Oregon coast

Hello everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and ALMOST unpacked. I'm sure we'll still be finding sand in our shoes, random rocks, and shells for weeks to come, but we're mostly settled for the next month at least. Our plan was to tour the Oregon coast, but not the way we've always done, which was plant ourselves in one spot and then sit in the sand for a few weeks. Nothing wrong with that, but my kids are getting older and I wanted them to know more about the geography and history of our coastline. And this time, I did NOT drop by phone into Yaquina Bay, so I have some pics to share.
                                                  

                      One of our favorite beaches near Lincoln City, Oregon

This time, we wanted to hit as many state, county, and scenic byways as we could in one month of traveling. The Oregon coasts stretches 383 miles, but we traveled 242 miles of it, and not all in a straight line.
 We visited (thoroughly, not just driving through) 39 state parks, 20 scenic byways, and 8 viewpoints while walking 128 miles of trails, swimming in 5 lakes and 7 rivers, and visiting four lighthouses. We brought our microscope to study lake and ocean water, and read 27 books on ocean, wetland, and lake systems. Oh, and toured two dams on the way home. WHEW. So, those are the numbers.
                                
 In short, we stayed long enough for my teens to reminisce about spending the day at home doing chores. (Ok, maybe not that long.)
                                             

On the boardwalk in Florence, Oregon. We always wander through here to get ice cream, eat at Mo's watch the fishing boats and go to the Farmer's Market.

                                             
Last year we went clamming and practically had to be rescued by the Coast Guard AND didn't catch any clams. This time was much more fun! We made some delicious clam chowder, steamed clams, and clam fritters. YUM.
                                                  
Gaper clams can grow up to ten pounds so these are just babies. Also, they come with a tiny crab. No kidding. It's very odd. If you care to see, here's a picture of one open, and where the tiny pea crab lives. Inside a gaper clam

 We also caught lots of crabs from the dock in Newport.

My mom has a summer house nearby and bravely brought crab traps and bait in the back of her car. Good thing it wasn't too hot. Those crabs like their bait nice and stinky!

 Oh, side note, right before we left it was blueberry seasons! YAY

 Me and my second oldest. I think she stole my style.

 Anyway, here's a picture of our first stop, Mercer Lake, North of Florence.

 The mist rising off the lake in the early morning. Yes, I was sipping coffee and no, I wasn't writing. It felt good to just be.

                                               
My kids can all swim but I'm nervous about lake water, so we kept the lifejackets on the little guys.
                                                    
We did a lot of canoeing.
                                             
Especially towing little brothers out to the middle of the lake
                                                 
... and leaving him there. All in good fun, of course!
                                         
During the middle of the day we'd explore the byways and parks. In the evening we'd come home to swim, clean up, and sit around the fire (usually examining our blisters).
                                 
Driftwood makes the best kindling...
                                              
Most beaches popular with tourists are the long stretches of white sand. This year we made an effort to travel far and wide. Sometimes to rocky and unusual places.
                                        
The tide pools were teaming with crabs, anemones, mussels, and limpets, etc.
                                                         
And this one has a clover. It was a gift for the anemone from my six year old.

The second week we moved to Neskowin, North of Lincoln City, home to Proposal Rock. 

A beautiful forested area, the smell of the cedar and the pine permeates the air.

 We still explored the rocky coastline south of the rental but this area was filled with beautiful flora (and fauna!) that we aren't used to on the east side of the state.
                                                 
The Sitka forests of Neskowin are some of the oldest in the nation, with many 500-800 year old trees.

                                           
My brother flew in from Michigan with his girlfriend, Janet. They were such good sports to hang out with six kids on vacation!
                                           
We goofed around and ate a lot of food. He's a climber so I had to tell myself "no one is going to die" many times as he took older kids to climb rocky outcroppings and search for caves in the cliffs. I sat on the beach and sang LALALALALALA to myself as the tide came in.

                                        
We visited The Devil's Churn, Devil's Lake, The Devil's Punchbowl, Thor's Well, Cook's Chasm and the Spouting Well. We saw a lot of shooting water and thought the devil was getting a little too much press. Lol

 At the third house we stayed south of Florence, on Siltcoos lake. It's renowned for its fishing but my poor 13 year old caught nada, zip, zilch.

 It was a great place to light fireworks, though.

                                             
After hiking to the top of Heceta Head to visit the lighthouse, we found blackberries.

There were so many different berries. These are just from my mother's garden. Blueberries, salmon berries, raspberries, logan berries, blackberries, strawberries, and salal.
All in all, I think we all learned a lot of history, got a better idea of the different geological areas of the Oregon coast, and have a greater appreciation of our state park system.

 Oh, and the aquarium was a big hit, too.

 Lots of fish and jellyfish and sharks.

