After we boarded our flight to Portland we decided that selfies were in order, but we ended up having to retake it so many times that the people in the row behind us had time to get in the pictures. Just a few more BVE want-a-bees. We had a nice time talking with them even after they told us that they were born the year before our group started in 1998.

Once we got our bags we took the shuttle to The Country Inn and Suites and checked into rooms 209 and 211. 

While we waited for the pizza Lisa R handed out Smart Wool socks to each of us and Sue gave us silver bracelets that had the John Muir quote "the mountains are calling and I must go”. Then we toasted our gifts and our missing BVE friend Jill. 

The next morning, we met for breakfast at 9am. Then we took the 10am shuttle to the airport to get the rental cars. We had reserved 2 mid-size cars and they were going to give us Yaris's. So we had to upgrade in order to get a real midsize car. Brenda, Peggy and Julie in the Nissan Altima and Connie, Lisa, Lisa and Sue in the Hyundai Elantra. 

While we were driving, a "little house" made a left turn in front of us and we had to follow it for a while. Seemed odd to be following a house, but we did it and here is proof. 

We arrived in Astoria around 1:00. Our first stop was the Astoria Riverwalk Inn but our rooms weren't ready. So we parked the car and walked the Riverwalk to Buoy's Beer. It was 2:00 and there was an hour wait. So we put our name on the list and walked to Sunday Fair. It was a nice event with lots of vendors. We even bought some Chardonnay for toasting tonight. 

Then we walked back to Bouy's Beer for lunch. Nice place and good food. There were glass panels in the floor where we could watch the sea lions under the restaurant. 

After lunch we went and checked into the hotel. Our rooms are 115 and 117. Then drove to Aster Tower and walked to the top. We had a great view of Mt Rainer and Mount St Helen. 

Then we drove across 101 Bridge into Washington to the town of Ilwaco and went to a beach. The fog was rolling in and visibility was limited. The sand on the beach reminded us of ash on Mt St Helen. 

We got up and ready by 8:30. The other room wasn't ready yet so we went and walked on the pier and checked out the boats. We even had time for a few pictures. 

We left the hotel at 9:30. Our first stop Peter Iredale ship wreck in Fort Stevens State Park. The ship ran aground on October 25, 1906 during a storm. Remarkably there were no casualties. There was little damage to the hull and plans were made to tow the ship back to sea, but after several weeks waiting for favorable weather and ocean conditions, the ship had listed to the port (left) and become embedded in the sands. She was sold for scrap. All that remains is the bow, a few ribs, and a couple of masts. 

Then we got back on highway 101 South and stopped at Canon Beach. We tried to find the beach and ended up in a private cul-de-sac. While we were talking, a lady came out on her deck and gave us the skunk eye and told us we couldn't park there. When we asked for directions she said that "we should go back where we came from and cross the bridge and drive towards downtown". 

We ended up driving further and pulling off again and parked on another street and walked to the beach. This neighborhood was friendly and we had great access to the beach. The sand was not the volcanic ash like sand we saw yesterday. We walked the beach and got some group shots. This is where we saw sea stacks. Sea Stacks range in size from very small islands to sheer columns of rock, they appear to erupt from the sea floor. However, in reality they are the remnants of headlands sheared from the mainland and shaped by the timeless erosive force of the sea. 

Our next stop was Tillamook. My phone malfunctioned and the navigation system took us to a residential area in Bay City then told us to park and prepare to walk to our destination which was 9 miles away. So we reset the GPS and finally got there. 

Along this drive we saw lots of quilt blocks on the barns and out buildings in this part of the state. The blocks were more intricate that the ones we see in Iowa.

We got to Newport around 6pm and checked into the The Landing at Newport, our home for the night was condo 213. We had a few toasts and then went to see the Yaquina Lighthouse, but the park was only open for another 1/2 hour and the fog was rolling in so we decided not to pay the fee and go into the park to see it. 

We drove back into town to bay view drive. There we watched the sea lions playing and fighting and generally entertaining us. There was a guy on the dock fishing for crabs and we talked to him for a while. He was from Utah and on vacation. He gave us some tips on Arches National Park. 

