So last week, the gang and I decided that it would be a good idea if I could see some actual landscapes other than boring Nevada, since I am illustrating a landscape book.
One of those random, Jules and I are sitting at the park kind of moments when we decide we need a change of scenery, so we go home and toss everything into a pile in the back of the family wagon (or in this case, Dodge Journey–named appropriately) and just go. With no thought to what we actually should have brought or if this was a good idea. Welcome. To. Us.
We decided on Northern California and Southern Oregon as our destination. Love Highway 101 especially during the time of year when it floods, blows a million miles an hour, snows and the fog is thicker than Trump’s skull. So off we went.
I quite enjoyed the drive up. By the time I reached 299 and then cut over to HWY 101, there was no traffic to contend with. 2 in the morning is a pretty good time time to drive the coastal highway if you want to avoid stopping because of all the dips who pull out in front of you.
Really, the only thing I had to contend with were the multitude of skunks who made my eyes water and kept me rolling up the window for safety.

So the trip up was mostly uneventful. Most of the rest areas were open for once, so no one had any accidents. (I’m talking to you, Englishman.) The kids and Jules had all fallen asleep, so I was humming “Highway to Hell” to myself and quite pleased with my driving skills at such a late hour. I was taking up both sides of the road since nothing was coming.
Then out of nowhere, right beyond the sign that says “Elk Crossing” (apparently they don’t know how to use a cross walk…
This appears in front of the car.
If you think the picture is big, you should have seen the real thing. I slammed on the breaks and woke up everyone in the car, slid a bit on the wet road nearly into an embankment and ended up stopping, looking at the business end of a stop sign. Everyone is fine, thank you for asking.
What pissed me off, wasn’t the elk in the middle of the road. Elk were there before roads were, so okay he has right of way. What pissed me off, was the nonchalant way he continued to chew his grass..cud…whatever they chew. His elk tobacco. Whatever. Num. Num. Num. Seriously. He just stays in the middle of the road, not overly bothered by the idea of becoming a hood ornament, as I am white knuckling the steering wheel, panting in terror and re-swallowing my heart.
Num-fucking-num. At least his mates had the good sense to look afraid for him.
So what does he do? He moves over about a foot, directly into the middle of the road and continues to chew. He remained unimpressed.


Eventually we made it to our destination and for the next day, other than a flooding rainstorm that made us take refuge in the car instead of going on the nature hike we had intended, things settled down. The weather was beautiful the next morning, we went to a couple of beaches, had some good food and then went to the pool at the hotel. The kids had a great time splashing around and my oldest boy broke his fear of the deep end…thanks daddy for helping with that.
So all was well, as I decided I’d had enough pool water in my ears and left the kids and the hubby behind so I could take the poodle for a walk. Brookings, Oregon is a cute little town. The kind of place where a woman feels safe with her tiny dog, even after dark. The worst you are likely to encounter is possibly a stray dog, or maybe a racoon digging in a bin looking for something interesting to eat. Off we went in search of an adventure, or maybe a bush to pee on–for the dog, not me, I don’t have the balance for that.
Nearly ten o’clock at night and we are walking along in front of an auto parts shop, when Salem decided the bushes out front look like a good place to hike a leg. The bushes start rustling and I’m thinking it’s a bird. Then the bushes explode and I’m thinking it is a dog. A big dog. Maybe a rabid racoon out for blood on unsuspecting tourists. Oh hell…Maybe it’s this guy…
You know, they say he lives in the area and I almost could have understood that. Instead, the dog freaks out, pees on my shoe and tries to climb my leg before deciding if he can live with four boys he can take on anything and goes after the…
Wait? Monkey? The hell is a monkey doing attacking me and the poodle in a car park? Yep. Of all things in the world, a pissed off monkey in a small town in Oregon. Not what I would have expected. Didn’t think they grew those here.
I did what any fearless, strong woman would do. I cursed at the dog for pissing on my Sketchers and turned tails (mine and the poodle’s) and ran like the devil was chasing me. Because he was. Fucking Monkey.
Later, we learned that the monkey was an escaped convict. The thing was someone’s pet that had escaped and they had already had a warrant to seize the animal. Well guys, I found it. Want it? Go get it. This girl is done.
That was nearly the end of the drama, until we decided to stop and go to a lookout point, where we encountered this sign:
Everyone agrees that this guy appears to be having fun. And apparently my poodle can understand the meanings of these things, because he decided to slip right outside the guard fence and make a break for it, off the cliff edge. Thank goodness for dog leashes. We got him back, after what was nearly our second heart attack of the trip.
Still, overall, we had a good trip. I got some good images, we had some laughs and we made some new friends.
Oh, and I met someone famous.

