Pacific Northwest Excursion

After a winter stay in Tucson, Arizona we wanted to visit relatives and places in the Pacific Northwest again. Leaving Tucson in April, 2021, one of our first stops was Quartzite, Arizona. Since it was mid-April Quartzite was pretty quiet, many of the shops were on reduced hours. We found a place in the desert a bit north of town and set up for an overnight there.

Quartzsite freedom camping at sunset — There were few other campers in the area we chose, a bonus…cell phone reception is outstanding, four bars!

We moved on to Palm Springs to explore some of the mid century modern architecture. Both and Modernism Week and Desert X were happening while we were there.

Palm Desert mid century house — Palm Desert is loaded with mid century homes.

A drive of 300 miles got us to Three Rivers, California and the southern access to Sequoia National Park and the Giant Tree Grove, General Sherman tree and the Scenic Highway.

Named after Civil War general William Tecumsah Sherman, General Sherman is thought to be the largest single stem tree by sheer volume. Believed to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old, it’s 275-feet tall and has a trunk diameter of 25-feet.

Standing in a sequoia tree — Yep, sequoias are big trees.

Friends of ours had a home on Bass Lake, California and they kindly invited us to stay with them and tour Yosemite National Park which is about an hour from Bass Lake.

Travel bikes in Yosemite National Park — Our friends suggested bike riding around Yosemite.

Beautiful mountain reflection — Yosemite is beautiful.

From there we headed to the Pacific Ocean coast north of San Francisco. Originally we had planned on visiting San Francisco, but Covid 19 had us preferring to avoid big cities. Mackerricher State Park was our stopping point, from there we visited Glass Beach which I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

Glass Beach used to be a garbage dump, it was active from 1906 to 1967 at several places in the area. After cleanups all that’s left are small pieces of beach glass.

Mendicino, California flowers — We wandered around historic Mendicino, California.

Traveling north on California Highway 1 and US 101 we stopped at Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park in Florence, Oregon. One of the first things to do once we hit the coast is get a tide pool chart. We visited tide pools at Heceta Head Lighthouse then lunched at Luna Sea Fish House in Yahats.

Heceta Head Lighthouse tide pools — Heceta Head Lighthouse tide poolin’

Newport, Oregon seals on the docks — We had some noisy lunch companions in Newport, Oregon.

Continuing north we made it to Nehalem Bay State Park for another multi-day stop. There’s a lot to do in the area…

Cannon Beach sunset — Iconic Cannon Beach draws watchers and photographers at sunset.

Tillamook Creamery photo oopportunity — Photo opportunity at Tillamook Creamery.

Sleepy Monk Coffee in Cannon Beach, Oregon

Fort Clatsop stockade — Lewis and Clark wintered near Astoria, Oregon at Fort Clatsop

As we turned east, a wonderful stop was Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, several people had advised us to visit there, so we did.

Cycling Lake Coeur d’Alene on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. — Cycling by Lake Coeur d’Alene on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.

Arriving at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota I was assured by the ranger that we’d see wild life. Well that was an understatement, within five minutes we encountered bison grazing by the side of the road.

Viewing bison right from the car — Like a safari, at Theodore Roosevelt National Park you see the animals right from your car.

Bison wander through the campground — Bison at Theodore Roosevelt National Park wander through the campground.

Almost home, our last night out was a Harvest Hosts, Zymurgy Brewing Co., in Menomonie, Wisconsin. This was out last night out. When we got home to Illinois, we’d covered 5, 167 miles in the five weeks since we started out in Tucson.

Zymurgy Brewing Company in an old gas station — The Harvest Hosts Zymurgy Brewing Company in Menomonie, Wisconsin in an old gas station.