Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #21

Today we geared up for the next leg of our trip where we are heading to Glacier National Park!  We re-packed the truck because we had made a mess of things over the last 20 days (and accumulated a lot of yarn and books).  Once the truck was tidy, we struck out toward Kalispell, our next destination.  Along the way we went through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a quaint city on the Spokane River.  We went to a yarn store called Knit Knit, and got brunch at Strada Caffe.  Strada was cool because it was built with sliding garage doors as the entryway and the store was wide open and airy. 

Once we were done in Coeur d'Alene, we crossed over into Montana (and Mountain Time).  It was only a couple of hours after that to our Airbnb in Kalispell.  The scenery leading up along the western side of Flathead Lake was beautiful.  Once we got to Kalispell we checked in at the apartment and spent some time in downtown Kalispell.  We checked out Colter Coffee Roasters, which had a great atmosphere, and Katy even got her nails done at Nailtoepia.  For dinner we ate out on the patio at 406 Bar and Grill and both the weather and the food were fantastic.

What We Learned: Today we learned about Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  The city was named for the Coeur d'Alene people who were native to the area.  The name means "heart of an awl" and comes from the French traders of the 1700s-1800s who thought the native people were tough business people when trading with them.  The city seems like a nice place, especially in the summer.

For the day we traveled 228.8 miles and saw license plates for 25 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #20

Today we had breakfast in Hermiston and headed east again.  We were headed to Spokane for the evening, but in the morning we stopped at the Columbia Park Disc Golf Course so I could play disc golf for a while.  I only wound up playing a few holes because of how incredibly hot it was, then we took off for Spokane. 

Once we got into town (and the State of Washington) we grabbed a quick bite at Sonic and went to Paradise Fibers, where Katy picked up some Ancient Arts yarn.  We also stopped at Second Look Books because you can never have enough used books.

We decided to make it a relatively short day and stopped at the Comfort Inn and Suites Spokane Valley, which was one of the nicer hotels on the entire trip.  We rested and went out for a sit down dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is an Italian restaurant with locations across the country, but almost always has the same theme with a trolley car in the restaurant.  The food was spectacular and we actually got to sit in the trolley car itself.  On the way to the restaurant we also saw a Delaware license plate!

What We Learned: Today we learned about the Old Spaghetti Factory (mostly mentioned above) and its history of having Italian restaurants that serve great local ingredients in a quaint setting.

For the day we traveled 220.8 miles and saw license plates for 21 states and 2 Canadian provinces (saw Delaware!).

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #19

Today we woke up at our Airbnb and walked up to the nearby Insomnia Coffee Company and had a nice breakfast. 

We headed toward Hermiston, OR, but stopped in Portland on the way.  We were able to visit a couple of yarn stores (Knitting Bee and Knit Purl), but my favorite destination was Powell's Books, the world's largest independent bookstore.  We saw lots of books and may have bought a few as well :). 

After Powell's, we took Katy to Starlight Knitting Society, where she was able to meet one of her favorite knit designers, Mara Catherine "Orange Knits."  She was very excited and got to talk with her for a bit.  When Katy was done at the yarn shop, we had a delicious lunch at one of the food trucks in downtown Portland, Grilled Cheese Grill. 

When we were done with our Portland adventure, we headed east toward Hood River, where we gassed up and got some Starbucks.  Here we got off the main road and took the Fruit Loop Road where there were lots of fruit stands, shops, and excellent scenic vistas.  We stopped a few times along the way, notably at Foothills Yarn and Fiber, where we petted some Alpacas, and Lavender Valley, where there was a giant field of lavender with a background of Mount Hood.  The weather was a bit warm, but otherwise perfect and made for some great views.

Our last stop of the day was the Comfort Inn and Suites Hermiston, OR and we had built up enough hotel points to get a free night!

What We Learned: Today we learned all about lavender.  The flowering plant is mostly grown for its oils, which have a recognizable smell that is pleasant to most.  The flower is marketed for a variety of uses and is even used frequently in cooking.

For the day we traveled 249.5 miles and saw license plates from 21 states and British Columbia.

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #18

We packed up the campsite and headed out for Cape Meares Lighthouse. A short drive up the coast took us way up a cliff and above the Lighthouse. We could see the light at the parking lot and there was a neat informational display to view. The hill was very steep but it was super cool to see the building up close. There was also a great view of the three arch rocks across Cape Lookout.

After the lighthouse we went into Tillamook to check out the Cheese Factory! We grabbed lunch at the Creamery Cafe and had some amazing grilled cheese and macaroni. We also had some fantastic ice cream.

In Tillamook's downtown we stopped in at Tangled Yarns. I found some great local dyed yarn, Alexandra's Crafts from south of Salem, Or. The shop owner told us all about the dyer and her trunk shows at the store and then mentioned she lived in Gentry, Ar for a while. It's always so nice to meet someone who has connections with home.

We then drove across the Coast Range and into Portland. Before we checked into our AirBnB for the night we went by Nitro Knitters in Beaverton. I loved this store. They had a great selection of local dyed  yarns. I bought a couple skeins. One from Nano Stitch Labs and one from Candy Skein.

At our AirBnB we got to order in Shogun Sushi and do lots of laundry!

What We Learned: Today we learned about the common murre.  When we went to the lookout point at the Cape Meares Lighthouse, there was lots of information about the murre.  From the viewpoint we could see the "Three Arch Rocks," which are a nesting place for hundreds of thousands of birds throughout the spring and summer.  One of the species that nest on the rocks is the common murre, and the rocks provide the largest nesting colony south of Alaska.

