Of waves, waterfalls and welcomes...

Moominmama has been loving the Pacific Coast. Starting in Crescent City, California and heading up to Bandon, Oregon, the waves exploding against the rocks and rolling up the beach have been a hypnotic pleasure. Tectonic plate action has surfaced enormous rocks all along the coast, creating wild formations and nesting areas offshore, as well as turning the beaches into a treasure chest for rock hounds.

Although work projects and connectivity issues set Moominmama back in terms of updating the blog, her travels have continued. After leaving the redwoods, I drove to Eugene, Oregon and met with my brother for the weekend as he revisited the town where he went to college. 

Before he arrived, I stopped at the Saturday market in Eugene, a combination of the Lane County Farmers Market and an open-air craft fair billed as the oldest in the U.S. Moominmama was delighted to find Swedish cardamom buns, but took a pass on Ganja gummies. 

And of course, there were many stalls featuring tie-dye shirts, contributing to the hippie college-town vibe.

Meanwhile, the farmers market was bursting with red berries, lettuces, radishes and cabbages, purple and green. 

I left the market with more than would fit in my fridge and sent some home with my brother, who I would rendezvous with once I hit Portland.

From Eugene, I veered back to the coast where I'd successfully reserved a couple days at Bullard Beach State Park in the town of Bandon.

That gave me two lovely days of beach hikes, with one day at low tide where I saw starfish in crayon colors of orange, burnt umber and deep purple, as well as watching a group of seals slide on and off the rocks.

Moominmama deeply regrets forgetting her camera on this walk! But the rocks and the waves and the salty air were lovely. A couple tasty fish tacos from Tony's Crab Shack contributed to the experience!

Brisk winds, grey skies, and temperatures that barely cracked 60 degrees kept all but my feet out of the water. No swimming here.

From Bandon, I turned inland because I wanted to visit an Oregon state park known for its waterfalls. The eight-mile hike was advertised to include 10 waterfalls! 

This is Silver Falls State Park and the hike was indeed amazing, as it involves several waterfalls where the rocks behind are hollowed out allowing the trail to pass behind the falls!

And Moominmama continues to be awed by the intense and mossy green in Oregon after the many weeks in the desert southwest this spring. 

I've been blessed by mostly cooler temperatures, though the weekend in Eugene got into the 90s. Other than that, I've largely avoided the heat dome that has hit other parts of the country.

From Silver Falls, I drove an hour and a half north to Portland where I parked in my brother's driveway for the week. My niece and her husband and their two children, ages 4 years and 6 months, are also here for a visit.  My brother, my sister-in-law and I have been tag-teaming on child care to give the young parents a break. And while that's been lovely, it has also been intense!

Still, there is nothing like being welcomed into the midst of family, and I remain delighted to hear my little brother referred to as "Grandpa." We've had some good meals and some good times -- and handled some meltdowns!

Plus the Moominhouse got some minor repairs. My brother helped me replace the propane regulator after it developed a leak, and I was able to tighten some loose screws in critical locations!

I turn northward now with plans to enter Canada and spend a week on Vancouver Island. I am looking forward to views of the Pacific Ocean again!  From there, I will head east to the Canadian Rockies. Perhaps this week, I may brave an ocean swim since it will be my last chance for a while!

But I did get in a dip in the Willamette River on one of the 90-degree days with my brother. And we thoroughly enjoyed it, as you can tell!