Oregon, the Arrival

Finally in Oregon.  6500 miles and a few left to go.  We are in Bend now, about 3 hours south of Portland.  We are staying with in a house with some friends of Dani.  Might already have a small job lined up with 3 more applications in the works.  We'll see - I just gotta do me and see what happens.  Some points of interest on the way have been Crater Lake; oh my god oh my god oh my god gorgeous.  There is still 8 feet of snow on the ground in some places, it's a miracle and doesn't make any sense to me but it seems like summer doesn't start here until late June and peaks in August.  We did some hiking at a really cool falls in Bend and also a small peak called Black Butte.  You can see all the way to Mt. Hood, which is 90 miles away.  Everyone has been awesome, all the people here smile and say good morning, ask how your day is.  It's a really small town feel for such a big town.  I hope Portland has a similar attitude.  Brunch is coming up next and then we'll be heading off to Eugene.  We have a place to stay lined up but not until Tuesday so we will kick out to the coast for another day or two and then be in Portland proper by then.  It's all so close and happening fast now.  The future is arriving upon me even as it was planned.  

Anyway, here are some pictures I drew.

Camp in Redwood Forest.  Super creepy hearing the trees creak at night.

Redwood National Park

Thought this was a pretty big tree.  I was wrong.

This is the big tree.  Largest diameter of any single tree in the forest.

This one had a rather odd, well... protuberance we'll call it.

Made it!

First beach in Oregon.

First camp in Oregon, Humbug State Park.  17 dollars a night includes showers with hot water.  Don't miss it.

The Umpqua river.  This is just next to the road all the way from the coast to Crater Lake pretty much.

Still snowy at Crater Lake.

The lake itself is a giant volcano crater.  The smaller island inside it is also a volcano.  The water is so smooth you can see the clouds reflecting.

This is the pup we're staying with in Bend.  Her name is Daisy.  She is SO HUGE.

Mt. Hood is the snow capped one.

This is a river in downtown Bend.  This is just the park.  It's so beautiful and just meanders through town.  You can kayak on it or float, it isn't even a closed river.