Oregon Coast and Washington State
October 2004

In October 2004, the family took a trip to Oregon. Our first stop was Portland, and then on to Mt. St. Helens in Washington state. This still active volcano had been spewing clouds of dust and ash for a couple of weeks at the time of our visit.

Next we visited the little charming little town of Astoria on the Columbia River near where it empties into the Pacific.  Drove down the coast highway, visiting Lincoln City, Newport and Florence, famous for its giant sand dunes nearby.

We planned to rent dune buggies but rain showers changed our plans. We saw several lighthouses, the one new Newport is especially nice and you can climb all way up for spectacular views of the coastline. 

The shortest river in the US, the D River, was along our route, along with the smallest harbor at the town of Depoe Bay. We saw lots of sea lions in Newport, visited a large cheese factory (good samples), and of course many many stops at lookout points for some picture taking.

The last day, Sunday, we took in a great kite festival in Lincoln City.  Although the trip lasted only 5 days we did manage to do and see quite a lot.