Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Traveling Oregon and California in our VW Bus ... 2016

After years of wanting to visit Oregon, we were finally able to make it happen. My husband and I decided there's no better way to experience the beauty of our country, than traveling and camping in our VW Bus.

NOTE: I started this post a year ago! Pathetic. 

Day 1: Murrieta, CA to Sacramento, CA

Nothing to say about this leg of our trip except it took 9 hours (the Bus moves at her own pace). It was 104 degrees and the bus doesn't have an air conditioner. 

Day 2: Sacramento, CA to Bend, OR

Once we hit Mt. Shasta, the scenery became beautiful. We took a detour to Crater Lake. It was breathtaking with its deep blue water, snow capped mountains and fresh air. Our only regret, we should have stayed overnight and did some hiking. From Crater Lake to Bend ... nothing but miles and miles of pine trees. The air smelled fantastic!
    






Day 3: Bend, OR
Bend was everything we dreamed it to be. The Deshutes River runs through town. Bike trails, running trails and breweries oh my! Bryan and I fell in love with Bend. The people were so friendly. Bend has everything an outdoorsy person could ever want. We stayed at Tumalo State Park Campground. So green and clean. The smile never left our faces.
 




















Our Bus met its twin! It wasn't hard to find the owner of the other Bus....his shirt kinda gave it away. 



Day 4: Bend, OR to Sisters, OR

On our way to Sisters, I insisted we stop at the Fun Farm. I found the Fun Farm on America's Roadside Attractions website. It's an eclectic antique shop that looked very interesting. I thought maybe I could find that perfect unique gift, but instead all we found was a man in the parking lot that told us it had closed down, but we could take photos of the "Farm." It was interesting, yet a "scary movie" feeling took over pretty fast. We thought for sure we were going to fall down a trap door to our deaths... Later I read that it had been closed down due to a drug bust. My husband said I lost the rights to picking out places to visit. I did, however, manage to capture some great photos.


   



   



Sisters, OR is a quaint little town. We were able to walk from our campground to downtown within minutes. We found an outside area with a food trucks, craft beer and live music. I
t was hard to leave. We met some interesting people and had a wonderful time. Deer roamed the town and our campground.

     

Day 5: Sisters, OR to Yachats, OR
We headed for the coast to Doug and Dee Dee's new home in Yachats. The drive was amazing. I got sick of hearing myself say, "It's so beautiful." 



The Oregon Coast did not disappoint. Doug and Dee Dee's new home was amazing. Yachats is a town comprised of 700 laid back, friendly people. Doug and Dee Dee's new home, located on coastal highway 101, directly across the street from the ocean was lovely. We immediately saw whales from their kitchen window. It was good to see old friends. They were wonderful hosts. 



Day 6 & 7: Yachats, OR
During our stay, we took several walks into town and enjoyed some pretty amazing seafood. We enjoyed the town's "La De Da 4th of July Parade" and several pieces of pie!


Day 8: Yachats, OR to Brookings, OR
We headed south down the coast. We camped at Harris Beach State Park. We were thrilled to find out we had the best campsite in the entire campground (Site #24). Look at that view. 



















Day 9: Brookings, OR to Humboldt Redwood Campground, CA
We were sad to leave Oregon, but excited to see the Redwoods! Or first stop of the day was in Klamath, CA at the "Trees of Mystery." It was here that my husband met his twin. 













We took the scenic route, Avenue of the Giants until we came to our next stop, "Burlington Campground." If you've never been to the Redwoods, you must put it on your bucket list. I fell in love. The trees were magical. They swayed all night and made spooky noises. 











Day 10: Avenue of the Giants to Bodega Bay Dunes, CA
Ever see the movie, "The Birds?" Well, they shot that movie in Bodega. I found the church that was shot during a panic scene and pretended birds were attacking me. I thought it was a little strange when people were looking at me through the church window. Surely, I can't be the first person to do this?! Turns out, I had the wrong church.
 

Day 11: Bodega Bay, Ca to Reality, Hometown, USA....boo
Heading home from a great vacation is depressing. We drove through some beautiful wine country and saw San Fransisco through the car window. The Grapevine (I-5) was on fire as we drove through it. It was 100 degrees and our eyes were burning. Mother Nature, please send California some rain....

We put 2,300 miles on our 39 year old VW Bus in 11 days without breaking down. Miracles happen everyday. Even though we were basically living out of a vehicle for two weeks, it was one of the best vacations I've ever taken. Thank you Oregon, we feel in love with you...