elderberry inn & bloom lake

(X enjoys his first visit to an old school diner - I love that they brought him Saltines to munch on-- he really dug the plastic wrapper)

We headed out bright & early to visit our new property, but we stopped first at the ol' Elderberry Inn on Highway 26 to give the local greasy spoon a try. It is only a stone's throw from the exit to our new little piece of paradise, so we had to see what it was all about. Musty paneling, dingy brass light fixtures, cheesy paintings of eagles, teal carpeting -- the place looks like it was pimped out sometime during the first Reagan administration and then ever updated again. It's pretty awesome, except the eats left something to be desired.

We stopped by the property after breakfast and took some measurements. We are looking at installing a septic system in the near term, and we need to sort out where we need to have our holes dug for the county's analysis. It turns out we're near a geo-hazard zone (we knew this before the purchase -the entirety of Clatsop County is a geo-hazard zone -- landslides being the particular hazard of this area of the country) so we need to subject the parcel to a a geologic survey before we can begin building. Yes, I said building. We would like to begin hammering up some sort of structure as soon as time & money permits. Details will be forthcoming...and maybe not for a few years, depending on our resources...

Anyhow -- we decided to explore a little of the Clatsop County coast range while we were in the area. Clatsop County, unlike others of the Pacific Northwest, has really invested precious little in campgrounds, trails & other forms of outdoor recreation. It's like it hasn't quite occurred to them that the forest isn't just a big, lucrative tree farm and that people will actually pay to enjoy the beauty of the forests and mountains. Needless to say, there are very few maintained trails. We took one such trail to Bloom Lake. While the "lake" was somewhat underwhelming, we passed through some amazing alder forests. Coming from Minnesota, the so-called "Land of 10,000 Lakes" it takes a little bit more than a dank, mossy pond to inspire oohs & ahhs. But the forests were lovely & it was nice to feel like we were exploring our new backyard.
("You call this a lake?!")