21 Eel Creek Campground. My campsite backed up to the Oregon Dunes Recreation Area.

©07.25.21 My Sounders listening post. Eel Creek Campground

Fran Terry 7/24/21 Fran Terry 7/24/21

07.24.21 Portland to Albany

Happy 15th birthday Phebe! Hope the rest of your birthday was as great as you had planned.

Thanks to Mimi, Darci and Phebe for hosting me for the night on short notice. Glad I got a chance to see you all and spend some time catching up.

©07.24.21 Phebe’s birthday cake is started

©07.24.21 Can you guess what it will be?

©07.24.21 This is as far as I saw on the progress. Starting to look a little like Crunchy.

Mananged to stay off I-5 except for about 2 miles of the trip to Albany from Mimi & Darci’s in Portland. Had a leisurely drive through the valley on back highways. It was a much more enjoyable drive than getting on the interstate.

Fran Terry 7/23/21 Fran Terry 7/23/21

07.23.21 Pendleton

©07.23.21 Good morning from Stacey’s backyard

©07.23.21 Part of a mural seen in downtown Pendleton.

©07.23.21 Fun sign seen in downtown Pendleton

Fran Terry 7/22/21 Fran Terry 7/22/21

07.22.21 White Pass to The Dalles

©07.22.21 Stream discovered at Leech Lake early in the morning.

©07.22.21 Leech Lake and White Pass at sunrise

©07.22.21 Mist rising off the lake at sunrise. It was about 38F this morning.

©07.22.21 Mt Adams and if you look really closely to the right is Mt Rainier’s snow covered top

©07.22.21 interesting gate on a barbed wire fence

©07.22.21 I definitely saw 3 of the 4 Mt St Helens was a little iffy.

©07.22.21 Wind turbine along the Columbia River Gorge

©07.22.21 Maryhill, Columbia River, Mt Hood

©07.22.21 Spent a lazy afternoon reading in Maryhill State Park

©07.22.21 Tall trees in Maryhill State Park

©07.22.21 Walls of the Columbia River Gorge

©07.22.21 Cherry Orchards near The Dalles

©07.22.21 The Dalles, Columbia River and Mt Adams

©07.22.21 (Stacey) So good to see Stacey, my very gracious hostess for the evening and tour guide. Great to catch up with you. It’s been too long.

©07.22.21 Thickest milkshake ever. I don’t think they actually used any milk. I had to go get a spoon.

Fran Terry 7/21/21 Fran Terry 7/21/21

07.21.21 And I’m off

License plates arrived yesterday, so I loaded up the car headed for Mt Rainier, my first stop on my adventures.

©07.21.21 Mt Rainier National Park wildflowers

©07.21.21 Mt Rainier National Park wildflower

©07.21.21 Mt Rainier National Park Sunrise Lake

©07.21.21 Mt Rainier National Park Indian Paintbrush

©07.21.21 Mt Rainier National Park - My view while I waited for road construction

©07.21.21 View of Mt Rainier from White Pass

©07.21.21 Leech Lake with White Pass Ski Area in the distance

©07.21.21 Leech Lake - huckleberries. They were delicious

Fran Terry 7/16/21 Fran Terry 7/16/21

07.16.21 Sequim

Today was a slow morning of packing the car up and heading towards Sequim where I was to meet up with Al & Cheryl for the Lavender Festival.

Made a stop at Lake Crescent on my way to get a different perspective. And then to kill some time while I waited for Al & Cheryl to arrive in the area, I spent some time on Dungeness Bay at Dungeness Landing County Park.

After meeting for lunch, we spent the next few hours driving to various lavendar farms. It was great to see how the various farms set up their operations. From one that looked to have been in business for a very long time to one that was just getting started. Highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area at this time of year.

©07.16.21 Boat dock on Lake Crescent. Yesterday afternoon when I stopped here it was wall to wall people. Much quieter in the morning.

©07.16.21 Trees along the shoreline of Lake Crescent

©07.16.21 Dungeness Landing County Park. Off in the far distance is Canada. In the nearer distance is Dungeness Spit

©07.16.21 Dungeness Landing County Park. Another rocky Washington beach. And no Trevor and Kirk I did not throw any. Too many small birds around.

