The next day we grabbed breakfast at Kenny and Zuke’s, meandered through the Pearl, and took a stroll through the rose gardens. All of it with the dogs in tow.

After our morning in Portland, we headed west to the coast. Our first stop was Manzanita. Manzanita’s main street lies off of the 101, making it less car oriented than a lot of towns on the coast. The town is pleasant with quite a few nice restaurants and stores. There are several state parks nearby, but the biggest draw is the beach. You can walk from your hotel down the main street and straight to the beach. From there, the sand stretches for miles in either direction.

The man who owned the motel claimed that all the beach in front of Manzanita is off leash. I can’t find anything official to back that up, but it was certainly unofficially off leash. Izzy an Stevie had a blast playing on the sand.

While romping at the beach was our first order of business, we did get in a hike at Cape Falcon. There were a lot of people on the trail, but the viewpoint at the end was worth dealing with the crowds.

After a couple of days in Manzanita, we headed south the Port Orford. Due to the winding 101, the drive took over six hours. We stopped in Tillamook for cheese (tourist trap but delicious) and took a few scenic detours along the way. We also stopped in Coos Bay for sushi. Sadly, vegetarian food options weren’t as good once we headed south of Manzanita.

Port Orford is a much different town than Manzanita. It straddles the 101, so it isn’t as walking friendly. There also aren’t as many restaurant options. We had a hard time finding good places for breakfast, although they apparently have the best fish and chips in the state at The Crazy Norwegian’s. (I opted for the veggie burger, which was good.) The beach is broken up by mountains and rocky ledges. The setting is still gorgeous, and there’s a lot of hiking nearby.

Our big hike in Port Orford was  Mount Humbug, which dominates the view to the south of town. The trail weaves up the mountain through the forest. Periodic breaks in the trees offer the best views, since the entire view  at the top is obscured by dense trees.

For an easier hike, I’d recommend Port Orford Heads. A number of easy trails lead from one viewpoint to the next.

From Port Orford, we headed south to visit some family and friends in California. Just on the way out of Oregon, we stopped at Secret Beach. It’s a bit of climb down from the 101, but we had the whole thing to ourselves.

Dog friendly hotels in Oregon are pretty easy to find thanks to the website Portland Pooch. We stayed at the San Dune Inn in Manzanita and the Sea Crest Motel in Port Orford. The San Dune Inn is located in a great spot right in the middle of Manzanita, while the Sea Crest Motel has amazing views of the ocean from every room.

But plans had been made and time requested off. The trip must go on.

We headed down Friday afternoon and met up with a friend for dinner at the Circle D hotel’s new restaurant. The food was good, and they let us sit with Stevie on the patio. The next morning we headed east on Highway 12 to Kiva Koffee. The breakfast there was delicious, and the views were even better.

My only complaint is that they didn’t open until 8:30, which ended up pushing the start of our hiking time back to 9:30. The weird thing is that everything in Escalante seems to open at 8-ish. The only coffee to be had before then is at the gas station on the way out of town.

The planned hike was Lower Calf Creek Falls. It’s a popular hike because it’s flat, fairly easy, and ends at a dramatic waterfall.

The scenery along the way was also stunning.

A woman in the parking lot warned us that she’d done the hike at noon the day before and had to carry her dog out because the sand got too warm for him to walk on. Good advice looking back, but we thought we’d be able to do the hike in two hours total and get out of there before the day really heated up. That was not to be. Stevie was slow in the heat, and we didn’t get to the falls until 11:30. By the time the clock hit noon, we hadn’t made much progress back, and the dogs started whimpering as their paws hit the sand.

We put Amos in our friend’s backpack. I carried Izzy, and Brian lugged Stevie over his shoulders. It was a long 2 1/2 miles back to the trail head.

After we all made it out alive, I declared a moratorium on hiking to Southern Utah during June, July, and August. It’s just too likely to be unbearably hot.

After resting up in our cabin, we decided to head back home the next day. On the way back, we drove along Hell’s Backbone road. It’s a well-maintained gravel road that runs through the mountains between Escalante and Boulder. Climbing up, the temps dropped, and we did a short walk along the beginning of the Upper Box.

It was a whole other world compared to the previous day’s hike. The trail runs along a creek and starts at about 9,000 feet. I’d definitely recommend it if you need to get out of the summer heat.

The drive down into Boulder along Hell’s Backbone was amazing.

I’m hoping to get back down there in September when the weather will be more cooperative. In the meantime, I’m eying Flaming Gorge.

• The Recapture Lodge in Bluff: Our room was basic, but the hotel has a number of trails behind that were great for walking the dogs. They also had a hot tub which was really nice after a long day of hiking and exploring.
• Torrey Trading Post Cabins in Torrey: The cabins here were really pleasant and cozy. The bathroom is shared and in a separate building, but there’s Direct TV and the owners were very nice. It’s $5/dog/night.
• Escalante Outfitters in Escalante: The cabins here are nice but tiny, and the bathrooms are shared in a separate building. They do have a nice store and cafe adjacent. It’s $5/dog/night.