Last night in Oregon - Cape Lookout

So, remember the sand dunes campground we stayed at? Well before we found that place, we intended to stay at a popular National Beach campground which had only two spots left the afternoon we called them. We high tailed it there and entered a line of cars at the booth. Shortly after we arrived, a lady in front of the line did a little happy dance back to her car. "That's an 'I got the last campsite' dance if I ever saw one", I thought. Sure enough, we were too late. But I knew there was an even better spot to be had, and we found the sand dunes! Anyway, on our last night in Oregon we got to do the 'last campsite dance' too! We drove down a steep windy road through thick forests down into Cape Lookout campground, a beautiful beach just south of the Washington border, and ended up getting their last spot available! Hooray!

We were very relieved to not have to ride back up the road in the dusk to venture north in search of some other place to sleep for the night. Once again, the good Spirit shines down upon us. (seriously things have worked out so excellent for us again and again. No matter what obstacle befalls us, something always happens to turn the situation into pure perfection) It's as though Mim and myself were destined to take this adventure...

I love you so much my sweetheart    

Oregon Sand Dunes

Sand breezily drifting atop the dunes, the sun almost ready to set and the distant hum of off road four-wheelers set the mood for us today. We hiked up and down several dunes to get there, always thinking the great dunes were just over the next hill...and we finally made it! (It's not the easiest to take on strenuous hikes after a long day of riding!) What a beautiful reward. I've never been on the tip of dunes like this.

The sunset sort of blew out the picture, but that's me up there. I was feeling like I needed a magic carpet ride back to camp. But even more fun was to be had - Mim and me held hands and ran down the steepest side of the dunes all the way back down. Almost like flying!

We camped in a nice spot at the campground and left fairly early the next morning...feeling eager to get to Vancouver to see Jai and Bronwyn!!!

The Last Resort - Dry Creek, OR

We dreamed of the Hot Springs in Umpua as we made our way North East in the beautiful state of Oregon. Would it get smoky again? Would we find a place to camp near the hot springs for the night? When we arrived at the hot springs, we were so relieved to have made it. We walked around the area to check things out...it was pretty well populated by the regulars and many new comers made their way in one after the other. The place was busy to say the least. Garbage was overflowing and the toilet house exuded abominable smells which the gentle breeze wafted throughout the air around us. Luckily, Mim made it back up the gravel road and to the rangers station just before they closed, to inquire about any campsites that might be close by. (Keep in mind, the smelliness and business of the place was down the hill - the Hot Springs waited up the mountain, about a half mile hike uphill and across the river) So, after some impressive questioning, the ranger gave in and told Mim about The Last Resort!! We had no idea how awesome it was going to be...

Here's the huge campsite we stayed in for two nights (I wish we stayed longer!!). The amazing trees loomed above us, forming a wall along the side of our camp. The whole entire time we were at this place, we saw maybe one or two other people and never heard any noise. It was incredible. Just down the hill to left of the photo were luxury bathrooms that were so clean, I smiled every time I walked in. The bathrooms also had free, hot showers that were super clean with perpetual hot water. In the trees to the right of our tent, was a trail leading down to a creek where we found a gargantuan downed tree that formed a bridge over the creek and further down was a marvelous swimming hole complete with a view of the giant tree bridge, a beach of rocks, and a rope swing ready for us to dunk into the refreshing water. Unfortunately, Mim had a book to read, which he found at the general store (A short walk from the campsite and had everything we needed). And we didn't find the awesome swimming hole until it was too late...and we never got to use that rope swing...such a sad, sad story...
But while we stayed at our sanctuary camp spot by the creek, we took a day for exploring and rode back to the hot springs. Since we went back in the morning, there was immensely less people. In fact, we hiked up to the water holes and found only one small family visiting. There were plenty pools for everyone.

There was even a pool down below - right on the river!

Little bats chirped behind us hidden in the pockets of the cliff above us as we soaked in the pool. Having the river directly next to us was quite the experience. For the first time, I tried out the ice cold water right after soaking in the extremely hot water. It was extraordinarily refreshing.
After our Natural Hot Springs soak, we headed back down to explore the waterfalls in the area, of which there were many. First up - Toketee Falls on the Umpua river. Toketee is a Chinook word that means "pretty" or "graceful".

The river flows through a narrow gorge creating this beautiful waterfall...Mim climbed down on some treacherous rocks to take a photo of the canyon.

Our next stop was Watson Falls, the third tallest waterfall in Oregon. The hike up was fairly short...the mossy rocks surrounding the base of the falls were just gorgeous. The pictures don't really do it justice. The colors popped in a way that made me feel we entered into a dreamlike painting of life...

Mountain couldn't resist and shed his clothes to stand under the falls.

And for me, the view got even better :)


This was one of the best days we've had so far on this trip. Perfect camp spot, amazing waterfalls, relaxing natural hot springs...and we closed out the day back at camp with a lazy afternoon in the shade of a fir tree, reading books, singing songs and drinking beer. Sometimes, the simple pleasures in life are overwhelmingly joyous.

Crater Lake

After leaving the river and heading inland toward Crater Lake, we realized just how bad the fires were. We arrived at a semi large town where we stopped to get some snacks and do some thinking about whether going inland was the best choice. While we were parked at the market, multiple people commented on our poor timing for being out on the bikes...ya that smoke was really bad, people walked (and drove) around town with masks or bandannas over their mouth and nose. It was so darn smoky, you really couldn't see more than about a block away.

One woman at the market let us in on where exactly the fires were happening. The fires were burning to the west and blowing smoke to the east- in our direction. After some deliberating we decided we were intent on making it to Crater lake and the amazing hot springs that were also inland, just north of Crater Lake. We were so happy we kept going, the lake was beautiful and the smoke ended up clearing up quite a bit as we rode North.

The campsite at the Lake was a good one too

We had free showers and a rowdy applause of enjoyment from the camp neighbors after playing a popular cover song by the fire. Oh, and the store just up the road had beer! Good times.