Monday night, Claire, Doug and I visited a Rogue Beer brew and pub. It was a small unknown bar, with popular micro brews. Most of the customers appeared to be regs and knew the staff well. Claire got an Elephant Garlic burger. Doug got a chili burger, and I got the Captains platter, which had fried oysters, halibut, and calamari. Doug and I also shared a pitcher of “Dead Guy Ale.” The place is definitely worth checking out again or just their beers.
On our way back from Tillamook, we made a couple of stops. We stopped along the coast and watched the ocean. Claire discovered sea foam, and we underestimated how large this one tide was.
Next, we made an impromptu stop to see the Largest Sitka Spruce in the US. Near the top, it looked like it had been hit by lightning, but it was still grande, nonetheless. All the trees here appeared very flexible with respect to growing in its surroundings. In some cases, a dead tree would fall over and newer trees actually grew on top of that trunk. The roots surrounded the tree and dug into the ground. There were also many ferns, and a soft moss grew on everything.
On Thursday, we drove to Tillamook, OR. It was about an hour and fifteen minutes drive through a very mountainous region: many trees, many rocks, and some mini waterfalls. Every second was like a photo opportunity.
When we got to Tillamook, we stopped at the Blue Heron and ate lunch. It was a restaurant/winery/jam store. They had tons of jams and dips you could sample with a pretzels. They also had a petting zoo with poultry, goats, cows, and an emu.
The next main stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We went up a walkway and were able to view people running these massive blocks of cheese through the cutters and into smaller brick sizes. Then, the cheese got wrapped and boxed for shipment. We also taste tested 5 different cheeses that they had just made. The factory also makes ice cream.
