The Road Home (7.12 and 13.25)

Dave and I were determined to squeeze every last bit of joy out of our trip to Oregon.  On July 12, 2025, we meandered south along the coast to the town of Florence.  We then cut east to Eugene and Bend, Oregon.  We also stopped at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, as we passed through to Idaho and home to Salt Lake City.

Our first stop was Depoe Bay, where we paused at the small but fascinating Whale, Sea Life, and Shark Museum.

The owner was giving a tour as we arrived, and she was a fascinating woman.  She did her Ph.D thesis on why some whales linger in Depoe Bay, during their summer migration from Baja California, rather than traveling all the way to Alaska.  She examined whale poop and found that it matched a species of fish found primarily in Depoe Bay.  The owner now owns a whale watching business and sends data to the university research center in Newport where she used to study.  "They go out on boats once or twice a month, but we go out, tracking whales, every day," she said.

The museum had many interesting exhibits, including a display showing the types of creatures found at low tide.

We watched the whale boats depart from Depoe Bay, and we contemplated Depoe Bay's huge statue of a whale, lounging by the roadside.  Dave and I have been on lots of whale watching tours, but I would have enjoyed a tour with that very knowledgeable museum owner/entrepreneur.

We stopped at several Saturday farmers' markets, as we made our way down the coast.  Farmers' markets are always a mishmash of artistic finds, "characters," and funky stuff.

In Newport, we were irresistibly drawn to the crab shack we visited earlier in the week with the family.  We ordered one more "Captain's platter" with its freshly caught white fish, shrimp, scallops, and oysters.

We spent the night in Florence, a port on the Oregon coast which was hosting an artists' gallery stroll the night we visited.  

Bend, Oregon, hosts the last Blockbuster in the nation.  We remember well the days, 20 years ago, when the routine for each weekend was to stop by the local Blockbuster to rent movies.

"We've got to stop.  We'll never go this way again," I begged David, as we veered off the main route back to Utah to see the John Day Fossil Beds.

I know a lot about dinosaurs, but less about the prehistoric mammals that succeeded them.  The John Day Fossil Beds house the remains of huge pigs and bears and lions, disturbingly different, yet similar to today's big mammals.

We spent our last night in Boise, eating huge hunks of corned beef, accompanied by "colcannon," the Irish mashed potato and cabbage dish.  I love Irish pubs, even in such unlikely places as Boise!