Day 62: Elk herds and World War II radar stations

DAY 62: Eugene, Oregon
Miles traveled: 8,320
States visited: 21 (just added: Oregon)
Weather: 70, cloudy

Today I write from the Wandering Goat coffee shop in Eugene (check it out if you ever pass through town.) The other day I drove through Redwood National Park in Northern California and saw some huge trees. There’s a place where you can drive through the middle of a tree, but the van was too big, so I missed out on this glorious opportunity. Here’s me against the trunk of a fallen tree.

This park has a couple of spots known for having large herds of elk. I was excited because I’ve never seen elk before, even though I was teased in Arizona with a bunch of elk crossing signs. The elk weren’t where they were supposed to be (those naughty animals, thinking on their own), but they were close by. A large group of elk gathered about 50 yards from the road.

Later, I saw a solo elk grazing in someone’s front yard. This one was only about 30 feet from the road.

I can now cross elk off this list of animals I need to see on this trip. Still topping the list is a bear, followed by a snake.

The Redwood park had some great views of the ocean.

The park is home to two buildings which served as radar warning stations in World War II. They were designed to look like simple farm buildings, but they actually housed radar and anti-aircraft weapons during the war.

In the park I saw an Alaska license plate, for the first in years. I love how I keep switching back and forth between the urban world and nature on this trip. I love both worlds so it’s great to have such a balance.

I just entered Oregon. You’re not allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon. No, I don’t know why. So for the first time since I was maybe 16, somebody pumped gas for me. It was weird. I made small talk with the gas pumper. Perhaps Oregon has this law simply to encourage social interaction among its people. Next up: Portland!