One way, uphill, narrow dirt, numerous switchbacks: Sounds like fun!!

On the starting line..with the warning sign

The driver's side of the road goes straight down into the valley

The left side poles are warnings to road workers:  Stray and may not find your remains

ESTES PARK, CO - - Today was adventure time.  We arrived in Estes yesterday after a 40-mile west to east drive through Rocky Mountain National Park to get there.  This morning we figured a short, 9-mile drive on the original  road (built between 1913-20) to Fall River Pass (11,794') would be a bit of a challenge, but very scenic.  My average speed on Old Fall River Road was, maybe, 10 mph if that tells you anything. 
      As the road is dirt, it is not groomed so there are pot holes; tight switchbacks with deep grooves worn by drivers with ambition, but little skill and drop-offs to make your heart flutter...a bit more fun then Glacier NP's Going-to-the Sun road.
     The photos can't do the ride justice.  The scenery is spectacular.  I was the one driving so I got glimpses between looking for potholes in shady sections and plotting serpentine paths around ditch-like grooves in the sharp turns. 
     The reviews Lydia read before we set out ranged from downright terrifying to great scenery to: been there, done that and not going back again.
     Myself:  I rather enjoyed it and having an astute observer is a great plus.   And who do you think shot the photos while I kept a tight grip on the steering wheel with both hands.

Around Steamboat

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO - - We've been in Steamboat for a week as we slowly wend our way back to OB.  This is sort of an in between time for the town.  Summer is over; Fall is quickly creeping in while Winter (and action on the ski slopes) will be right behind and SS will really begin to hum.
     And like nearly everyone else, we've adapted to go with the flow   literally.   Morning temps have been as low as 25-degrees while some days have hit the mid-70's.  There's an early morning mist on the Yampa River right near our campsite and a beautiful sunset when conditions are right.  Plus each day we can marvel at the constantly changing colors of the surrounding mountain-sides (we're at 6,500') and some of the trees on a close walking path.
     We leave tomorrow morning (Sunday) and will be crossing an 11,000' pass so we'll see even more intense leaf color.

Color in the garden

The artist in the photo center is capturing his 'masterpiece'  

Pinks...

green spiney bulbs...

...and purple dazzlers add to all the Fall colors

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO - - The Yampa River Botanic Park is a great example of community and business coming together to create an urban oasis.  The park, is managed the YRBPA,  a volunteer group which works many hours "to create an area free from traffic, commercials, and engineered society."
     The park's design "avoids straight lines with paths which twist and turn among the three-dimensional gardens and free-form ponds."
     This was a return visit to the Park for us  which is reached by a portion of the Yampa River Trail.  As always, depending on the time / season of the year there are colorful displays to wander among.

On the road to Steamboat Springs

A speedy shot of Bonneville

The valley of Blue Roofs.

It's pumpkin time at the farmer's market

A nice camp fire to warm a 26-degree morning in SS

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO - - We cleared the bad weather which had been chasing us about the time we reached Utah's famed  Bonneville Salt Flats.  The wide expanse of white terrain...the remnants of a long ago salt lake still survives up the road giving Salt Lake City its name.  Once a year in the optimum hot, hot and dry weather 'The Flats' attract a diverse attendance of two and four wheel participants seeking to set new land speed records.  Nearly 100 years ago before Bonneville came to fame Sir
Malcolm Campbell was blistering the sands of Ormond / Daytona Beach to render the area "The Birthplace of Speed".
    So now we've traded for cold rainy weather for clear, cold (26-degrees this morning) weather.  And cold wins every time.
    
    

It's cloudy out there!

ELKO, NV - -We've waved goodbye to California and hello to Nevada...for today and tomorrow (Friday).  However, the crappy weather which has followed us lately is still tagging along. 
     The wide open spaces of I-80 - - like the 40-mile desert - - are showrooms for huge, nasty looking cloud formations and heavy rain.  But if you put up with the on and off and on again nature of Thursday's rain you might get to see a vibrant rainbow
    

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Peak in the sun

The trail to the top starts here

The hail...

...was heavy enough to collect on the wiper blades

Our mascots were glad to be safe, dry and warm

SUSANVILLE, CA - - After a 'let's look for  a laundromat before we leave town' routine, we split from Yreka to begin our random trek back towards OB.  In this part of the country - - due to mountain range and wanna-be mountain range terrain there are very few straight-shot roads East / West or West / East.  Even the Interstates meander on a route of least resistance. 
     We hooked onto I-5, great if you're North or Southbound.  So we looked for roads off the I-mess and took the scenic route to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  We've been there before and it's a very interesting place, especially with the sun shining and recent snow covering the largest plug dome volcano in the world  (from a volcanic eruption 27,000 years ago and a more recent volcanic action between 1914-17).
     Our collective memories put our most memorable visit in 2006.  We'd finished our summer jobs in Alaska and were wandering down the 'Trail of Volcanos' from Oregon to CA.  The weather was quite nice when we got to the trailhead for a hike to the top.  The trailhead sits at 8,500' with the 'strenuous' trail rising up another 2,000'  in a 2-mile zig-zag.  And at the top, we met a group of ladies from Weight Watchers as they completed their climb. 
     Today, we stopped, looked around and took photos while the temperature dropped; the wind kicked up and very dark clouds roiled above us.  Which prompted the thought that it had snowed at Crater Lake yesterday.  Somebody must have been listening because it started to rain hard; snow flakes and hail then mixed in.  The 'snoosh' was quickly sticking to the trees, rock and road as we made our way to the nearby visitor's center...where the electricity soon failed. 
     Time to try and outrun the storm which we eventually did.

