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.

Portland, Oregon

      The clouds were moving in today as we left the Gorge and made the short drive to Portland.  We have gone from train noise to airplane noise.  I am looking forward to camping on the beach!  Our drive was easy except that the navigator (not the GPS) thought that the campground was across the river so we took somewhat of a detour - still it was a short drive. 

     We had lunch and then went to downtown Portland.  My first impressions:  heavy traffic, lots of bikes (not always ridden with pedestrians in mind), homelessness, clean and green, rivers and bridges.  We drove to the Waterfront Park and were very impressed with all the people out walking and biking.  Lots of families enjoying the sun and playing in some very fun fountains.  There were also many homeless folks pushing their belongings in grocery carts and sleeping in groups on the grass.  Where do they go when it rains?  As we drove back to the campground and knew where we were going, we were able to notice roses planted everywhere.  Portland is the City of Roses and this is definitely the season for them. 

     We are staying across the street from Portland Harbor on the Columbia River near the airport.  With two major rivers (the Columbia and the Willamette) flowing in and around Portland there are lots of boats and marinas.  There are also some houses on the water - I only have seen people living in permanent houseboats in Seattle, although I guess there are a few along the Mississippi.  It seems like interesting housing but a type that would take a lot of maintenance.
     We spent the late afternoon talking to family.  It has been hard to coordinate our schedule and time zone with home, but it was great to hear familiar voices.  Soon some of them will be here!

The Dalles, Oregon

  Another beautiful day on the Columbia Gorge.  We headed back east along the river today and drove a bit more of the reconstructed old Columbia River Road.  Our destination was the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center at The Dalles.  This town was the spot where pioneers loaded their wagons onto barges on the river to complete their trip to the lush farmland in Western Oregon.   The area around The Dalles is still pretty arid so it must have been a relief to the pioneers as they drifted down the river to see much greener landscape as they headed west.

   The old road took us high above the river into rolling fields of fruit and flowers.  The batchelor buttons were so thick that some of the hillsides were almost completely blue.  What a perfect time to visit this area.  The Discovery Center was new and included many old films and photos of the area.  Dams on the river have certainly changed its topography.  One of the exhibits showed a family with their covered wagon lashed to a raft going down the river.  The exhibit included readings from diaries of pioneers who had made the trip on the river - how fast the water was and how scary it was to have small children on the very fragile craft.  The display certainly brought home the challenges faced by the early Americans.

    Today was also our day to buy groceries, clean the RV and do laundry.  Except for having to replace the broken vacuum cleaner it all went quite smoothly.  Previous blog followers have certainly known me to be pretty crabby when doing laundry on the road, but today was great.  We had some grilled chicken tonight thanks to Chef Rick and now have only to remake our bed for another quiet (?) night.

Columbia Gorge

     We had another beautiful, sunny day for exploring the Columbia Gorge.  Oregon has been working for years to rebuild parts of the 1922 Columbia Gorge road which was built to bring visitors to the area.  Originally the road was 74 miles long with 18 bridges across rivers and canyons, and 3 tunnels.  We drove a 30 mile section of the rebuilt road past astounding waterfalls and up to amazing overlooks.
   Several state parks and picnic areas are along the way.  One of the major stops is Multnomah Falls which is a National Scenic site.  The Falls drop 620 feet in two parts.  We walked up to the bridge which crosses the river and overlooks the lower section.  It was just beautiful.
   The old part of the road was narrow with many of the original stone guardrails and bridges.  Some of the drops into the canyons were quite steep.  I'm sure that it was quite adequate for 1922 size cars, but our big pickup took up a lot of space in the lane.  The trees are huge here and the road was in shadow until we climbed to the top of Corbett Hill and went to Vista House which was a "comfort station" on the road.  The round building was built of stone and marble with stained glass windows.  A very fancy rest stop.

    We went back to our trailer for lunch and a rest and then Rick drove to Bonneville Dam for a tour of the dam and the fish ladders which take the salmon up-river.  After touring Hoover Dam it was somewhat of a disappointment, but Rick saw some fish (through underwater windows) making their way up the ladder.  I rested my wonky knee after a challenging morning and then we spent the late afternoon enjoying a late Sunday afternoon at the campgrounds.  Most of the weekend campers have gone home and it is quiet and peaceful.

Mount Hood, Oregon

     The trains woke us up a couple times - I must have missed quite a few of them because they DO come through at least once an hour - but the sky was a perfect blue this morning so we decided to head off for the slopes of Mount Hood.  There is a ski area at the top with a lodge that stays open all year.

