Getaways...

It was one of those impulsive weekend getaways that I love... this time, heading for the Oregon coast to meet up with one of DW's Colorado cousins, and a friend who's been working in Portland. We'd been thinking about spending a couple of days in Tillamook this summer, to find a couple of very old geocaches and maybe do some hiking. So when we found out that Ranae was heading that way too, we made sure our plans meshed with hers.

So yesterday we took our time getting there, searching for caches and photo ops in Washington, then driving the long way through the Coast range and exploring some logging roads before checking into our hotel in Tillamook. It was late, and we were starving, and we found great crab cakes and a comfy place to hang out at Pelican Brewing.

This morning we met the girls for breakfast at a cute diner in Tillamook, then headed into the mountains. Our route took us up the Trask River road, and high into the Coast range, following the river through a narrow valley. When we turned off onto a logging road and crossed the river, we stopped to take photos. The light was so beautiful, the greens so green, I didn't want to leave. 

After we found our first old cache, we parted company. The girls headed back to the ocean to explore, and we headed deeper into the mountains to find more old caches. Driving up a different river drainage, the road was narrow and windy, high above the valley floor. Distant views of pillow basalt cliffs were amazing.

We made it back with just enough time to change and drive north to Garibaldi for dinner at Pirate's Cove, a small restaurant right at the water's edge, looking south over Tillamook Bay. We snagged a corner table, with a view of the entire bay. As the light turned toward dusk, the view was amazing. 

We left around sunset, stopping in Garibaldi to look at the old steam locomotive near the marina. The light was changing fast, but I had time for a few photographs.

I've driven through Tillamook so many times, but this weekend was the first time I'd stayed here and really took time to look around. We saw lots of barns and farms and barn quilts, drove lots of back roads through the dairy and farm lands between the Pacific and the mountains, and drove high into the mountains for some really beautiful views.