That Seals it.
We must do this again.
Reblogged this on Julian Froment's Blog and commented:
Oh what fun! Wonderful post, by a wonderful woman, about a wonderful trip. Hope I am not overusing the wonderful here.
LikeLike
what a great travelogue piece
LikeLiked by 1 person
I spelled breaks wrong…giggle. I should read my posts. Thank you:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Monkey . . . A monkey . . . Yeah, I just can’t get over that one. Elk being assholes in the road? I can understand that and have seen my share of deer doing it. I just can’t wrap my head around how in the entire town, you end up running into this monkey. At least nobody got hurt. Except for your shoe, which I’m sorry for.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too. Love my shoe.
LikeLike
Guess the plus side is that it wasn’t a skunk.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That happened to me last summer.
LikeLike
Never had that kind of run in with a skunk. Got close to three without getting sprayed somehow. Nearly run over by a groundhog once. The sea lions behave this trip?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sea lions were good. Couple of squirrels. The skunk appeared under my camp chair.
LikeLike
Hopefully you weren’t in the chair when it showed up. Squirrels came back here and one already ran headfirst in my car. While it was parked. No idea why it just charged the passenger side door.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was. And then suddenly I wasn’t.
LikeLike
Either you mastered teleportation or became The Flash. Either way, I hope that skunk got scared away.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He went to the next campsite and raided the poor guy’s cool box
LikeLike
There seemed to be a lot of mean or mischievous animals on this trip.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Meh. They make it interesting.
LikeLike
True. Gives you plenty of stories and inspiration. Also a reason to buy more shoes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t need a reason for that.
LikeLike
True. And nobody should question it either. Maybe you should get a pair that helps with wild monkey attacks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These ones worked well enough to escape
LikeLike
Did the monkey look exactly like the picture?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was dark. I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup.
LikeLike
If you can get a bunch of monkeys to stand in a line then I’m very impressed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
4. BOYS.
LikeLike
Well that is impressive. Especially since you brought them all back from the trip. I assume.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I cheated. We only brought 2.
LikeLike
Gotta do what you gotta do. Hope the other 2 didn’t throw a party while you were gone. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
With grandma!
LikeLike
Well that makes sense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spontaneous adventures are the best kind! Glad you had fun. Sorry about the shoes though. You may have to toss them to keep him from doing that again now that he’s done it once. Lucky break with the elk. I once had a buck (white tailed deer) come through my windshield. It killed him and nearly killed me and happened less than a half mile from my house. My father-in-law was home and had him in the freezer by nightfall, so all was not lost. Insurance company wasn’t too happy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t even imagine what that elk would have done. My mum’s friend hit a cow and it nearly totaled her car and almost killed her. Thank goodness you survived the deer. This world needs you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sigh … you’ve just spent time in one of my most favorite places. And it’s been far too long since I’ve been back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We get up there a couple times a year at least. I keep saying it would be cheaper to move.
LikeLike
If I had my way, I’d be living somewhere on the coast from Fort Bragg and north. Anywhere on the Oregon Coast would be incredible.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like Brookings, Bandon, and Depoe Bay. There’s something about those rocky shores.
LikeLike
Wonderful trip. Thanks for taking me along.
LikeLike
Sounds like you you had a great time! What an amazing place! I hope the Poodle didn’t actually make it over the cliff-edge, I’m not sure the long-drop is good for Poodle vertebrae! :O
LikeLiked by 1 person
He made it, but thankfully I had the lead. Still enough to frighten me into carrying him everywhere after that. Also, whilst I’ve got you, every time I try to talk to you on messenger it tells me I can’t respond to the conversation. Any idea why?
LikeLike
That is very. very odd! That might explain why I’ve suspected you weren’t speaking to me for about the last six months… I wonder why? I wanted to ask you if you fancied doing a read-for-review of the Return of the Worm Slayer sequel! I’m really happy with it now. I’m nearly done with Deathsworn Arc 4 too! To be honest books have been the last thing on my mind lately though. Had some really crappy stuff going in my life recently 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sorry. Maybe we should just try email. I’m going to delete my messenger and re-download it and see if that fixes it. I’d be happy to read it but it won’t be until next week or so. This week is all getting kids ready for testing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this, thanks for sharing. How fun.
We had a moose encounter of sorts like your elk years ago in Maine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Moose would be even worse!
LikeLike
Thanks ionia, I’ll email you the file and tell you what’s been happening.
LikeLiked by 1 person