     Our first stop along the road was the Gorge White House Winery.  The tasting area was in a home which was on the National Registry of Historic places.   It had beautiful windows and lots of gorgeous oak woodwork.  There were fields of flowers behind the house and a panoramic view of the mountains.  We talked for a while to the lady at the winery who suggested that we stop at an alpaca farm and knitting store in the foothills.

    Our drive to the Cascade Alpacas and Foothills Yarn and Fiber took us through acres of fruit trees and grape vines.  Finally, after a winding climb, we got to a farm with dozens of alpacas and their babies.  The fleece was incredibly soft, so I had to buy a little yarn to make a scarf.   After we left the farm the road became much steeper as we headed up towards Mt. Hood.  The mountain was startlingly white against the deep blue sky. 

    Our Oregon travel advisor, Sue, suggested that we have lunch at Timberline Lodge so we drove up to the ski area to see it.  There were hundreds of skiers in the parking lot having lunch from the tail gates of their cars and from a few concession stands.  They ski in the morning until the snow gets mushy and then party in the lot.  The area is only closed for a few weeks after Labor Day to do maintenance on the lifts.

   Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark, was built in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression. We were impressed by the huge wooden beams that support the roof, but since the area averages 21 FEET of snow in a season the roof needs to be strong.  We ate in a casual dining area which served sandwiches, soup and salad with a view of the valley.  It was a delight.

   It was a great day of sightseeing, but now we are happy to be sitting at our picnic table in the campground.

Cascade Locks, Oregon

We followed the Columbia River from just outside Pasco along the Washington State side.  Then we crossed the river as it narrowed and became "the Columbia Gorge."  Initially the landscape was dry, treeless, rolling hills.  Eventually we noticed many acres of grapes growing along the slopes.  Huge houses topped the hills in a few spots.

    After crossing the river the bluffs became more rugged and covered with pine trees.  It was a sunny day and we could see Mount Hood sticking up in the distance like a huge white snow cone.  It is one of a long line of volcanoes going from Washington to California, including Mt. St. Helens.  The river was choppy.   The further west we drove the stronger the wind blew.  We saw lots of sail boarders and kite boarders on the river.

     Our campground is about halfway down the Gorge - 40 miles from Portland.  It is squeezed in between the interstate and the train which runs along the river.  It is heavily shaded with big pines and a lot less windy away from the river just a bit.  Seemed really nice until the first train went by blowing its whistle very loudly.  The trains come about once an hour - we'll see how well the earplugs work!

    We drove back across the river on the Bridge of the Gods (in the distance on this picture) to an interpretive center to learn a little bit about the area.  Then we took a suggestion from Joyce's sister and went to Skamania Lodge to sit out on the terrace and admire the river - It would be a beautiful spot to stay if we weren't camping.  We stopped at the site of the old Cascade Lock and watched the local fishermen- they weren't catching much.  Now we are finishing the day with our first campfire as we watch the sun set and listen to the trains.

Pasco, Washington

     In 2005 when we took our first long trip to Glacier Park in our new 5th Wheel I had a laptop with built-in modem.  A few of the campgrounds had sketchy WIFI coverage.  Most had some place near the office (laundry room or picnic table) that had a weak signal.  This trip I have found very good access across the campgrounds.  I have only had to use my phone to laptop tether in one spot, but it worked great!

     Today it is much warmer  - over 90 on the high plains of the Tri-Cities in Washington State.  We are running the air conditioner and have the RV closed up.  Usually I love to sit outside, but today it is just hot with no shade.

     We drove over three passes today and through Coeur D'Alene.  We followed several fast moving rivers.  Lots of water still melting from spring snows.  Reminds me of the time we took Boy Scouts to Yellowstone and went rafting on the Shoshone which was just slightly under flood stage.  Yikes!  I am not ready to raft one of these fast moving rivers. 

    Part of the drive today was on what used to be the Mullan Road - built in 1860 by the U.S. government to help pioneers cross into the areas of what is now Washington, Oregon and California to help solidify the U.S. claim on this territory.   Although the scenery was really outstanding, the current roadbed was bad.  Lots of freeway crammed into very narrow canyons which made the road winding, hilly and dangerous when one side was closed for construction so traffic ran in both directions on the other two lanes.  It was beautiful, but hard to appreciate while holding on to keep from bouncing all over inside the truck.

