Due to a bit of shenanigans with JetBlue, we ended up with $1,500 of travel credits which needed to be used within the year - creating an opportunity to explore.
Having tasted the pacific northwest and Olympia National Park as part of our Canadian Rockies adventure. We decided to explore a bit more - settling on a road trip exploring Oregon and northern California - and including Mt. Hood national forest, Crater Lake national park, the state and national Redwood forests in north western California - then chilling for a bit in Sonoma Valley, ending in the San Francisco area to visit some family.
Admittedly, it was an aggressive itinerary, though even with that, it gave us a taste of the areas - something of a west-coast sampler. And we continue to be thankful to be able to visit these places.
Browse the blogs below to read about our adventures in Oregon and Northern California.
The first stop on our pacific coast adventure was Mt Hood – for no particular reason other than it was big, offered some amazing hiking opportunities and was readily accessible from the major travel hubs (Portland and Seattle). We had two full days, three nights here, adequate to give us a taste of what the area had to offer, though certainly not enough to explore all there is in the national forest. Unfortunately, the weather was quite cooperative – the
The second stop on our west coast adventure was Crater Lake National Park. As part of our itinerary, we knew the drive times between our stays were all over 200 miles, but it wasn’t until we were making the drive that we began to appreciate the vastness / remoteness of the area. That 200+ miles drive from Mt. Hood toward our accommodations in Prospect, Oregon didn’t include much “civilization” in between, with only spotty cell service along the way
As we drove further south on our west coast adventure, the Redwoods in northern California were our next stop. We came to learn and I suppose not too surprisingly, Redwood trees are spread over a very large area, in the state, and fortunately, protected in many different state and national parks. Leaving Crater Lake, we headed southwesterly toward Crescent City and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Like the other roads we’d traveled in Oregon, this leg took us through rolling
The last section of our west coast adventure transitioned us away from nature and the great outdoors back into the hustle and bustle of city life, first stopping in Sonoma Valley, and ending in Berkeley. We said our goodbyes to Trinidad and its quiet vibe, hopped on the 101, and headed southward. On our way, we saw signs for Avenue of the Giants – what turned out to be a beautifully, scenic 30 mile drive through Humboldt Redwoods State park.