But getting out into nature was the best part of our trip. Exploring, hiking, spotting bald eagles, learning, listening, getting a real feel for the different regions. (This is heading home, along the Columbia river. We're still four hours from home, and you can tell by the trees and wildflowers. We live in a very dry area and by this time of summer, it's just wheat and dust.)

 Oh, we also crossed the Bridge of the Gods, which spans the Columbia River. As you cross, you enter Washington (not unusual, we do that almost every day, living on the border) but then we turned around and crossed it again. We don't usually cross the state line twice in five minutes and a hundred feet above the water!

So, now that I'm back to work, I have a lot of wonderful memories to look back on....

Especially this one. :)

Wishing everyone a wonderful week! Is anyone at RWA? I keep seeing pictures of delicious food! I'll have a great recipe for you all next week. Here's a preview picture...

Just kidding. That's some kind of freaky, parasitic eel that lives off sharks and was stuck to the viewing wall at Bonnevile Dam. 

Here's a chocolate chocolate pound cake with ganache topping! Until next time!

Lemon Blueberry muffins! And some pretty pictures.

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back with a delicious blueberry muffin recipe. I've been sick as a dog with a terrible cold, but it's gradually getting better. I now have a voice, although my kids really preferred the silent me, I'm sure.
  Anyway, does anyone remember that show, "Frasier"? Before I got married, I didn't have a TV for a long time, and then someone gave me an old, tiny set. I was never a TV watcher, but suddenly, living alone, I started turning it on, just to see what was happening in the world. Frasier was always on when I got off work and I fell in love with the comedic writing. One of my favorite characters was Daphne, the Cockney-accented maid. And some of the funniest lines I ever heard her utter had to do with MUFFINS.

 "Now me, I could eat a muffin a day, some days even two knowing they'd be free. So that'd be... ten a week, fifty-two weeks a year, for at least another... forty years, which works out to... Twenty thousand muffins![pause] My life suddenly seems long, measured in muffins." 

 That scene never fails to make me laugh!

 Well, we had gone blueberry picking earlier in the week  and got about 18 lbs so we made some pies, gave some away, ate a lot, and decided to make muffins. We'll pick more this Monday, but it's a short season this year, and we're not sure we'll get many for the freezer. We'll enjoy them while we have them, though!
                                         
                               ( Pie my husband ate by himself. WHY DO I NOT HAVE HIS METABOLISM?   )
 Preheat oven to 425F
Ingredients:
 4 TBS unsalted butter
2 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
 grated lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
 2.5 cups blueberries

 Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, stir all sugar but 2 tbs into mix and make a well in the center. Then beat the egg, add the melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla and milk. Beat again until foamy. Pour into the well you just made in the dry mix.

 Mmmmmm.......

 Stir the mix until smooth, then gently fold in all the blueberries.

 Pour into muffin papers until about 3/4 full, bake 12-15 minutes. Take the lemon juice and sugar and mix together, an then brush the tops of the muffins.

 Taaaasty....

 I like my muffins with a little bit of cold butter, so it melts as they come right out of the oven.

And here are a few pictures from our beach trip. Our whole week was bright and sunny, perfect weather for the coast!

 Multnomah Falls, along the Columbia Gorge. Great rest stop, but tons of people The crowds made it hard to hike to the top.

Mo's, the famous seafood restaurant. Scattered up and down the coast, it's not a fancy place but the food is delicious! 

My five year old is entranced at the idea that local kids can catch their own dinner. I was less entranced, but I did take pictures.

 The crabs you keep have to meet with certain size, gender, etc standards. Behold, the keepers.

 At Newport, about an hour from Lincoln City, where we stayed... one of the many little candy shops. My kids all picked one item. Some picked jelly bellies, some picked a sucker, I got fresh caramels, the girls picked chocolate. My husband just shook his head. He's not a candy eater. Crazy, huh?

 The Devil's Punchbowl, south of Lincoln City. At high tide and especially during storms, this cauldron is filled and the show is spectacular. We went at low tide...

 Pelican sighting!

 The Oregon coast does have some beautiful beaches. You just have to make your way down to the sand. :)

 A rainbow seen from the bottom. A fun little science lesson happened while we were whale watching. The spray from the rocks made a rainbow we saw from far away, but when we got close, it was a perfect circle above us (because rainbows seen from below or above are circles).

 We saw this little family down in one of the coves. See the mom and baby to the right? Now, look left. All the way left...

Yup, two little kids had clambered all the way up the rock face. Made me smile. Brave mom! I never would have survived watching that.

 We had a great time! We also got together with my college roommate who is from Mississippi, and visiting her home state when we were in college was the inspiration for a lot of Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits. Anyway, here are all our kids together. In ten years, we won't have this stair case!

And one last picture in case Mary Curry decides to stop by. :) The lighthouse at Heceta Head!

Until next time, my friends! Meanwhile, back to my Monday deadline! Happy muffin-making!