    After driving through Spokane, we headed south towards Oregon.  The road took us out of the mountains and into high plains that remind me of Wyoming.  The road there was much better.  We are tired tonight - especially the driver.  We have a shorter drive tomorrow which will end near the Columbia River gorge where we stay for a few days. 

     Finally, I included a picture with this blog of two folks helping each other wash their big rig windows.  We see so many people in campgrounds who are busy helping each other and seem to be getting along well - whether they are driving big, expensive rigs or little, old ones.  I don't think that traveling makes you nicer to each other.  I think, that if you can't enjoy each other's company through thick and thin at home, you don't take it on the road (at least not for long).

  

Missoula, Montana

     It was a shorter drive today by about 50 miles so we got to Missoula with time to disconnect the truck from the trailer and do a little grocery shopping and have dinner out.  It is nice to have some extra  time for relaxation and sightseeing. 
     We followed the Yellowstone River again until it turned south to Yellowstone Park.  Then we went over our first pass -  Bozeman Pass.  In 1806, Sacagawea guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition over an old buffalo road through this pass on their journey home.  The road was fairly steep and we were only going 40 for a short while, but beautiful scenery with rugged rocks and lots of pine trees.  Further on I90 we followed the Clark Fork River - Another Lewis and Clark expedition route.  
     We drove through Bozeman, Butte, and now we are in Missoula.  There has been a lot of copper mining and logging in the area.  In World War I copper was used in every single rifle bullet (much of which came from Butte).   However, the Anaconda Mining company (once the 4th largest company in the world) made such a mess of the environment with its copper mines that it was the largest area which needed to be cleaned up in the Superfund Act of 1983.  I still wouldn't spend time in the river water around here.
     We are camping tonight in a KOA located right in Missoula.  It has big shade trees, a nice pool and a good view of the mountains.  I spent some time in the pool and hot tub before working on my blog. Life on the road is pretty good.

Big Timber, Montana

     Big TImber campground is set between the Bear Tooth Mountains and the Crazy Mountains.  We could see the 11,000' plus peaks shining in the sun as we drove from Billings to our campground.  There is a lot of snow on those peaks.  We followed the Yellowstone River much of the way today.  It is wide and muddy like the Missouri that we crossed yesterday. 

We stopped for a break near Rosebud this morning.  It is an area that Lewis and Clark passed as they navigated the Yellowstone River.  The banks are quite muddy, but then there is a lot of nice farmland in the Yellowstone Valley.  The bluffs and buttes turned into foothills outside of Billings and suddenly we could see lots of big pines.  Forest fires went through here a few years ago so there is a lot of burned areas but still many of the old pines left.  Really beautiful country (but then I say that about everything except for Nevada!)  This is where I took the picture of the wildflower.  Does anyone know what it is?  There were lots of them.
     It is much nicer tonight after sitting out some very stormy weather last night.  We had cable TV reception so we could watch the storms approach and were ready to head for the laundry room at the campground if the storms turned worse.   We had quite a blow (that rocked the trailer) for a short time  and some rain.  Then the temperature dropped so it was cooler by the time we went to bed.  Today we are having some hot dogs on the grill and beer.  YUM!

Glendive, Montana

     We met a couple from Oregon last night and visited with them for a long time - they were traveling with 90 year old parents and needed a break.  They gave us some information about things to see and do by the Columbia Gorge.  It is always so much fun to talk with other campers.  They said it is a very cool early summer in Oregon, but the weather may easily warm up a lot in a week - sounds like Minnesota.      We had an easy start this morning after heading back one exit to get gas.  We always need to plan ahead to find diesel in a station that has room for our length and height.  Most of stations along the interstate are designed for big trucks so they work out great.  When we are off the beaten path it is more of a challenge.
     Just a few more miles down the road and Rick said something mild like, "Whoops, that truck just lost it's cover."  I looked up and a big canvas cover and it's cranking mechanism blew off a large dump truck and was mostly across two lanes of the freeway.  We were able slow down and shift to the left shoulder to get around it.  Rick then pulled over and ran back to drag it off the road.  We then drove up to where the truck had pulled off to tell the driver that we had moved the cover off the road, but he hightailed it up an exit.
     The rest of the day was great.  Weather forecast was for big storms, but it is sunny and beautiful.  We stopped at the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park to look out over the badlands and have a picnic lunch.  The landscape is buttes, cattle, oil rigs and rolling grassland.  Our campground is too near the freeway, but we are happy to be done for the day and Rick gets a nice break.

