In early January, Holly and I took a trip to the Oregon Coast. The fog and haze in Boise stretched nearly all of the way to the Ocean. We did see one patch of blue sky while crossing the Blues. The Newport coastline was under nightfall when we arrived. We awoke in the morning to crashing waves, tan beaches, and fresh air from a blue sky! The haze was behind us! This was our first trip to the Pacific since we moved to Boise. We love Boise and we love the Ocean. Is there a way to combine the two?
We spent the weekend on the Newport beaches and cascade mountains. The Heceta Head lighthouse was just one of the light houses we visited. We also walked to the two Yaquina lighthouses. We could not get enough of the Cape Perpetua rain forest. We stayed out past dark (I think this is o.k. since we are married!). In fact, we hiked into the dark all three nights that we were in Oregon. I think I have a bad influence on Holly!
Multnomah falls and Ditch Creek falls have been added to our list of great little hiking trips. Multnomah falls is easily accessible about an hour East of Portland along I-84. It was cold and windy and approaching dusk when we arrived but the evergreens rebuffed much of the wind for us as we walked up the trail. The falls were gorgeous and inspiring. Falling over 300 feet, the water comes from melting snow high in the Olympic national forrest. Later on in our trip we visited Ditch Creek Falls which is near the coast. We reached the cascading falls after a two to three mile walk through the rain forest. Our camera could barely focus on the falls because we were once again hiking at sunset. We gazed at the falls from a hanging bridge that spanned a canyon much deeper than we once assummed.
We enjoyed the fresh seafood in Newport. We always chose dishes that included seafood caught in Newport when possible. Does anyone out there have a great clam chowder recipe so that Holly and I don't have to travel 600 miles for a fresh bowl every time we get a craving?
We returned home to our beautiful children that had stayed with Uncle Matt and Aunt Melissa. Holly and I are fortunate and our children are fortunate to have Matt and Melissa close by. Sylvan, Marinn, Korie, and Hyrum all think that they had more fun staying with their cousins, aunt, and uncle than we did at the coast--and they didn't have to buy any unleaded for their vacation!
Holly and I love to be in the outdoors together. We love to hike along the peaks and play in ocean waves. We have explored the countryside together in Utah, California, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Idaho. (Can we count Nevada if we have traveled the icy I-80 through Reno and the Sierras?) We love Point Reyes, the Tetons, La Jolla Shores, Torrey Pines, Red Fish lake, Moab, the Uintahs, the Redwoods, and the Santa Rosa Plateau. Newport provides a wonderful combination of many of these; for in Newport we hiked in the Cascade mountains and walked along Pacific beaches on the same weekend!
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