Portland Oregon to Ft. Bragg California

Went out with several friends, Colin and Donna-Lee for my going away dinner so on the spur of the moment we decided to go to McMenamins Edgefield.  They had music concerts playing in several locations on the grounds.  There were many small bars tucked away all over the property.  We danced, sang, ate and partied until almost 12:30 so it was after one before I went to sleep.  I awoke at 5:00 AM to finish packing and loading my rig.

It was an emotional exit with Jan and Nate as I was holding back since the news of my bother-in-law’s passing.  As I left Portland Oregon it was 6:30 AM and the rain was starting to fall.  By the time I drove from Gresham into Portland to get on the 205 it was pouring.  The kind of rain that one expects of Seattle and Portland, in the south we use a term “it came up a big cloud” which usually means a gully washer.  With this pouring it brought with it a release for me with Doug my brother-in-law.  All the emotions, concerns, anxiety, and pent up anger all came out during the drive from Portland down past Salem.  For a couple of ours it was my own “trail of tears” as I released it all in the privacy of my rig with Zac Brown music playing along the way.

As I climbed and drove up Willamette Pass the markers for 1,000 feet, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 feet it started to stop raining with the clouds parting a little.  At the peak 5,128 feet and the ski resort I was done with my grieving for the time being and headed down the mountain towards Crater Lake National Park.  I passed a sign for Waldo Lake and wanted to stop for a photo with Placido for a Where’s Waldo with Placido Flamingo in southern Oregon.  It struck me funny after the last hour’s mood.

I stopped and took a picture in the rain with Placido Flamingo and drove to the ranger station.  The ranger as I handed my America the Beautiful Pass to the ranger he told me conditions up top along the craters edge road was miserable with fog and blowing snow at 11:15 AM.  I proceeded up the road for several miles reaching the loop road and turning toward the village along the crest.  It was snowing and foggy so you could barely see other vehicles coming toward you.  I stopped at one of the pull offs to see over the edge but with the fog could not see thirty feet down the cliff.  It was snowing as I got back in the car and headed toward the Redwood forests in California.   

I stopped for a photo at 3 PM at the California border.  I arrived in Crescent City and the Pacific Ocean at 4 PM and took a video and photos.  It was still overcast with some rain showers so I decided to continue towards what I knew were clear weather to stop for the day. I arrived at “The Avenue of the Giants” around 6:30 PM and proceeded to drive through the different groves of giant redwood trees.  It was still sunny and clear out but the thick canopy of trees made it necessary to turn on the headlights to navigate the roadway through the park.

At 8 PM I arrived at the “drive through redwood tree” in Leggett.  The lady working the entrance was very nice and we talked briefly before heading to the tree.  There was a nice campground there but I continued back to the coastal highway hoping to catch the sunset over the ocean.  I missed it by a few minutes but still had a beautiful view overlooking the ocean.  I stopped several places along the way as the light hues went from the reds, oranges, to purples and grays as the light faded.  I arrived in Ft. Bragg at 9:30 PM after a fifteen hour day of driving.  Almost 775 were miles driven with all kinds of weather for the day.  A new series of horizons will be around the bends for today’s drive.  Weather is clear, low 70’s so should be an interesting day.


Ice

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