Oregon Vacation

Not much sewing has been happening around here lately. In fact, none at all for over a week. Why? Because my husband and I were vacationing in Oregon. We live in Missouri so there was lots of new and different sights to see and things to do there.

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach OR, 8/19/17

We spent a couple days at Cannon Beach and were there on eclipse day. The totality there was 98.4% and we got lucky, no fog where we were.

Tide Pool, Cannon Beach, 8/19/17

The Yachats area was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We played around on the rocks and poked in the tide pools at Cape Perpetua. 

Cape Perpetua, near Yachats, 8/22/17

Tide Pool with Starfish, Cape Perpetua, 8/22/17

There were no starfish at Cannon Beach; they've experienced a 95% die-off there.  It was a relief to see some starfish at Cape Perpetua to know that they're not all gone everywhere. 

Heceta Head Light House, 8/23/17

We visited Heceta Head light house but due to maintenance issues the tower is closed to visitors. Volunteers give a short talk about the history of the light house and the lifestyle of the keepers, and answer visitors' questions. It's still an operational light, now fully electrified and automated. 

Crater Lake, 8/24/17

Although seeing Crater Lake was supposed to be the highlight of our trip, smoke from the nearby wildfires prevented us from actually seeing the lake. The camera captured more in this photo than we could actually see. Everywhere we went in central Oregon there were firefighters, some from as far away as Flagstaff. 

McMenamins Old St. Francis School Hotel, Bend OR 8/24/17

In Bend we stayed at McMenamins Old St. Francis School Hotel, which has several secret rooms and hidden passages.  McMenamins properties are unique, very cool, and filled with offbeat artwork. This secret space has metal sculpture, metal and blown-glass ornaments, and decorative painting, including glow-in-the-dark. 

Near Bend is Newberry Volcanic National Monument, which has a lava tube cave you can walk in, almost a mile deep, and huge surface lava flows which include obsidian and pumice rocks.

Lava Tube Cave, 8/25/17

Obsidian Lava Flow at Newberry Volcanic National Monument, 8/25/17

Of course we had to stop in Sisters, but I was too interested in shopping at The Stitchin' Post to take pictures. More about that in another post. 

We wrapped up our trip with a stay at McMenamins Edgefield, near Portland, where we enjoyed the wine tasting and later a lovely dinner in the gardens. 

Winery, McMenamins Edgefield, 8/26/17

Now that I'm home I'm looking forward to getting back in the sewing room. But laundry and neglected household stuff has to come first. Meanwhile, I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.