Off to Oregon

We woke up to sunshine and a perfect summer morning.  We had a few things left to load - all the cold food and my laptop.  It actually doesn't take very long anymore to load up now that we have already decided where things should go.

We packed extra blankets and pillows this time for our visitors who will be camping with us for a few days.  I love it when friends and family join us for a bit to break up the long trip away from them all.  Thank goodness for email and cell phones.

I think of the pioneers traveling to Oregon leaving their friends behind.  I have been reading material about the Oregon trail on an educational website (http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Jumpingoff.html).  Although we are not leaving from St. Louis like so many of the early pioneers, we will be trying to capture their spirit of adventure and exploration.  We have our Conestoga wagon loaded (although probably have more than the 1000 pounds carried by the pioneers).

We were off by 9:15 - not bad for a late riser like Rick.  Since it is Sunday the roads were quiet and it was an easy drive out of town.  This is always good as we settle into our driving routing - getting the GPS programmed and making sure that the mirrors are set just right.

After we left the city we could see that the corn is looking good, the rest of the crops are very green, and there is a lot of water in all the little lakes and creeks.  Lots of wildflowers along the road - this is a good time of year to be driving through North Dakota.

Our only problem today was just 40 miles from our campground when Rick noticed the trailer brakes were acting funny.  We stopped at a rest stop and found that one brake wire was broken.  Only one day on the road and already he is crouched underneath the trailer.  Good to have a mechanic along.  Hopefully he will get the wire fixed at the campground in the nice shady spot and we can be on our way tomorrow without worries.  A  folding ladder stowed in the storage also needed some work so there was no rest for the weary until dinner time.  Now it is getting cooler and we will be having our first dinner on the road.

Two more days

     Well we are almost ready to go.  We finally got the trailer turn signals working correctly (problem was on the truck, not the trailer) and found the walkie talkies and charger after Rick bought a new set.  Seems like each time we get ready to go we start looking for these.  When we return this year we are going to put them in Rick's office.  They are invaluable when we have an especially tricky camping spot to back into.  When the truck is running Rick can't hear me shouting from where I need to stand behind the trailer.  It is important for him to hear me yell, "stop, there is a rock, tree, picnic table, etc."
    Today I clean the house a bit so that we return to a tidy place.  I am always happy to be home to my lovely house.  Soon we will be in our little house - setting up each night in a different neighborhood and checking out new neighbors.  We have the long series "Winds of War" to watch if it rains and a pile of good books.  Rick is reading the huge Ken Follett books about a 14th century cathedral builder.  I have a pile of mysteries and hope to pick up more books along the way.  Most campgrounds have good used book exchanges for folks like me.
     As I talk to friends it is clear that our desire to be on the road for over a month and spend time with each other for so long is unusual.  We are lucky that we can live our dreams together.   Next post will be from North Dakota!

Getting Ready for Oregon

     We leave for Oregon in 12 days.  Our trip will take nearly 6 weeks - Heading west through North Dakota and Montana to Oregon.  We will visit several historic spots along the Lewis and Clark Expedition, spend time along the Columbia River gorge, stop for a few days in Portland, camp along the wild Oregon coast, visit at least two national parks - Crater Lake in Oregon and Redwood in California, and then return through Boise, Idaho.
     I have the full itinerary set, many books and maps, and a bunch of checklists for food, clothing, and other trip essentials.  We worked on getting the RV ready this weekend - time to wash and wax it, cleaned out the cupboards, and checked all the supplies.  Matt and Amanda stayed in Memorial Day weekend with their kids so Amanda did a bunch of the spring cleaning - Thanks Amanda.
     Weather seems like it will be a challenge for this trip - possibly very, very hot on the plains, very wet along the coast, and very cool in the higher elevations (Crater Lake).  I am relieved to know that we have plenty of space for carrying multiple sets of clothing, rain gear, and warm jackets.
     This trip we are lucky to be meeting family and friends along the way.  My brother, Mark, and Joyce are joining us in Portland.  We will be visiting several former scout friends there as well.  My quilting friend, Jo, is meeting us for a visit to the biggest outdoor quilt show at Sisters, Oregon.  On the way home we will visit family and friends in Boise. Anyone else want to join us?
     I have a new camera this year and have been practicing taking pictures.  It has a good zoom so maybe we will get some better wildlife photos.  I will post the best ones.   I look forward to your comments.