Ashland, Oregon

With absolutely beautiful weather today, highs in the low 70s, sun shining, blue sky, we walked into Ashland and through the business district into Lithia Park, a 93 acre park near the edge of the city.

 

 

 

There is this cool, hand-sculpted totem pole in town.

 

This small park exists right in the middle of the city. Restaurants and bars have outdoor seating, so you can sit right above the creek.

 

 

 

 

 Here is the entrance to Lithia Park:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little deer was just feet away from us on one of the trails...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days 8, 9 & 10: Washington and Oregon

Our last leg of the trip was spent in hotel rooms, relaxing, getting extra sleep and of course, driving, driving, driving. From Yellowstone, we drove across Idaho, into Washington and spent the night in Spokane. We then drove south and spent the night in Vancouver, Washington, just on the border of Oregon. After that, we made our way to the southern Oregon area of Medford and Ashland.  There are no pictures from those days, we drove pretty steadily and didn't stop much for photo ops.
 
Here in the Ashland area, the views from the highway look a little like this:
 

 

 

 
The area is surrounded by mountains. There are lush green mountains on one side of the highway, (behind the trees in the last picture) and ones with less trees and more farmland, that look like those pictured in the top photo. We will post some more pictures of the area soon, especially once we get out on a hike. For now, we are wetting our toes, exploring, job searching and settling in for a little.
 
So, I'm happy to report that the trip was a success! I would do it again in a minute. If you're ever planning one, we're proof it's doable on a tight budget, but if you're inclined to spend a little extra, you could easily take double or triple the time we took to fully experience all the sights out there.
 
Officially, we drove through 17 states, (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon), had one oil change and countless stops for gas, and we had an amazing time doing it.