©07.16.21 If only I had a better camera and lens for this shot of the sand pipers flying low across the ground

©07.16.21 Bald Eagle at rest, Dungeness Spit in the distance and Vancouver Island in the distance

©07.16.21 Al & Cheryl (too cool for school in her Ray Bans)

©07.16.21 Rancho La Morda - 1st year Lavender and flower farmers

©07.16.21 Rancho La Morda - We had to ask if this was a Dahlia too. It is! Verrone’s Obsidian is it’s name.

©07.16.21 Rancho La Morda - Cheryl with her new lavender wreath.

©07.16.21 Kitty B’s Lavender Farm - They had the most amazing daisies here. Tons of them too.

©07.16.21 Vintage 1880s quilt. I want to figure out this pattern and make one like it.

©07.16.21 Meli’s Lavender - tiny little strawberries

©07.16.21 Meli’s Lavender - Had to show Al & Cheryl how it’s done

©07.16.21 Nelson’s Duckpond and Lavender Farm - How would you like to have this in your backyard?

©07.16.21 Loaded on the Bainbridge Ferry to Seattle

©07.16.21 View of the Bremerton Ferry (which is no small boat) crossing paths with a parked Cruise Ship (the skyscraper on it’s side)

Fran Terry 7/15/21 Fran Terry 7/15/21

07.15.21 Olympic Peninsula

The test run or as Cheryl dubbed it, the maiden voyage with the car and a short hop out of town while I wait for my license plates.

The day started out early as I wanted to catch the first ferry from Whidbey to Port Townsend without a reservation in hand. Always tricky during the summer and when the system is down boats for a few months. I arrived at the Coupeville Ferry about 6:30am to catch a 7:15am boat. I was in luck and was the 4th non-reservation vehicle aboard.

My destination was a campground west of Port Angeles where I knew I could get a site with first-come, first-serve. The drive was about an hour an 20 minutes from the dock. I had high hopes for the campground as I had read good things about it. It was a beautiful setting, however all of the sites were very exposed and everyone was on top of each other. Not my idea of a good time. So I bailed on the campground figuring I might be able to find somewhere else later on. If not, I could make the drive back to Seattle and not camp this time.

My next stop was Olympic National Park and a drive up to Hurricane Ridge. Something that has been on my to do list for many years. Turned out to be a beautiful day for a drive. Farther up the mountain the wildflowers were in bloom and I was lucky to photograph many of them. Also the sun was out up at the higher elevations.

On my return to lower elevations, I pulled up an app I have that lists campsites and discovered a potential campground farther west than I had originally planned. I figured I had a better chance in this direction as fewer people head this far west on a whim.

I lucked out that Bear Creek Campground had a few sites available when I arrived. I lucked out to get the last one farther from the highway of the 3 still free. Also it turned out I could stay for free with my Discover Pass! Even better news, as I was going to have to pay for the original campground I was looking at. Free is always a bonus. No need to go hunting further for a place to stay for the night.

Below are some of the many photos I took today.

©07.15.21 View out the windshield while I waited for the ferry.

©07.15.21 Salt Creek Campground. Not quite what I was hoping for.

©07.15.21 Near the lower Elwha dam removal site

©07.15.21 Very dry grasses at the Olympic National Park Ranger Station

©07.15.21 Along the drive up to Hurricane Ridge the sun has come out, but down below it is still cloudy

©07.15.21 There’s still snow at the very top of the Olympics after the unbearable heatwave 2 weeks ago. Almost to the top of the road.

©07.15.21 Panoramic view across the valley from Hurricane Ridge

©07.15.21 Wildflowers along the road to Hurricane Ridge

©07.15.21 Hosta and wildflowers along the road to Hurricane Ridge

©07.15.21 Different perspective of the snow “covered” peaks

©07.15.21 Still cloudy down below on the way back

©07.15.21 Daisies along the road to Hurricane Ridge

©07.15.21 Lower elevations are still trying to peek through the clouds.

©07.15.21 Tree in bloom along the road to Hurricane Ridge

©07.15.21 Stump along the shoreline of Lake Crescent

©07.15.21 Bluebelle at our first camp site at Bear Creek Campground

©07.15.21 Testing out the in car sleeping arrangements. Good thing I’m not taller or wider or me and my stuff would never fit. Still have the tent along but also want to have this option available too.

©07.15.21 Sol Duc River below the campground.

©07.15.21 View straight up from the center of the campsite

Fran Terry 7/13/21 Fran Terry 7/13/21

07.13.21 Seattle

©07.13.21 Purple gladiolas blooming and sunflowers

©07.13.21 Pink and purple gladiolas blooming

Updates

Unscriptedtour.com