Monday, Day 34

When we stopped tonight in Salem, Oregon, Jim said he could keep on driving for another six hours! It was such an easy drive compared to the last several days of mountain climbing.

We continued up the Oregon coast and found the rugged shore line with the rocky peaks standing tall off shore, like sentinels guarding the bay,  even more interesting than the California coast. Then we reached the Oregon Sand Dunes.  We had to stop for some pictures of course!

There is a tree, the Myrtle tree, that apparently grows only in an area encompassing parts of  northern California and Southern Oregon. As we approached the city of Bandon we noticed a couple of shops that advertised Myrtle wood for sale.  We couldn’t get into the first one, but the second one turned out to be a better choice anyway. Inside the shop we found just what we were looking for — a few pieces of the wood cut into sizes just right for turning pens, or carving knife handles.  We know of two people who might like them. But we didn’t get out that easily.  The little store was full of all sorts of wonderful things that had been made from Myrtle wood. I would have bought gifts for everyone, if I could afford it! It’s a unique wood.  Every piece looks a little different, from colour to grain, and it’s quite light weight. Although my budget was blown long ago, I couldn’t resist buying at least one piece.  I chose a salad/serving bowl.

We made no more tourist stops after that.  From now on we will be pushing on to Kaslo, and then home.

We’d hoped to boon dock (park in a parking lot for the night for free, without services) at the local Walmart, a place that always welcomes out of town visitors, but we noticed signs posted on the perimeter warning that no unauthorized parking was allowed.  A security guard was patrolling the lot so we asked him if we could stay there.

“Sure,” he said. “Just park over along the curb, out of the way, and go into Walmart to tell the manager you’re there.”

It took us a while to find the manager and when we did she told us that Walmart had no problem with us camping there, but the city of Salem is one of the cities  that has passed a by-law forbidding it.  They will have you towed away. She directed us to a nearby RV Park which is quite classy yet less expensive than any we’ve been in yet. So the light continues to shine on us and we are grateful for this opportunity.