I have lived all my life near Mountains.
We lived in Los Angeles from 1946-1998, surrounded by the ocean to the south and the San Gabriel Mountains to the north. I climbed to the top of Mt. Baldy (10,000 feet) a dozen times. I swam in the Pacific at Huntington Beach, Manhattan Beach, and dozens of other beaches from Santa Barbara to San Diego. We lived about 20 miles north to the mountains and 20 miles south to the ocean.
We lived in Red Bluff, California, from 1998-2017, surrounded by the Northern Sierra and Southern Cascades to the east and the Yolly Bolly Mountains, part of the Coastal mountains to the west, and the great Mt. Shasta to the north. We lived in the North Sacramento Valley, inland, 20 miles from the Sierra mountains and 158 miles to the Pacific near Ferndale. I climbed to the top of nearby Mt. Lassen.
The coastal mountains in Northern California can get up to 7,000 feet and they go right down to the sea. All the towns on US Highway 101 from Fort Bragg, CA, to Moclips, WA, are small, close to the sea, and by a river or bay.
Lined up, west to east: the Pacific Ocean, bays, small coastal plain for towns, rivers, the coastal mountains, then the Big valleys (San Joaquin, Sacramento, Grants Pass, Willamette Valley, Columbia River Valleys and Gorges, Cowlitz River Valley, and to the east the major Cascade Mountain Range or Northern Sierra Mountain Range.
Ocean, Mountains, Big Valley
From 2017-2022 I have lived in the smaller Willamette-Columbia River Valley area in Vancouver, Washington, across the Columbia River from Portland. The coastal mountains that separate us from the Pacific are somewhat higher in northwest Oregon than in southwest Washington. The roads over the coastal ranges in Oregon have higher passes than those in southwest Washington.
I want to drive from Vancouver to Tillamook Oregon, 90 miles southwest, on Monday.
So, to get to Tillamook, Oregon, I must drive south into downtown Portland on Interstate 5, and then west through the Zoo hills and tunnels onto Oregon 30, and drive on a four lane freeway through the suburbs and industries for 20 miles by Beaverton and Hillsboro, then into flatlands with farms, vineyards, orchards, and dairy farms to the town of Banks.
And then, here it comes: The Coastal Range! Onto Oregon Road 6 through the Costal Range to Tillamook: 40+ miles of driving through 2 lane roads in the coastal mountains and dense Tillamook State Forests of Oregon.
I let traffic pass, and pull off in safe spots to let vehicles pass, and rest a little. I am in no rush when driving.
When I find nice spots, I pull off the road and stop my engine. I take this "stop driving" time for some useful traveler's activity, e.g., to rest, take in a pretty view, sip some coffee and a cookie, take a short walk, stretch, urinate, take photographs, yell, play my harmonica, write, read, rearrange stuff in my car, sit-look-listen outside, think ahead, study nature, change clothes, massage my body, squat, learn something, plan ahead, listen to my MP3 music, waste time, plan ahead, look at my map, etc.
Here is a photograph of the Coastal Mountains between Tillamook and Banks:
By Laren Stover. New York, Bulfinch Press, 2004. 271 pages. ISBN:
9780821228906. A lighthearted and free flowing discussion of the five variations of Bohemians (Nouveau,
Gypsy, Beat, Zen and Dandy) and of Bohemian philosophy generally. VSCL.
