Longview, Washington

     It was cooler last night than it has been and we had trouble with our heater.  At first it would not pop on - although I had used it yesterday.  Rick messed with it for a bit, but it was dark outside and not conducive to making repairs.  We went to bed with an extra blanket.  The RV is insulated and it is not really that cold outside.  I woke up about 1 am feeling really hot. Rick had turned the furnace up to 75 when testing it and it magically started working in the middle of the night- whew!  It was nice to have it this morning as the temps dropped to 48 overnight.

     We drove to Longview, Washington today - north along the Columbia River as it heads to the Pacific Ocean - past Mount St. Helens which was peeking through the clouds.  We drove into this lumber and shipping town and then up onto the bluffs to visit our old friends Tom and Jane for a mini-vacation.  Their house sits high above the river with a view that doesn't quit.  We had a great time remembering good old days when our boys were younger and Boy Scouts together.  Tom was our Scoutmaster for several years. 

    After lunch, Tom took us on a drive along the Columbia on the Washington side of the river where we could see hundreds of acres of forest land and little streams coming down to the river.  This part of the river from Astoria to Portland has large ocean-going vessels on the water.  We saw one making its way back to the ocean.  Longview is frequently a spot where cargo is transferred onto trains for the inland haul.  We stopped at a small campground at Skamokowa Vista Park where we could see a long way up and down the river.  The tide was low so we didn't see any more ships - only some of the many dredging barges which keep the river open to traffic.  There are very few bridges across the Columbia in the Portland area (which may be why traffic by our Portland campground is so terrible) so on our way back we crossed the river onto Puget Island and then took a small ferry from the island to the Oregon side of the river.

    After a relaxing social hour on the deck looking out across the river, Jane made us a great Northwest dinner of grilled salmon and many Oregon berries in the salad and desert.   We have been completely pampered - it has recharged my batteries.  Ahhhhh!  Tomorrow Mark and Joyce arrive from Minneapolis to join us for a few day so we need to be ready for action.