Wait...what state are we in?

So we begin our morning in a state of confusion. Last night, we had convinced ourselves that we should get up at dawn to visit nearby Umpqua Hot Springs for an early morning soak. Easy because we had no wifi in the mountains; we fell asleep at 8pm, in the midst of a great game Lizzie had suggested: "Twenty Questions" but using people we've both known in our 40 years together (you should try it - so fun).

Drove to the hot springs at 6am for what should have been a 20-minute jaunt, but took us an hour because we got so lost. Nice views of the sunrise through the trees, but in a state of rage cuz we're so sure we got up early for nothing.

Entering a state of wonder that we found it. We hiked across this bridge as we headed to the hot springs.

Passed a nearby shack, decorated by inspired soakers/artists. In a state of suspense, we're sure we're getting closer.

Ahhhh. A state of bliss. We found the hot springs, and OHYAHHH they were HOT (typically 105-120 degrees). Mark climbed right in -- no bath too scalding for this cowboy.

The 5 people already there took full advantage of the "bathing suits optional" policy. We played it safe -- for your consideration and for posterity.

Traveled back across the bridge in a state of amusement as we read the wisdom recorded by others:

We should have anticipated them when we checked into last night's campground, "The Last Resort," which has been one of our faves (and is NOT a KOA, mind you).

So all along we thought THIS is the state of Oregon. Until we started seeing signs like this and realized we had entered the state of... Jefferson?

Yeah, we were confused too. And then we saw banners and flags with the green and yellow logo that had two X's (translation: double-crossed). So Oregon is not the state we thought it was...

...and is instead a state in, well, a state of flux. Click the photo below for a video created just last week, even though the Jefferson statehood movement has been gaining traction since 1941 (he sounds like a high school sophomore but he actually knows what he's talking about). You can also learn more about it on JPR, yep - the NPR station in this region (they renamed it Jefferson Public Radio).

And on the subject of flags in Oregon, we noticed plenty of these....

And certainly no shortage of these.

We left Oregon in QUITE A STATE.