We continue on! After this post, I will be going to condense things a bit. When we left Florence, OR, we made a last minute decision to back track a bit.
Day 5 we headed back north to Portland, OR to check it out since neither Jouhl or I have been. Total distance/time: 172 miles/3.5 hours
The city was neat and clean with lots of vegetation.
Driving in downtown was a breeze despite the narrow lanes and many pedestrians to dodge.
We also checked out the famous 5.5 acre Japanese Gardens of Oregon.
Some elements were imported from Japan to maintain an authentic feel!
Day 6 we left Portland and then we hit the road back down the Hwy 101. We stopped several times to enjoy the rainforest views and crisp fresh air. Man, I miss it! We were to stay in Crescent City, CA and then see the Redwood National Park the next day.
We made a longer stop at a Tillamook Forest campground to hike some trails, take some photos and just enjoy nature.
Jouhl was amazed of the size of some of the plants here. These leaves are larger than his head!
We actually took this clump home with us and it’s still alive! (shhhh…don’t tell!)
Only way we can get these ferns at home is from our local Home Depot.
In some areas of the forest, it’s quite a challenge to find the sun.
Nearly every inch of the tree trunks here were covered in moss!
If you want to get more of this experience, here’s a short video Jouhl took:
On our way out, we had to scoot off the road to allow a logging truck go by. This wasn’t the first time as we often encountered them the whole way down 101. On the small back roads here, it’s quite intimidating when they charge on by with only 3-4 feet between us and them.
Back on the 101 towards Crescent City, CA!
The clouds rolled in and we stopped at a scenic area where there was touristy gift shop.
Anyone up for a sail in this?
The gift shop was random but they sure had some neat things. Yes, we were suckered into buying some souvenirs.
Here’s a few beach shots along the way…
Then we went to the Tillamook Cheese factory in Tillamook, OR. This is the 44th largest dairy processor in America.
Really makes you appreciate cheese after watching the process.
And the best part, the sample bins!
Shortly after Tillamook, we hit the CA boarder!
What’s to come next? The Redwood National Park! Stay tuned!
Pawela's Garage 
I wanna sample some cheese! The last time I was in PDX, I noticed the same things you did – it’s so green and clean. That rainforest seems like the type of thing you’d see in Central America. Simply awesome. Glad you were able to take a piece of it home with you.
Tyson, the cheese was really amazing…or maybe we were just hungry. Speaking of central America, would be awesome to be able to take a drive down there!