Oregon

Weve spent the last few days in Oregon. As I recall, a few years ago this state was so popular that officials, somewhat jokingly, asked people to stop moving here. I've visited Portland a few times in the past, but this was the first time I've seen the coast and the Willamette Valley. We drove up the coast from northern California to Coos Bay, OR. We needed to spend the night there because the truck was due for service. The RV park there was filled with mostly permanent residents or "full-timers"-- RVers who spend their entire lives on the road, often staying in one place for several weeks or months.

Anyway, its easy to understand why this state is so popular. For the most part the climate is temperate -- mild winters and not too hot summers. The forests here are magnificent and the farmland is wonderful. We've had our fill of cherries, berries, corn and other local produce. We drove through an area called the grass seed capital of the world. I had never thought about it, but grass seed comes from farms. They harvest it like wheat and oats, except with smaller equipment. :)

The waterfall photos are from Silver Falls State Park -- the biggest state park in Oregon. There's an 8 mile trail that runs past 10 waterfalls. Most are over 100 feet high. We just saw 3 of them.

Tomorrow we're off to Mount St. Helen's. Hopefully, she won't blow her stack while we're visiting.