For the day we drove 111.4 miles and saw license plates from 20 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #17

Today we woke up in Sunset Bay State Park.  We had planned on seeing the 4th lighthouse on the Oregon coast from the state park, the Cape Arago Light, but we weren't able to see it.  The Cape Arago Light is not available to be seen up close by the public.  Then we left the park and went for breakfast at a local place called the Pancake Mill north of Coos Bay.  The breakfast was great and the service was just ok.  We also went to the nearby My Yarn Shop in Coos Bay that seemed to be just a small local yarn shop, but was actually a giant warehouse style yarn holding that surprised us both.

After the yarn store, we continued our tour of the Oregon coast with the Umpqua River Lighthouse, that we had previously visited in 2010 on our honeymoon.  The lighthouse had a spectacular viewpoint of the ocean nearby that we took advantage of as well.

The next stop was Heceta Head Lighthouse, where we were able to get a look at the lighthouse and a nearby rock with some sea lions.

We did manage to top that though, when we were able to see some gray whales off the overlook at the Cape Perpetua visitor center.  We had planned to get a distant view of the nearby Cape Perpetua Lighthouse, but we settled for the awesome view of the whales!

We were not expecting to be able to see the whales at this time of year, but it was fantastic.  Our next stop was in Yachats, Oregon, where we got Katy some coffee at the Green Salmon Coffee Shop and me some ice cream across the street at Toppers Ice Cream, Espresso, and Candy.  We took our goodies to the nearby Beachside State Park and sat by the beach while we enjoyed them.

We took in the sights of the coast and saw two more lighthouses (Yaquina Bay and Yaquina Head) before getting to our destination for the day; Cape Lookout State Park.  Overall, this experience on the Oregon coast has been much more pleasant than our experience in 2010, in large part due to the weather.  Back then when we came through here, it was cold and rainy, even in June.  The past few days it has been sunny, warm, and quite clear for mostly wonderful views of the coast.  Cape Lookout has a great beach that we watched the sunset on and then had a nice campfire before bed.  Tomorrow we head inland.

What We Learned: Today we learned about the Oregon dunes.  We obviously knew that Oregon had lots of coastline, but what we didn't know much about were the Oregon dunes.  The dunes are not just on the immediate coast, but rise up to 500 feet as much as two miles from the shore.  This is due to the thousands of years of wind and sea erosion that have pushed the sand back this far.  They are a major tourist attraction to the area and have been made into the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

For the day we traveled 178.2 miles and saw license plates from 34 states and 3 Canadian provinces.

Epic Road Trip 2017 - Day #16

We packed up camp for our final morning of 8 days in California and the Redwoods and headed for breakfast at Lety's Cafe in Rio Dell, CA by finishing out our drive down the Avenue of the Giants. The food and service were great. In fact it was probably the best breakfast croissant sandwich I've ever had. The only negative we had was the local guys who came in toward the middle of the meal who made mean comments toward the employees and then discussed politics at the lunch table.

After breakfast it was back out to the coast and on the road to Eureka, CA where I picked up a Starbucks and we stopped in at Northcoast Knittery. I loved the Northcoast Knittery. They had a great selection of mid to high end yarns with some exclusive local fabulousness (Ferndale Farms!). I picked out a single skein of Ferndale Farms worsted weight in Dark Moss and two skeins of Studio Donegal Soft Donegal in a dark purpley tweed. We had excellent customer service and I would highly recommend the store to anyone who wants to visit. While I was in the yarn store, Dean visited Eureka Books and found several books including a first edition of Clan of the Cave Bear.  We thought Eureka is a neat town and one that we would consider living in in the future.

Back on the road we drove up through more National and State Redwood Parks. The visitor center was very informative and the staff was very helpful in picking out a possible hike/drive for the day.

Further up the road we grabbed lunch in Crescent City and then stopped in at A Perfect Yarn. This tiny shop was crammed full of yarn and lovely people. I found a skein of 100% Alpaca (Kahlua)  from Russell Ranch out of Carlotta, CA.

Here is Tucker as we entered Oregon just north of Crescent City and started our lighthouse tour on the coast.

Pelican Bay Lighthouse was up first- it is the newest, being lit in 1997 and was smaller than we thought.

Next was Cape Blanco

Then the Coquille River Light house

We finally reached our campsite at Sunset Beach State Park, just south of Coos Bay. We quickly set up camp and then headed into town to eat at Little Italy in Coos Bay. We loved the food, generous portions, and the service. It was super enjoyable and we ate on the left overs the next day too!
We finished up dinner and thought we might be able to make it back to the Bay for sunset but the clouds had rolled in. Our campsite was nice though a bit crowded and a little loud.

What We Learned: Today we learned all about the lighthouses of the Oregon coast.  There are 11 lighthouses along the coast of Oregon and we planned to see most of them, and had only previously visited one (Umpqua).  Each light has its own characteristics and stories.  The first was the Pelican Bay Lighthouse, very near the southwestern border, close to the town of Brookings.  It was the newest of the 11 lighthouses, built in 1997 and owned privately.  Today we also saw the Cape Blanco Light (oldest on the Oregon coast), and the Coquille River Light.

For the day we travel 306.7 miles and saw license plates from 26 states and British Columbia.