Day 6 & 7 - Info & Pics

Trip Information

Distance Traveled: 758 miles (Day 6 & 7)
Total Distance Traveled: 3,789 miles
States: WA > OR
Current Location: Reedsport, OR
Next Destination: Napa Valley and San Francisco

Daily Dialogue

Wow!  What a great time at the Lienhard's!  I wish I could've stayed longer and hung out, however I know they were busy with the little one and Racheal's parents - and I had to GMAOTR if I was going to see everything I planned.  I didn't exactly give them a ton of notice either.

Well today, Friday, I woke up around 6am (8hrs of sleep) and drank some coffee, and made some plans for the day and the next.  Paul and Rach recommended that I visit Mt. Rainier - so I did.  I managed to drive up yet another mountain (probably the 5th thus far?) in Candy.  She did wonderfully even though it was snowing, the roads were slushy, and if she slipped I could've easily fallen off the side of a mountain.  I trust her.  She might be my boo.  

I left around 3:00pm this afternoon (pacific time) with intentions of making the Pacific Coast and finding a quick place for the night... well... I ended up driving til almost 11pm.  I'm in a town called Reedsport, Oregon.  Still a long ways to go to reach Napa Valley - my next destination.  Exhaustion, deliriousness, and two-laned roads basically on top of the Pacific Ocean aren't necessarily the best combination, so I gave in.

Here are some pics from the wineries, Mt. Rainier, and the Coast.  There are a couple stories with the Mt. Rainier pics.

Walla Walla, WA Wineries

Mt. Rainier

(Would you cross it?)

(Called "Rustic Architecture."  Built from surrounding materials (trees, logs, stones, etc) to help it blend into it's environment.)

(This is a sliver from a Douglas Fir from the year 1293 - an old beast)

(This horizontally placed 4x4 was strategically designed by the National Park Service to prevent anyone from peaking around the side of the Fir tree to determine its thickness.  It accomplishes this by cramming the bottom left corner into the top of the perpetrators skull.  Not that I would know.)

(More rustic architecture - the old fill-in station)

(pump close-up)

Below are DUMB ASS hiking boots.  Probably the first instance in which my lack of planning for this entire road trip bit me in the ass.  I didn't intend on actually hiking on the side of a mountain... 

Park Ranger: "Son, do you have any boots?"  

Me: "I think I may have some shoes in the truck." 

I didn't.  And I knew it.

Park Ranger: "Ok, well here's this 1 mile trail you can take if you'd like to take some good photos."  

Me: "Awesome, thank you sir."

Of course I still went on the trail - I wasn't going to let "comfort" get in the way of what could be a great experience.  Experiencing Mt. Rainier and the possibility of seeing something amazing overruled any common sense that may have otherwise changed my mind.   As the snow abrasively fell on the ground, myself, my camera, and my helpless feet, the 1 mile trail became more and more arduous.  I thought my toes were going to break off with each and every step.  My impending conclusion of this hike seemed so far off that continuing was superfluous.  I considered giving up - I'm at peace with my life.  I persevered however, and prevailed.  I defied the odds.  Some pics below... my boots, a historic cabin, and some pit they named "Iron Mike" because of the iron (orange color) it produced.  Yea, clearly the pics are so worth losing some toes over.

(Random pic of some rocks looking up toward some rails from a trail.)

(WTF ever)

(Another random pic.)

(Mt. Rainier - finally!)

(Rainier again)

(This speaks for itself)

Pacific Coast - Just some pics I snagged just before dusk while driving along the coast.