The Two of Us

Today we're going home. We drove out of our campground, turned east and headed home. As we travelled across Oregon we were amazed at how beautiful the state is and how many different types of terrain we saw. The coast is sandy beaches and rocky cliffs with fir trees. Inland we went through lush forests and streams. Lots of areas have been logged and there are thin strips of trees along the road and behind them bare ground with ugly stumps. We passed lots of trucks hauling logs. Then we were in a desert and then rocky cliffs along the Columbia River and then we found ourselves climbing up and up on Mt. Meachem, over 4000'.

The first photo shows Mt. Hood from the highway, then the Columbia River with wind mills creating electricity. We also saw two large dams on the Columbia.

The Silly Season is Back

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Yellow Submarine

Today we are staying in Newport Beach and this morning we visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It is a nice facility showcasing aquatic animals and sea birds that live along the Oregon coast. We saw sea otters, seals, sea lions and lots of fish. There was a huge tank with sharks and rays and a giant red octopus. They also have an aviary with tufted puffins, murres, guillemots, oyster catchers and penguins. The first two photos are a sea otter and a tufted puffin.

Later we drove to the historic Bay Front and had lunch at a waterfront restaurant. The third picture is a baby sea gull in his nest just outside the window. Finally found some good clam chowder and great views too. Afterwards we walked to a dock noted for harbor seals, but there were none to see. We drove around and saw Nye Beach and then spent the rest of the day resting. The last photo is a beautiful sunset taken from our campground.

Of Haystacks and Road Trips

Driving down the Oregon coast has been one of the pleasant surprises of our trip. US-101 runs down the coast in Washington and Oregon (and on down into California). We've been on the 101 in California. Ho hum. It's yet another 4 lane expressway. Here in Oregon its a (mostly) 2 lane road that runs right down the coast.

This is NOT the Jersey shore. Much of the road is 50-80 feet above the water. There are beautiful homes on top of the cliffs with VERY long staircases going down to the water. And -- unlike the Jersey shore (or Hilton Head for that matter) -- there is stuff in the water. Not seaweed or syringes or that kind of stuff, but rocks -- BIG rocks. Judy will fill you in on the details, but these are called haystacks, and that's what they look like.

Some of the beaches are beautiful, but swimming is not done -- in some cases not allowed. The water is COLD. The air isn't warm either with a typical July high of 70. (We haven't seen it much above 62.) But that doesn't stop people -- lots of people -- from enjoying the beach. The tide here tends to leave a wide, hard-packed surface at low tide. This allows lots of hard-packed sand for people to play on. Sand castles, names in the sand, and crazy 3-wheel beach bikes are some of the favored activities. And don't forget kite flying. The constant breeze is a kite flier's delight.

But this is one of the great things about road trips. You never know what is around the next corner. It can be a mechanical problem (Oh, yes. We've had our share!), or a view that will take your breath away. You have to REALLY like to spend time driving, but there's nothing else like it.

Summertime

Continued south on the coast and saw more incredible scenery. This is different from the east coast shoreline as the road is up on cliffs and the beaches are below. We stopped at every view point and saw lots of rocks and beaches. The road moved inland for a while and we were in dairy farm country. The town of Tillamook is famous for its dairy cooperative and they have a large factory where you can see cheese being made and buy delicious ice cream. We hadn't had lunch yet so we chose to have vanilla shakes as brunch. Very delicious!

More beautiful scenery and we stopped for lunch in Lincoln City and finally had some good chowder. Continued to Newport where we plan to spend two nights. We're staying at the City of Newport Marina and RV Park and it is nice. We opted to stay in and relax all night and did take a walk along the marina where we saw a large seal.

Grass Not So Green in Canada

We all know the American health care system is a mess. Too many underinsured. Insurance premiums too high. (I speak with some authority here. Judy and I are paying almost $20,000 per year for medical insurance.) Lots of other problems as well.

As do many other people I have looked at Canada as a model for what our health care system should be. Taxes (albeit high ones) cover everyone in Canada. There may be a wait for some surgeons and other specialists, but everything gets taken care of in a timely fashion.

Not so fast!!!!!!

On our way through Vancouver we met up with Bobby & Susan, two of the guests from our trek who happened to be staying in the same campground. We had enjoyed their company and looked forward to spending some time with them, but that wasn't to be.

A couple of years ago Bobby had had both knees replaced. As a result of the surgery he acquired a staph infection that took several more surgeries to get rid of. The complications could have been fatal.

In Vancouver Bobby started not to feel well, and his calf started swelling. After a couple of days Susan took him to a walk-in clinic who in turn sent him to an emergency room. The ER did a couple of blood tests and gave him some Tylenol 3. Susan, who has worked through these problems with Bobby before, asked for an antibiotic. She was told that their policy was not to use antibiotics because their overuse can lead to resistant strains of bacteria.

The next day his knee started to swell and became very hot. She went back to the clinic who told him to stay off his feet. Meanwhile Bobby had a blinding headache and his leg was swelling, hot, and painful. Susan, being sure that this was related to the knee surgery, asked to see an orthopedist. She was told there would be a ONE YEAR WAIT!!!!!!

Susan insisted that they drive across the border and have a US doctor take a look. They drove to Bellingham, Washington which is only an hour (plus border crossing time) away from Vancouver. The ER took one look at his leg and admitted him to the hospital.

He has a staph infection in his leg that is antibiotic resistant and it has spread to his bloodstream. Had they let it go it could have proved fatal. As it is Bobby may have to spend up to a month in the hospital.

We met a man up in the Yukon last year who made his living carving items from burled wood. His work was beautiful. He had to stop because he developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from the work. He was able to get the surgery done but he had to wait over six months. During that time he was unable to work.

So these stories makes you stop and think. Our health care system has its problems, but Canada's sucks! If these stories are representative of their system they have major problems.

What's the solution? Beats the hell out of me. It's way above my pay grade. But the next time I complain about our system I will certainly remember Bobby.

You Light Up My Life

Woke up to gloomy weather and drove south to the bottom of Washington state where we visited the area where Lewis and Clark finally found the Pacific Ocean in 1805. First stop in the state park was the North Head Lighthouse where we climbed to the top and admired the view. This is one of two lighthouses that protects ships from the wild currents where the Pacific meets the mouth of the Columbia River. Next I visited the Interpretive Center which had an excellent display of the Lewis and Clark journey and lots of information about the members of the Corps of Discovery including Sacagawea and her husband and baby.

We crossed the Columbia on a very long series of bridges into Oregon and that let us add one more state to our map. Immediately the scenery became awesome. I had no idea this is such a gorgeous state and the coast continues to suprise me with broad sandy beaches and rock formtions. Highway 101 goes along the coast passing through beach towns and passing state parks and cliffs and millions of trees. Everywhere you look is a treat for the senses.

We stopped at Fort Clatsop to see where the Lewis and Clark group spent the winter of 1805/1806. They built this small fort for protection and spent the rainy winter gathering meat and boiling water for salt for their return trip. Took a hike and saw some neat ferns and lichen.