Wild Rivers Coast

CRESCENT CITY, CA - - We've been on the Wild Rivers Coast since Bandon, OR.  And, while we've seen a lot of 'wild' coastline we haven't seen any wild rivers.  But we've seen signs advertising rafting, boating and, my favorite, "Jerry's Rogue Jet Boats" for rides on the Rogue River.  The rides are 'wild' even when the river isn't
     We spent a rainy day (Sunday) in Crescent City and will Monday also waiting to get prescriptions filled at Wal-Mart.  Like McDonalds you can find a Wal-Mart within a reasonable distance of nearly anywhere we are headed.
     The accompanying photos are: (top) the beach at CC overlook; a very well fed squirrel at Battery Point Lighthouse Park; the choral group at CC harbor (harbor seals and sea lions); a feral kitty condo on the CC harbor overlook and the Battery Point Lighthouse as today's clouds gather for the afternoon rains.

Harris Beach OSP

From any angle...

Harris Beach is super photogenic

Captured in the shadows

BROOKINGS, OR - - We're within about 40 miles of the California state line.  This southernmost part of Oregon has some of the best coastline for photos:  numerous sea stacks; nice rolling waves and lots of small beaches for wandering. 
     Harris Stat Park is one such area.  The challenge is trying to get a campsite when they take reservations 9 months in advance. So, we content ourselves with roaming the day-use area and camping at another SP 8 miles off the 101.

I've seen the light

If this photo looks familiar, it is...just like a shot from a few years ago.

BROOKINGS, OR - - The lighthouse is located on Oregon's westernmost point, 60  miles north of Brookings.  It was commissioned in 1870 as an aid to shipping created by gold mining and the lumber industry.  The Cape Blanco Lighthouse is the oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon coast.

Double photos, same price

Rain...and a drawbridge

A fisherman's work doesn't stop for rainy days

Blubber-fest

Only five??  One is hiding

PORT ORFORD, OR - - We've had nearly three days of rain since the last post.  So we grabbed a motel we've stayed in before in Florence (for 2 nights) and did what you normally do...I read and surfed the net while Lydia attacked a 1,500 piece jigsaw puzzle.  The puzzle won this battle although not without a fight. 
     Yesterday, as we rolled south on 101 the rain continued until late afternoon.  Then, it turned to sunshine, when we headed out to North Cape Arago State Park.  The sea lions and seals were in fine tune clustered on large rocks (or small sea stacks) at Simpson Reef.  Most were a distance off shore, but I found a six-pack willing to pose for close-ups in a location nearby.
     Not being totally tech savvy...or wanting to lose the whole blog and pics, I published two of everything.

Yaquina Head lighthouse...on a grey day

The lighthouse

The mist has a way of 'shading' the land's features

Junior pine cones waiting for a 'jolt' of energy from the sun

NEWPORT, OR - -  Yes, we've been to the light house before.  It's become a regular stop on our way up or down the Oregon coast.  The weather always makes the area look different.  Today, it was no different.
     Yaquina (yak-kwih-nah) Head light house tower (93' on top of the 162' head of land) is the tallest on the Oregon coast.  It was first illuminated in 1873.

Waves, sea lions, ducks and maybe time for a beer or two

It was shoot and scrunch up to avoid the heavy spray of crashing waves

The ocean wave action at Depoe Bay slammed the breakers

(Oregon) Ducks in slickers and boots

Sea lion nap time where ever you collapse

Thanks for the invitation...but I don't drink

DEPOE BAY / NEWPORT, OR - -  Beverley Beach OSP is usually booked up when we come by earlier in the year.  Our opposite direction trek (Montana then Washington then Oregon)  is a nice change. So we decided to stay four nights and take the worry out of finding weekend acommodations.
     A stop in nearby Depoe Bay proved interesting.  Strong on-shore winds had whipped up the Pacific so that DB had big, crashing waves  every 5-6 surf cycles.  We dodged the spray fairly well but the Magic Bus needed a good 12-minutes in the car wash to make sure the salt spray got washed off.
     Newport is 12 miles from DB and 6 from the campground...a perfect combination.  College sports...mainly the U of Oregon Ducks ( basketball and football) are big thus lots of 'Ducks' souveniers...in corn yellow and evergreen.
     The Pacific Sea Lions are a regular in Newport.  Loud, boisterous and giant mounds of blubber, these mammals are surprisingly agile out of the water as they vie for space on the floating docks.  Pity the poor guy on the bottom of the rest-anywhere you want piles.  (These are male only groups as mom is off raising the family)
     And lastly, the inventive sign of the day.

Heading toward Oregon

Folks take advantage of a tidal pool

The fog rolls in along the shore

A commercial fishing trawler tides the waves (center top).

Crossing the Columbia River to Astoria, OR

SEASIDE, OR - - Our two day journey from Forks, WA to Seaside, OR (mainly) down US 101 was scenic and mostly gray...with a  teaser of sunshine.  Our campsite on Tuesday night was 'ocean side' with a bit of a walk, but no crashing waves.  It was quite windy with a blowing mist.
     Tonight (Wed.) we're in a motel in Seaside, OR so that we can spend hours watching the Weather Channel.  The good news:  no direct hit on the mainland at Daytona Beach / Ormond Beach.  We won't know what the wind and rain will trash until we hear from friends on the scene.