The Oregon Coast in July and August

We spent six weeks in Newport, OR on the Pacific Ocean so that we could avoid the periodic heat of Portland. It got into the 100s. Our plan to ride bikes, walk the beach, visit the tide pools, and just be active did not work out. First the winds blew for two weeks. They were so fierce that the coach shook. Then we both got a respiratory bug that really punched us hard for two weeks. Then I discovered that a pin that was put in one of my toes two years ago had not dissolved as it was supposed to do. It bent upwards and frayed rubbing any shoes that I wore. We drove to Portland and back in a day so that my original surgeon could remove it before it poked through my foot on its own. The recovery from that took 10 more days. That left us with four days. We used them well. Here are the few photos that we or our friend, Stephen Hill, took. I did get about 2,000 personal photos scanned onto my computer, put in many hours working on our genealogy, knitted, crocheted, tried new recipes, and whittled my stack of books down to two so not all was lost.

The Newport, Oregon bridge is the landmark for this town and it has many faces.

Ted Alby, III, Ph.D.

This the view from RV park. It is across Yaquina Bay to the condos at the Embarcadaro.
Hatfield Marine Science Institute and the Oregon Aquarium are along the walking paths across the street from where we are staying.

A view along the path.

Seal Rock, off of US 101, south of Newport, OR.

Looking south from Seal Rock.

Hecate Head Lighthouse

We had visits from five friends from Portland while we were in Newport. That is a plus of being within three hours of home and in a place people like to visit whether we are there or not. During our last four days Jenny and Steve Hill came. We visited the Oregon Aquarium to see all the beautiful changes that have been made since our last visits. Steve used my camera and taught me a few things that I didn't know it could do. I can't believe the close-ups that he was able to get.

Stephen Hill, Ph.D.

Sample of art seen in almost all of the fish tanks at Newport Oregon Aquarium, former home of Keiko.

Stephen Hill, Ph.D.

Japanese Spider Crabs that stand about 2 ft tall with bodies about a foot across. They were very creepy although they are said to be very docile.

Stephen Hill, Ph.D.
Jellyfish

Stephen Hill, Ph.D.

Camoflaged fish

Stephen Hill, Ph.D.

Bottom of the sea.

The Portland Oregon Zoo

This dinosaur had just roared at Tyler, our eight year old grandson. The dinosaur exhibit at The Portland, Oregon Zoo was pretty cool. The dinosaurs had hydraulic moving parts, including their eyes.

Having just seen so many Bald Eagles on the Olympic Peninsula, it was fun to see this one up close.

This is a White-faced Ibis. What a beautiful color.

Tyler discovered that he was the same height as a Sun Bear. A polar bear put on a pretty good show in it's pool.

This Dilophosaurus spit "poison" at viewers - the highlight of the day for an eight-year-old.

Photo by THM, 8 years old

When we got to the African exhibit, Tyler took over the photography. He quickly picked up on the zoom and framing. We were amazed and thrilled to see his interest.

Photo by THM, 8 years old

The Ground Hornbill roamed with the giraffes. The giraffes would not turn towards the camera to Tyler's disappointment.

Photo by THM, 8 years old

Sea Lions are not loved by all in this part of the country because they eat the salmon in great quanities. Photo by THM, 8 years old

Photo by THM, 8 years old

Nana and Papa had great time, but were pretty beat after three hours of keeping up with a fast moving eight year old, but would do it all over again.

The Olympic Peninsula June 23-30, 2008

Photo by Stephen Hill, PhD

We arrived at the Waterfront at Potlatch on the Olympic Peninsula (the thumb of Washington http://www.explorehoodcanal.com) on June 23, 2008. This was a view out our windshield. We were given the site with a huge lawn on the passenger side of the RV - very nice. This park has only 14 sites for RVs and has cabins and motel rooms. The tide was out when we arrived. Within minutes Ted harvested a bucket of oysters. Clams are abundant too, but they are not in season. The park is right on US 101, but we are far enough from the road that the traffic noise doesn't bother us. We are two miles from the only true fjord in the lower 48 states. Scuba divers come to explore depths to 700 feet and the abundant marine life, including octopi. Fly fishermen can be seen in the rivers and mountains stay snow covered year round. We saw six Bald Eagles; including two females in three days.

Photo by Stephen Hill, PhD

Friends, Steve and Jenny Hill, joined us for a few days. They stayed in a fully equiped "cabin" just feet from our coach. We celebrated Steve's retirement as a psychologist for the Vancouver, WA School District and his birthday.

An afternoon spent re-exploring Sequim (pronounced Squim) and Port Angeles, on the north side of the peninsula was a blast. Steve has sold his photography, so it was humbling to share my attempts. He was going to help me learn to make the most of my camera until I found that I had thrown away the English manual and saved the one in Spanish! I have since printed one in English from the web. Bless the Internet!

Ted and I spent the day after Jenny and Steve left seeing areas of the peninsula we have missed on our previous visits. Foxgloves were in bloom everywhere.

We hiked a forest trail in Dosewallips State Park about 30 miles north of our RV park. The 30 percent grade gave me a good work-out.
Ted said that this is a Goose Pin in the making. That is what this root system is called when the supporting stump rots away and leaves the roots webbed above ground.


Look carefully and you will see Seattle in the middle of this photo. We were at the end of a Forest Service road at the top of Walker Mountain when we took this.

Photo by Ted Alby, PhD

The forest at the top of Walker Mountain was full of these beautiful rhodedendri.

Photo by Ted Alby, PhD

Looking south of Seattle we saw Mt. Rainier and the Puget Sound. We could also see Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens. It was such an awesome view.

Photo by Ted Alby, PhD

Another view of Mt. Rainier from Walker Mountain. Maybe these photos help you see why we love calling this area "home".