Having never been to the far reaches of Eastern Oregon, we felt like this was a good time to get that knocked off our bucket list. Some of the highlights of the area are Steens Mountain, Alvord Desert, Leslie Gulch, and Jordan Craters. This would be our one last road trip before departing on our round-the-world trip. With it being such a remote part of Oregon, good preparation was critical as anything could happen. Fortunately we had an incredible trip, but it wasn’t quite what we expected.
We made our way south and saw some amazing things along the way. We appreciated beautiful beaches. We survived the drenching jet boats. The redwoods made us feel rather small. We escaped from Alcatraz and biked the bridge. We enjoyed a lovely 4th of July holiday on the bay, and we indulged in all of the traditional Cisco touristy activities.
But all good things must come to an end, and we had reached the end of our trip. It was finally time to go home.
But we had one last stop before we did: Crater Lake.
How do you like to spend your 4th of July holiday? Do you visit family? Do you go to a potluck? Do you fire up the grill at home?
Us? We travel. We’ve passed the holiday at the beach; we’ve spent it with bears. We’ve even celebrated the long American holiday weekend with Canadians.
And we made a special trip south to our fellow west coast city of San Francisco.
Continue reading “Celebrating the 4th of July on San Francisco Bay”
Day 5 brought us to prison, even though we never wanted to end up there. Who knew that going to prison would be so fun! From the staged prison cells, to the one phone call, we got to get a glimpse of what hardened criminals experienced during their time at Alcatraz. What was life like on the rock? More importantly, how did we escape?
We took Day 3 at a much slower pace than Day 2, and we were fortunately much drier. We had plenty of ground to cover, but we had a magnificent gem – and something that’s been on my bucket list for some time – ahead of us: the California redwoods.
Continue reading “Hiking the Boy Scout Tree Trail in Redwoods”
When we drove into Gold Beach at the end of our first day of our amazing road trip to San Francisco, I noticed the sign that read, “Jerry’s Rogue Jets.” I immediately laughed, thinking this is not a business name that instills trust and reliability.
Little did I know that I wouldn’t have much choice in the matter.
The day rose in good old, gloomy Oregon fashion. Aaron fretted, and I merely sat back, excited for what the day would bring. I love surprises, and Aaron had everything all planned out. I didn’t know our morning plans placed us outside in the increasingly damp day.
We pulled into the parking lot of Jerry’s Rogue Jets, and I had to laugh once more at my remarks from the night before. Evidently, this establishment directed jet boat tours down the Rogue River; they did not rent out dubious aircraft with questionable loyalties.
And then I wryly laughed at our sorry luck with the weather.
Continue reading “Drenched! A Wet Rogue River Jet Boat Adventure”
At the first stop on our journey to San Francisco, we stayed in Gold Beach Oregon as we intentionally wanted to go down the coastline to get there. It was about a 6 hour drive down, but we weren’t just racing to get to Gold Beach. We had a few stops before arriving that made this part of the trip special. The southern Oregon coast is magical and it would be a waste if we didn’t stop at some of the viewpoints. We’ve never visited this place in the world.
Cape Blanco State Park Continue reading “Southern Oregon Coast – West Coast Road Trip”
Last time, I began the epic saga of the horrors of Idaho. While the trip south for Christmas turned out alright, we had only hit the tip of the iceberg. It was about to get much much worse. Herein lies the crazy conclusion…
Contrary to popular belief, we travel within our own country as well, so I thought I’d share one such adventure.
While many might fly to reach their destination faster, there is merit in making an adventure out of a road trip. The United States is a vast country with many exciting locations along the way.
Idaho is not one of them.
