Farewell, Pacific Northwest

Today was a long and rewarding day. After yesterday's trip southward from Olympia, we ended up staying in Salem, OR. Nerd that I am, I insisted on beginning the day with a visit to the state capitol, which appropriately enough has a golden statue of a lumberjack on top. From Salem, we headed out to the coast, and enjoyed an amazing drive through sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, dunes, and the like, stopping frequently to look around and take in the scenery. The coastal areas of Southern Oregon are some of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen - there's just something magnetic and powerful about the combination of ocean, rocks, and evergreens the way they occur here.

As if that alone wasn't enough to make it back out here sometime, there's an awful lot of things we wanted to see but missed: The Columbia River Gorge, Mount Rainier (though we did go in the park briefly, and see it from a distance - it's hard to miss - we'd like to spend more time in the area, perhaps hiking the wonderland trail), Mount Saint Helens, and Crater Lake. Plus we managed to spend all that time in Northwestern Washington without setting foot in Seattle or taking any of the many ferries.

Oddly enough, Portland reminded me a lot of Pittsburgh. Lots of rivers and bridges and trees. Clouds most of the time. Olympia and Salem were both smallish cities with good land for small faming nearby and affordable - and close to bigger cities that have amenities like pro sports franchises and decent concert venues. There's certainly a draw to the region. As we sit in Brookings, Oregon - on the ocean just a few miles from the California border (and the Big Trees I've been looking forward to seeing for so long), I can't help but think I'll be here again.

Pacific Northwest, you haven't seen the last of us... goodbye for now.