Then we went to the Rogue Ale House for dinner. We got back to the condo at 9:30 and toasted our day and the trip. 

We walked to breakfast at the Coffee House. Excellent and hearty oatmeal and omelets. The walk was along the Fisherman's Memorial Walk. After breakfast we went back to the hotel/condo and packed up and checked out before we went on a walk on the pier. 

We were back in the cars and headed for Crater Lake at 11:15. We meant to stop for gas before leaving town, but we were out of town before finding a station. So we drove to Corvallis and stopped there. We were surprised to find out that it was full service. We also weren't able to get diet sodas there - interesting that Oregon only has a few soda varieties available in diet. 

Back in the car to Crater Lake. The landscape is flat and the temperature is rising. While driving through we kept seeing dust storms out in the fields. Eventually the landscape got hilly and forested. We made a brief pit stop in Oakridge then on to Crescent Lake where we stopped to look at the lake for a bit and some of us had ice cream. 

3:15 and back in the car. Next stop is Chiloquin for food and supplies. Then to our cabins at Crater Lake RV Resort. Car #1 over shot it because the little red dot on Julie's phone was pointed at the town of Fort Klamath which was a mile and a half down the road. We have creek side cabins 9 (Connie, Sue, Lisa R and Lisa L) and 10 (Brenda, Peggy and Julie). 

We had toasting time and decided just to get stuff for sandwiches from the resort store and stay here for dinner. Julie tried to get a group shot of us on the deck, but the tripod didn’t hold the weight of her new lens and it fell and cracked the lens. Bummer, but we have enough cameras, that we were still able to document the trip with plenty of pictures. 

We took the 11 o'clock shuttle around the rim. The Ranger was related to Robert Waller and had a sharp wit. 

When we got back from the Trolley, Brenda ran to the Lodge to see if she could get us tickets for the boat trip tomorrow. They only sell a few tickets a day and they sell them 24 hours before the boat leaves. We wanted to be on the 12:30 boat tomorrow, if we didn't make that trip, we would not be able to go on the lake while we were here. Brenda came though and we saluted her with 5 highs all around!

After our celebration we went back to the Lodge around 1 pm and found a nice shady spot for our lunch of peanut butter sandwiches. 

After filling up our water bottles we were back in the car headed to our first hike, The Pinnacles. The Pinnacles are fossil fumaroles where volcanic gases once rose up through a layer of volcanic ash, cementing the ash into solid rock. They are being eroded from the canyon wall. It is like frozen plumbing of the volcano. This was a 1-mile hike that we were on from 2:45 to 3:30. 

When we got done with the hike, Connie showed us her boots. They are beginning to blow out. This might be their last trip.

Our next hike was to Plaikni Falls. A 2-mile hike - we started at 3:30 and got done at 4:45. The hike was through old growth forest to a water fall. We saw wild flowers near the snow melt stream but it is so dry the vegetation away from the water was parched. 

We went back to Park Headquarters for a bathroom break and arrived at 5:04. The ranger told us they were closed and we would have to go to Mazama Village 4 miles down the road to do our paperwork. We went to Rim Village instead. Did our paper work and a little shopping. Lisa. R and Julie found a couple of bottles of wine for the evening since the nearest liquor store is 50 miles away. 

Then we headed to Castle Crest Wild Flower Trail a .4-mile hike to see the wildflowers. There were lots of bees pollinating and Brenda kept her Epipen at the ready, but did not need to use it. In addition to all the flowers: Lupine, Lewis Monkey Flower, Monks Hood, Mountain Daisy, Columbine, Fireweed and Bistort we saw a deer resting in the shade.

Then we drove back to the cabins with a beautiful view of a nearly full moon (full moon is Thursday). We were back to cabins around 8:30. Hit the showers to wash the dust and sweat off then settled in to Cabin 9 for toasting and talking about the day. Called it a day at 11:45.

On that trail we met Denis and his traveling companion Dolly. They were hiking the Pacific Crest Trail doing 180 miles of it this year. He told us that we were on an alternate route of the PCT and we were excited to know that we had hiked part of that trail, even if we only did less than a mile of it.

