My Front Yard

Returning home is bittersweet. However, we are lucky to have one of the most beautiful views of anywhere from our own front porch! These two photos show the diverse beauty of what we are forced to look at every day. I caught this Navy ship coming up the mighty Columbia River and then an early morning sunrise behind the majestic Mt. Hood. In the words of Lewis and Clark "Oh the joy"!

BACK HOME WITH FRIENDS

Steve and I made it to Astoria and met up with our dear friends, Allan and Tracey. We spent a few days together at Fort Stevens State park catching up. Took the dogs for a walk on the beach and had another beachcomber take our photo. I must admit...of all of the places we travel, Oregon has the best state parks in the nation. Thank you Oregon. We love our state!

WEIRD ROAD ICONS

Having the distinction of being the last town north on the Avenue of the Giants, it also has a weird roadside attraction. We stopped and photographed this ear of corn and read the plaque that said "Gone but not forgotten". After doing some research on the internet this morning, I found that there was a devastating flood of the Eel river in 1955 that wiped the village out. I am not sure yet what the ear of corn signifies but I could only guess that they grew a lot of corn there?

SCOTIA CALIFORNIA

As we mosey along Hwy 101, we enter all sorts of small bergs and towns. One in particular caught our eye. Scotia is a totally a company town. The town was founded in 1863 as Forestville. I am not sure when the redwood mill started but most of the 275 cottages were built by the Pacific Lumber company from 1920 to 1950. In 1992 an earthquake hit the area and their shopping center was destroyed. Palco rebuilt it in the same fashion as the old original bank building which is now the museum that you see in this photo.

AVENUE OF THE GIANTS

Finally, back into the trees and rain that we know and love. We have been on this road so many times and always return on our way home. We stayed alongside the Eel river last night as it rained like I had not seen in months. I felt my skin suck up the moisture. As we left our campsite and headed up into the Redwoods, we traveled alongside the Eel River which now looked like the color of a foamy latte. We stopped at a grove and hiked(Steve) and hobbled(Bonnie) into the forest to hug these behemoths. Stepping on the ground was like walking on the thickest and softest carpet you have ever seen. Hundreds of years of redwoods depositing their needles to comfort my sprained ankle. I am home!

SLAVE LABOR

Unfortunately, when the "missionaries" came to California, they made slaves of the local Indians. They were forced to build the missions for the padres. We have seen this so many times in California and Hawaii. It is sad that certain people must control other people for their benefit. This is the mission at San Miguel.