Apologies – this blog is very late. People might be forgiven for thinking that this is some sort of holiday and we have been enjoying ourselves… but truth be told we have had a few dramas this last week – mainly of course meaning we have had no Wi-Fi to post online with – but Matt will write about that separately – so this is all about the week before.

When we left you last, we were in Oregon and recovering from our boozy wine tasting lunch. The next day we came back to the coast and pitched up for three nights in an Oregon state park – Jessie P Honeyman (for all the anoraks out there) which was beside the Pacific but not on it. Two miles inland in the middle of the national dunes reservation area.

The camp was very striking – huge pines, a couple of lakes and most impressively access to the sand dunes. The dune within the park was 150ft high. We struggled up it for about five minutes and took about 30 seconds to run down it! Great fun but not so much fun that we wanted to do the climbing bit again.

Our fellow campers had an assortment of items to surf down – surf boards, snow boards and just plain old pieces of wood. More off road vehicles were in this park than we have ever seen before – but they are banned in some places along the dune coast as of course the area is stunningly beautiful and also very important for breeding birds.

The site was very chilly of an evening as there seemed to be quite a strong sea breeze at all times and the pines obscured the sun for most of the day. As a result, we spent the whole three days smelling of bonfires – not my favourite thing as it does so linger.

Anyway, we went off exploring the route to the Pacific Ocean – up and down some massive sand dunes and had a complete adventure. Between the dunes large amounts of water had been deposited and vegetation had taken root. We turned back at one stage as the water on the path was over our ankles, but the desire to get to the sea was so great that we got brave and waded through the stagnant water. It was rather muddy, insects galore and I kept asking Matt if there would be leeches!!

It reminded us of our trip in the Everglades where we just had to be brave and wade in the water – but without a ranger saying it was safe – we took our chances. We are still alive two weeks on – so I guess it was ok. Mind over matter.

We get to the ocean and the beach is beyond beautiful. Vast – completely deserted and once again we had a view completely devoid of any human activity – no boats, planes, roads or buildings. Amazingly beautiful. The snowy plovers were nesting and there was a designated path so as not to disturb them (I suppose that does count as human interference in the scene – but in a good way!). We scrambled down a 4ft sand cliff and went and bathed our feet, cleaned our shoes and counted our mosquito bites from the journey there. All good.

However, we had to get off the beach and the scramble back up the 4ft sand dune was comedy gold. We have a video of this farce which we will post shortly. Every time you tried to get a footing you fell down and I was beginning to worry of course that we might miss lunch!! In the end the good old belly flop and a bit of momentum saved the day – but it was very funny. I am sorry Oregon for the coastal erosion on behalf of Matt and myself.

After our three days at Jessie – we then set off back inland to Crater Lake. What an odd place – even in our year of odd places. This is a volcano that erupted 7,700 years ago. The eruption made an enormous hole which has over that 7,700 years been filled with snow and rainfall. There are no streams or rivers that flow into or out of it – so the result is some of the purest water on earth. Man has only examined 2% of the bottom of the lake – so plenty of opportunities for anyone interested in becoming the next Jacques Cousteau. It also has the Guinness Book of Records record for the clearest water. The test showed you could see 139ft down with your naked eye.

It is a stunning shade of blue as you can imagine and the level nowadays is fairly constant through seepage and evaporation as every year Crater Lake has about 40 feet of snow. It was one hell of a climb up there in Reg – (he does not always share our enthusiasm for volcanos and mountains) and the usual story of there being snow causing the trails to be closed happened again – even though we are now in July! To add an extra spice the campground also had no water – but nothing could spoil the beauty of this place. You must see it…

After Crater Lake, we headed back south and to the coast to go to the Redwoods National Park. Crossing into California at this point we were met by these giant trees. We stayed just outside the park – near a town called Crescent City which we thought was a bit misty and gloomy. Turns out this is why giant redwoods like this area as they derive their essential moisture for growth from the mist. Every morning the mist clears by about 10am and it is another beautiful blue sky day.

We rode our bikes into the park and did a scenic drive which Reg would not have been able to negotiate between the redwoods. They are awe inspiring. Hundreds of years old, hundreds of feet high and incredibly wide. I read again what John Steinbeck says about them in his travelogue- Travels with Charley and could not put it better than what he says – which is that they are humbling. There is a serenity and hush that comes over you as they have been there so long. You feel very inferior and small. The light and mist are fascinating as they evolve as the sun moves.

We stayed at the park a couple of nights and then headed south.

It was a week of nature – huge sand dunes, Crater Lake with its blue hue and then of course the magnificent trees. Everything has been on steroids this particular week!! (Except us!)