July 4th, 2000

Long weekends are made for road-trips, and this one was no exception.  Friday night I loaded up my Durango with the luggage, my girlfriend Jeanie, and my wonderful pup Ally.  We drove all night down to Redmond, OR, just North of Bend for a tour of Smith Rock State Park.  Saturday evening we drove down to Crater Lake where luck would have it we could not find a motel room anywhere.  Not a problem, we were prepared for this.  After dinner at the only diner in the area, we crawled into the back of the truck, unrolled the sleeping bag and foam rubber pad, and slept in the truck (2 grown people and an 80 pound Golden Retriever!).  Showers the next day were in the sinks of a restroom outside a campground.  After Crater Lake we continued to Northern California to see the redwoods, then up the Oregon coast, stopping at Jeanie's moms place for dinner, then back to Portland.

Check out the various sites we saw.  Start with Smith Rock State Park and take the full tour, in the order in which we experienced it.  A map below here shows exactly where all we went during our trip.  This was our July 4 road-trip.  4 scenic areas, 3 days, 2 states, and a lifetime of memories.