We boarded the boat at 12:30. Our guide was Ranger Patrick and the boat captain was Captain Bob. Close to the boat dock is a 20-foot rock that people can jump into the lake into 600 feet of water. We saw a guy jump as we sailed by.

Next up was The Devil's Backbone which is the longest magma dike in the world and is over 1000 ft. long.

We went around Wizard Island which is a volcano within a volcano. It is 700 feet high with a 100-foot crater. We were there too late in the year to get off on the island and hike to the top. At the top are white birch pines that are being killed by bugs.

In Chaski Bay we sailed close to the shore to see several waterfalls. The water was coming from the snowmelt that had soaked into the porous rocks. The Ranger recommended the Sun Notch Trail which overlooks where we were and we made plans to do it when we got back up.

At Phantom Ship Island we could see where the water level changed from 50 feet to 600 feet. The water is so blue and so clear; we just hope we get some pictures to do it justice.

At this point we had the Kodak shot on the lake. Both Phantom Ship Island and Wizard Island in the same frame. The Lighting was perfect for shadows in water. Ranger Patrick said he hadn't see it that clear before.

We also saw Pumice Castle. If you spent the night there you would have the softest skin in the world.

The Lady of the Lake is a rock formation near the shore and then we saw the Old Man of the Lake which is a Log from a Hemlock tree floating vertical in the water. His nickname is Bob. The water was so clear we could easily see the bottom of the tree some 40 feet below the surface. This tree has been floating vertically in the lake for over 100 years.

The ship docked at 2:30 and now we had to hike up the 1.1-mile trail with 700 feet elevation climb. And we had an hour to do it if we wanted to catch the bus back to Rim Village Lodge. As we started the climb up we knew it would be tough. We saw a woman who was having a bit of a problem making it up the trail. Lisa L loaned her Brenda's hiking stick and the Ranger started walking with her. We made plans to pick up the hiking stick at the Lodge later. 

Sue had a little problem coming up and when near the top had a low sugar problem. But thanks to her good friends Peggy and Brenda she got some quick carbs and recovered enough to make it out. We all made it out in less than an hour and caught the 3:30 bus back to Rim Village.

We got to the Sun Notch trail head at 4:45. One sign said .8 miles and another said .5-mile hike. Beautiful hike through wildflower meadows then up to the crest for a gorgeous view of the Phantom Ship Island.

We finished the hike a little after 5:35 and headed back to the lodge to pick up Sue who was deep in conversation with her new friends. And just as we expected she met up with Betty and got Brenda's hiking stick back. We decided just to do dinner at Annie Falls restaurant again but there was a 45-minute wait so we put our name in and walked to the camp store next door and bought a round of beers to have toasting time while we waited. Peggy went and got the gifts we got for the lead dogs Brenda and Connie - pajama pants. They tried them on and Brenda ended up wearing hers to dinner.

We headed back to the cabins at 8pm. There was a beautiful full moon to lead us home again. Once back we cleaned up and looked at pictures. Then we held a memorial service for Connie's boots that blew out on this trip. She got them for the trip to Glacier back in June 2000. They had served her well. Then we had toasting time before calling it a night at 11:30. 

We slept in a bit and met for breakfast served by Cabin 9 at 8:30. This was the first morning that we ate outside on our deck. It was a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and left over pizza.

It was while we were eating breakfast that we realized what a wonderful job Connie did parking the night before. Now both of our drivers, Brenda and Connie, are Excellent Drivers. But this year, Connie wins the best parking award! She couldn't have gotten closer to the deck without hitting it if she had tried.

It wouldn't be an official trip without Peggy doing a cartwheel and she did not disappoint. Although, Julie did disappoint this trip and didn't do her hand stand, but she vows to be ready in 2018.

We got to the Comfort Inn at 6pm and got checked in, rooms 243 and 245. After a toasting time, we went to Cascades Station which is a shopping and restaurant mall area. We ate dinner at Wood Kitchen and Taps. After dinner we filled up the cars with gas and headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel we had our last toasting time and called it a night at 11:30. 

Our flight from Portland to Salt Lake City was a few minutes late taking off, but we made it up in the air. About a half hour into the flight they asked for medical personnel to help a passenger. She was met at the gate by paramedics and appeared to be okay. We never did hear what the problem was.